THE SHARK IN THE PARK
I heard a shark bark
One night in the dark;
It was in the park,
(But just for a lark).
There in the moonlight,
Its teeth pearly white,
It gave me a fright
That terrible night.
Stop making a din!
You’d better come in,
And don’t flap your fin
At my garbage bin.
THE OILY OCTOPUS
An octopus observed some ooze upon the ocean.
‘Is it olive oil or toxic poison potion?’
He asked a nearby oyster who looked a little off.
She was a tad opaque and she then began to cough.
‘What is this oily ooze – its odourous and odd?’
The octopus opined to a nearby orange cod.
‘It’s all atop the ocean tide.’ The cod replied offended.
If this continues on, our organic lives have ended.
Baby Shark Remix
Baby shark,
Do do do do do do.
Baby shark,
Do do do do do do.
Baby shark,
Do do do do do do.
Baby shark!
Watch that net,
Do do do do do do.
Watch that net,
Do do do do do do.
Watch that net,
Do do do do do do.
Watch that net!
Swim away,
Do do do do do do.
Swim away,
Do do do do do do.
Swim away,
Do do do do do do.
Swim away!
Back to Mum,
Do do do do do do.
Back to Mum,
Do do do do do do.
Back to Mum,
Do do do do do do.
Back to Mum!
Never safe,
Do do do do do do.
Never safe,
Do do do do do do.
Never safe,
Do do do do do do.
Never safe!
It’s your home,
Do do do do do do.
It’s your home,
Do do do do do do.
It’s your home,
Do do do do do do.
It’s your home!
Growing Teeth
That wily smiley crocodile
when basking in the tropic sun
won’t care two hoots about his teeth.
One breaks – he’ll grow another one.
The scary shark has teeth galore.
Three thousand stored inside his face.
He won’t get sore if one falls out.
A spare tooth simply takes its place.
The terrapins and turtles each
have zero teeth within their head.
They crop and bite the sea-grass with
a sharp and horny beak instead.
A human has two sets of teeth.
The first grow while we’re still quite young
yet start to fall out one by one
as adult teeth push through the gums.
But that’s the lot. We grow no more,
no matter how antique we get.
So better keep them clean and bright
unless you want a plastic set!
Teacher Notes by Jeanie Axton
1. Brainstorm words that describe sharks in general
This could be a starting point
http://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?Word=shark&typeofrhyme=jjb
2. Look at the structure of a shark
3. Discuss students experiences of sharks and bring in the topic of shark safety
4. Now with all the brainstorming, knowledge and safety awareness of sharks start writing
5. Younger students could paste their poem in the shape of a shark for displaying in the classroom
SHARKS
There’s commotion in the ocean,
When sharks are all about.
Little fish go to and fro
Darting all about.
They try to hide inside the reef,
And in rock caverns too.
But the sharks do not go hungry.
They always catch a few.
Obligation of the Octopus
Arms with minds of their own.
A body that can morph through
openings.
Three hearts beating
boom, boom, boom
to the call of the
ocean.
Like escapologists
obligated when opportunity
presents itself
to freedom
beyond the tank.
Blue blood
Octopus of song.
Octopus of story.
Octopus of science.
By June Perkins
O FOR AN OCTOPUS
O is for Octopus
looking Ornery,
wearing an Orchid,
not so Ordinary!
Eating their Oranges
while they Occupy
Orbiting Organs,
look at those Octopi!
Oliver the Octopus is talented indeed,
In the ocean orchestra he’s all they ever need.
With one arm he conducts, with another arm he strums,
With another two he bangs a beat upon the ocean drums.
With his fifth he holds a flute and he blows a pretty tune,
The notes sound out so soft and sweet that all the mermaids swoon.
His sixth arm holds an oboe. His seventh arm, a cello.
He really is amazing, this aquatic, music fellow.
He wears a dashing suit and is always looking sharp.
And with his final arm he plays upon a golden harp.
From North and South, from East and West,
Sea creatures swim from all around
For this eight-legged wonder!
Oscar the Octopus
Oscar the octopus opened his eyes:
Oscar the octopus got a surprise.
Over the sea-bed there glided a shark:
It was blocking the sunlight and making things dark!
So off to his den, Oscar started to swim:
He was hoping the shark wasn’t hungry for him!
Of course, do not think of an Oscar unarmed,
But even his eight might not keep him unharmed!
Oh, one other weapon he had, to confuse:
Some ink in a squirter he’d open and use.
But reaching his rock in a crevice to hide,
With eight arms all aching, he crawled safe inside!
Australian Children’s Poetry 