English Second Language

Grade

4
Re
ader

J Stielau

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 Published by Pearson Education Namibia (Pty) Ltd
Unit 7 Kingland Park, Nickel Street, Prosperita, Windhoek, Namibia
PO Box 6025, Ausspannplatz, Windhoek, Namibia

© Pearson Education Namibia (Pty) Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the publishers.

First published in 2015

ISBN 978 999 161 7534

Cover design by Mark Standley

Book design by Martingraphix
Edited by Jenny Neethling
Artwork by Karien Naude, Rassie Erasmus, Ruth Ehrke
Typesetting by Ink Design
Printed by

It is illegal to photocopy any page of this book without the written

permission of the copyright holder.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders. We, the publisher,
apologise for any errors or omissions, and invite copyright holders to
contact us if any have occurred, so that we can rectify them.

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 Contents
Unit 1 Unit 10
Home from School (poem) . . . 1 The Jungle in my Dreams
(poem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Unit 2
Unit 11
Our House and Home
(poem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Bird Brain (poem) . . . . . . . . . . 28
Unit 3 Unit 12
Good Morning! Good Morning! Too Close to the Sun
(play) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 (story) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Unit 4 Unit 13
Running from the Rooster Fun in the Sun (poem) . . . . . . 32
(story) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Unit 14
Unit 5
Rainy Days and Mondays
The Great Warrior (poem) . . . 12 (poem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Unit 6 Unit 15
Bob’s Best Friend (story) . . . . 13 Silus Stephanus Superstar
(story) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Unit 7
Unit 16
The Busy, Busy Bus Stop
(poem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Terrible Tiger (story) . . . . 39
Unit 8 Unit 17
Be Careful When You Cross Litter Monster (story) . . . . . . . 42
The Road (play) . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Unit 9
The B-A-B-Y (story) . . . . . . . . 22

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 Dear learner

Welcome to the Platinum English Second Language

Grade 4 Reader. We have included many interesting
texts for you to read. There are stories, interviews,
plays, poems, articles and comic strips for you to
choose from.
There are also activities for you to do to help you
understand the texts.
The words in bold in each text are explained in the
Glossary box on the page.
Enjoy your reading!
The authors

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 Contents
Unit 1 Unit 10
Home from School (poem) . . . 1 The Jungle in my Dreams
(poem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Unit 2
Unit 11
Our House and Home
(poem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Bird Brain (poem) . . . . . . . . . . 28
Unit 3 Unit 12
Good Morning! Good Morning! Too Close to the Sun
(play) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 (story) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Unit 4 Unit 13
Running from the Rooster Fun in the Sun (poem) . . . . . . 32
(story) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Unit 14
Unit 5
Rainy Days and Mondays
The Great Warrior (poem) . . . 12 (poem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Unit 6 Unit 15
Bob’s Best Friend (story) . . . . 13 Silus Stephanus Superstar
(story) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Unit 7
Unit 16
The Busy, Busy Bus Stop
(poem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Terrible Tiger (story) . . . . 39
Unit 8 Unit 17
Be Careful When You Cross Litter Monster (story) . . . . . . . 42
The Road (play) . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Unit 9
The B-A-B-Y (story) . . . . . . . . 22

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 Dear learner

Welcome to the Grade 4 Reader. We have included

many interesting texts for you to read. There are
stories, interviews, plays, poems, articles and comic
strips for you to choose from.
There are also activities for you to do to help you
understand the texts.
The words in bold in each text are explained in the
Glossary box on the page.
Enjoy your reading!
The authors

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 Unit 1

Home from School

I open the door
And what do I see?
Granny cooks chicken
And white pap for me.

I open the door

And what do I smell?
Chicken and cabbage
And hot tea, as well.

I open the door

And what do I hear?
Songs on the radio
Sing to my ear.

I open the door

And what do I feel?
The strong arms of Kuku
And love that is real!

Glossary
real – true

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 Unit 2

Our House and Home

First there was the land,
Nothing but empty sand.
Then we put up a wall,
And made the house grow tall.
Then we put in a door,
And a nice new floor,
And a window to see outside.
We made our house with pride.

Glossary
pride – feeling happy to
have done something good

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 A house is made of doors and windows.
Floors below and a roof above.
But a home is made of sisters and brothers,
Of fathers and mothers.
A house is the home
Of the people who live there,
The people we love.

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 Unit 3

This short play is about a family waking up in the

morning.

Good Morning! Good Morning!

Characters
Father Shikongo
Mother Shikongo
Abel Shikongo – a boy who likes to read in bed
(10 years old)
Selma Shikongo – a girl who likes boys (16 years old)
Sylvia Shikongo – a girl who likes sweets
(12 years old)

Setting
The play takes place in the Shikongo house.
The three children sit together near the front of the
stage. Each child has a blanket over his or her legs.
Abel holds a book in both hands. The girls sit up but
they are asleep.
Mother Shikongo stands in front of a large table
facing the audience. She is making food. There are
pots and spoons and bowls in front of her. She cooks
breakfast as she speaks.
Father Shikongo faces the audience. He stands in
front of a small table. On the table is a wash basin. He
is cleaning his teeth, washing his face and shaving as
he speaks.

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 (Sound effect) An alarm clock can be heard ringing off
stage: RRRRRRIIIING!
Mother: Good morning, children! Good morning Tate!
Father: Good morning, Mother. Are the children
awake?
Mother: Good morning, Abel! Are you awake?
Abel: (reading aloud and showing his teeth like a
lion) … and the lion with big teeth waited by
the rock. He watched the boys walk home in
the night … COMING MOTHER! ... (reading
aloud again) … the boys’ feet went pat, pat,
pat on the sand …
Father: Girls! Are you awake?
Sylvia: (She is asleep. She licks her lips and talks
slowly with her eyes closed.) Sweets.
Mmmmmm. Sweets are growing on trees.
Chocolates and ice cream … mmm.
Selma: (putting her face in her hand with her eyes
closed, but turning her head to watch the
boys in her dreams) And I am dreaming of
BOYS! Boys running on Sports Day and
waving at me!
Mother: Girls, are you awake? Abel, are you dressed?
Father: I am counting to ten, children, starting now.
ONE …!
Abel: (reading his book aloud, slowly, with big eyes)
… The boys talked and laughed. They did not
see the lion in the night … Glossary
YES, Mother! I have my waving – saying hello
socks on. with your hand in the air

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 Father: TWO …!
Selma: (talks slowly as she sleeps with her eyes closed
but speaks sweetly) Hello Paulus! Hel-lo Ben!
Thank you, Josia! I love you too, Simon!
Sylvia: (eats sweets with her eyes closed) Mmmmm
… I love chocolate, nice and sweet, this one,
that one, sweets to eat!
Father: THREE … FOUR …!
Mother: Don’t forget your English homework, Abel.
Father: FIVE …!
Abel: I won’t forget, Mother. (turning to his sisters)
Selma, wake up! Sylvia! SYLVIA!
Mother: Tell the girls to make their beds.
Father: SIX … don’t make me angry. I cannot be late!
Abel: (closing his book) Wake up, Selma! Hey,
Sylvia, get up! (Abel gets out of bed and
shakes Sylvia.)
Sylvia: (with eyes closed still dreaming while Abel
shakes her) Oh the wind is coming …
mmmm … sweets are falling from the tree.
Father: SEVEN …! If you are ready you can come in
the car.
Abel: (Abel shakes Selma.) Wake up, Father is
counting! We are in trouble.
Selma: (eyes closed still dreaming while Abel shakes
her, laughing playfully) Ooooh!
Petrus you naughty boy. Glossary
Don’t shake me like that! shake – move from
side to side

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 Father: (slowly) EIGHT … If you are late, you can
walk!
Abel: (standing behind the girls, shouting) WAKE
UP! (turns and shouts) The girls are coming!
Father: NINE …!
Abel: (turns back to the sleeping girls) Wake up!
THERE’S A LION IN THE HOUSE! ROARRRR!
Sylvia: (jumping out of bed screaming) Where?
What? A lion?
Selma: (jumping up and holding her sister) HELP!
LION! HELP!
Selma and Sylvia: How many lions?
Father: TEN!
Selma and Sylvia: (shouting) WHAT?
Father: (shouting back) I said TEN! TEN!
Selma and Sylvia: (The girls scream loudly.) Ten lions!
Father and Mother run to join the children at the front
of the stage.
Mother: Good morning, my family! (to Abel laughing)
And … good morning, Mr Lion.
All the children: Good morning, Mother! Good
morning, Father!
(Actors turn to face the audience and bow.)
All: Good morning! Good morning!
And have a good day!
We hope you enjoyed
Our good morning play!

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 Unit 4

Running from the Rooster

“Thank you for running
with me,” said Mark.
“Thank YOU!”
shouted Isaak, as he
waved goodbye. “I
hope we both run
fast at Sports Day
on Saturday.”
Isaak was worried.
He was not a big boy
and he was not a fast
runner.

There were many

other boys who ran
faster than him. They
had long legs and
they ran as fast as
the wind.
Isaak told his mother
that he was going to
practise running until
he was as fast as
the wind.

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 “You need to eat good food to give you energy, Isaak,” she
said. “Here is a big bowl of pap and sugar – that will help you to
run like the wind.”
Isaak smiled happily, but not for long.
“And you also need to eat eggs to make you strong, Isaak,”
said his mother. “Go and fetch some eggs.”
Isaak wanted to run like the wind but he did not want to fetch
the eggs. The large rooster who lived with the
Glossary
chickens chased him and he was frightened of beak – mouth of
that big bird and its sharp beak. a bird

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 That night, Isaak did not sleep well. He dreamed bad dreams.
He dreamed about Sports Day. The big red rooster chased him in
his dreams and, although he ran faster and faster, that terrible red
rooster was always there pecking his legs with its big beak.
“Ow! Ow! Ow!” shouted
Isaak and woke up.
On Saturday, Isaak and
his mother and father
went to the school.
Isaak was worried
because he was a
small boy with short
legs. He did not think
he would be able to run
very fast.
10

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 With his legs shaking, Isaak
stood in line to start the race.
The man starting the race
said, “On your marks!”
Isaak went down onto his
knees.
“Get set!”
Isaak went up onto his toes.
“GO!”
Suddenly Isaak was
running. He remembered the
dream about the big rooster pecking his legs and he ran faster and
faster. Isaak was running like the wind!
He came first in the race! The fastest Grade 4 boy in the school –
the winner!

11

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 Unit 5

The Great Warrior

With his shield and his spear,

My grandfather sings,
Of battles and victories,
Of great chiefs and kings.

His stories are better

Than TV and books.
I can see in his shadow
His brave fighting looks. Glossary
battles – fights
But I like it best with soldiers
When he puts me to bed, victories – winning
battles
And he sings me soft songs
brave – not scared
To put sleep in my head.

12

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 Unit 6

Bob’s Best Friend

Bob’s best friend has brown
eyes and a long tail and a
long pink tongue! Bella is
her name .

“Everyone should have a

friend like Bella,” said Bob .
“She chases bad people
away from my house . She
is brave and she barks .”

“Please can I have Bella?”

asked the police officer . “I
need a friend like that . I need
a friend to chase bad people .
I need a friend to tell me if
there is danger . I need a friend
like Bella .”

But Bob said, “Oh NO, you

can’t have Bella . She is my
friend for true . We’ll have
to find another dog to be a
friend for you .”

13

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 “Everyone should have a friend
like Bella,” said Bob . She is
loving and playful . She is my
baby . Everyone should have a
baby like Bella .
“Please can I have Bella?”
asked the nurse . “I need a
loving, playful baby . I need a
friend like Bella .”
But Bob said, “Oh NO, you can’t
have Bella . She is my friend for
true . We’ll have to find another
dog to be a friend for you .”

“Everyone should have a friend like Bella,”

said Bob . She waits at the door for me to
come home from work . She is
always happy to see me .
“Please can I have Bella?”
asked the firefighter . “I need a
friend when I come home from
work . I need a happy friend
like Bella .”
But Bob said, “Oh NO, you
can’t have Bella . She is my
friend for true . We’ll have to
find another dog to be a friend
for you .”

14

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 One day Bella had four little puppies. Bob was very happy.
“Now I have friends for everyone! I have a friend for you! If you
want a friend like Bella, please just say you do.”
“I want a friend like
Bella” said the police
officer, “Yes I do!”
“I want a friend like
Bella,” said the nurse.
“I want one too!”
“I want a friend like
Bella,” said the firefighter.
“Yes, I do!”
“Here is a dog for each of you – Friend One, Friend Two, Friend
Three. And the last little puppy will be another friend for me!”

15

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 Unit 7

The Busy, Busy Bus Stop

The busy, busy bus stop is full of fun and noise,
Men walking, women talking, laughing girls and boys:
“Hello!”
“How much?”
“Buy from me?”

The busy, busy bus stop is full of happy voices,

Babies crying, buyers buying, people making choices:
“No, thanks!” Glossary
“Yes, please!” choices – making decisions
“Ride with me!” about what to buy

16

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 17

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 Unit 8

This is a play for the whole class. The play is about

being careful when you cross the road.

Be Careful When You Cross The Road

Characters
Left side of Right side of
the road the road
(speaking) (speaking)
boys boys
girls girls
(miming) (miming)
a donkey a dog and a cat
a granny two soccer boys

Setting
This play can be read aloud in an open space such as
a school hall or an outside area.
The play takes place on a very busy road with people
standing on each side of the road.
Half the class, boys and girls, stand in a straight line
on the left.
Half the class, boys and girls, stand in a straight line
on the right.
There must be 25 big steps between the left side and
the right side. This is the “road”.
All the learners on the left must face the learners on
the right.
Use your Readers to read the different characters
in the play. Only the boys and girls characters speak.
18

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 Granny, Donkey and all the other characters are
miming – this means to act in silence with no words or
sounds.
Follow the speaking instructions in brackets carefully.
Left boys (This means only the boys on the left side
speak.)
All (This means all of the learners speak – left side and
right side together.)
Left side (This means girls and boys on the left side
speak.)

SCENE 1
Left side: (waving one hand in the air) Good morning,
over there! (hand down)
Right side: (waving one hand in the air) Good morning,
over there! (hand down)
Right boys: Look at this! What can we see? Who is
crossing?
Right girls: A little donkey!
(The donkey walks into the middle of the road and
begins to eat grass.)
Right side: (all looking to the left in fear) Here comes a
very fast … CAR! Look out!
Left side: OH be CAREFUL, donkey! You will be hurt.
You will be knocked down in the dirt.
All: Come back little donkey, Glossary
don’t cross the road. crossing – walking
from one side to the
(The donkey returns to the left side.) other side

19

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 SCENE 2
Left side: (waving one hand in the air) Hello
neighbour, how are you? (hand down)
Right side: (waving one hand in the air) I am well! Are
you well too? (hand down)
Left boys: Look at this! What can we see? Who is
crossing?
Left girls: A dog is chasing a cat!
(The dog chases the cat all over the road.)
Left side: (all looking to the right in fear) Here comes a
very fast … CAR! Look out!
Right side: Oh stop chasing dog and cat!
You will be run over FLAT!
All: Come back dog and cat, don’t cross the road.
SCENE 3
Left side: (waving one hand in the air) Hello! We are
happy to see you! (hand down)
Right side: (waving one hand in the air) Hello! We are
happy to see you, too! (hand down)
Right boys: Look at this! What can we see? Who is
crossing?
Right girls: It is Granny!
(Granny begins to cross the road very slowly.)
Right side: (all looking to the left in fear) Here comes a
very fast … BUS! Look out!
Left side: OH be CAREFUL, Granny! You are too slow.
The bus will come fast and DOWN you’ll go!
All: Come back Granny, don’t cross the road.
(Granny returns to the left side.)
20

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 SCENE 4
Left side: (waving one hand in the air) Hello
neighbour, how are you? (hand down)
Right side: (waving one hand in the air) I am well! Are
you well too? (hand down)
Left boys: Look at this! What can we see? Who is
crossing?
Left girls: Two young boys are crossing the road!
(Two boys pass a soccer ball to each other as they run
up and down the road.)
Left side: (all looking to the right in fear) Here comes a
very fast … TRUCK! Look out!
Right side: Watch out boys! Stop your play.
There’s a TRUCK coming your way!
All: Come back boys, don’t cross the road.
(The boys return to the right side.)
SCENE 5
Right side: Listen to us when we say,
A road is not a
place to play.
Left side:: Look at us, how safe we are.
We stay away
from trucks and cars.
All: (turning to face the front) ONE … TWO …
THREE … BE CAREFUL! THANK YOU!

21

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 Unit 9

The B‑A‑B‑Y
I was tired on Tuesday. At school we learned about fractions,
how to grow a bean and HIV/AIDS. Nobody asked me to play
soccer at break time. I sat alone at lunch time. I was lonely and
sad and I wanted to go home. Glossary
nobody – not one
But, when I opened the door I got a person
terrible surprise. alone – being lonely,
no friends

22

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 “What is THIS?” I asked my mother. Glossary
shook – moved
“This is a little baby,” she said. head from side to
“What!” side to say “No”.

“A baby,” she said. Then she spelled the word, “B‑A‑B‑Y.”

“Who …? Why …? Where …? Did you have a B‑A‑B‑Y while I
was at school?” I asked, feeling very angry. I could not even say
the word.
My mother shook her head. This was not our baby. She said
that the mother of the baby was very sick and we were going to
feed and care for the baby while the mother was in hospital.
“When is this B‑A‑B‑Y going back to her mother?” I asked. I
had no time for a baby.
“I don’t know,” my mother said. “Sit here with the baby. I am
going to make supper.”
Then she put the baby on the couch and left the room. I
was alone. A‑L‑O‑N‑E with a B‑A‑B‑Y. The B‑A‑B‑Y cried and
screamed, “Waaaaah! Waaaah! Waaaaah!”
I also wanted to cry. I put my hand on the B‑A‑B‑Y’s tummy
and said, “Shhhh! Shhhh! It’s okay!” To my surprise, the B‑A‑B‑Y
stopped crying. It opened its eyes and looked at me, then it
closed its eyes and went to sleep.

23

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 On Wednesday, the B-A-B-Y
was not happy . On Thursday,
I was not happy . On Friday,
the B-A-B-Y cried all night .
On Saturday, I was tired . On
Sunday, the B-A-B-Y was still not
H-A-P-P-Y . On Monday, I wished
the B-A-B-Y could go H-O-M-E!
I told no one at school about the nights when I could not
sleep . I told no one about the crying and the screaming and the
B-A-B-Y whose mother did not come . I was unhappy at school
and unhappy at home .

My mother was very happy when I came home from school

because I would rub the tummy of the B-A-B-Y and he would
stop crying and go to sleep, and my mother would sleep too .
Then my eyes would close and we all went to sleep .

Glossary
rub – touch softly

24

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 One day I came home from
school and my mother was
weeping .
“Is he sick?” I asked . “Are
you sick?”
My mother turned slowly
to look at me . Her eyes were
like swimming pools of tears .
“His mother is dead . She died in the hospital . She had AIDS .”
AIDS! We learned
about HIV/AIDS at
school . That was
bad . B-A-B-Y had
no mother now .
As if he knew,
B-A-B-Y woke up
and began to cry .

Then he stopped
crying . His face went
red and he pushed out
his tummy and OOOOF!
There was a terrible
smell!

Glossary
tears – water from our
eyes when we cry
woke up – stopped
sleeping

25

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 “We must give this
little man a clean
nappy .”
“Noooo!” I yelled .
“Don’t touch that
stuff! Maybe the baby
has AIDS! You will get
sick too!”
My mother put the baby down on the table . She said, “Did you
learn about AIDS at school? You mustn’t worry . At the hospital
the doctors made sure that this little baby did not get HIV/AIDS
from his mother . Babies make a lot of mess – they dribble, they
puke, they pee and they poo but none of that stuff can ever hurt
you . The only thing you must be careful of is blood, and babies
don’t often bleed .”
“Good,” “I said, “but even if he doesn’t have AIDS – I am NOT
going to touch THAT dirty nappy!”
“Your job is fetch me a clean one, then!” laughed my mother .
“Because now, you have a brother!”
A brother! I was not alone any more .
Glossary
stuff – a word used to mean anything
(in this case, the poo in the nappy)
mess – not clean
bleed – when blood comes out
nappy – what a baby wears to go to
the toilet

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 Unit 10

The Jungle in my Dreams

I dream of forests green and wet .
I dream of jungles green,
Where birds like jewels and butterflies
Like rainbows can be seen .

All night long behind my eyes,

The monkeys play and swing .
And small bright frogs like Christmas lights,
Crouch in cool leaves and sing .
Glossary
jewels – pretty things to wear (diamonds, gold, etc .)
rainbows – colours in the sky after rain
swing – to move quickly from tree to tree
crouch – to sit with arms and legs close to your body
cool – cold, in a nice way

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 Unit 11

Bird Brain
The animals in Africa were going to write a test
To see who had the biggest brain, to see who was the
best.
Giraffe said, “Look, my neck is long. I eat from any tree,
The winner of the biggest brain is definitely me!”
“I have the biggest brain,” said Rhino. “I am very
strong.
I’ll pass the test. I’ll get it right. The rest of you are
wrong.”
Big brain equals intelligence,” the laughing Zebra said.
“My brain is BIG, ENORMOUS, LARGE, right here inside
my head.”
Sad Eagle said, “I’ll fail the test, my neck is short not
long,
My head is small and unlike Rhino, I am not so strong.”
Glossary King Lion said, “This is the
brain – the part inside our test!” Into the air he threw
head which makes us clever
A tiny stone which went up
definitely – certainly, for
sure, correct and up into the sky so blue.
equals – is the same as, “The biggest brain will be the
means
one who gets that stone up
intelligence – clever
high.
threw – made the stone go
up To pass this test the clever one
tiny – very small will simply need to fly!”

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 Unit 12

Too Close to the Sun

This is the story of a bad boy who did not listen to his
father.
He got into trouble – big trouble.
“How big?” you ask.
I will tell you that it was very big trouble. Very, very
big trouble.
Why did he get into trouble? Did his father shout at
him? Did his father beat him with a stick? Did he hurt
himself? Did he die?
Read this story and find the answer!

The naughty boy was called Icarus. This is a Greek name and
we say it like this – ee‑ka‑riss.
His father was called Daedalus, which we say like this –
day‑da‑liss.
Icarus and Daedalus worked as builders for the King. One day
they made the King very angry and he put them into prison.
The prison was on an island. Around the island was the deep
blue water of the sea and the man and the boy could not swim.
The King locked them inside a tall building. Then he threw
away the key. They could never go home again.
Day after day, the man and
Glossary
the boy stood on top of the
trouble – have a problem
tall building and looked over builders – people who make houses
the sea to the land where prison – jail, a place to keep bad people
their home was. They were island – land with water all around
very sad.

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 “Father,” said Icarus, “Do you think we will go home again?”
The old man shook his head, “No, my boy. The sea is too deep
and our home is too far. We have no key to unlock the prison
door and we cannot swim.”
Icarus stood on the roof of the prison and looked over the sea.
The hot sun shone down on his head and on the wings of the
white birds flying above the sea.
“I wish I was a bird,” he said to his father, “then I could fly
across the sea and go home.”
Daedalus took a bird feather that lay on the roof.
He looked at the feather and said, “Mmmmmm …”
He lifted the feather above his head and said, “Ah‑ha!”
He smiled at the boy. “Yes, I have a plan,” he said. “Come
with me.”
They went inside the prison building. It was dark inside
because there were no windows.
Daedalus lit a candle. “Yes, I have a plan. A very good plan.”
Can you guess what Daedalus’ plan was?
“We are builders,” he told the boy. “We make things. We have
feathers from the birds. We have wax from the candles. What
can we make?”
Icarus looked at the feathers and remembered the birds flying

Glossary
unlock – open
roof – top of a house
or building
shone – made light by
the sun
lit – make a candle
burn with fire

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 over the sea . “I KNOW!” he shouted, feeling happy . “You are
going to make wings so we can fly like birds over the sea!”
“The candle wax melts and gets soft when it is hot, but when
it is cold it is hard and strong and we can glue the feathers
together .”
They made big, beautiful wings with wax and feathers .
“Now listen, Icarus” said his father, “these wings are made of
wax . What happens to wax when it gets hot?”
“It melts, Father . Wax gets soft and weak when it is hot .”
“Yes, Icarus, so you must NOT fly up to the sun! The sun will
melt the wax!”
But Icarus was a naughty boy . He was so happy to have those
wings that he did not listen to his father . The man and the boy
flew over the sea like birds . Icarus laughed . “I love the wind,
Father, Look at me!” he shouted as he flew high .
“ICARUS!” called Daedalus . “The sun … do not fly too high .”
Oh no! Too late . A feather floated down past
Daedalus . Then two feathers … and three …
and four . Soon it was raining feathers .
As Icarus flew close to the sun,
the wax on his wings was melting .
Icarus fell down,
down,
down,
down
into the sea like a stone .

Glossary
glue – join together

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 Unit 13

Fun in the Sun

Girls and boys come out to play
The sun is shining and it will stay
Come run and jump and dance and play
It’s good to get up once a day.

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 Unit 14

Rainy Days and Mondays

Rainy days and Mondays are a pain in the head.
My shoes get dirty from the wet, brown mud.
The road to school is a river in flood.
I wish I could stay warm and dry in my bed.

Rainy days and Mondays make me want to cry.

I get wet right to the inside of my bones.
My teeth chatter like rattling stones.
The glass on the window has tears in its eye.

Glossary
pain – sore
flood – lots of
water coming out
of a river into the
house
chatter – the
sound of teeth
hitting together
rattling – sound
of small stones
hitting together

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 Unit 15

Silas Stephanus Superstar

Silas Stephanus was not a happy chap. He was
not good at school work. He did not play soccer
for the school team and he did not like school.
Teachers said, “Silas, you are not working well,
my boy.”
Girls said, “Silas, have you heard the news? We
love Simon and Lukas and Jonas and Tu. We love
Salte and Bernard but no one loves you.”
At home, Tatekulu asked, “Silas, what is wrong?
How can you get a job when you are a big man if you have no
talent?”
Kuku shouted, “Silas! You
sing when you eat and you
smell your food. Silas, my
boy, you are very rude!”
Meme just looked sad,
“Silas, how can you look
after me when I grow old if
you have no money?”

Glossary
chap – boy
talent – special skill to make
money and get a job
rude – have no manners, badly
behaved

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 One day Silas Stephanus
came home from school feeling
happy. He had good news for
Meme.
“Meme,” he said, “I have got
talent. I am going to be a star!”
“A STAR!” said his mother in
surprise. She watched TV a lot
and read magazines all the time
so she knew many stars. “A
star?” she asked.
“Yes,” said Silas, “a real star
in a play that we are having at
school in December.”
Meme knew that stars were rich. They wore beautiful clothes
and lived in Hollywood, America. Stars drove BMW cars and ate
with knives and forks made of gold. If Silas Stephanus was going
to be a star, then Silas Stephanus was also going to be rich.
“What car will you buy, Silas?” she asked. “A BMW, a Ferrari
or a Mercedes?”
“Definitely a Ferrari!” said Silas Stephanus, smiling.
“Will you buy a house in London or New York or Cape Town,
Silas?” she asked.
“Definitely New York!” said Silas Stephanus,
Glossary
smiling.
rich – have a lot
Meme crossed her arms and hugged herself of money
and smiled from ear to ear. “Can I come and definitely – for
sure, “Yes”
live in New York with you?”
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 “Definitely!” said Silas Stephanus, smiling.
September came and September went. Meme dreamed big
dreams about her star, Silas Stephanus. “Movie stars have
beautiful hair and very white teeth,” she said.
October came and October went. Meme dreamed bigger
dreams for her star, Silas Stephanus. “Movie stars have beautiful
homes and big fat wallets,” she said.
November came and November went. Meme dreamed
the biggest dream of all for her star, Silas Stephanus. Silas
Stephanus will be a bigger star than any other movie star or
celebrity in Namibia, in Africa, in the world!
“Silas Stephanus, my son, “ she said, “will be a SUPERSTAR!”
Silas stayed at school
every afternoon to
practice for the play. He
did not tell Meme or Kuku
or Tatekulu about the play.
All he would say if anyone
asked is, “I am a star in
the play! A very big star!”
December came. It was
the night of the school
play. This was the most
important night of the
Glossary school year –the school
dreams – hopes and plans for the future play and prize giving.
wallets – purse, place to keep money
Meme was so excited that
superstar – big star, very well known,
celebrity she bought tickets for all

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 her friends and for Kuku and Tatekulu to come and watch Silas
Stephanus, the star of the school play.
Meme sat on a chair near the front of the stage. She wanted to
see Silas Stephanus, the star!
The play started.
It was a Christmas play. First the girls sang a song. Meme did
not see Silas Stephanus. He was not an angel in the play.
“Silas is not an angel. He is must be someone more
important,” she whispered to Kuku. “I think he will be Joseph.”
Joseph and Mary walked onto the stage. No! Silas Stephanus,
the star, was not Joseph.
There were shepherds and sheep but Silas Stephanus did
not come.
There were donkeys and cows but Silas Stephanus, did
not come.
Meme sat sadly in her chair.
Where was Silas Stephanus,
the star?
Her friends whispered to
each other and laughed with
their hands over their mouths.

Glossary
stage – place where a play is acted
shepherds – people who have
sheep
whispered – talked close to
someone’s ear

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 Where was Silas Stephanus, the star?
“Where is this big star you talk
about?” they asked.
Meme said nothing.
Suddenly, a drum began to beat and
the angel girls sang a new song.
Hear the drum! Hear the drum!
Coming from afar.
See the kings! Here they come.
Following a STAR!
Onto the stage, smiling and shining
in gold and silver walked Silas
Stephanus. He was a star! He was the Star of Bethlehem! The
angels sang their song and Silas Stephanus danced. All the
mothers and fathers watching the play clapped and shouted!
All the old people watching the play stamped their feet. All the
children watching the play stood on their chairs to see.
Silas Stephanus heard the angels
sing! Silas Stephanus heard the
feet going stamp, stamp. Silas
Stephanus heard the hands clapping
and then Silas Stephanus heard his
mother’s voice.
“Silas Stephanus you really are a
star! You are my SUPERSTAR!”

Glossary
beat – hit a drum
shining – making a lot of light
stamped – hit feet on the floor

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 Unit 16

The Terrible Tiger

In the village of Junipah, India, a terrible tiger had been a
problem for two years. In that time the tiger had made the
villagers very sad. The tiger had eaten:
27 chickens
2 cows
3 lambs
A pair of good shoes
worn by Mr PB Naidoo
A hat, also worn
by Mr PB Naidoo
And Mr PB Naidoo!
How happy they were
when, one day, they found
the tiger had been caught
in a trap. The tiger was
not happy. He roared “GRRRRR” and showed his sharp teeth.
“Grrrrr, get me out of here.”
A man who was walking in the forest heard the tiger roar.
“Ha-ha, tiger,” he laughed. The people in the village will be
happy to know this news.
“Come here,” called the tiger. “I Glossary
want to tell you something.” terrible – very bad
villagers – people who live in
“Oh no!” said the man. “You want
a small village/town
to eat me.” sharp – can cut like a knife

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 Glossary “My good friend,” said the tiger with a
syrup – sweet sugar
spread to put on bread
voice like syrup. “I will NOT eat you. But
foolish – not clever if you open this trap, I will walk with you
fair – right everywhere and I will be your friend.”
shade – a place to hide
from the hot sun The foolish man opened the trap and
out jumped the tiger. “Foolish man you
have no brains!” roared the tiger. “Now I
will EAT you!”
“But I helped you,” said the foolish man.” It
is not fair to eat someone who helped you!”
“I help people,” said the tiger, “I eat
monkeys who steal your bananas. I eat
buffalo that eat your maize, but people still
want to kill me. If you ask anyone in the
forest they will tell you that it is fair for me
to eat you. If you can find anyone who says
it is not fair, then I will not eat you.”
First, the man stopped at a big tree. He
said, “Tree, Tree can you see. I helped this
tiger but now he wants to eat me. Do you
think that is fair?”
The tree said, “Fair? I give fruit to people.
I give shade and firewood to people but
they cut me down. I think that it IS fair for
the tiger to eat you.”
Next the man saw a buffalo. “Buffalo, this
tiger wants to eat me and I helped him. Do
you think that is fair?”

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 The buffalo looked angry. “Yes, you foolish man, it IS right. I help
people by giving them milk and when I have no more milk they will
kill me and eat me. I think that it IS fair for the tiger to eat you.”
Next, the man saw a monkey. “Monkey,” he said, “I helped this
tiger get out of a trap and now he wants to eat me.”
The monkey said, “This tiger was not in a trap. This tiger was
too big for a trap.”
“No, it is true,”
said the tiger. “I
WAS in a trap. I will
show you.”
“How did you
get into the trap?”
asked the monkey.
“Like this!” said
the tiger and he
jumped into the
trap.
SNAP! CLAP!
BANG!
The man and the
monkey shut the
door of the trap.
The man and the
monkey laughed.
“Now, that is fair,”
they said.

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 Unit 17

I think we will
win the Smart
Street prize! The street is
looking good.

Litter
Monster

Who did this?

Oh no! All
our work … Let’s see who
it is tonight.

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 Look it is that
horrible man
dumping his litter.

You are losing

points in the Smart
Street Competition.

He is too lazy to
We must
walk to the right
stop him.
place to dump litter.

The litter I am sorry

We are using monster will someone is making
the litter to teach the lazy your streets dirty.
make a litter man a lesson.
monster statue!

Don’t worry, Meme!

We have a plan.

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 This street is beautiful.

It even has
some art – an
amazing statue!
We know we will win now!

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 Activities
Activity 1 (poem) “Home from School”
1. Talk about the title, “Home from School”. What
time do you come home from your school?
2. Answer the questions using the five senses
(seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting).
a) What can the boy see?
b) What can the boy smell?
c) What can the boy hear?
d) Who does he touch?
Poems and songs are divided into short groups of
words (like paragraphs) on the page.
“Home from school” has four verses.
3. Look at the poem, “Home from school”. If the
poem has four verses, tell your teacher how many
lines you can count in each verse.
a) What is the first line of the first verse?
b) What is the first line of the second verse and
the third verse?
c) Choose one of the options below to complete the
sentence: “Chicken and cabbage” is the _______.
A second line of the first verse
B third line of the second verse
C third line of the third verse
4. Choose one of the options below to finish this
statement. 
The poet says “I open the door” four
times because:
A He likes to open the door to his home.
B He is sad to be home.

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 Activity 2 (poem) “Our House and Home”
1. Many poems have words that rhyme. This
means the words have the same end sound. For
example: star/car; cat/fat; bed/red; bad/sad.
Look at the words that rhyme in the poem “Our
house and home”:
First there was the land,
Nothing but empty sand
Then we put up a wall
And made the house grow tall.
2. Which of the words in the poem rhyme with the
words below? Choose from these words:
people outside fathers floor 
brothers home below above
a) pride c) mothers
b) door d) love
3. Choose a rhyming word in brackets to make your
own poem.
Little star in the sky
I can see you up so (blue/high/tree).
You shine like a light
In the dark at (day/fish/night).
4. Can you think of any word to rhyme with cat
which starts with these letters?
a) f_ _
b) b _ _
c) s _ _

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 Activity 3 (play) “Good Morning! Good
Morning!”
1. Before reading and acting this play let’s talk about
getting up in the morning.
a) What time do you wake up in the morning?
b) Who is the first person awake in your home?
2. Setting is the word we use to tell the people
watching the play where the story takes place.
a) If you had to make a setting for a play about a
school classroom what five things would you
use from this list?
desks, chairs, tree, board, pots and pans, a fire for
cooking meat, a table, a bicycle, books, a street light

b) Name four things you would put on the stage

for a play that has a setting of a birthday
party.
3. People who act in the play are called actors. A
character is the part you will act.
Choose the correct word in brackets to answer the
questions.
a) Which character should be acted by a tall girl?
(Father/Mother/Abel)
b) Which character should be acted by a short
boy? (Father/Mother/Abel)
4. Follow acting directions.
tells characters what to do
Abel (reading aloud and showing his teeth like a lion)
… and the lion with big teeth waited by the words
rock. He watched the boys walk home in the to say
character
night … COMING MOTHER!
words to say very loudly
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 Activity 4 (story) “Running from the Rooster”
1. Answer questions about Sports Day.
a) Tell the class about a time when you won a
prize at Sports Day.
b) Which races are you good at on Sports Day?
c) Who is the fastest runner in your class?
2. Choose the correct option below to complete the
sentence.
Isaak was worried about Sports Day because ___.
a) he did not eat eggs
b) he was small and had little legs
c) the rooster would chase him at Sports Day
3. Summarise the story.
a) Write the sentence below in your exercise
book. Choose words from the word list to
complete the sentence.
rooster   fast   race
When Isaak started to run the ______ he thought
about the ______ chasing him and he ran ______.

Activity 5 (poem) “The Great Warrior”

1. Put your hand up if you like these stories:
Scary stories War stories Animal stories
Sports stories Love stories Bible stories
Which type of stories do most learners in your
class like?
2. Look at the picture. Choose the correct option
below to complete the sentence.
a) This poem is about ___.

A Grandfather who is a Herero warrior.

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 B Grandfather who tells stories about
warriors.

C Grandfather who is on the TV and radio and
in the newspaper.
b) Count how many shields and spears are in all
the pictures.
3. Talk about words.
a) Which words in the poem are about fighting
and being a warrior?
b) Why does Grandfather sing “soft songs”?
4. Draw a picture. Draw Grandfather’s shadow as if
he was telling a story about the following things.
Choose only one.
a) Playing music as a rock star.
b) Winning a team sport.

Activity 6 (story) “Bob’s Best Friend”

1. Read the story with a partner. One person reads
the black words and one person reads the blue
words.
2. Bob calls the puppies Friend One, Friend Two,
Friend Three and Friend Four. Can you think of
better names for each little puppy?
3. What makes a good friend? Read the story again
and complete this sentence choosing words from
the story.
Bob says that his friend Bella is _______, _______
and _______.

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 Activity 7 (poem) “The Busy, Busy Bus Stop”
1. Look at the picture.
a) If you were standing at the bus stop in the
picture what would you see, hear and smell?
b) How many yellow things can you name?
c) Let’s talk about people.
Who are the motorcyclists (people who ride
motorbikes)?
Who is the bus driver?
Who are passengers (people who want to ride
on the bus)?
2. Who is speaking? Look at the picture. Say which
person is saying these words.
a) “Hello!”
b) “How much?”
c) “Buy from me?”
d) “No thanks!”
e) “Ride with me!”
3. Words that rhyme have the same end sound.
a) Which word in the poem rhymes with “noise”?
b) Which word in the poem rhymes with
“voices”?

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 Activity 8 (play) “Be Careful When You Cross
The Road”
1. To mime means that you act with no speaking.
Can you mime these?
baby a person swimming
baby bird frog
2. When a group of people speak together in a play
we call it a chorus (kor-russ). This play has many
different chorus parts. Left boys is a chorus and
so is All. Look at page 19 and tell your teacher the
other chorus parts.
3. Without your teacher’s help, your class must go
outside and read the instructions on page 18. Read
and act the play. Your teacher will be watching and
assessing how well your class can make a play.
Can your class make a ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ play?
Teacher observation No Sometimes Yes
★
1 Class divided into two lines
2 Class faced each other
making a “road” between
the two sides
3 Each chorus group read its
lines correctly (Left boys/
Right girls, etc.)
4 Each chorus followed
directions (e.g. look left)
5 Mimed actors were good

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 Activity 9 (story) “The B-A-B-Y”
1. a) How did the boy feel at school that day?
happy  sad  excited  lonely  scared
Answer: lonely (He says “Nobody asked me to
play” and “ I sat alone” and “I was lonely”. We
also see that he is alone when he opens the door.)
b) How did he feel when he opened the door of his
home?
excited  angry  happy  sad  lonely
c) How did he feel when the baby cried “Waaaah!”
happy  sad  excited  lonely  scared
d) How did he feel at school when the baby was at
his home?
tired  angry  happy  sad  lonely
e) How did he feel when he heard that the baby’s
mother had died from AIDS?
tired  angry  excited  lonely  scared
f) How did he feel when he heard that the baby
was going to be his brother?
scared  angry  happy  sad  lonely
2. For each feeling word you chose in 1.a) to f), draw
a picture like the examples below.
a) lonely b) scared
3. Answer the questions about a baby in your home!
a) What is the best thing about having a baby in
your home? What is the worst thing?
b) What would be a good name for the B-A-B-Y in
this story?
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 Activity 10 (poem) “The Jungle in my
Dreams”
1. Looking at words.
a) What word in the poem means the same as
“jungle”?
b) On a hot day, what words in this poem would
be nice to read?
c) Name three things in the poem that have
beautiful colours.
2. Similes (we say sim-mill-eeze) are used in poems
when we say one thing is like another. In this
poem the poet (the writer) uses three similes.
Complete the similes by filling in the missing word.
a) Birds are like ______?
b) Butterflies are like ______?
c) Frogs are like ______?
3. Draw and colour a picture of a butterfly with
rainbow wings.
4. Write these similes in your exercise book.
ice lightning fire a mountain a tortoise a stick
a) Cold like _______ d) Fast like _______
b) Hot like _______ e) Thin like _______
c) Old like _______ f) Big like _______
5. Write your own poem.
a) Choose a word in brackets Clouds in the sky like
alongside to make a simile. (sheep/dogs/snakes)
Use rhyme to help you on a hill.
choose the word. When the wind stops,
b) Write your poem and draw they all stand
a picture. (still/up/alone).

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 Activity 11 (poem) “Bird Brain”
1. Which test would you do the best?
Singing a song by yourself. / Running one kilometre.
2. What is the poem about? Choose the sentence
that tells us the lesson (the moral) of the poem.
a) Birds can fly.
b) We are all talented (good at) at different things.
c) Birds have small brains.
3. What does this line from the poem mean?

Activity 12 (story) “Too Close to the Sun”

1. What do you think happened to Icarus after he fell
into the sea?
2. a) Discuss how you will solve the problems below.
b) You may only use the tools given. You do not
need to use all of the tools.
Problem Tools
You have to catch an elephant. chair, mirror, spoon, spade

Problem Tools
You have to get out of a deep hole. peanut butter, stick, bed, paper

3. When Icarus fell into the sea, we saw he was

falling because the words were written like this:
Icarus fell down, We can move words on
down, the page to show the
down, reader what is happening.
down
into the sea like a stone.

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 Activity 13 (poems) “Fun in the Sun”; “Rainy
Days and Mondays”
1. Answer questions about the weather.
a) Do you like sun or rain best? Why?
b) What do you like to do to have fun in the sun?
c) What do you like to do when it rains?
2. Talk about the pictures in the poems.
“Fun in the Sun”
a) What games are the children playing?
b) How do we know that the children are happy?
c) Is the weather hot or cold? How do you know?
“Rainy Days and Mondays”
d) Are all the people unhappy in the picture?
e) Which person wrote the poem?
f) Is the weather hot or cold? How do you know?
3. Look at words.
a) Draw the table below in your exercise book.
b) Write words from the two poems in the correct
place.
Happy words Sad words

Happy words Sad words

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 4. Do you like Mondays? Why or why not?
5. Why does the poet (the person who wrote this
poem) say that she does not like rainy days.
6. How do we know the poet is cold?
7. Choose one of the options below to say what this
sentence means: “The glass on the window has
tears in its eye.”
A The window is crying.
B The rain water on the window looks like tears.
C The glass is also sad.

Activity 14 (story) “Silas Stephanus

Superstar”
1. Talk about stars!
a) Who is your favourite TV star?
b) Who is your favourite sports star!
c) Have you ever been in a school play?
d) What TV show would you like to act in?
e) What are the two meanings of the word “star”?
f) What kind of star was Silas Stephanus?
g) What kind of star did Silas Stephanus’s mother
think he was? Was she right?
2. Can you remember?
Choose correct or incorrect
for each of the statements below to complete this
sentence.
Silas Stephanus’s Mother thought that
stars___.
a) drive BMW cars (correct/incorrect)
b) have white teeth (correct/incorrect)
c) are rich with fat wallets (correct/incorrect)
d) have many children (correct/incorrect)
e) live in New York or Cape Town
(correct/incorrect)
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 f) have many goats (correct/incorrect)
g) have knives and forks made of silver
(correct/incorrect)
h) have nice hats (correct/incorrect)
i) wear Rolex watches (correct/incorrect)
j) live in beautiful homes (correct/incorrect)
3. Answer the questions about Silas Stephanus, the
superstar.
a) Was his mother sad and disappointed when
she saw Silas Stephanus in the play?
b) What is a SUPERSTAR?

Activity 15 (story) “The Terrible Tiger”

1. Reading skills
a) Scan (read quickly) the story, “The terrible
tiger” to count how many times the word “fair”
appears in the story.
b) How many chickens did the tiger eat?
c) Was the setting of this story in Namibia?
d) Who was the most clever. Choose from the list
below:
man  tiger  tree  buffalo  monkey
2. Fair or not fair?
a) Tell your teacher about something that
happened to you that was not fair?
b) How did it make you feel? Angry? Sad?
c) What did the tree think was not fair?

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 3. Predicting the end of the story.
a) What do you think happened to the tiger after
he jumped back into the trap?
b) What did the monkey do?
c) What did the man say to the monkey?
d) What did the tiger say to the monkey?
e) Would it be fair to kill the tiger or to take him to
another place far away?
4. Draw a picture to show all of the following things.
a) The monkey sitting in a tree above the trap and
laughing.
b) The tiger jumping into the trap.
c) The man running to close the door of the trap.

Activity 16 (story) “Litter Monster”

1. A monster is a big bad thing – not a real animal
and not a person.
a) What do the girls use to build a monster?
b) How do the girls make the monster “talk”?
c) Why do they make a monster?
d) How do you feel when people drop their litter
outside your door?
e) Did the man drop litter in the day or at night?
How do you know?
f) Can you think of another way they could have
stopped the man from making their streets
dirty?
2. Picture stories are drawn on the page in frames.

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 1 2
I think we will
win the Smart Look it is that
Street prize! The street is horrible man
looking good. dumping his litter.

You are losing

points in the Smart
Street Competition.
Litter
Monster He is too lazy to
We must
walk to the right
stop him.
place to dump litter.

Who did this? The litter I am sorry

Oh no! All someone is making
We are using monster will
our work … Let’s see who your streets dirty.
the litter to teach the lazy
it is tonight. make a litter man a lesson.
monster statue!

Don’t worry, Meme!

We have a plan.

3 4

This street is beautiful.

It even has
some art – an
amazing statue!
We know we will win now!

a) How many frames are there in the story, “Litter

Monster”– 8, 12 or 16 frames?
b) Are there any words spoken in Words that are
Frame 3? Yes or No? spoken by people in a
picture story are inside
c) You can see a radio in which speech bubbles.
three frames?
3. Make your own picture story about When people in a picture
a monster. story are thinking, we
a) Your story must have four frames. readthought
their thoughts in a
bubble.
b) Your story must have two speech
bubbles and one thought bubble.
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