COMPREHENSION E

ENGLISH LANGUAGE JSS1 SECOND TERM

WEEK SIX

THEME: READING

COMPREHENSION

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE

Students should be able to;

1. Identify main and supporting ideas in the passage
2. Differentiate between main and supporting ideas in the passage
3. Answer questions are drawn from the passage

CONTENT

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow –

Nine thousand years ago, people did not have money. They traded animals for things they wanted. They traded crops for what they wanted In China, in about 1200 B.C., people traded shells for the things they wanted. Chinese people also traded metal tools for the things they wanted. For example, they traded metal knives and shovels for the things they wanted. Later in China, people made metal money. In about 100 B.C., the Chinese made money of animal skin. The first paper money was made from white-coloured deerskin. It came from China about 900 years later. In about 700 B.C., people made the first round metal coins. The coins were made of gold and silver. They looked very similar to the coins we use today. These coins came from Lydia. Lydia was located where the country called Turkey is located today. After people made coins in Lydia, people in Rome, Iran, and Greece also began making coins. Coins were very durable – they were strong and could last a long time without becoming damaged. Wampum is necklaces made from beads and seashells. The beads had holes in them. People put beads on strings. American Indians used wampum for money in the 1500s. Money changes with time. No matter what it looks like, money is an idea. It is the thought that people can trade something they have for something they want. Money makes trading easier.

1.  Before people had money, they traded…

A.crops for what they wanted.  B. animals for what they wanted.

C.metal tools for what they wanted.                  

D. All of the above

2. The first paper money was made in…

A.the year 1200 B.C. in China.                           

B. the year 700 B.C. in Lydia.

C.the year 800 A.D. in China.                             

D. the 1500’s in North America.

3) What was the first paper money made of?

A. Metal                      

B. Tree leaves                    

C. Animal skin                      

D. White shells

4) The first metal coins came from…

A.Iran                         

B. Lydia                              

C. Rome          

5) All money is based on the idea that…

A.gold and silver are good money.                          

B. people can trade what they have for what they want.

C.people can trade things for animals.                   

D. coins are the best kind of money.

THEME: WRITING

INFORMAL LETTERS

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE

Students should be able to;

1. Identify the format of an informal letter
2. Write an informal letter

CONTENT

What is an Informal letter?

An informal letter also referred to as a friendly letter, is a personal letter written to friends or relatives. It is written in a personal fashion. You can write it to anyone with whom you have a non-professional relationship, although this doesn't exclude business partners or workers whom you're friendly with either.

There are fewer formatting rules for informal letters than there are for business or formal letters. The letter can be used for some reasons like conveying message, news, giving advice, congratulate recipient, request information, asking questions, etc. It is a personal letter, written to whom you are familiar with, like friends, siblings, parents or any other closed one. While writing an informal letter, one can afford to be friendly, and make use of personal or emotional tone.

Format of Informal letter

There is no set format when writing an informal letter. But there is a general pattern, some conventions that people usually follow. We will be looking at this pattern and certain tips on how to write effective and attractive informal letters. These can act as guidelines when you are drafting a letter; they are not hard and fast rules. Let us begin.

1. Address

The first thing to write is your address, i.e. the address of the writer (basically, the sender’s address). We usually write the address on the left-hand side of the page at the very top. The address should be accurate and complete. Even when writing to close friends or relatives the address must be written, so they can reply back to the letter with ease. If the recipient of the letter is in another country, do not forget to write your country as well in the address.

2. Date

Next just below the address we write the date. This allows the reader to have a reference as to when the informal letter was written. He can then relate better to the contents of the letter. The date, preferably, should be in expanded form.

3. Greeting

Now since you know the person you are writing to, the greeting can be informal as well. If it is a friend or someone close to your age you can greet them by their first name, like “Dear Alex”. If you are writing to your relative like your mother/father/aunt/uncle etc, you may greet them as such, for example, “Dear Mom”. And if you are writing to an elder person, someone you respect greatly you can address them as Mr or Mrs. Like say for example you were writing a congratulatory letter to your teacher, it can be addressed as “Dear Mrs. Alex”.

4. Introductory Paragraph

And now we begin writing the actual letter. The introductory paragraph sets the tone for the whole letter. You might begin by asking the recipient about their well being. Or you may say that you hope the letter finds them in good health and great spirits. The opening of informal letters should be casual and comforting. It must not be formal and direct as in business letters.

5. Body of the Letter

The letter overall should maintain a friendly tone. But you have to adjust the language and the wordings according to who you are writing to. With a friend, you can afford to be very casual and flippant even. But if you are writing to an elder relative, you must be extremely respectful and considerate.

One way to determine the tonality of your letter is to remember how you talk to the person in a conversation. And then apply the same syntax and sentiments to the letter.

6. Conclusion

In the conclusive paragraph sum up the reason for writing the letter, i.e. summarize the letter. Say a meaningful and affectionate goodbye to the reader. And do not forget to invite the reader to write back or reply to your letter. It shows an intention to keep the conversation going.

7. Signature

There is no one way to sign off informal letters. Since they do not follow a strict format, you may sign off as you please. Some commonly used phrases are

Lots of Love

Best,

Best Wishes,

Kind Regards,

Kindly,

Pick the one that best suits the occasion and then simply signs your name below the greeting.

 Example

B-32, sector-11

Rohini

New Delhi-110034

July 10, 2018

 

Dear Muskan

My happiness knew no bounds when I got to know that you have topped your school and achieved your dream. I felt so pleased that I wish I were there to congratulate you personally.

The result has proved that hard work, determination and perseverance bring good results. You were so laborious and passionate about it. I know you were very nervous too, but I was always very confident that you would come out with flying colours. I apologise that I couldn’t even attend the celebration party despite my wishes.

Hope to see you soon. Please be encouraged and continue your hard work. Your future is very bright. My parents and elder sister have sent lots of love and heartiest congratulations.

With lots of love and best wishes.

Yours lovingly

Shefali

 

THEME: SPEECH WORK

CONSONANTS /k/ and /g/

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE

Students should be able to;

1. Listen and produce the consonants sounds
2. Identify the consonants in given sentences
3. Write own words where /k/ and /g/ occur

CONTENT

The K and hard G sounds are often studied as a pair because they are made in the same part of the mouth. They are both stop consonants, but the K sound is voiceless and the G sound is voiced. Let's learn how to pronounce these two consonant sounds.

How to pronounce the K and G sounds

The voiceless (unvoiced) K sound (IPA symbol: k) can be found in English words such as cat, kid, black, box, cake, quit, and chorus

The voiced G sound (IPA symbol: g) can be found in English words such as girl, go, egg, big, single, and dog.

The G consonant can also make a softer j sound that is found in words such as Germany and the gym (IPA symbol: dʒ). We will study this sound in a later lesson.

Both of these sounds are called stop consonants. That means the air used to make these sounds is stopped for a short time before it exits your mouth. Both of these sounds are produced by stopping air in the back part of your mouth. The back part of your tongue should touch the roof of your mouth in the back to briefly stop the air. You release the air to make these sounds. The force of the air is stronger for the K sound than the G sound. The G sound is voiced while the K sound is voiceless.

Voiced and voiceless sounds

In the English language, we use many voiced sounds. That means that the vocal cords vibrate when you say that sound. The G sound is a voiced sound because the vocal cords vibrate when you make the sound.

The K sound is a voiceless or unvoiced sound because the vocal cords do not vibrate when you make the sound. Instead, we use air to make the sound.

Below is a list of words that vary only by one ending with the sound /k/ and the other ending with the sound /g/.

Elementary

• back bag

Pre-Intermediate

• pick pig

Intermediate

• clock clog
• dock dog
• duck dug
• frock frog
• muck mug

Upper-Intermediate

• black blag
• block blog
• brick brig
• broke brogue
• buck bug
• crack crag
• dick dig
• jock jog
• lack lag
• leak league
• lock log
• luck lug
• pluck plug
• rack rag
• ruck rug
• sack sag
• smock smog
• snack snag
• tack tag

Advanced

• beck beg
• berk berg
• chuck chug
• cock cog
• flock flog
• hack hag
• hock hog
• jack jag
• knack nag
• prick prig
• puck pug
• shack shag
• slack slag
• snuck snug
• stack stag
• tuck tug
• whack wag
• wick wig

THEME: GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY

PREPOSITIONS

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE

Students should be able to:

1. Identify prepositions in sentences
2. Construct sentences with given prepositions

CONTENT

A preposition is a word or set of words that indicate the location (in, near, beside, on top of) or some other relationship between a noun or pronoun and other parts of the sentence (about, after, besides, instead of, in accordance with). A preposition isn't a preposition unless it goes with a related noun or pronoun, called the object of the preposition.

Examples:

• Let's meet before noon.

Before is a preposition; noon is its object.

• We've never met before.

There is no object; before is an adverb modifying met.

Rules with Prepositions

1. A preposition generally, but not always, goes before its noun or pronoun. One of the undying myths of English grammar is that you may not end a sentence with a preposition. But look at the first example that follows. No one should feel compelled to say or even write, That is something with which I cannot agree. Just do not use extra prepositions when the meaning is clear without them.

• Correct: That is something I cannot agree with.
• Correct: Where did you get this?
• Incorrect: Where did you get this at?
• Correct: How many of you can I depend on?
• Correct: Where did he go?
• Incorrect: Where did he go to?

2. The preposition like means "similar to" or "similarly to." It should be followed by an object of the preposition (noun, pronoun, noun phrase), not by a subject and verb. Rule of thumb: Avoid like when a verb is involved.

• Correct:

You look like your mother.

That is, you look similar to her. (Mother is the object of the preposition like.)

• Incorrect:

You look like your mother does.

(Avoid like with noun + verb.)

3. Instead of like, use as, as if, as though, or the way when following a comparison with a subject and verb.

• Correct: You look the way your mother does.
• Incorrect: Do as I ask. (No one would say Do similarly to I ask.)
• Correct: Do as I ask.
• Incorrect: You look like you're angry.
• Correct: You look as if you're angry. (OR as though)

Some speakers and writers, to avoid embarrassment, use as when they mean like. The following incorrect sentence came from a grammar guide:

• Incorrect: They are considered as any other English words.
• Correct: They are considered as any other English words would be.
• Correct: They are considered to be like any other English words.

Remember: like means "similar to" or "similarly to"; as means "in the same manner that." Rule of thumb: Do not use as unless there is a verb involved.

• Incorrect: I, like most people, try to use good grammar.
• Correct: I, like most people, try to use good grammar.
• Correct: I, as most people do, try to use good grammar.

4. The preposition should never be used in place of the helping verb have.

• Correct: I should have done it.
• Incorrect: I should have done it.

5. Use into rather than in to express motion toward something. Use in to tell the location.

• Correct: I swam in the pool.
• Correct: I walked into the house.
• Correct: I looked into the matter.
• Incorrect: I dived in the water.
• Correct: I dived into the water.
• Incorrect: Throw it in the trash.
• Correct: Throw it into the trash

THEME: LITERATURE

POETRY 4

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE

Students should be able to;

1. Read a selected poem
2. Explain the meaning of the poem
3. Identify the language of the poem
4. Write a simple poem

CONTENT

HOMELESS NOT HOPELESS BY SOLA OWONIBI

We are the natives of the street

holed-up under bridges

we are necessary

we are part of our existence

major fragments of the globe

as the day chameleons tonight

you slump in the warmth of your beds

and the heat of loved ones

we also embrace the cosy

cardboard beds laid on stinks

as the night injects us with a cool breeze

and endurance.

We sleep and dream

And have conferences with

the indigenes of the elusive world

when it’s the day, in a bundle

we pack our belongings

and move on with our days

standing, kneeling and bending

to beg for alms just for the day

a necessary part of your society

translators of our dreams

carriers of our burdens

Angels, we open gates

Of your blessings

We are the lack

That take your lack

We are homeless, not hopeless

This makes us rile at hereafter

when death opens the gate

to the second phase.

Analysis

This simple poem by Sola Owonibi focuses on homeless people, their plight and significance in society. In every society, there are people of different societal strata. We have the upper, middle and lower classes. The poet’s Nigerian society is not egalitarian. We have the rich and the poor. In such a society, there is always a chasm between the poor and the rich. On a universal scale, the privileged and the underprivileged have no meeting point.

In this regard, Sola Owonibi, through Homeless not Hopeless, has brought to the fore the plight of the underprivileged people in the society, their significance and indispensable role in building and sustaining the society. With that, Owonibi is trying to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich with the aim of having a class-free society.

The poet believes these lowly set of people in the society are also human and so they should not be stigmatised or alienated because of their inferior or poor economic status. The poem, in other words, gives us detailed imagery of the lives of lowly people, their struggles to make meaning out of life and their high hopes for a bright future. Despite their economic and social deprivation, these common people in society exude high hopes. Their expectations and faith in the future seem not to be limited by the fact that they sleep under bridges. They declare their necessity and value! They do not let their society and present unpalatable condition dictate their hopes and aspirations for the future: “We are homeless, not hopeless”.

The poet-persona in the poem is one of the homeless people in the community. He is the voice speaking on behalf of the common men in the last stratum of society. The poem makes use of the first-person narrative to show that the poet-speaker is a direct participant in the events highlighted in the poem.

He begins, “We are natives of the street”. Instead of calling themselves homeless people, the persona prefers the euphemism, “natives of the street”. This is because they live, work and survive in the street. Their lives revolve around the street. Although they are “holed-up under bridges”, they assert their humanity and necessity: “We are necessary/ We are part of your existence”. The persona is calling for the integration of the downtrodden and underprivileged people in society. Despite the fact that they are not heard in the society they belong to being “major fragments of the globe”, they are still part of our existence.

The poet takes us through the plight of these common people and their disgusting way of life. The poet-persona begins with their experience under the bridges at night. The privileged people “slump in the warmth” of their bed, in their comfortable homes, besides their “loved ones while the unprivileged ones “embrace the cozy cardboard beds laid on stinks”. This radiates a mental picture of homeless people who are suffering immensely. Instead of beds, they sleep on cardboards laid on the stench.

Yet, they sleep comfortably “with cool breeze and endurance”. Life shows no love or kindness to them but they do see the need to endure. Their hopes are high. As they sleep, they “have conferences with indigenes of the elusive world”. The indigenes of the elusive world are the rich people in society. The rich people seem elusive to the poor because there is no connection between them. Their world is miles apart from the poor’. The rich live separately, do business together and socialise with one another. They are not accessible to the poor except there are menial jobs. So, there is no regular relationship between the rich and the poor.

The only avenue that connects the poet-persona and his deprived colleagues to the rich is through their dream. In their dream, they “have conferences with” the high and mighty in society. This alone symbolizes the hope that one day, they too will be rich and move up the social ladder in order to commune with the rich in the real world.