Page 2 Spiral Patterns

Details are an important part of writing.



Read  aloud the poem "Dust Devil" by Jeannette Armstrong on page 128 of SightLines 8.  Look for details in the poem.


Spiral Patterns



In the poem "Dust Devil" a windstorm sweeps through a funeral service.

  1. How does the poet create the sight and sound of the sand and dirt swirling to great heights for a short period of time?

The poet's words mimic the ongoing motion of the wind through -ing verbs.


Sensory Images in the "Dust Devil"


Sight Sound Touch Movement
  • Fast swirled dust
  • Leaves
  • A fine grey cloud
  • A sound like a fog horn blowing its way through the night
  • Quietly
  • Hushed
  • Brushing
  • Raw torn
  • Whirled
  • Slowing
  • Lifting
  • Shifting
  • Shrouding

Making Connections


If you count the seeds in a pine cone or in a flower, they will be arranged in the above mathematical pattern.

Early Sanskrit poets used the Fibonacci numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, ... as a basis for the metre (rhythm) of some of their poems.

For example,

Sea
Calm sea
Sun-swept waves
Gently lap the  rocking boat 
Barnacles snag seaweed and
peacefully filter algae under the olive-green hull

A whirlwind is a spiral. What else has the shape of a spiral?
  • antlers
  • clouds of smoke
  • coil
  • circles of a soaring eagle
  • snail shell
  • fern fronds
  • pine cones
  • springs of a mattress
  • tongue and tail of chameleon
  • flowers
  • our galaxy
  • pinwheels
A special kind of spiral is a Fibonacci spiral.

The Fibonacci sequence is found in nature is a growth ratio. The spiral is the most efficient way to pack seeds in a sunflower. It is the best way to arrange leaves on a branch so that they can get the most sunlight.



 Please contact your teacher if you have questions.