National Writing Day Activities: Year 4 Writing Activities

Golden mole

The golden mole lives in sub-Saharan Africa. It has a cylindrical body, short limbs and no tail. Completely blind, the mole relies on its excellent hearing to catch prey. At night, the mole travels just below the surface of the sand dune, creating the appearance of swimming through the sand. During the day, it buries itself up to 35 cm deep in the soft sand to escape the intense heat of the sun.

In this clip, we will see how a golden mole sticks its furry head in the sand, allowing it to detect the tiniest movement of its termite prey.

Writing Activity

✍️ Imagine you are a golden mole. Write a sensory poem about your experience at night. Remember, you cannot see anything, so you must give vivid descriptions of what you can hear, feel, smell and taste.

You could use the structure below, or come up with your own structure:

I cannot see, but I can hear…

I cannot see, but I can feel…

I cannot see, but I can smell…

I cannot see, but I can taste…

Take it Further

🗣️ Practise your oracy by reading your poem out loud. Try to act out how the golden mole is feeling in your poem as accurately as possible.