3Learning Through Asian Folktales

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How to Teach This Book 4

Unit 1 The Proud Driver 11

Unit 2 An Expensive Head 17

Unit 3 The Sparrow with No Tail 23 Unit 4 No Strawberries in Winter 29

Unit 5 Paying Back Money 35

Unit 6 Clapping at the Table 41 Unit 7 The Daughter-in-Law and the Cuckoo 47 Unit 8 Three in the Morning and Four in the Evening 53 Unit 9 Oranges and Tangerines 59 Unit 10 Lady White and Lady Yellow 65

Reading Wise 3

Learning Through Asian Folktales Helen Kirkpatrick

ISBN: 978-1-59966-534-4 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 14 13 12 11

Content s

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Unit 11 The Cook 71 Unit 12 A Mother and Her Daughters 77

Unit 13 Sky High 83

Unit 14 The Magic Mirror 89

Unit 15 A Bad Memory 95

Unit 16 The Old Woman and the Doctor 101

Unit 17 A Boastful Man 107

Unit 18 The Girl and the Tiger 113

Unit 19 Racing Horses 119

Unit 20 A Dog Helps the Police 125

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Reading Wise is a reading series for high beginner and intermediate learners. The book consists of twenty units, each containing ten activities based on the main story of the unit. In particular, each unit includes a short story, a picture-based summary activity, a dialog based on the story for listening and speaking practice, and expansion activities. Expansion activities encourage students’ creative use of language by allowing them to express their own opinions and ideas.

The teacher should write the title of the unit on the board. Students should find a partner and look at the picture. Single partners are suggested for this activity so that students can help each other communicate without being nervous in front of the entire class.

Next, the teacher should go over the questions to make sure the students understand them. Pairs should then ask each other the questions and answer them. Students need NOT come to any consensus on the answers as the questions are designed to activate the students’ background knowledge related to the topic. If time allows, have some of the pairs share

answers to specific questions. Record useful related vocabulary on the board and discuss how the vocabulary may be related to the reading.

(5 min.)

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How to Teach This Boo k

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In this activity, simple sentences give context to key vocabulary that can be found in the story. It is important that students fully understand each vocabulary word or phrase. This section will give them synonyms to use, which will increase the depth of their language use.

Have students work individually to complete the exercise. They will match the underlined word to its meaning. When they are finished, have students check their answers with their partner. Review the answers as a class. While going through the list of words, ask the class to generate synonyms or antonyms that come to mind for each word. Having the class

generate new example sentences using the words will also reinforce the learning of new vocabulary items for students.

Students should read the passages silently for a few minutes. Ask students to underline any words they do not understand while they are reading. If there are, explain what the words mean.

Next, have students complete the “Understanding the Key Ideas” section. They should check their answers with a partner. If they do not agree, refer students to the reading passage again. They can circle the part that indicates the correct answer.

This section is meant to be a general review of the story.

(10 min.)

(5 min.)

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This section consists of various activities that practice grammatical structure.

The main purpose of this book is not to teach grammar, though it is important to point out key grammatical aspects while focusing on reading comprehension.

Each unit has a different grammar point that the “Language Focus” section covers, and teachers are encouraged to think of ways to make grammar points relevant and interesting. For example, if the section is about adjectives, the teacher can have students brainstorm about different adjectives, creating word bubbles around each word, and linking them to other synonyms.

This section gives teachers an opportunity to see if their students fully understand the passage. If they do not understand specific sections of the reading, the teacher should review difficult portions of the

text. Again, students should work alone to complete the questions and then work with a partner to check their answers.

Students should refer to specific places in the story to explain how they reached their answers if these words are too close together. Pointing this out to students makes them responsible for their own understanding and also helps them learn to skim material for information, which is an important skill in reading. It would also be helpful for students to draw a box around portions of the text that show the answers.

(5 min.)

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wonderful

amazing awesome

great excellent

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Each unit has a picture-story activity that allows students to retell the story in their own words with a bit of guidance. It would be best to have the students work with a partner to encourage them to talk about the story.

First, have students put the story in order, based on the pictures. Students may need to refer to the story to complete the exercise.

Next, have students use the words under each picture to create a full sentence. The words will give them a clue and also provide guidance for actually writing the sentences that explain the story. While answers may vary slightly, the activity is structured

so that students will have a lot of support in writing their sentences. As time allows, have volunteers write their sentences on the board to check.

Have students read the dialog related to the story. Students can make guesses as to the correct word to fill in each blank. Then play the audio recording of the dialog for the students to check and fill in any of the blanks that they could not guess previously.

For pronunciation practice, play the dialog again. Stop after each phrase or sentence and have students repeat what they heard. After this practice, students can work in pairs reciting the dialog together.

If there is time, the teacher can choose 2-4 pairs to perform the dialog. Seeing the story in live motion will make it more dynamic for students to

connect the reading to actual events. The more dramatic the acting, the more likely students will be to remember key elements of the story.

(5 min.)

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By the time students arrive at the summary section, they have already reviewed the story in three different ways: Reading Comprehension, Picture Story, and Act Out the Story. The Summary activity reinforces acquisition of the unit’s target vocabulary.

Students should complete the summary section on their own. After they complete the section, the teacher can choose students to read the sentences for the rest of the class, which allows them the opportunity to listen to the summary again, while also checking their answers.

This section is meant to provide students with an opportunity to expand on the lesson in a creative way. These exercises should be completed in small groups to encourage conversation. The teacher should place students into groups of 3-5. For most questions, the answers may vary among students.

Therefore, it would be best for teachers to monitor their students’ conversations.

Expansion Questions may ask students to share experiences, knowledge, or opinions related in some way to the unit theme. Once everyone has expressed their opinion, the group can choose one person to summarize their discussion for the entire class.

(5 min.)

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Another component that could help students acquire new vocabulary items would be to create a vocabulary log that students are responsible for and must keep throughout the entire course. Once the teacher reviews the words, students can keep a separate sheet with all of the vocabulary words listed on the left side.

Next, students would write the definition of the word. The teacher and students could then create an entirely new sentence, using the word in context. The process of writing and creating a new contextual sentence that has meaning for the student may make the word and definition easier to remember.

Vocabulary word Definition

Part of speech New sentence in context (Example)

Feathers Light, hair-like structures

noun Peacocks have beautiful and colorful feathers.

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Unit 1

Match each underlined word with its meaning.

1. A carriage was the main form of transportation • • a. a vehicle pulled by horses

before cars.

2. Kit noticed that her handbag was open. b. very surprised

Think about the following

questions, and discuss your answers with a partner.

1. Do big people and small people behave differently?

2. Do people with important jobs behave differently from those in other jobs? In what ways?

3. Should these people’s behavior be different? Why or why not?

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Choose the best answer.

1. What is the story about?

a. A king being polite b. A wife wanting to leave her husband c. Making someone behave better d. Driving a carriage

2. Why did Yan change the way he behaved?

The Proud Driver

O

nce, there was a big man called Yan. He got a job as a driver for the king. The king was a small man and was always polite. Although he was the most important man in the country, he never boasted.

One day, the king asked Yan to take him out in his carriage. The driver sat proudly at the front, shouting at the four horses to go faster. He yelled at people to get out of his way and felt very pleased with himself.

When he returned home that evening, his wife was upset. She said she was going to leave him. Yan was amazed and asked why. She explained, “The king is a very important man, but he isn’t proud. He’s always quiet and gentle. But you! You’re a very big man, but you shout at the horses and you’re rude to people. You think you’re as important as the king, but you’re

only his driver. That’s why I have decided to leave.”

The driver was so shocked that from then on, he started to behave better. The king noticed this change and made Yan his lead driver. Yan’s wife was happy with the change and stayed on with him.

01 01 Track

Reading Time _______ minutes _______ seconds 204 words

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1

^Unit

Choose the best preposition to complete each sentence.

1. Xu has always been afraid __________ the dark.

2. The children were very excited __________ their new dog.

3. Pat is very interested __________ sports.

4. France has always been famous __________ its good food.

asked offered

ordered asked

offered ordered

at about

for

Circle T for true or F for false.

1. At first, Yan thought he was as important as the king. T F 2. Yan’s wife left him to teach him a lesson. T F

Choose the best answer.

3. Who was the most important man in the country?

a. Yan b. The king

c. Yan’s wife d. The lead driver 4. Why was Yan’s wife upset?

a. She wanted Yan to be the king. b. She wanted Yan to be the lead driver.

c. She wanted Yan to act more like the king. d. She wanted Yan to make more money.

5. Why did the king make Yan his lead driver?

a. Yan begged for the job. b. The king noticed Yan’s wife.

c. Yan’s wife asked the governor for help. d. The king noticed Yan’s new attitude.

Choose the proverb that best fits the main idea of the story.

6. a. A closed mouth catches no flies. b. Don’t put the cart before the horse.

c. A jack of all trades is a master of none. d. It takes one to know one.

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B What did you say? Write about each picture using the given words and phrases.

1. ____________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________

A Number the pictures in the correct order according to the story. Then, talk about each picture.

Yan / going to leave / wife / home

rude to people /

shouted at horses / wife said

king noticed / lead driver / behaving better

quiet and gentle / important / wasn’t proud a

c

b

d

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1

^Unit

Fill in the blanks to complete the story.

The king was 1______________. His driver, Yan, was

2______________. He always shouted at the horses

3______________. When he 4______________ one night, his wife told him that she 5______________. Yan

6______________ this. His wife explained that he was not

7______________ the king. He was only a driver, but he

behaved as if he were the most 8______________ in the country.

Yan changed his attitude. When the king saw how different his

Fill in the blanks to complete the conversation.

promise a big am going to behave badly behave better drove the carriage leave lead driver very important notices

Driver (Loudly) What a good day I had today! I 1______________ so well!

Wife (Quietly) Oh, did you? Well, I saw and heard you today, and I didn’t like what I saw.

So I’ve decided something. I 2______________ leave you.

Driver (In amazement) 3______________ me? Why?

Wife Well, the king is not very tall, but he is a 4______________ man. However, he’s always humble and kind. He is also sensitive and 5______________ everything.

Driver So?

Wife You may be 6______________ man, but you’re always so proud of yourself and

7______________ around everyone. You’re only a carriage driver! So I’m going away.

Driver I’m very sorry. I 8______________ I won’t behave like that again.

Wife If you promise to 9______________, then I won’t leave you.

Driver (Days later) Do you know? I have just become the king’s 10______________!

Wife Good! Then I’ll stay.

Practice the conversation, changing roles with a partner.

lead driver a small man

attitude was a big man

important man to go faster

as important as returned home

hear

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Work with a partner. Choose one of the photos. Your partner will ask yes/no questions until he or she can guess your photo.

Example Q: Are people sitting in the carriage? A: No.

Q: Is the carriage black? A: Yes.