Learning goals:
Learning some vocabulary related to books and stories
Reading a story
Recognising some of the language typically used in a story
Enriching vocabulary by providing more descriptive alternatives
Introduction and practice of using phrases for introducing a discussion, changing the subject, returning to the point and giving examples
Keywords novel, fiction, non-fiction, chapter, setting, characters, plot, classic gazing, tedious, faceless , shimmered, glimmered, punctuated, hazy, misplaced, towering, attendants flimsy (adj), aircraft hangar (n), ritual
(n), horizon (n), clank (v), swarm (v), varnish (n), rhythm (n), hairpin bends
(n), mumble (v), fade (v)
Looking at synonyms
The Practice 3 screen asks students to identify words from the story that have the same meaning as a set of listed words.
In English, when there is another word/phrase with the same meaning as an original word/phrase, we call it a synonym, e.g. big/large , cold/chilly , cruel/mean . Any part of speech (e.g. nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc) can have synonyms. Learning synonyms is a good way for students to expand their vocabulary range and improve their writing skills. Using a variety of words makes for more interesting reading than if the same word was repeated continuously. However, students need to be aware that sometimes a word/phrase cannot be replaced exactly with its synonym because it might not be used in the same context in a particular sentence as the original word.
Using a thesaurus
The word thesaurus is from a Greek word meaning treasure and that is exactly what a thesaurus is; a treasure of words. Whereas a dictionary contains words and their definitions, a thesaurus is a book that contains words and lists of their synonyms. The word lists can be arranged alphabetically or they might be arranged based on similar themes/concepts. A thesaurus is a useful reference book for when students are looking for synonyms to express their ideas more descriptively and effectively.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Key:
1 novel – a book containing along story about made-up (or partly made-up) people and events
2 fiction
– books and stories about made-up people and events
3 non-fiction – books and writing about facts, real people and real events
4 chapter – a section of a book (usually with a number and title)
5 setting
– the place where the events of a story happen
6 characters
– the people in a story
7 plot
– the main events of a story, and how they are linked together
8 classic
– a book, film, play or TV programme that is very good and has been popular for a long time
Ask students to match the words with their definitions. Then go around the class and ask each student in turn:
What kind of books do you like reading?
Do you have a favourite book? What is it? What is it about?
Encourage students to give reasons for their answers.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Key:
Correct order:
Drove through a desert
Passengers on the bus got excited
Arrived in the capital city
Arrived at the bus station
Took a taxi
Arrived in city centre
Hit another car
Arrived at Hostal Roma
Tell students to read the story and put the events in order.
Extension : Put students in small groups. Tell them to talk about any interesting or unusual journeys that they (or someone they know) have
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

made. Get them to tell the group about it in story style.
Monitor and feed in ideas if necessary.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Key:
1 F 2 T 3 F 4 T 5 F 6 T 7 T 8 F
Tell students to read and choose True or False.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Extension : Exploit the screen by asking students to correct the false statements.
1 F
The journey took three days.
3 F
The writer was arriving at the holiday destination.
5 F
The bus station was in the suburbs.
8 F
The writer was travelling with a companion,
Steve.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Key:
1 c 2 a 3 b 4 a 5 b 6 c 7 a 8 b
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Ask students to read and choose the correct answer.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Key:
Part 1
1 hazy
2 punctuated
3 gazing
4 shimmered and glimmered
5 attendants
6 tedious, faceless (appearance)
7 towering
8 misplaced
Part 2
1 ritual (n)
2 rhythm (n)
3 hairpin bends (n)
4 horizon (n)
5 aircraft hangar (n)
6 swarm (v)
7 clank (v)
8 mumble (v)
9 flimsy (adj)
10 fade (v)
11 varnish (n)
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Tell students to read the text and find examples of words that have similar meanings to the words in the left column. Then ask them to match the definitions with the words.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Key:
Time expressions to introduce events
Since lunch,
After three days on a bus,
Forty tedious minutes later,
Just moments later,
Time expression to introduce a sudden change
Quite unexpectedly,
Time expression to show something is coming to an end
Eventually,
Reporting what somebody said
A slightly officious young man announced that they wouldn’t be opening the gates again till all the luggage had been claimed.
The driver told us to stay in the car.
Ask students to read and match the phrases with what they are used for.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Audio:
A: Let’s start by talking about the setting. Where do you think the story was set?
B: Well, the first part of it was on a bus, and then later in a bus station and then a taxi…
A: And where did it end?
B: It ended with them arriving in a hostel in the centre of a capital city – don’t you love big cities?
I do. My favourite city in the whole world is…
A: OK, so let’s go back to what we were discussing earlier and talk about where it ended.
Where do you think the city was?
B: Well, there were a few things that made it sound like it could be Spain or South America.
For example, ‘Hostal Roma’ sounds like it could be Spanish, or maybe Italian, so an Italian or
Spanish-speaking country. Do you speak Italian?
I us ed to, but I haven’t spoken much lately. It’s easy to lose it if …
A: If I could just move on to talk about the characters…
Key:
Part 1
Correct order
1 Let’s start by talking about the setting. Where do you think the story was set?
2 Well, the first part of it was on a bus, and then later in a bus station and then a taxi …
3 And where did it end?
4 It ended with them arriving in a hostel in the centre of a capital city
– don’t you love big cities?
I do. My favourite city in the whole world is …
5 OK, so let’s go back to what we were discussing earlier and talk about where it ended. Where do you think the city was?
6 Well, there were a few things that made it sound
Tell students to listen to a discussion about the story. Then ask them to put the dialogue in order.
Now get them to choose the right answers.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

like it could be Spain or South America. For example, ‘Hostal Roma’ sounds like it could be
Spanish, or maybe Italian, so an Italian or
Spanish-speaking country. Do you speak Italian?
I used to, but I haven’t spoken much lately. It’s easy to lose it if …
7 If I could just move on to talk about the characters …
Part 2
1 Let’s start by talking about
2 OK, so let’s go back to what we were discussing earlier
3 If I could just move on to talk about
4 For example
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Key:
Students’ own answers.
This is a ‘free practice’ stage. The aim is personalisation. Give students the following instructions:
Now it's your turn. Work in pairs. Take it in turns to talk about the story. One of you should try to keep changing the subject. The other should try to return to the point then move on to the next point.
Use the prompts to help you.
Extension : Put students in pairs and give out a copy of the Handout . Tell students to think of a popular book (or movie) and make notes in the handout. Then get them to read their information to the class and ask them to guess which book/movie they are talking about.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide

Genre
Setting
Main characters/heroes
Main characters/villains
Plot outline
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide