I have started teaching the poem "I Wonder" by Jeannie Kirby, the Form 2 new literature

component. The poem consists of 6 couplets. In my opinion, the poem is straight

forward and easy to understand. Here's the poem:

I WONDER
By: Jeannie Kirby
I wonder why the grass is green,
And why the wind is never seen?
Who taught the birds to build a nest,
And told the trees to take a rest?
O, when the moon is not quite round,
Where can the missing bit be found?
Who lights the stars, when they blow out,
And makes the lightning flash about?
Who paints the rainbow in the sky,
And hangs the fluffy clouds so high?
Why is it now, do you suppose,
That Dad wont tell me, if he knows?
Before starting the lesson, I asked a few questions to students:
1. What does the phrase, 'I Wonder' mean to you?
2. Have you ever wondered how plants eat?
3. Have you ever wondered why you can feel the wind but cannot see it?
After discussing the questions to students, I showed the following video (Lemon Tree Fool's Garden):
After showing the video (my students love the song and ask for a repeat), I asked
students, "What is the person in the video wondering about?".
Then, I told the students briefly that the person / the man in the video is waiting for his
true love but she never came. Maybe, the girl has said and made a promise to him that
love is as beautiful as a blue sky. So, he waits, and waits for her - she never came - and

he only sees a lemon tree. So, the song basically tells us about a man who is wondering
when his true love is going to come to him.
Okay (I told my students), actually the song is related to the poem that we are going to
learn today. The poem is also about a person who is wondering or pondering about
something that he/she doesn't understand.
I modeled how to recite the poem with the correct pronunciation and enunciation. Then,
I asked students to choral read the poem. Normally, I would ask the boys to recite the
first stanza followed by the girls until they recite all stanzas. I will always remember
what my literature lecturer, the lovely Ms Hendon of IPBA, told us that poems are meant
to be read aloud.
Next, I told students the meaning of the poem:
Lines from the poem
I wonder why the grass is green,
And why the wind is never seen?
Who taught the birds to build a nest,
And told the trees to take a rest?

O, when the moon is not quite round,

Where can the missing bit be found?
Who lights the stars, when they blow out,
And makes the lightning flash about?
Who paints the rainbow in the sky,
And hangs the fluffy clouds so high?
Why is it now, do you suppose,
That Dad wont tell me, if he knows?

Meaning
The persona wonders why the grass has to
be green.
The persona wonders why she can feel the
wind but cannot see it.
The persona wonders how the birds know
how to build a nest.
The persona wonders why the trees are
always standing straight and tall, never
once sitting down to have a rest.
At night, the persona sees the crescent
moon and wonders why it is not always
round.
During the day, the persona cannot see the
stars. So, the persona wonders who light
the stars at night.
The persona wonders who causes the
lightning to flash.
The persona wonders how the colourful
rainbow appears in the sky.
The persona wonders who hangs the fluffy
clouds up so high in the sky.
Finally, the persona wonders why his father
does not answer his questions. Maybe, his
father does not know the answers.

After that, the discussions lead to the persona, themes and moral values of the poem.

The persona of the poem:

The persona is the voice in the poem (the person who might say the lines in the
poem)

The persona might be an inquisitive child who observes the world around him.

Themes: (What the poem is mainly about)

A childs curiosity (Sifat ingin tahu kanak-kanak). Children loves to ask

questions about anything that they do not understand.

The wonders of nature (Keajaiban alam semulajadi). People who take time to
stop and appreciate nature will find that nature is amazing.

Moral values : (What can we learn from the poem)

There is an existence of God (Terdapat kewujudan Tuhan)

Care for our environment (Pelihara persekitaran)

We

must

have

strong

desire

to

learn

lot

of

knowledge.

(Mempunyai keinginan yang tinggi untuk menambah ilmupengetahuan)

I prepared the following video for the use in the classroom. Enjoy watching & learning!