PRE-READING 1. Do you remember being three years old? What was it like?
2. Do small children ask a lot of questions? Give examples of the type of questions a three-year-old might ask.
3. Can you think of any books or films where the narrator is a child? What effect did this have on the narrative?
4. ‘Young children can be very perceptive.’ Discuss whether you agree or disagree with this statement.
5. What does the title of this poem lead you to expect?
COMPREHENDING AND RESPONDING
1. How many questions are there, in total, throughout this poem? Explain why you think the child asks so many questions.
2. Which questions, in your point of view, could be categorised as deep/perceptive/ poignant? Give reasons for your answer.
3. Discuss the use of enjambment throughout this poem. State what you think its purpose is.
4. Kennelly uses one simile in this poem. Identify this simile and analyse its effectiveness.
5. Explain the following lines in your own words: ‘And if we have new flowers,/ will we have new people too to/ keep the flowers alive and give/ them water?’
6. Do you think that this poem is based on a real conversation? Give reasons for your answer.
7. What is the theme of this poem, in your opinion? Explain your answer.
CREATING
1. Write an article for a national newspaper in which you discuss whether or not adults should be completely honest with children.
2. Write a letter to yourself when you were three, giving yourself advice for the future.
3. Following the style of this poem, write a poem that is composed entirely of rhetorical questions.
