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Sue Gilbert

Oxford Reading CircleBook-2

Teacher’s Guide

INTRODUCTION

This new Teacher’s Guide has been written to help teachers to exploit fullyall the learning opportunities presented in the Oxford Reading Circle series of reading books. It provides, on a chapter-by-chapter basis, suggestions for how the various points of reading covered can be taught. It also contains suggestions on how the illustrations and texts can be used to develop language by relating the content to the students’ own wider experiences and by encouraging them to predict outcomes in the light of what they can see or what they have already read. There are also some supplementary activities and games to reinforcethe teaching in a less formal way. The Guide supplies answers for the Exercises sections of the student bookwhere appropriate, recognising that there are not always ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers and any valid contribution from a student must be welcomed, and a variety of responses should be encouraged. There are also a number ofphotocopiable worksheets (answers supplied) that can be used to assess student’s learning and identify areas of weakness where further teacher input may be required, either for individuals or for the whole class. Each class is different and only the teacher will know which activities willwork with his/her students. For this reason, although the Guide can be used as a step-by-step lesson plan, it is in no way prescriptive, and not all teaching steps have to be followed, but I hope that every teacher will find somethingthat can be used to promote their students’ learning of English and in some way help with their lesson preparation.

Contents

1. The Fox and the wolf : i (is), i (night), i (third), i (ski), ____________________ 1 2. Farmer Ben’s Boot: z, s (wise), s (sugar), s (measure) ______________________ 2 3. Flying: y (windy), y (toy), y (sky) _____________________________________ 3 4. The Clever Donkey: u (rude), u (tune), ea (earn), ea (cheap), ea (dead), ea (ear), ea (bear), ea (break), ea (heart) ________________________ 3 5. The Elves and the Shoemaker: lf (elf), lf (calf), f (wife), ff (cliff) _____________ 4 6. The Fairy Flute: t (silent), l (silent), d (silent), k (silent), w (silent) ____________ 5 7. The Wolf and the Watchdog: alt (salt), all (ball), all (balloon), al (walk), o (wolf), o (word), o (women) ________________________________ 6 8. The Guest: ch (chord), ch (choir) ch (chip), ch (machine) _________________ 7 9. My New Rabbit: ow (grow), ow (cow), v/w, –rm, –rn, –rt, –rd _____________ 810. The Pigeon and the Ant: ui (guitar), ui (suit), ui (ruin), tch (ditch), ch (rick) ________________________________________________ 811. What the Donkey Said: v, w (wish), w (know), w (silent) __________________ 912. The Little Old Lady: –ttle, –tal, –tel, –bble, –ble, –bel _____________________ 913. The Kind Dolphins: l (silent), b (silent), u, ew, ough, oe, ou, oo, o, v, w, rk, –sk, –lk, –ck, –nk ________________________________ 1114. Strong Together: u (up), u (use), u (ruby), u (put), u (busy) ________________ 1115. The Night: –stle, scle, –ird, –ord, –erd, –urd, rch, cl, ei, ie _________________ 1316. Don’t Talk: sch, sc (score), sc (science), scr _____________________________ 1417. Tariq’s Gold: tongue twister ________________________________________ 1418. Travellers: ur/ir/or, tr, str __________________________________________ 1519. Constable Plod: c (city–cat), ph (photo), pl, ur (turn), ur (pure), ur (curry), ur (bury) ______________________________________________ 1620. My Party: thr, ea (hear), ea (heat), ea (head), ea (heart) eo (people), eo (pigeon), eo (geography) _______________________________ 1721. Walnuts and Pumpkins: g (silent), b (silent), n (silent) ___________________ 1822. The Little Things that Happen: ow (crow), ow (crown), ow (flower) _________ 2023. The Emperor’s Beard ______________________________________________ 2024. Worksheets __________________________________________________ 25-3025. Notes __________________________________________________________ 31

* The staff of the educational institution has the right to photocopy the worksheets inthis book provided that the number of copies does not exceed the number reasonably required by the institution to satisfy its teaching purposes.

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Oxford Reading Circle Book 2

Teacher’s Guide

Note:

In ‘Words to learn’, words should be taught in the way most appropriate for the students’ ability. It may be sufficient to read through them; they may need to be taught using flashcards or on the board, or a combinationof both methods may be required. Teachers must use their own professional judgement in deciding how to do this, but it is important that ALL students are able to recognize these words, read them fluently, and understandtheir meanings in the given context.

Chapter 1

The Fox and the Wolf – i (is), i (night), i, (third), i (ski) (Pages 1—3)1. Teach the new words and their meanings.

2. Ask students to read the title and the short passage in italics. Ask students who they think is cleverer. Take a vote and record the figures.

3. Read pages 1–3. Discuss the way the well works. What will happen when the fox gets into the empty bucket? (His weight will cause the other bucket, full of water, to rise.) Ask why he wants to go into the well. (He wants to get the cheese.) Look back at the picture on page 2 and ensure the students realize that the ‘cheese’ is actually the reflection of the moon.

(Pages 4—6)

1. Read till What a fool I am! said the fox, on page 4.

2. Ask if the fox understands his mistake. (Yes, he sees the moon in the sky.)

3. Explain that long stories are divided into sections called chapters, and this break is the end of the firstchapter of the story.

4. Read to I can see it on page 5. Ask why the fox did not want to make ripples. (He didn’t want ripples so that the wolf would be able to see the ‘cheese’.)

5. Ask the students to predict what is going to happen.

6. Read to the end of the story.

7. Ask the students which animal was cleverer. Ask why the fox called the wolf brother. (to make the wolf believe he was a good friend)

(Page 7)1. Ex A. Explain that the letter i makes several different sounds in English. Ask students to read the words in

the first line and identify the sound made by the i (as ‘in’). Ask for other words containing this sound (thin, pin, stick etc.).

2. Ask them to read the words in the second line and say if the sound is the same. Point out that the sound is different because of the ‘magic e’ and also the ght. Ask for other words containing this sound (fine, light,ride etc.). Students may be able to tell you if they are ‘magic e’ words or ght words.

3. Read the words on line 3 and ask students to identify the sound. Explain that this sound is due to the ir combination.

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4. Read the word on line 4 and identify the sound (ee). Explain that this is not a true English word; it has been taken from another language.

5. Read the four remaining words and identify their common ending. Explain that many words in English end with this combination (station, exhibition).

6. Ex B. Answer the questions.

7. Ex C. Answer the questions.

8. Ex D. Read the first pair of words. Explain that they are spelt differently but sound almost the same.Explain the different meanings. Do the same for the second pair of words. Tell students that they need tolearn when to use the different spellings.

Chapter 2

Farmer Ben’s Boot–z, s (wise), s (sugar), s (measure) (Pages 8—10)

1. Talk about farms and the different types of animals found on a farm. Ask students how many of eachanimal they think might be on a farm. Talk about the work that farmers do, and how important farms are for producing our food.

2. Teach the new words and their meanings.

3. Read page 8. Explain the meanings of a dozen (12) and a couple (2). Ask the children to work out the total number of animals on the farm (232).

4. Read to the end of page 10. Ask the students where they think the boot might be. Ask how Zinka is going to find the boot.

(Pages 11—13)

1. Read the text.

2. Page 12: ask why the footprints were strange (one boot and one shoe).

3. Page 13: why does cat say ‘purrrr haps’? (it means ‘perhaps’, but cats purr when they are happy). Why was the cat looking for mice? (to eat)

4. Ask students to predict what the problem might be.

(Page 14)

1. Read the text.

2. Ask how many animals are now on the farm (237).

(Page 15)

1. Ex A. Read the words in lines 1–3 and ask the students to identify the common sound (z).

2. Read the words in lines 4 and 5 and ask students to identify the common sound. Explain that it is not pronounced exactly the same as sh though the sounds are very alike.


4. Ex C. Ask the students to read the words individually and underline or circle those that are connected with numbers or counting. (lots, nine, thirty, six, couple, dozen, a, first, last, third, second, many) Ask studentsto make sentences containing each of the words.

5. Ex D. Make a list of animals. You could organize the words according to the size of the animals. Talk

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about what each animal provides, e.g. meat, milk, cheese, wool, yoghurt, labour. Students could draw the animals to be arranged on a farm wall display.

Chapter 3

Flying – y (windy), y (toy), y (sky) (Page 16)

1. Look at the text and establish that it is a poem.

2. Tell the students that it is about the moon; ask for ideas of how the moon can be described. Students may remember ideas from Book 1 ‘Oh! Look at the Moon’.

3. Read the poem. Explain that runaway means free, not controlled, as in a runaway horse—it can go where it wants.

4. Ask the students why the poem is called Flying. Establish that the moon appears to be flying away, like aballoon. Ask if the moon is really flying. (No, it is the clouds that are moving in the wind.) Ask why thepoet does not want to believe this. (He prefers his own explanation.)

(Page 17)

1. Ex A. Read the words in the first line and identify the sound made by the y (ee). Ask for other words where y makes this sound (sorry, hurry, worry.)

2. Read the words in line 2 and identify the sound made by y. Ask for other words that end with the same sound (cry, try, fry, shy). Explain they are usually short words with no other vowels.

3. Read the words in line 3 and identify different sounds depending on the vowel before y.

4. Ex B. Answer the questions

5. Ex C. Ask students to look through the poem and identify the words which rhyme. (moon–balloon, sky–fly, fast–past, night–white) Ask students for other rhymes for these words.

Chapter 4

The Clever Donkey –u ( rude), u (tune), ea (earn), ea (cheap),

ea (dead), ea (ear), ea (bear), ea (break), ea (heart) (Pages 18—20)


2. Talk about donkeys and their reputation for being stubborn and stupid. Also talk about how donkeys are used to carry heavy loads in areas where there are no big roads, especially in mountainous areas. Tell the students they are going to read a story about a clever donkey.

3. Read till onto dry land on page 20. Ask the students what the problem might be (that the salt would dissolve in the river water).

(Pages 20—21)

1. Read the text. Ask the students why the donkey was clever, and why he was happy.

2. Ask the students how the old man can stop the donkey tricking him.

(Page 22)

1. Read the rest of the story. Ask how the old man tricked the donkey.

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2. Activity: Bring a glass of water and some salt in a small cloth bag, to class. Put the bag in the water so that the students can see how the salt dissolves in the water and the bag is empty when it is taken out of the glass. You could also bring a sponge into the classroom. Let students feel its weight when it is dry and again when it is wet. Pour the salt water into a saucer and place it on a sunny window sill. The students willsee how the water evaporates, leaving a deposit of salt, as in the salt pans.

(Page 24)

1. Ex A. Read the words in lines 1 and 2, distinguishing between the different vowel sounds.

2. Explain that ea can make several different sounds in English. Read the ea words line by line, stressing the ea sound in each line.


4. Ex C. Students should read the statements carefully and write T by those that are true. (F, F, F, F, T). Ask students to correct the false statements.

Chapter 5

The Elves and the Shoemaker – lf (elf), lf (calf), f (wife), ff (cliff) (Pages 25—29)


2. Explain that the story is a fairy story. Fairy stories often have magic beings in them like fairies, elves,witches, and also often have poor people and/or kings, queens, princes, princesses. Fairy stories alwayshave a happy ending for the good characters. Ask students for the names of some of the fairy stories they know (Cinderella, Snow White, Aladdin, etc.).

3. Read the story till page 28, he went to bed. Ask the students what was so special about the pair of shoes. (perfectly made) Ask what they think the shoemaker found the next morning.

4. Continue to read to the end of page 29. Ask students how the shoemaker could discover who was doing the work.

(Page 30)


2. Explain that this is the second chapter of the story.

3. Read to the end of page 32. Ask why the shoemaker did not leave any more leather on his bench. (he did not want the elves to do any more work for them)

4. Ask students who was happy in the end, and why. (both the elves and the shoemaker and his wife)

(Page 34)

1. Ex A. Read the words aloud together; the f sound is the same in all the words. (It is not like the f in of, which is more like a v sound.)


3. Ex C. Elicit from the students that plurals are usually made by adding s to a word. E.g. one girl, six girls etc. Explain that with words that end with f or fe, we sometimes make plurals by changing the f to a v and adding es. Show them this on the board using the word shel shelves. Ask them to look at the words in Ex C and write the plural form of each of them.

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Chapter 6

The Fairy Flute – t (silent), l (silent), d (silent), k (silent), w (Page 35)

1. Establish that the text is a poem. Ask students to look through to find the rhyming words at the ends of thelines (ivory–tree, afternoon–tune, walks–stalks, street–sweet, understand–Fairyland). Ask them to describe the pattern of the rhymes. (lines 2 and 4, 6 and 8 etc.)

2. Look at the title. Ask what they think might be special about a fairy flute. (magic powers)

3. Read the poem. Make sure that you do not pause at the end of line 10; there is no comma and it needs to be carried on. Do the same for line 14.

(Page 36)

1. Ex A. Explain that the words all contain a letter that is not pronounced. The silent letter is written at thestart of each line. Ask students to read the words correctly.

2. Ex B. Answer the questions. For question 5, words telling us about sound are: singing, tune, music, sweet; and about movement are: walks, nodding, dancing.

3. Ex C. Ask students to draw a line in each word to divide it into two separate words.

Revision Worksheet chapters 1—6

1. Answers:

1. crops food plants 2. cheese a food made from milk 3. whole all 4. paw dog’s foot 5. couple two 6. village a small town 7. jolly happy 8. shallow not deep 9. poor has no money 10. hollow with a space inside

2.

papernews

printfoot

litmoon

makershoe

benchwork

stairsup

boardcup

bodyno

shinesun

thingany

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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3. Write the plural of these words:

donkeys donkey

calves calf

wolves wolf

birds bird

lives life

4. Answers

beat heat

part heart

head dead

feel meal

pear bear

root flute

grey play

try fly

go sew

take break

Chapter 7

The Wolf and the Watchdog – alt (salt), all (ball), all (balloon),

al(walk), o (wolf), o (word), o (women) (Page 38)


2. Read pages 38 and 39. Ask the students why the wolf is unhappy. (cold and hungry, no food available) Why will the wolf have to be careful in the town? (people do not like wolves and may try to catch him)

(Pages 40—42)

1. Read as far as farmhouse together. Ask students about the life the dog leads, what work he has to do and how he is looked after in return. What does the wolf think about the dog’s life? Do students think that thewolf would like to live as the dog does?

(Pages 42—43)


2. Ask students what the wolf notices about the dog. Ask why the wolf decides not to join the dog. What is it that the wolf thinks is more important than anything else in life? (freedom)

3. Discuss with the students whether they would prefer the life of the dog or that of the wolf. Take a vote on which is the better life.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

7

(Page 44)


2. Ex C. Write the homonyms from Ex D, page 7 and revise their meanings. Ask students to look at the words in Ex C and see if they can explain the different meanings for each of the pairs. Make up sentences for eachof the words, working as a class, in pairs, or individually.

Chapter 8

The Guest–ch (chord), ch (choir), ch (chip), ch (machine)

(Pages 45—46)


2. Tell the students that the story they are going to read takes place at Christmas. Ask students to tell you what they know about Christmas. Explain that, like Eid, it is a time when a lot of parties are held so that families and friends can get together and have a good time. It is called the ‘season of goodwill’; ask students what they think that means. Explain that Christmas is a special day and is always written with a capital letter. Ask students what a guest is (usually somebody who has been invited to your home).

3. Read pages 45–46.

4. Explain that carols are special Christmas songs, and carol singers go from house to house singing songs and collecting money for charity. Explain that Christmas Eve is the day before Christmas Day. Explain that Christmas trees are used to decorate homes at Christmas; coloured lights and ornaments are hung on the trees. Often Christmas gifts are placed under the tree until it is time to open them on Christmas Day.

(Page 47)

1. Read the text. Ask students who they think the little man is. Was he a guest? (No, he was not invited). How has he been treated like a guest? (He was made welcome and given food and drink.)

(Pages 48—49)

1. Read the text.

2. Ask students how they think the man’s wife must be feeling if she has been in the car for an hour.

(Page 50)

1. Ex A. Read the words and identify the 3 different sounds made by ch .

2. Ex B. Answer the questions. (In answer to question 2, both Mr and Mrs Webster and some of their guests welcomed people at the door.)

3. Ex C. Explain that the suffix ful can be added to words and means ‘full of’. E.g. the word cheerful means full of cheer. Ask what the word beautiful means (full of beauty). Ask students to read the words in C and tick those that can have ful added to them ( wonder, hope, colour, help, sorrow, faith, waste, fear, power). Go through their answers, asking them what each new word means. Students should use the new words in sentences. (This could be a homework task.)

4. Ex. D. Ask students to circle the odd word in each of the lists. In 1, explain that palm here means part of the hand. Students should be able to explain their answers. (1. tail 2. birthday 3. cycle)

5. Activity: In groups, students can act out the party scene using their own words.

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Chapter 9

My New Rabbit – ow (grow), ow (cow), v/w, -rm, -rn, -rt, -rd

(Page 51)

1. Ask the students to talk about any pets they might have and how they look after them. Talk about thesounds that animals like a cat, dog, horse, cow, mouse make. Ask what sound a rabbit makes. (none)

2. Read the poem. How does the girl’s mother explain the rabbit’s silence?

3. Look at the rhyming pattern. Note that nose and knows are two more words that sound the same but have different meanings.

(Page 53)

1. Ex A. Read the words in line 1 and ensure v is pronounced correctly. Read the words in line 2 and ensure the w is pronounced correctly. Ask for other words with ow (know, grow, throw etc.).

2. Read the remaining words, identifying common sounds.


4. Ex C. Ask students to identify the odd one out in each line, giving reasons for their choices. (1. sleep 2. grow 3. take 4. then)

Chapter 10

The Pigeon and the Ant–ui (guitar), ui (suit), ui (ruin), tch (ditch), ch (rich)

(Page 54)


2. Ask students to retell the story of The Mouse and the Lion and to recall the moral of the story. Explainthat this is another story where a small creature, an ant, is able to help a larger one, a pigeon. Ask them to suggest how an ant might be able to do this.

3. Talk about ants and how they live and work in colonies.

4. Ask the students to read the text to the end of page 57. Ask them to explain how the pigeon helped the ant. Ask how this is different from the story of The Mouse and the Lion. (the ant did not ask for help and wasnot in danger from the pigeon; the two creatures did not speak to each other)

(Pages 58—59)


2. Explain that the new chapter indicates that there has been a change of scene or that time has gone by.

3. Ask the students to read to the end of page 59. Ask the students to suggest what Anthony might do to save the pigeon.

(Page 60)

1. Read to the end of the story. Ask what Anthony had done and why he was nowhere to be seen. (avoiding danger from the boy)

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(Page 61)

1. Ex A. Read the words, identifying the common sounds.


3. Ex C. Read the words in column A and ask students what the words have in common (all describe males). Do the same for column B (all females). Ask the students to draw lines to match the pairs of words.

4. Activity: Students could be asked to find out more about ants and the way different types of ants live andwork. Students’ work could be displayed in the classroom.

5. Activity: Students could act out the story in groups.

Chapter 11

What the Donkey Said–v, w (wish), w (know), w (silent)

(Pages 62—63)


2. Remind students of the story of the donkey who carried the salt. Ask if the donkey was clever or stupid. Ask what they remember about the donkey’s owner. Tell them the story is about the same characters.

3. Ask the students to read pages 62 and 63. Ask what they learn about the old man. (he is greedy and makes the donkey work very hard) Ask why he is letting the donkey rest and eat a lot. (he is planning more work and wants the donkey to be strong) Ask what might be worrying the man.

(Pages 64—66)

1. Read to the end of the story. Talk about the different ways that the man and the donkey react to the threatof the invaders. Why is the man worried? (he may lose his freedom) Why is the donkey not worried? (one master is the same as the next–they all want him to work hard.) Ask the students if they agree with the donkey or if they think he should have run away.

(Page 67)1. Ex A. Read the words aloud, again checking that the v and w sounds are pronounced correctly. Remind

students that the w in swords and two and who and whose are silent.


3. Ex C. Write the words man, ant and donkey on the board. Ask the students to arrange them in alphabetical order. Now write the words road, run and rabbit and ask students to do the same, explaining that when the words have the same initial letter, it is necessary to order them according to the second letter in the word (rabbit, road, run). Write the words grass, grow, graze and green on the board and ask students how they would arrange these in alphabetical order. Ask students to complete Ex C.

Chapter 12

The Little Old Lady -ttle, -tal, -tel, -bble, -ble, -bel (Pages 68—69)1. Talk about old people that the children know. Ask them to say how old people are different from children

–appearance, behaviour, etc.

2. Read the poem. Ask the students what they notice about the first and last verses.

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3. Ask the students to find the words that rhyme in each verse.

(Page 70)1. Ex A. Read the words, commenting on similarities and differences in sounds.


3. Ex C. Explain that sometimes words are combined to make other words using hyphens, for e.g. grey-haired. Ask the students to read the words in the lists and try to make hyphenated words from them. It is likely that they will not know pickled-onion; explain that it is an onion that is stored in vinegar and tastes sharp. (yellow-toothed; big-headed; dark-skinned; well-known; first-rate; pickled-onion)


1. Answers:

1. Dogs like to eat bones. (T)

2. The wolf wanted to live at the farm with the dog. (F)

3. Mr Webster invited the people from next door to his party. (F)

4. Anthony did not say thank you to the pigeon. (T)

5. The pigeon told Anthony Ant to bite the boy. (F)

6. The donkey enjoyed working for the old man. (F)

7. The donkey was not afraid of the invaders. (T)

8. Old people often have grey hair. (T)

2. Answers:

1. dish, knife, mug, plate, spoon

2. case, certain, come, crow, curtain

3. chase, cheese, chip, choir, Christmas

4. hand, happy, hard, hear, heart

3. Answers:

1. There was a big whole/hole in his shoe.

2. Nobody knows/nose where he lives.

3. The man road/rode along the road/rode on his donkey.

4. There are seven days in one week/weak.

5. The children looked after there/their rabbit.

6. The ants wanted to fined/find some food.

7. The chain made the dog’s neck sore/soar. 4. Answers:

1. man—men

2. child—children

3. elf—elves

4. sheep—sheep

4. book—books

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Chapter 13

The Kind Dolphins – l (silent) b (silent) u, ew, ough, oe, ou, oo,o,

v,w,rk, -sk, -lk, -ck, -nk (Page 71)


2. Using pictures, talk about dolphins and some of the stories associated with them—how they are believed to enjoy human company, how they often swim alongside boats, how they are mammals rather than fishes.Explain that the Indus Dolphin is only found in Pakistan and is an endangered species.

3. Read the text. Point out that the words Sukkur, Sindh and Indus are all spelt with capital letters because they are the names of places.

(Pages 72—74)

1. Read the text. Ask the students how the fisherman helped the dolphins. Ask how the dolphins helped thefisherman. Ask them to describe the storm.

(Pages 74—75)

1. Ex A. Read the words. Explain that in line 1 the l is silent; in line 2 the b is silent. Lines 3 and 4 show different ways of writing the same sound; line 5, check pronunciation carefully. Lines 6–8 final k sound.


3. Exercise C. Ask the students to read the words and write down words that mean the opposite. Check answers together. (1. kind 2. poor 3. friends 4. loud 5. anywhere 6. broad)

4. Ex D. Refer back to Sukkur, Sindh and Indus on page 71 and ask students to recall why they are written with capital letters. Explain that all names of countries, cities and towns, rivers, mountains, seas, etc. are written with capital letters. We call these words proper nouns; other words that do not need capitals such as book, table, shoe, are called common nouns. Ask students which other words are written with capital letters (names). Write these words on the board and ask students to decide which need to have capital letters: pakistan, shop, ali, islamabad, cricket, london, america,

5. Ask the students for names of other countries. Write them up with capital letters.

6. Ask students to complete Ex D. They may need to use atlases to help them. (Japan, America/Australia,Greece/Ghana/Great Britain, Belgium/Bangladesh/Burma)

7. Extension work. Ask students to find out more about dolphins using books or the Internet. Their workcan be presented in class and displayed on the classroom wall.

Chapter 14

Strong Together – u (up), u (use), u (ruby), u (put), u (busy)

(Page 76)

1. Teach the new words and their meanings. Ensure plough is pronounced correctly. Explain that oxen is the irregular plural form of ox.

2. Show the students a pencil and ask if they think it would be easy to break in half; put two pencils together and ask the same question. Put six together and ask again. You may want to use long wooden skewers instead and demonstrate how it becomes more difficult to break them as more are put together. Students

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should realise that there is more strength when things are put together or work together. Tell them the story is about this theme.

3. Read to page 79 … not four.

4. Ask the students why the oxen are in danger (no protection around the house). Ask how the story, so far, has demonstrated that there is strength in unity. (The oxen are safe and can defend themselves when theywork together; the lion and jackal are weaker on their own.)

5. Ask students to share their ideas of what they think will happen next.

(Pages 79—81)

1. Read to grazed in the field.

2. Ask students to explain how the situation has changed. (The lion and jackal are now working together andthe oxen are not cooperating at all.) What do they think is going to happen?


4. Ask students if there is any other moral in the story (You shouldn’t believe rumours; trust your friends, not your enemies etc.)

(Pages 82—83)

1. Ex A. Read the words aloud, stressing the different sounds made by the u. Ask students to supply other examples of words where the same sound is found.


3. Ex C. Revise the 5 vowels and complete the words. (bellow, loudly, greater, oxen, plough, immediately, enough, decided, else)

4. Ex D. Students should refer back to the text to complete the blanks. (quarrel, suspect; rumbled; slope, drawing)

5. Discuss other ways in which groups could be stronger than individuals. (stopping bullying, a football team working together, climbers, army, people collecting for charity etc.)

6. Read the Nasreddin Hodja story ‘Elephant’ (below), or tell it in your own words, and discuss how this illustrates the same point. (More information about Nasreddin Hodja is available at the end of this book and another story of him is told in chapter 21.)

7. Activity: In groups, students could act out the story or make up their own plays or stories to show the same moral.

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~ Elephant ~Timur brought an elephant to Aksehir. The monumental animal was left alone to roam as it willed. All the

sown fields, vineyards, and vegetable gardens were ruined. On top of all that, the people of Aksehir were left incharge of feeding the animal. In short, Timur’s elephant became the first and foremost problem of Aksehir.

‘Hodja Effendi,’ the people of Aksehir entreated Nasreddin Hodja, ‘you are the only person who is notafraid of talking to Timur. Only you can convince him. Go tell him that we don’t want this elephant here. Explain to him that we have had enough.’

‘You are right,’ the Hodja agreed, ‘we need to do something about this. But I am scared of talking to Timur also. How about tomorrow, 10—15 of you and I, all together go to Timur and plead our case as a group. We’ll be stronger that way.’ Everyone agreed.

The next morning a large group of men gathered in front of the Hodja’s house and thus the procession withthe Hodja up in front and the crowd following behind, started towards Timur’s tent. As they approached the despot’s temporary residence, people behind the Hodja, overcome by fear of Timur’s fury, disappeared one by one. When the Hodja was about to enter the grand tent, he noticed that he was all alone. ‘Ah you cowards!’ he said to himself.

‘Hodja’, thundered Timur, `What brings you to my presence today?’‘Great Timur’, Nasreddin Hodja gathered up his courage, ‘we love the elephant you brought to Aksehir. We

are grateful to you for your benefaction. He is our pride and joy. But we are concerned, Great Timur. The pooranimal is a little lonely. Maybe you can bring a friend to him, perhaps a female elephant to keep him company. They can stroll around in the fields and gardens together and, if Allah may allow, they might even have a family.That can only increase our appreciation of your very generous gift to us.’

Chapter 15

The Night–stle, scle, -ird, -ord, -erd, -eard, -urd, rch, cl, ei, ie

(Pages 84—85)


2. Ex A. Read the words, identifying common sound patterns and asking for other examples.

3. Ask students to read through the poem and then try to answer the questions in Ex B. Do this without any teacher input, apart from helping with deciphering words.

4. Check the students’ answers to see how well the poem has been understood:

B 1. owl’s call, rustling leaves, soft little sigh, soft cry of the owl

B 2. No, the birds are sleeping and the land is silent.

B 3. The air is scented by the May blossom.

B 4. calling, rustles, sigh, cry

5. Read the poem aloud to the students. Ask how it makes them feel. (calm, quiet, peaceful) Ask if there are any loud noises mentioned.

6. Ex C. Ask the students to identify the rhyming words and talk about the rhyming pattern in the poem –alternate even lines. (1. sigh 2. May 3. falling 4. showing 5. land 6. night).

7. Extension: students could write their own description of a quiet moment. Decide on one or two places or times to describe: early morning, lying in bed before sleeping, the school before the students arrive or afterthey have left etc. Prepare by asking for words that describe soft sounds. (whisper, squeak, hum, rustle,hush, silent, low, quiet) It can be a sentence, a paragraph or a short verse, though it is not necessary for

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the lines to rhyme. Good examples of students’ work can be displayed on the wall in a ‘Quiet moments’ display.

Chapter 16

Don’t Talk–sch, sc (score), sc (science), scr (Page 86)

1. Teach new words and their meanings.

2. Tell the students that the story is about a lucky boy called Tommy. Ask them to suggest what it might mean to say he was lucky. If necessary, steer them to answers connected to his home, toys, material possessions etc.

(Pages 86—88)

1. Read these pages. See if students’ ideas of lucky were correct. Talk about Tommy’s behaviour. Ask how long they think he will be able to last without speaking to his parents. Ask what they think of this behaviour. What would their parents do if they tried it?

(Pages 89—90)1. Read the text. Ask how Tommy is now communicating with his mother. Do they think this is a good

idea?

(Page 91)

1. Read the text. Ask the students if they think Tommy’s mother was right to do what she did. How else could she have dealt with the problem?

(Page 92)1. Ex A. Read the words. Line 1 h is silent; Line 2 before o and a, c is heard; Line 3 before l or e, c makes soft

sound; line 4 scr cluster–ask for any other examples.


3. Ex. C. Look at the messages and read them. (I see you are empty; You are wise; See any bees?) Talk about text messaging and how it uses abbreviations. (GR8–great, 2MRW–tomorrow) Write the abbreviations on the board. Asks students to work in pairs to write similar messages. Students can then take turns to write their messages on the board for the rest of the class to work out.

Chapter 17

Tariq’s Gold–Tongue twister (Page 93)


2. Talk about gold; elicit that it is a very precious and expensive metal that does not corrode. Ask what things are made from gold. Explain that people used to use gold as money. Ask the students what they would do if they had a lot of money.

3. Ask the students what ploughing is–remind them of the story of the oxen and the lion and the jackal if necessary.

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(Pages 93—96)1. Ask the students to read all of the text on these pages and to try to answer questions 1—3 of Ex B on page

101. Try not to provide input except with deciphering words.

2. Check answers to Ex B and explain any misunderstandings.

3. Talk about being an optimist–somebody who always looks at things in a positive way (the glass is half-full rather than half-empty). Ask them to look at the paragraph that begins Digging the hard earth on page 94 and see how it shows Tariq as an optimist. (despite the very hard work, he is thinking of how he can use the buried object even if it is only a root or a rock)

(Page 97)


2. Look at the title. Discuss what Tariq’s good idea might be.

3. Read to the end of the story and discuss questions 4 and 5 of Ex B. Ask the children if they think he used the gold well.

(Pages 100—101)

1. Ex A. Say the tongue twister, trying to say it a little faster each time. If you wish to extend the activity, there is a song/chant:

I want a proper cup of coffee, Made in a proper copper coffee pot. You may think I’m off my dot* *crazy But I want a cup of coffee In a proper copper coffee pot. Tin coffee pots and iron coffee pots – They’re no use to me! SO, If I can’t have a proper cup of coffee In a proper copper coffee pot, I’ll have a cup of tea!

Other tongue twisters are ‘red leather, yellow leather’ and ‘red lorry, yellow lorry’; ‘She sells seashells on the seashore; ‘Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran’ etc.

2. Ex C. Discuss what each of the terms means. Ask the children to read through the story again and decide when each term could be used to describe Tariq. This can be done individually or as a class exercise withstudents stopping the reading at suitable points.

3. Ex D. Students should make their own sentences with the words and share their ideas with the class. Make sure they supply whole sentences and not phrases.

4. Extension: Ask students to write or talk about what four things they would do if they found a piece of gold. The work could be illustrated and used as a wall display.

Chapter 18

Travellers – ur/ir/or, tr, str (Page 103)

1. Teach the Words to know.

2. Ex A. Read the words, noting common sounds and asking students to supply more words.

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3. Ex C. Before looking at the poem, ask students to try to write the opposites of the eight words. (winter, unknown, start/begin, come/return, our, joys/happiness, we, us)

4. Read the poem. Ask the students to tell you what the poem is about. Try to elicit that it is about the journey that we make as we travel through life as much as about a real journey from one place to another.

5. Ex B. Explain that stanza is another word for verse. Ask what the first stanza is about. (the idea that thereis still so much in the world that we do not yet know about and that we need to discover these things—it’s exciting and we can choose what we want to do and we are going to find happiness etc.)

6. Look at the second stanza. Ask what they think the poet means by winter. (hard times, cold, sadness, disappointment) and summer. (good times, warmth, happiness) Ask them to try to explain what the poet is saying in this verse. (that we may have bad times, but good times will follow and there is always the chance to make a new start) Lines 2 & 4 in both verses end with rhyming words.

7. Ask if the poem has the same rhyming pattern as other poems they have read.

8. Check their answers to Ex C. with the words in the poem. Remember, different words are not necessarilywrong since there are alternatives.


1. Answers:

calm, thumb, whistle, knife.

2. Pakistan, Zainab, dolphin, Mrs Smith, river, Egypt, school, gold, Christmas Day

3. women, oxen, foxes, cats, knives, hutches, books, fish/fishes

4. Write words that mean the opposite of these words:

light/fair, old, happy/content, rich/wealthy/well-off, kind (other possibilites also)

Chapter 19

Constable Plod–c (city-cat), ph (photo), pl, ur (turn), ur (pure),

ur (curry), ur (bury) (Pages 104—105)

1. Teach the new words and their meanings. Explain that the story is about policemen and that they have different titles depending on their rank. In the story the titles are Inspector, Sub-Inspector, Sergeant andConstable. Because they are like names, these words can be written with capital letters.

2. Read pages 104–5. Ask why the police take so many photographs of the thief (for future reference).

(Pages 106—107)

1. Ask the students to read to the end of the story.

2. Ask them why the ending is funny. (Mr Plod does not realise the photos are all of the same man)

(Page 107)1. Ask students to remind you of the pronunciation rules for c+e/i and c+a,o,u.

2. Look at Ex A and read the words in lines 1—3.

3. Read the words on the other lines, identifying the common/different sounds.

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(Page 108)


2. Ex C. Ask students to read the two columns of words and then match the two parts of the phrases. (take a photograph; catch a thief; tell a story; ask a question; make a plan; have an idea)

3. Ex D. Ask the students to supply the answers (photographer (stress the correct emphasis, not photographer), policeman/detective, thief/burglar, bus—driver, teacher/tutor, carpenter) Talk about other jobs and what they involve.

4. Activity: Students can play ‘What’s my Job?’ One student mimes an action from a job and the others have to guess what it is. The acting student can only answer questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. If he answers 10 no’s,he has beaten the class. Talk about the question first; they could be: “Do you work alone? Do you workoutside? Do you work with children? Do you make things? Do you work with food?” etc. Students must listen carefully to the questions and the answers. Try to make sure that the mime is not TOO helpful; ask to see it first and suggest how it might be modified if it is too obvious; and encourage students to askquestions rather than make wild guesses.

Chapter 20

My Party–thr, ea (hear), ea (heat), ea (head), ea (heart),eo (people),

eo (pigeon), eo (geography)NOTE: If you feel the children have only very limited knowledge of English rhymes and fairy stories, just study the words in Ex A on page 111 and proceed to the next chapter.

(Pages 109—110)


2. Ask the children to talk about any English nursery rhymes and fairy stories that they know. Depending on how many they know already, provide explanations of those referred to in the poem. If you wish, you could write them up on a card and teach them, otherwise just supply enough information so that references in the poem will be understood.

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep

And doesn’t know where to find them.

Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,

Wagging their tails behind them.

Little Jack Horner sat in a corner

Eating his Christmas pie.

He put in his thumb, and pulled out a plum,

And said, ’What a good boy am I’.

Little Boy Blue, come blow up your horn,

The sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn.

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But where’s the boy who looks after the sheep?

He’s under the haystack fast asleep!

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet,

Eating her curds and whey.

There came a big spider, that sat down beside her

And frightened Miss Muffet away.

Jack and Jill went up the hill,

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown

And Jill came tumbling after.

Polly put the kettle on, (3 times)

We’ll all have tea.

Sukey take it off again (3 times)

They’ve all gone away.

3. Read the poem. Ask the students to identify the rhyming pattern and tell you the rhyming pairs of words.

4. Go through the poem to identify the references to the various characters.

(Page 111)

1. Ex A. Read the words, emphasising different sounds of vowel combinations in particular.

2. Ex C. Match the objects. (pail–Jack and Jill; wolf–Red Riding Hood; plum–Jack Horner; slipper– Cinderella; sheep–Bo–Peep; bears–Goldilocks; curds–Miss Muffett; horn–Boy Blue)

3. Talk about other characters from books and stories and cartoons that the students know; include local stories and rhymes. Tell the students to pretend that they are having a party and need to write a list of six characters they would like to invite, giving a reason why they have chosen them.

Chapter 21

Walnuts and Pumpkins – g (silent), b (silent), n (silent)

(Pages 112—114)

1. Teach the new words and their meanings

2. Explain to the students that they are going to read a story about Nasreddin Hodja. Remind them of the story of the elephant that they heard after chapter 14. Explain that this is another of the many stories aboutthis man who is particularly famous in Turkey. He was something of a tricky character. More information about him can be found in the notes at the end of this book with examples of other stories. Over sixty of his stories are available on the Internet if you do a Google search for Nasreddin Hodja.

3. Look at the title of the story and talk about walnuts and pumpkins. If it is possible, bring examples of one or the other, or both into the classroom so students can hold them in order to appreciate their relative sizes

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and the ways they grow. (If pumpkins are not available, a melon could be used as a substitute.)

4. Read to page 114 ‘...such small walnuts on it!’ Ask the students why Nasreddin had looked around. (he was going to question the wisdom of Allah and did not want anybody else to hear him do it)

(Pages 114—115)

1. Read to the end of the first chapter and ask students to comment on Nasreddin’s observations about thesizes of the fruits. Do they think he is right?

2. Teach the new words.

(Pages 115—116)

1. Read about the dream. Ask why he smiled in his sleep. (he was seeing something that he thought was very good)

(Pages 117—119)

1. Read the text. Ask the students to describe what happened and why he is hugging the tree. Can they suggest why Nasreddin now thinks that his ideas were wrong?

(Page 120)

1. Read the last page of the story to see if the students’ ideas were correct.

2. Revision: With students’ books closed, ask students to give you examples of some of the words they know that contain silent letters. Accept any that are correct.

3. Ex A. With students’ books closed, write the new words on the board and see if the students can guess which are the silent letters, and then pronounce the words correctly. Give meanings of words if necessary.

4. Revise words ending in ‘ful’. Ask students for examples, using them in a sentence if possible.

(Page 121)


2. Ex C. Ask students to work in pairs to go over the story and fill in the blanks. If possible, try to ensure thatquicker students are paired with ones who are not so speedy so that all the pairs finish together. (journey,ancient, created, pumpkins, vines, amazed, behaviour)

3. Ex D. Ask for examples of sentences; students can work in pairs to form the sentences and then share their ideas with the class.

4. Extension: Read some of the other Nasreddin Hodja stories to the students; ask students to see if their parents know any more Nasreddin Hodja stories that they can tell to the class. Discuss whether the stories are funny or wise, or both. You could ask students to write some of the stories (in their own words) and have an illustrated display in the classroom.

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Chapter 22

The Little Things that Happen – ow (crow), ow (crown), ow (flower)

(Page 122)

1. Teach the words from the box on page 123.

2. Tell the students something that you remember from when you were a young child. Ask the students if they can remember EVERYTHING that has ever happened to them. They should agree that we onlyremember certain things because they are very different from everyday life – funny, sad, strange, happy, a new experience. Ask them if they have any memories that they can share with the class. It could be their first day at school or going on a journey, a wedding party etc. Encourage them to speak and ask them whythey remember that event. Ask students if sometimes, when one thing happens, it makes them remember something else; it could be hearing a piece of music or a song, or a smell, or looking at a photo. (the key to the memory) If necessary, use the prompts from Ex C to help.

3. Read the poem to the students. How many different types of ‘Little things’ are mentioned in the poem. (the ones you remember when there is a key to jog your memory; those you forget; those that you remember all the time because they are so special)

4. Look at the familiar rhyming pattern of the poem and identify the pairs of rhyming words.

(Page 123)

1. Ex A. Read the words, emphasising different sounds of ow.

2. Ex B. Ask students to try to answer the questions individually and then discuss their answers as a class.

Chapter 23

The Emperor’s Beard (Pages 124—127)

1. Read Scene 1, choosing different students to read the character roles. Explain that ministers are the peoplewho help the emperor to govern the country. Today the president also has ministers to help him and each of them looks after different parts of the government such as health, education, the army, how the moneyis spent etc.

2. Ask the students how the characters feel about Birbal. (they are jealous because he is the emperor’s favourite adviser, and worried that they might lose their jobs because he will replace them)

(Pages 129—132)

1. Read Scene 2 using different students in the character roles.

2. Ask why the ministers are so keen to tell the emperor that Birbal is not there? (to get him into trouble)

3. Ask students to list the answers the ministers give; why are they such severe punishments? (they want the emperor to know that they are very loyal to him and care so much about him). What do students think of the punishments? What do they think the wise Birbal might say? Do they have ideas of their own?

(Pages 132—138)

1. Read Scene 3, with new readers as far as p.134. What do students think of Birbal’s answer? Is he wise? Why might he have said this?

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2. Complete the scene. Ask why Birbal is wiser than the others. (he thinks more deeply than they do; he thinks about who might have done it rather than only thinking about the punishment)

3. Prepare the play to be produced by the class, if possible for a younger audience.

Final Revision Worksheet

1. Answers:

1. drives a bus — busdriver

2. grows food — farmer

3. takes photos — photographer

4. puts out fires — fireman

5. teaches children — teacher

6. acts in plays — actor

2. Answers:

1. She was very sorrowful when her dog died.

2. The prince wanted to marry the beautiful princess.

3. We all had fun at the wonderful birthday party.

4. The old lady was very poor but she was always cheerful.

5. Last night there was a dreadful storm.

3. Answers:

1. Mr Plod wanted to catch 4 thieves. T

2. Tommy Smith was a very lucky boy. T

3. Tommy’s father would not talk to him. F

4. All the ministers loved Birbal. F

5. Emperor Akbar was angry when his son pulled his beard. F

6. We do not remember everything that happens to us. T

7. Nasreddin was travelling on a donkey. F

8. Nasreddin was not hurt by the falling walnut. T

9. Tariq did not share his gold with his friends. F

4. Answers:

crow/slow; flower/shower; rough/enough;

down/brown; night/bite; sky/try; ski/me;

spoon/tune; storm/warm; word/bird

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Introduction to Nasreddin Hodja and more storiesWit, common sense, ingenuousness, ridicule... and the kind of humour that reflects human psychology,

exposes the shortcomings of a society, criticizes even state and religious affairs yet always settles mattersamicably, are the elements which together create a special kind of logic, the Nasreddin Hodja logic. Thesefeatures of the stories make the 13th century character Nasreddin Hodja immortal. Therefore, it is not anexaggeration to consider him one of the main building blocks of folk thought, and his humour, one of the best in the world.

Yet, it should be pointed out that these stories are related neither to Nasreddin Hodja himself nor to his historical personality. In other words, over the centuries many new stories where he was used as the main character have emerged, enriching the collection we have today.

Today, we still do not have historical documents that relate Hodja’s life and his personality in depth. Thedate 386 found inscribed on a gravestone attracted a lot of attention. Considering his humour, the date was read backwards. The year 683 of the Islamic calendar corresponds to the years 1284–1285. Other documentswere used to support the theory that he died sometime in the years 1284–1285. The town of Sivrihisar of thecity of Eskisehir is accepted as the birthplace of Hodja. A gravestone dated 1327 found in Sivrihisar, belongs to his daughter Fatima and indicates that she lived 43 more years after his death.

The oldest Nasreddin Hodja story is found in the book called “Saltukname” written in 1480, which alsocontains other folk stories and legends. It is stated in “Saltukname” that Hodja was born in Sivrihisar and that the natives of Sivrihisar were famous for their strange behaviour and ingenuousness..

Based on the above mentioned documents and certain stories, following is the life story of Nasreddin Hodja:

He was born in the village of Hortu of Sivrihisar and died in 1284 in Aksehir, a province of Konya, where his tomb is. His father was the imam (religious leader) of the village. Hodja, himself, too, served as the imam of the village for a period of time and later went to Aksehir to become the dervish of the two very famous Islamic mystics of the time. In his lifetime he also served as a judge and university professor.

As mentioned before, according to certain sources, he was a contemporary of Tamerlane, who invaded Anatolia in 1301, but according to the others a person named Nasreddin Hodja never lived; he was just an imaginary character in the folk stories.

It is obvious that Hodja was a witty man with a sense of humor and he was a good conversationalist. Yet, based on most of the stories it is wrong to assume that everything he said was humorous. Over the years, the number of Nasreddin Hodja stories increased significantly since he was used as the main character in the newstories about other people. Among these, there are some that are easily recognized as not authentic Nasreddin Hodja stories. We can, therefore, say that Hodja and his stories were created by the natives of Anatolia in the 13th century, and the creation has lasted for centuries. Today, these stories belong to all Turkish people.

The themes of the stories cover not just the age when Nasreddin Hodja lived but also the adventures ofTurkish people over the centuries. As one of our writers said “Nasreddin Hodja is the only person who lived both before his birth and after his death. There are many historical and social personalities who kept on livingafter their death but the only person on earth who lived before his birth is Nasreddin Hodja.” Therefore, sociallife, the shortcomings of social life, differences between the ruling class and the common people, famines, thethousand faces of daily life, man to man, man to object, man to animal relations are the different themes of thestories and in all of these stories Nasreddin Hodja is a symbol.

Nasreddin Hodja stories were spread by word of mouth over a vast area mainly in the lands under the domain of the Ottoman Empire and the lands where Turkish was spoken. In certain countries, the Hodja character was almost his “twin brother” or a “competitor”, and in other countries only the name Nasreddin Hodja was modified in the stories. Today, Nasreddin Hodja stories are told in a vast geographic area extendingfrom East Turkmenistan to Hungary and from Southern Siberia to North Africa. The stories have beentranslated into many languages.

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~ On the Roof ~ Nasreddin Hodja’s old house had a leaking roof. One day the Hodja decided to fix it. He borrowed a ladder

and with great difficulty climbed up to the roof. Just as he was setting off to work, he heard a knock on the door.He looked down from the edge of the roof and saw a stranger in front of his door.

‘I am up here.’ Hodja shouted. When the man looked up, ‘What is it that you want?’ he asked him.‘Please come down,’ replied the man, ‘I have something to say to you.’Hodja precariously descended down the old ladder. Once on the ground he again asked the man what he

wanted.‘Alms,’ said the man, ‘could you spare some alms.’

Hodja thought for a second and then told the man to come up to the roof with him. Hodja in front, the beggar behind him, both running short on breath, climbed up the ladder. Once on the roof top, Hodja turned to the man and said, `I don’t have any.’

~ Cauldron ~ Nasreddin Hodja had borrowed a cauldron from his neighbour. When he didn’t return it for a long time,

the neighbour came knocking on the door. ‘Hodja Effendi, if you are finished with the cauldron could I take it back? The wife needs it today.’‘Ah, of course,’ Hodja said, ‘just wait here a minute and I’ll fetch it.’When Hodja came back to the door with the cauldron, the neighbour noticed that there was a small pot in it.‘What is this?’‘Well, neighbour, congratulations, your cauldron gave birth to a baby pot.’ said the Hodja.The neighbour, incredulous, yet delighted, thanked the Hodja, took his cauldron and the new little pot, and

went home. A few weeks after this incident, Hodja came again, asking to borrow the cauldron. The neighbour didn’t

even hesitate and lent Hodja the cauldron with pleasure. However, once more it was taking the Hodja forever to return it. The neighbour had no choice but to go asking for it again.

‘Hodja Effendi, are you done with the cauldron?’‘Ahh neighbour, ahh’ bemoaned Hodja, ‘I am afraid your cauldron is dead.’‘Hodja Effendi, that’s not possible, a cauldron cannot die!’ exclaimed the disbelieving neighbour. But

Nasreddin Hodja had his answer ready.`My dear fellow, you can believe that it can give birth, why can’t you believe that it can also die?’

~ Parrot ~ One day the Hodja was walking around in the marketplace. He saw a bright-coloured bird for sale for twelve

gold coins. Hodja was amazed. He approached the crowd gathered around the bird and its seller.‘How can a bird be so expensive?’ he asked the people watching the bird.‘This is a special bird,’ they explained, ‘it can talk like a human being!’ This gave Hodja an idea. He went

straight to his home, grabbed his turkey and brought it to the marketplace. He stood near the man selling the parrot.

‘Turkey, for sale, ten gold coins!’ he yelled.‘Hodja Effendi, how can a turkey be worth ten gold coins?’ the shoppers protested.‘There is a bird there for twelve gold.’ insisted the adamant Hodja.‘But Hodja Effendi, that bird can talk like a human being’, the people tried to reason. But Hodja was

unbending.‘And this turkey can think like a human being’, he countered.

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~ How To Ride a Donkey ~ One day Nasreddin Hodja and his young son were on their way to the market. The Hodja was riding his

donkey and his son was walking beside him. As they travelled, they heard a couple of villagers who happened to be passing by, speak disapprovingly about them.

`Look at our Hodja Effendi,’ one said to the other, `he is comfortably riding on his donkey and letting hislittle boy walk along. Shame on the Hodja for making the boy suffer like that!’ When Nasreddin Hodja heardthis, he wanted to rectify what was perceived as his selfishness. He put his son on the donkey and he started towalk beside. Shortly after, they met another couple of villagers.

`Look at the Hodja and his son!’ they said, `These are the times we are living in. A young boy is riding onthe donkey and his poor old father is sweating to keep the pace. Today’s children have no respect for their parents.’ Nasreddin Hodja found some reason in this comment and thought of another remedy. They both gotoff the donkey and started to walk beside it. A little while later, a group of villagers, also going to the market,approached the procession of the Hodja, the son and the donkey, all walking one after the other.

`This Hodja Effendi and his son have no minds, whatsoever.’ they whispered amongst themselves, `Theyare both beating on their feet and the donkey is strolling along. Don’t these people know what a donkey is for?’ Hodja heard this and thought they had a point. The solution was clear. Both he and his son sat on the donkey.As they continued their trip this way, thinking that they have finally complied with all the opinions of theirfellow villagers, they met another of their acquaintances. He was not very happy to see both the Hodja and the boy on a scrawny donkey.

`Hodja Effendi,’ he yelled, `don’t you know any mercy? How is this poor little animal supposed to carry twopeople? The donkey is also Allah’s creation, have some pity.’ Nasreddin Hodja agreed with this last remark aswell. What were they to do? He shouldered the front body of the donkey and his son took on the back part, and they carried the donkey to the marketplace.

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Revision Worksheet chapters 1–6

1. Match each of these words with its meaning by drawing a line. 1. crops a. dog’s foot 2. cheese b. a small town 3. whole c. happy 4. paw d. not deep 5. couple e. has no money 6. village f. food plant 7. jolly g. food made from milk 8. shallow h. with a space inside 9. poor i. two 10. hollow j. all

2. Make 2 small words from each longer word.

papernewsnewspaper

footprints

moonlit

shoemaker

workbench

upstairs

cupboard

nobody

sunshine

anything

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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3. Write the plurals.

donkey

calf

wolf

bird

life

4. Find pair of words that rhyme.

heat go heart root dead take grey pear beat try head part feel meal bear flute play fly sew break

beatheat

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Revision Worksheet chapters 7–121. Read the sentences below and say whether they are true (T) or false (F). 1. Dogs like to eat bones. 2. The wolf wanted to live at the farm with the dog. 3. Mr Webster invited the people from next door to his party. 4. Anthony did not say thank you to the pigeon. 5. The pigeon told Anthony Ant to bite the boy. 6. The donkey enjoyed working for the old man. 7. The donkey was not afraid of the invaders. 8. Old people often have grey hair.2. Arrange these words in alphabetical order. 1. plate, mug, spoon, knife, dish

2. crow, case, curtain, certain, come

3. chip, cheese, chase, choir, Christmas

4. hear, hard, heart, happy, hand

3. In each sentence, underline the correct word: 1. There was a big whole/hole in his shoe. 2. Nobody knows/nose where he lives. 3. The man road/rode along the road/rode on his donkey. 4. There are seven days in one week/weak. 5. The children looked after there/their rabbit. 6. The ants wanted to fined/find some food. 7. The chain made the dog’s neck sore/soar.

4. Write the plurals of the following words:

1. man ............ 2. child ............. 3. elf ............ 4. sheep ........... 5. book ..........

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Revision Worksheet chapters 13_18

1. Read the following words and put a ring round the letter that is silent in each of them:

calm thumb whistle knife

2. Change the first letter of any of the words below that you think should startwith a capital letter:

pakistan zainab dolphin mrs smith river egypt school gold christmas day

3. Write the plural of these words. 1. woman 2. ox 3. fox 4. cat 5. knife 6. hutch 7. book 8. fish

4. Write words that mean the opposite. 1. dark 2. young 3. cross 4. poor 5. unkind

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Final Revision Worksheet

1. Draw lines to match the person with the work they do. 1. drives a bus farmer 2. grows food teacher 3. takes photos actor 4. puts out fires photographer 5. teaches children bus driver 6. acts in plays fireman

2. Put the correct ‘ful’ word in the sentences. Choose from the list.

beautiful, cheerful, wonderful, dreadful, sorrowful

1. She was very ……………………….. when her dog died.

2. The prince wanted to marry the …………………………princess.

3. We all had fun at the ………………………..birthday party.

4. The old lady was very poor but she was always …………………………

5. Last night there was a ………………………..storm.

3. True or False? Write T for true and F for false. 1. Mr Plod wanted to catch 4 thieves. 2. Tommy Smith was a very lucky boy. 3. Tommy’s father would not talk to him. 4. All the ministers loved Birbal. 5. Emperor Akbar was angry when his son pulled his beard. 6. We do not remember everything that happens to us. 7. Nasreddin was travelling on a donkey. 8. Nasreddin was not hurt by the falling walnut. 9. Tariq did not share his gold with his friends.

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4. Write pairs of words that match

crow enough flower tune

tree slow sky bird

down soon storm word

night brown try warm

1. crow slow

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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