Janna Tiearney

ColourpointEducational

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Exercises in basic English for Key Stage 3

Watch out for the friendly faces that appear throughout this book. They will help you understand how each activity will improve your thinking skills and personal capabilities.

It’s time to read. Take time to look at the passage carefully, reflecting on the information and exploring the ideas. The words in bold are important, so try to memorise them.

It’s time to explore the text. Each reading passage will be followed by a comprehension activity designed to teach you how to manage information effectively.

It’s time to think about spelling. These activities will teach you useful strategies for dealing with difficult words, particularly those high frequency words which you use every day.

It’s time to improve your writing. Here you will learn how to talk about, plan and edit your work, as well as making your punctuation and grammar better.

It’s time to hone your thinking skills. Whether you are working in pairs or in groups, these activities will help you talk and listen more successfully. Discussions, roleplays and other exercises will improve your communication skills and expand your vocabulary.

It is time to be creative. These activities should encourage you to develop and express your own ideas using a variety of resources.

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ContentsUnit 1 The Stonecutter 6

Unit 2 Northern Ireland 15

Unit 3 Expectations 24

Unit 4 Fame 30

Unit 5 Wild 37

Unit 6 Appearances 44

Unit 7 Transport 52

Unit 8 Knowledge 60

Unit 9 Newspapers 66

Unit 10 Employment 73

Unit 11 Art 80

Unit 12 School 86

Unit 13 The Ocean 92

Unit 14 Advertising 99

Unit 15 Going Green 104

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A story from Japan

Once upon a time there was a stonecutter. Every day, he went to a great rock at the side of a majestic mountain. Here he cut out slabs to make gravestones or doorsteps. He was a careful and dedicated workman and he had many loyal customers. For a long time he was content and happy with his life.

Local people claimed that a spirit lived inside the mountain. It was said that every now and again the spirit appeared to working men. It helped them to become rich and prosperous. However, the stonecutter had never seen this spirit and he did not believe that it existed.

One day the stonecutter carried a slab of rock to the house of a rich man, and there he saw all kinds of wonderful things he had never seen before. He was mesmerised by the beauty of the rich man’s home. The rooms were full of lush furniture and golden ornaments. The walls were covered with elegant paintings. The garden was as big as a forest.

Surrounded by such wealth, the stonecutter could not help feeling sorry for himself. His work seemed to grow harder by the day. “If only I was rich and could sleep in a bed with silk sheets and fine cushions,” he sighed. “I would be happy if I had money.”

Suddenly, a voice answered, “Your wish is heard. And it is granted.”

The stonecutter looked around him, from left to right and over his shoulder, but he could not see anybody or anything. He thought it must have been his imagination, or maybe it was the sound of the wind through the tall trees.

After a hard day’s work, the stonecutter returned home. When he reached his house, he was amazed at what he saw. Instead of his wobbly, wooden hut was a stately palace. His tiny patch of ground had been replaced with a sprawling garden. The stonecutter entered the palace, and as he slowly moved from room to room he could scarcely take in the luxury around him: rugs, chairs, candlesticks, mirrors, lamps and statues. His house was even more splendid than the one that he had envied earlier that day.

The bed was the most spectacular of all. It was the size of a ship, and draped with the softest, warmest blankets. The stonecutter slept very well that night. He was full of joy and he soon forgot about his old life entirely.

The Stonecutter

• Listen to and respect the opinions of others.

• Say what you think about the topic.

Talking about wants and needs• What are your wants and needs?• Does everyone in the class have the same wants and needs as you?• What does this prove?

Reading fiction

The Stonecutter

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It was the beginning of the summer and the sun blazed fiercely in the sky. One morning the heat was so great that the stonecutter could hardly breathe. He was peeping through the closed blinds when he saw a carriage pass by. Inside the carriage sat a prince, and it was drawn by servants dressed in blue and silver. One of the servants held a fine umbrella over the prince’s head to protect him from the sun’s hot rays.

“If only I was a prince,” the stonecutter said to himself.

His wish was instantly granted. Servants dressed in scarlet and silver carried the stonecutter, while others held an umbrella above his head to shield him from the sun.

Yet, it was not enough. The stonecutter was still not satisfied. The sun was so hot that it scorched the ground beneath the carriage, withered grass and dried up streams. The stonecutter grew faint in the powerful heat.

“The sun is mightier than I am,” the stonecutter cried out angrily. “If only I was the sun and had its power then I would be happy.”

His wish was granted. The stonecutter felt proud of his power. He used it to scorch the earth below, and to beat down upon the workers in the fields beneath him.

In a short time, however, the stonecutter grew tired of being the sun. He was fed up throwing his beams down on earth, only to hear people complain that they were too warm. When a cloud covered his face and hid the earth from him, he cried out in anger, “How does the cloud stop my rays? Is it mightier than I am? I wish I was a cloud, and then I would be happy.”

Again, his wish was granted. As a cloud, the stonecutter lay between the sun and the earth. He prevented the sun’s most powerful beams from hitting the earth. To his joy, the earth became green, the grass grew lush and tall, and the flowers blossomed.

The stonecutter was still not satisfied. For days and weeks he poured down rain until the rivers overflowed and the fields were drowned with water. Towns were flooded and villages were washed away by the power of the rain. Only the great rock on the mountainside remained unmoved.

The cloud was amazed at the rock and how steadfast it was. He cried out in wonder, “If only I was a rock, then I would be happy.”

His final wish was granted. He stood proudly, and neither the heat of the sun nor the force of the rain could move him.

“This is the best!” said the rock.

One day the rock was jolted awake by a strange noise. He looked down to see a stonecutter driving tools into his surface. Each strike of the pickaxe sent a shudder through his body. The rock trembled as a great piece of stone broke off and fell to the ground with a thud. He cried out in fear, “Is a child of the earth mightier than I am? I wish I was a man!”

The stonecutter’s wish was granted. Once more, he worked hard, breaking his back with lifting his tools and carrying rocks. His bed was hard and his food was scarce, but he had learnt to be satisfied with what he had. He no longer wished to be somebody or something else. He never again longed for things he did not have, nor did he desire to be better than other people. He was happy at last, and he never heard the voice of the mountain spirit again.

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proSpErouS – successful or rich; mESmEriSEd – fascinated; STATELy – grand; ScorchEd – burned; wrATh – fierce anger; ToiLEd – worked; ScArcE – not enough, rare

Are there any other words you don’t understand? Write them down and look them up in a dictionary.

Working with others – Drama

Oral languagePair work: act out the story in pairs. One of you should be the stonecutter and the other

the mountain spirit.

• Decide who will play which role.

• Discuss the story and the roles before you act it out.

• Work together. Listen to each other’s ideas.

• Be aware of body language and tone of voice.

• Assess how you think you did by using the Traffic Light System.

Exploring the text

1. What is the occupation of the main character in the story?

2. Was he a popular worker? Quote from the story to support your answer.

3. What type of house did he live in when he was a stonecutter?

4. Why did he envy the rich man?

5. How did he notice the prince and his carriage?

6. Why was the stonecutter not happy with being a prince?

7. Why did he think the cloud was mightier than the sun?

8. What destruction did he cause while he was the sun

and a cloud?

9. What do you think a ‘child of the earth’ is?

10. When was the stonecutter happiest?

Time to think1. Why do you think it took a while for the stonecutter to hear the spirit?

2. What can we learn from this story?

3. How do you think this story would continue?

4. What would you have wished for? Give a reason for your choice.

OK

POOr

great

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5. Do you think the story has a good ending? Explain your answer.

6. If this story was set in Northern Ireland, which parts of it might be different?

7. What other things might the stone cutter have changed into?

8. Explain this saying: “Be careful what you wish for; it may just come true.”

9. Describe the difference between a want and a need.

10. Do you think people nowadays are too greedy? Explain your answer.

what other things might the stonecutter have changed into?

can you spell these words? Test yourself by covering the word, writing it and checking it!

WORD LIST

1. wonderful 6. instantly 11. Russia 16. America

2. thought 7. answered 12. Australia 17. Mexico

3. furniture 8. village 13. Germany 18. Hungary

4. beginning 9. strange 14. Switzerland 19. Argentina

5. fiercely 10. scarce 15. Egypt 20. Portugal

make sure you can spell these high frequency words. Get a friend to test you.BEFORE, LITTLE, WHICH, WOuLD, COuLD, ANOTHER, MOTHER, WHAT, FRIEND, PEOPLE

Answer these questions relating to the word list above.

1. Name five words where ‘g’ has a soft sound like ‘j’.

2. Write the first ten list words in alphabetical order.

3. Write the words that end with the first letter of the alphabet.

4. Name four words where ‘y’ has an ‘ee’ sound.

5. What are the silent letters in the words answered and thought?

6. Write two words where ‘c’ makes a soft sound like ‘s’.

7. Which word is in plural form?

8. Which word contains the last letter of the alphabet?

9. How many vowels are there in ‘America’?

10. Which list word is longest?

All that glitters is not gold

Spelling

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Spelling strategyBe aware of smaller words within words. This can help you with your spelling. When finding smaller words in words, do not jumble the letters around.

eg Switzerland contains the words land, it, and, an, wit

1. Find the smaller words contained within these list words:

a) furniture b) answered c) Germany d) Portugal e) instantly

2. which list words contain these words?

a) us b) age c) ran d) car e) me

3. Find a smaller word in each of these words. write another word that contains this word. For example, shallow contains the word all, which is contained in the word stall.

a) fourth b) mining c) threat d) potato e) pigeon

f) fast g) heart h) puppet i) slice j) soldier

4. write ten sentences, each containing one of the first ten list words.

rewrite this passage, adding capital letters, full stops and question marks.

do you know what a koi is it is a type of fish the word ‘koi’ comes from the japanese word meaning ‘carp’ the earliest records of koi have been found in china and japan koi are symbols of love and friendship in japan and tattoos of koi are traditionally considered lucky koi are closely related to goldfish and can be many different colours they have been introduced into every continent except antarctica unfortunately koi can cause damage to water and because of this danger to the environment they are illegal in many parts of america, south america and australia the full name for a koi fish is nishikigoi

Improving your writing – Punctuation

Sentences begin with capital letters. Capital letters are also used for names, places, titles, months, days of the week, special days, rivers, mountains etc.Sentences end with a full stop, exclamation mark or question mark.

eg My friend Diane lives in Enniskillen in County Fermanagh.What time is the film Spider-Man starting?Watch out! There’s a lion behind you!

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write out these sentences, putting commas in the correct places.

1. On my sandwich I put lettuce cheese tomato cucumber and salad cream.

2. After the zookeeper left the gorillas threw their bananas around the cage.

3. The teacher coughed spluttered sneezed and turned bright red.

4. I am wearing orange trousers a purple shirt a yellow jacket a green hat and a blue scarf.

5. Josh’s bike has been stolen so he cannot get to school.

6. Harry is eating an ice-cream covered in nuts syrup chocolate cream and mushroom sauce.

7. The members of the pop group were young good-looking talented and successful.

8. Fluffy my pet Rottweiler loves to nibble my ankles.

9. Mrs. Brown would you mind giving us only a little bit of homework?

10. Our neighbour Jenny Joop has cats pigs goats sheep dogs chickens and a cow in her garden.

Commas are used in a list. Do not use a comma before the word ‘and’.eg My bed is soft, comfortable, cosy, warm and all mine.Commas are used to show a pause in a sentence.

eg The wolf knocked at the door, but there was no answer.My Dad, who is capable of anything, can pick up an elephant.Mum, may I take the car for a spin?

rewrite this passage, adding capital letters, full stops and commas.

sumo wrestling is a contact sport where two wrestlers attempt to force one another out of a circular ring the sport originated in japan the sumo tradition is very ancient and even today includes many rituals professional sumo wrestlers are required to live together in ‘sumo stables’ known as heya in japanese all aspects of their daily lives are dictated by strict traditions including their meals their outfits their behaviour and their training sumo wrestlers have to grow their hair long to form a topknot and have to wear traditional japanese dress depending on their rank because of their heavy weight wrestlers can suffer from diabetes high blood pressure heart attacks liver problems and arthritis recently the importance of weight gain is becoming less strict in an effort to improve the overall health of the wrestlers

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Ask yourself these questions:

• what is going to happen in your story? Something needs to happen in a story.

• who is involved in the events?

• where is it going to happen?

• what are the beginning, middle and end of the story going to be?

• your story should be in a logical order or it will not make sense!

You do not have to use full sentences when writing a plan.

Being creative – Writing a planWhen you write a story or a poem, you should always plan it first. It is important to take a few moments to gather all of your thoughts on the page.

Doing this will help you avoid making mistakes later, or running out of ideas before your story is finished.

write a plan for a story in which you are granted one special wish. Be as imaginative as you want!

Here is a plan for the ‘The Stonecutter’ story:

What is going to happen? Stonecutter will be granted his wishes

Who is involved? Stonecutter / spirit of the mountain

Where is it going to happen? Japan, small village

Beginning Stonecutter is happy, then jealous of a rich man

Middle Stonecutter wishes for things he doesn’t have, wishes are granted, never satisfied

Ending back to being a man, stonecutter, happiness

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Connections to real lifedraw a spider diagram to show your wants and needs. Look at the example below. your diagram should be more detailed and have your name in the middle.

No homework Nice teachers

LasagnaEducation Food

Good schoolmilly molly

own room

Sheltercomfy bed

Support

double bed

Thinking Skills

Think: how does advertising make us want things that we may not really need? Look at these adverts and explain how they persuade us to buy these products.

IIIIII

• Each person in the group must have a chance to speak.

• Listen carefully to what others have to say.

• Share and discuss the topic.

• respect the views and opinions of others.

• As a group, come to a conclusion about the topic.

• do not be afraid to express yourself! your views are just as important as anyone else’s.

• The teacher will set a time limit.Includes MP3 Player, camera, alarm, memor y card, Bluetooth, e-mail and much more... A designer phone just for you!

Group work: discuss the wants and needs these people may have:

• A five-year-old child

• A famous pop star

• A teacher

• A sportsman / woman

MINI BurgerONly 99p

It’s back!

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The want want Twins

We are the Want Want Twins.We go from shop to shop.We are the Want Want Twins.We don’t know how to stop.One day it’s a bow and arrow.Another it’s a dinosaur.What are we going to get tomorrow?More. More. More.

We are the Want Want Twins.Our eyes sharp shiny pins.Our hands quick shark’s fins.We go from shop to shop.One day it’s the game Frustration.We don’t know what we need.Another its compensation.Greed. Greed. Greed.

We are the Want Want Twins.We’re completely over the top.We are the Want Want Twins.We don’t know how to stop.We send our parents every nightA list that goes like this:2 new bikes. Don’t be tight.X.X.X.

We are the Want Want Twins.Money grows on trees.We are the Want Want Twins.We are the bee’s knees.All we want is everything.We don’t know how to stop.We will be the Want Want Twins till weDrop drop drop.

Jackie Kay

Fun with language read and recite this poem.