1
1
R
a) Draw a circle around the 2 circles.
b) Write your age in the square.
c) Draw a broken line from D to R.
d) Write your initial below the rectangle.
e) Write the opposite of ‘Yes” above the square.
f) Write a three-letter word on line 1
g) Draw a small triangle inside the big triangle
h) Write the sum of 12 and 11 on line 2.
i) Write the date today in the upper right corner of the
box.
j) Draw a vertical line down the middle of the
rectangle.
55
2. Test on expressing reactions and feelings.
Complete these open-ended lines to come up with your feelings
about man’s disregard for nature.
a. Personally, I feel that we ______ nature.
b. I think that ______________________.
c. After all, we all know that___________.
d. We should ______________________.
e. In this way we can say that _________.
IV. Assignment:
A. Present your outputs next week.
1. Mock trial “Mother Earth VS Man: Trial of the Century”
2. Writing group project.
LISTENING
TEXT 1
Have you heard about the fish kill that took place in Bolinao, Pangasinan?
Imagine, a lot of fish died- they suffocated to death. And who was responsible for
this?
We, the people of this town. We put up so may fish pens in the area. And with so
much
fish in the pens, they competed with the other plant life in the water. Soon there
was
not enough oxygen for them. They died.
Text 2
One of the animals found only in our country is the Philippine Eagle. It is a
monkey-eating eagle, a big eagle that swoops down to the forests below and lifts
upward monkeys that serve as its food. It helps keep the balance of nature by
preventing the monkey population from becoming too big. Sad to say, the
Philippine
eagle is an endangered specie. They are shot down by hunters. Fortunately,
lovers of
nature have called attention to the plight of the Philipine eagle. Laws have been
passed
to protect it and drives have been launched to raise money for the conservation
of the
place where the eagles live.
Text 3
A copper mining company has been operating for many years now in Mindoro, a
province rich in copper. For a time, this meant extra income for the community
because
of the jobs it offered to the people there. But after a while, problems cropped up.
The
washing from the mine flowed down and found its way into the nearby river. The
lead
56
and copper filings in the washings killed the fish, the villagers’ means of
livelihood.
Even the fishermen who fished in the river were affected. Sores that would not
heal
covered their legs. Children who swam in the polluted river got sick and died. The
citizens pointed to the mine as the cause of the problem.
Sample Lesson Plan
Second Year
QUARTER 1 LEARNING TO KNOW
Week 6 Using information technology to learn
OBJECTIVES:
1. Point out that listening strategies should suit the listening texts and tasks
2. Identify the speech event, the source, and objectives of messages heard
over technological gadgets that spread information
3. Give information and express opinions, feelings and attitudes
4. Express opinions, ideas and feelings using modals
5. Pick out words whose meaning differs from the other words in a group
6. Single out similarities highlighted in a text
7. Arrange in an outline the information obtained from a text
8. Transcode information into information maps
9. Assess and react to contrasting views on the Filipino psyche presented in
different genres (an essay and a poem)
Subject Matter
Titles
1. “Pliant Like the Bamboo”
by: I V. Mallari
2. “Man of Earth”
by: A Daquio
3. “The Wonder Machine”
by: L. Poole
References
1. English in Progress pp. 230-232
2. Frontiers of Science, pp. 34-35
Instructional Aids
1. Pictures
2. Charts/pentel pen
3. Strips of paper
57
Procedure
A. Preparation
1. Establishing linkage with the themes of the preceding weeks.
In week 1 we focused on “The Wealth of Knowledge” we can
avail of. In week 2 the thrust was on “Learning to Learn” so
that we can make use of the wealth of knowledge available to
us. In weeks 3, 4 and 5 we looked at how we can learn from
our experiences, from others and events. This week, we
examine how we might use technology to learn even as we
review other sources of knowledge: experiences, other
people and events
2. Motivation
a. Will you mention some examples of information
technology that we are enjoying at the present time. Use the
diagram below. (Note: Some expected answers are given in
parenthesis)
(computer)
radio (cell phones)
(telephones
(television)
b. Look at this picture. What form of information technology is enjoyed by
the secretary? How do these forms help her in her job?
B. Presentation
1. Listen to some pre-recorded remarks heard over those gadgets. Identify the
gadget and the objective of the message. Enter your answers in this grid
Information
Technology
Message No. Source Objective
58
Listening Text
Note: You may choose to tape authentic texts similar to these or you may say
these
texts aloud at normal speed pausing after each item to give the students time to
enter their answers in the grid.
1. Thank you from BPI. If you want to know your balance press D. If you want
to pay your bills dial 1. If you need operator assistance dial 2.
2. Your computer cannot communicate with your printer. Use your Printer User’s
Guide.
3. This is Station DZBB operating under License No.. . .
4. This is CNN World News bringing to you breaking news worldwide. Stay tuned
for Business News.
5. Please load paper on the paper tray.
Speaking/
Structure
2. Divide the students into several groups with each group assigned a particular
technological tool used to spread information. They are to discuss these
questions in their respective groups for presentation to the class later on.
Tools or Gadgets
a. television c. cell phones e. print media
b. radio d. computer
Questions to Answer Sentence Patterns to Use
1) What sort of information 1. With the (gadget) we can
can you get from that gadget or medium? ___________________
2) What should we bear in mind concerning 2. We have to ___________
the use of those sources of information
3. What are some undesirable 3. It is possible that ______
things we might encounter in the use (might) ______________
of those gadgets?
4. What might be done in such a case? 4. We could ___________
3. Have the group discuss the kind of listening they should employ concerning
these items aired
59
C. Development
Pre-reading 1. Of all the information technology tools which one to you is the
most
significant to date? Why do you say so?
2. Clearance of difficulties
a. Give the meaning of the underlined words. Write your answers on the boxes
found after each sentence.
1. The computer is an all round tool.
2. It can simulate your habits.
3. It feeds relevant information.
b. Answer these questions.
1. What do you do when you keep tab on anniversaries? Do you keep track
of them or do you keep celebrating them?
2. What does mean in the expression a mean game of chess signify? Does
it signify “to stand for” or “difficult” or “cruel”?
3. When you say the computer can be programmed, does it mean “it can
come up with a program of activities” or “it can be made to do some task”?
4. When you say “thumbs its magnetic memory” do you mean, “goes
through,” “asks a lift” or “shows it is okay”?
5. When you confront someone did you “follow him” or “challenge him”?
c. Read the selection below. Find out why it is called “The Wonder Machine”.
VSE
ITE
RLD
60
THE WONDER MACHINE
In today’s world the computer is the all-round, all-powerful tool. It runs factories,
plans cities, teaches children, and even forecasts the future.
In the home, you can program the computer to keep tab on family anniversaries
such as birthdays, weddings, or deaths. You can also depend upon it to make
out
grocery lists, plan family budgets, prepare and compute income tax return, and
even
play a mean game of chess for you and your family’s entertainment.
If you take a vacation trip, the computer can be set to water your lawn and turn
on and off the light to make it appear as if you were home. And, if someone
knocks on
the front door or rings the back door buzzer, the computer can also be
programmed to
bark like a hundred-pound German shepherd. In fact it can be set to simulate
your athome
habits.
In a computerized hospital, the computer attends to your needs and comfort as a
patient. In the admissions office, the computer is fed with data about your case. It
searches its memory for your records of previous visits. It orders standard blood
tests
and other laboratory tests necessary for your particular case. It also assigns you
to a
room. It interprets your electrocardiograms. These are complex waveforms that
are the
pictorial representations of the electric potential produced by the contractions of
your
heart.
By feeding in the relevant information such as your blood pressure, weight,
temperature, age, sex, and the symptoms of your illness, your attending or
examining
physician seeks the advice of the computer in much the same way as he would a
medical consultant. The computer thumbs its magnetic memory and supplies all
the
diseases that might explain your symptoms.
Then it offers the treatment. For his part, your doctor is free to accept or put
aside
the computer’s advice. If your doctor feels that the computer has failed to
mention a
particular disease as a possible explanation for your symptoms, he may confront
the
computer with his observations or findings.
“Why,” he can ask the computer, “didn’t you conclude such and such diseases as
possibilities”? The computer gives its reasons for omitting the possibility.
The computer rightly deserves its name as the “wonder machine of science and
technology ” It is indeed solving in milliseconds the problems which would take
years to
solve. It is helping mankind gain an understanding of the farthest reaches of
space and
the depths of the oceans. And scientists are hopeful that the computer may yet
lead
man to an understanding of the mystery of life and death and of his own being.
While it is admitted that the computer is one powerful tool that can do many
things, there is nothing mysterious about it compared to a human being. It is,
after all, a
61
man-made, man manned tool. Without man, there could be no computer. Without
man,
the computer could not work. Whatever danger, therefore, from the computer lies
not
within the machine itself but within man himself - its inventor and master!
Questions to Ask Patterns to Use
Note: The words in parenthesis may be replaced
1. How can this wonder machine 1. It can (provide the information we need)
develop and be successful?
2.What should be done so we may 2. We should/must/have to (learn how to use
enjoy the benefits of this it)
machine?
Here are the modals you have been using to express your opinions. Put a check
mark on the column that tells you the additional meaning expressed by these
modals.
Reading/Writing: Organize in an outline the information presented in the text.
“The Wonder Machine”
I. Characteristics of a computer as a tool
A. _____________________________
B. _____________________________
II. Uses of the Computer
A. At home
1. ____________________________
2. ____________________________
3. ____________________________
4. ____________________________
5. ____________________________
Additional Meaning Signaled
MODALS Ability Possibility Obligation
1. can
2. could
3. may
4. might
5. should
6. must
7. have to
62
B. In computerized hospital
1. ____________________________
2. ____________________________
3. ____________________________
4. ____________________________
5. ____________________________
III. Reasons for its being a “wonder machine”
A.
B.
D. Enrichment
1. Establishing a tie-up between this week’s thrust and the thrust of the preceding
weeks (Weeks 3,4, and 5)
While it is true that we can use information technology to get information, let us
not forget the sources of information especially about ourselves, namely,
recalling
and reflecting on the past experiences as a people, on what others say and on
events we go through.
Here are two selections, an essay and a poem that show contrasting reactions to
information about ourselves as a people. Which of these two reactions do you
accept?
2. Taking up the essay “Pliant Like the Bamboo” by I.V. Mallari
a) Motivation
1) If you were given a chance to become a tree what would you want to be?
Here are five suggested trees (bamboo, narra, coconut, balete, acacia)
2) Have students pair off and explain why they prefer to be that kind of tree.
b) Vocabulary
You will find 6 boxes containing 4 words. Encircle the word which you think
should not be kept in each drawer.
Box A Box B Box C
a. yields
b. bends
c. bow
d. stood fast
a. rude
b. cruel
c. benevolent
d. relentless
a. robust
b. gave way
c. strong
d. sturdy
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Box D Box E
c). Selection 1
PLIANT LIKE THE BAMBOO
(I. V. Mallari)
There is a story in Philippine folklore about a mango tree and a bamboo tree.
Not being able to agree as to which was strongest of the two, they called upon
the wind
to make the decision.
The winds blew its hardest. The mango tree stood fast. It would not yield. It
knew it was strong and sturdy. It would not sway. It was too proud. It was too
sure of
itself. But finally its roots gave way, and it tumbled down.
The bamboo tree was wiser. It knew it was not as robust as the mango tree.
And so every time the wind blew, it bent its head gracefully. It made loud
protests, but it
let the winds have its way. When finally the wind got tired of blowing, the bamboo
tree
still stood in all its beauty and grace.
The Filipino is like the bamboo. He knows that he is not strong enough to
withstand the onslaughts of superior forces. And so he yields. He bends his head
gracefully with many loud protests.
And he has survived. The Spaniards came and dominated him for more than
three hundred years. And when the Spaniards left, the Filipinos still stood – only
much
richer in experience and culture.
The Americans took the place of the Spaniards. They used more subtle means
of winning over the Filipinos who embraced the American way of life more readily
than
the Spaniards’ vague promise of the hereafter.
Then the Japanese came like a storm, like a plague of locusts, like a pestilence
rude, relentless and cruel. The Filipino learned to bow his head low to
“cooperate” with
the Japanese in their “holy mission of establishing the Co-Prosperity Sphere.”
The
Filipino had only hate and contempt for the Japanese, but he learned to smile
sweetly at
them and to thank them graciously for their “benevolence and magnanimity.”
And now that the Americans have come back and driven away the Japanese,
those Filipinos who profited most from cooperating with the Japanese have been
a. stoop
b. carry on
c. pliant
d. flexibility
a. onslaughts
b. vicissitudes
c. angry blasts
d magnanimity
a. embrace
b. welcome
c. protest
d. cooperate
64
loudest in their protestations of innocence. Everything is as if the Japanese had
never
been in the Philippines.
For the Filipino will welcome any kind of life that the gods offer him. That is why
he is contented, happy and at peace. The sad plight of other peoples of the world
is not
his. To him, as to that ancient Oriental poet, the past is already a dream and
tomorrow
is only a vision but today, well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of
happiness and
every tomorrow, a vision of hope. In like manner, the Filipino regards vicissitudes
of
fortune as the bamboo tree regards the angry blasts of the blustering wind.
The Filipino is eminently suited to his romantic role. He is slender and wiry. He
is nimble and graceful in his movements. His voice is soft, and he has the gift of
languages. In what other place in the world can you find people who can carry on
a
fluent conversation in at least three languages?
This gift is another means by which the Filipino has managed to survive. There
is no insurmountable barrier between him and any of the people who have come
to live
with him – Spanish, Americans, Japanese. The foreigners do not have to learn
his
language. He easily manages to master theirs.
Verily, the Filipino is like the bamboo tree. In its grace, in its ability to adjust itself
to the peculiar and inexplicable whims to fate, the bamboo tree is his expressive
and
symbolic national tree. It will have to be, not the molave nor the narra, but the
bamboo.
Questions to answers
1. What dominant characters of the Filipinos are compared to those of a
bamboo?
Can you name some?
2. How does a Filipino face the changes of life?
3. Using the overlapping map, make a comparison between a bamboo and a
Filipino.
4. Taking up the poem “Man of Earth” by A. Daguio
Bamboo
Filipino
65
MAN OF EARTH
Amador T. Daguio
Pliant is the bamboo,
I am a man of earth;
They say that from the bamboo
We had our first birth.
Am I of the body,
Or of the green leaf?
Do I have to whisper
My every sin and grief?
If the wind passes by
Must I stoop and try
To measure fully
My flexibility?
I might have been the bamboo,
But I will be a man.
Bend me then, O Lord,
Bend me if you can.
E. After You Read
Answer the following questions.
1. Which two words in the first stanza suggest an origin?
2. Which two words in Stanza 3 suggest the same meaning as pliant
in Stanza 1?
3. Which word in Stanza 4 also suggests the same meaning as pliant?
4. What do the underline modals in these lines suggest?
a. Do I have to whisper
My every sin and grief?
b. Must I stoop and try
To measure fully
c. I might have been the bamboo
But I will be a man,
d. Bend me if you can.
B . The ideas of a reading piece are linked one to another to form a
web of some sort. Complete the sketch below which shows the
relationship of the ideas expressed in the poem. Use the questions that
follow as your guide. The numbers in the sketch correspond to the
numbers of the questions.
1. What two origins of man are indicated in Stanza 1?
66
2. What two possible parts could he have come from if he originated
from a tree?
3. What qualities would he have and what would he do if he came
from those parts?
4. What kind of man would these make him?
5. What qualities would he have and what would he do if he were the
other sort of man?
6. What kind of man would these make him?
7. What transformation is hinted at?
8. Do you agree with the poet’s observation?
9. Whose stand do you subscribe to regarding the Filipino psychethat
of Daguio or of Mallari?
10. Do you find any wrong statements made by Mallari? Point them
out.
225
33
6
4
77
Core Question
What two origin of
man are indicated in
Stanza 1?
Man of the
From the From the
Man of ----
67
F. Closure
How much have you learned?
How well have you learned the ideas and skills developed/presented in these
lessons. Please put a check mark on the column or your preference.
Skills/Ideas Very much Much To some
extent
Very little Not at all
1.Identify the speech
event the source and
objective of a
listening text
2. Express opinions,
feelings and attitudes
using modals
3.Pick out words
whose meaning
differs from other
words in a group
4. Single out
similarities
highlighted in a text
5. Arrange
information in a three
step outline
6. Transcode
information into
information map
7. Assess and react
to contrasting views
Evaluation
1. Fill the blanks in this dialog with the missing modals
A. Our teacher gives difficult assignments in Biology.
B. Don’t worry, we ___________ do it right away. We _____ visit the library.
A. When? This project ______ be submitted tomorrow. How ______ we meet the
deadline?
B. If you want to finish it by tomorrow, we _____________ use a computer. This
device _____ give information on so many things.
A. Really! That is a wonderful machine.
68
2. Look for a partner. Make your own dialogue using the modals. Use the
situation
below. Present it in class.
Situation
Assignment (For week 7)
A. Vocabulary
Read the following sentences carefully and take note of the underlined words.
Encircle the words in each sentence that will help you get the meaning of the
underlined words. Then give the meaning of each vocabulary word or
expression.
(Note to the Teacher: The clues are in italics.)
1. The whole family stared and marveled at the books which differed from all
other
books they had seen before.
2. The fact that the books would cost them so much became a cause for
depression.
3. The boy took his father’s instructions to heart so he studied very well and
never
played truant.
4. The boy diligently did his work, carefully and conscientiously reading his book.
B. Motivation Pre reading
Here are two lines from the selection you will read. From these sentences, guess
what the selection is about. (Note: teacher reads aloud the following lines.)
“An official proclamation had been issued in the city to the effect that unless a
boy
six years of age is sent to school, some adult in the family will have to go to jail.”
You and your friend at are your
home. It is midnight you hear a
noise. You discuss the noise:
What may/might/must can be the
cause? What should be done?
69
The boy’s father discharged a day laborer. The teacher marked the boy’s
absence
in the record book at school.
C. Assignment
1. Read “A Country Boy Quits School” by Lao Hsiang and find out if your guess is
correct.
2. Read up or interview an authority about the Philippine Law on compulsory
education. Be able to compare it with the proclamation mentioned in the story.
Sample Lesson Plan
Second Year
QUARTER 1 LEARNING TO KNOW
Week 7 An Analytical Learner
I. OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the week, the students should be able to:
1. state the importance of education in meeting the needs of an individual,
the role it plays in improving the quality of his life
2. assess the relevance of what they learn in school to their development as
individuals;
3. identify the characteristics of a satire;
4. a. give the meaning of vocabulary words through the use of contextual
clues e.g. synonyms, collocation, etc.
b. use expressions signaling personal opinions
e.g. I think . . ., In my opinion . . . . , etc.
5. distinguish facts from opinions expressed in a given text:
6. use noun clauses correctly in expressing opinions and taking a stand
about a problem or an issue:
7 write a letter to the school paper editor asking for action that will
address a current school problem or issue
8. present facts and opinions and the ideas supporting them in table
form
9. point out the importance of voicing out one’s opinions and becoming
instrumental to instituting positive changes in the community
10. Discuss the reactions of characters in a selection
70
I. Subject Matter
A. Selections
1. “A Country Boy Quits School” by Lao Hsiang
2. An Excerpt From The 2002 Curriculum, Sept. 6, 2001
3. “Unwise DECS Curriculum Merger Plan” by Antonio Calipjo Go
(Letters to the Editor, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Nov. 2, 2001.)
B. Function: Expressing opinions/Taking a stand
Form: Noun clauses in complex sentences
Output: A letter to the school paper editor
C. Instructional Aids
Newspapers from which current problems and issues may be identified
(To be provided by the teacher)
D. References
Laurente, Felipe T. 1976. Insights 2. Quezon City: JMC Press
Tayao, Ma. Lourdes G. et.al. 1999. Meeting My Needs for English II
Quezon City: Rex Printing Company Inc.
Weiner, Harvey S. and Charles Bazerman. 1991. Basic Reading Skills
Handbook (2nd Ed). Boston: Houghton Miffin Company.
E. Evaluation
Writing a letter to the editor stating one’s opinions and stand on a school
issue or problem using noun clauses in complex sentences
II. Procedure
Literature
A. Preparation
Were you able to guess what the story is about based on the two lines I
read to you yesterday? How did the title help you make the correct guess?
Let us check if you can recall some of the details about the story you read.
Check-up quiz (N.B. Expected answers are enclosed in parenthesis.)
1. How old was the country boy? (9 years old)
2. At what age were the children required to go to school? (6 & above)
3. How many books did the boy bring home on his first day in school?
(8)
4. How much did the book cost? ($1.20)
5-6 What were the first two lessons in the reader book?
(This is mama and This is papa)
7. What things did the teacher say the book contained?
(make- believe things)
8. What did the boy and some of his classmates decide to hold? (a tea
party)
9. Who among the boy’s relatives got so upset about the book’s
leaving out comments about grandparents?
71
10. What was the final decision of the boy’s father? (have the boy stop
going to school)
Motivation
1. In your notebook, list down at least three problems in your school.
2. Rank them in a scale of 1 to 3 where 1 is the most serious and 3 is
the least serious problem.
3. Pair off. In 5 minutes, share your answers with your partner and
explain to him/her your ranking
Speaking
B. Development
Activity 1. Group Discussion
1. Let us divide the class into 6 groups with each group representing
a particular character in the story
2. In 10 minutes, discuss with your groupmates the character’s
reaction/s to the proclamation as well as the lessons and activities
the students had in school. (By drawing lots, the teacher will
assign these roles: grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, the
boy and the other schoolchildren as one, and the relatives of the
schoolchildren also as one. Instruct students to assign specific
roles to each group member, e.g. facilitator, recorder,
summarizer, reporter, artist, etc.
3. Record the proceedings of your group discussion in the form of
reaction map. Do this on a Manila paper
e.g.
Reaction Character Reaction
#1#2
action 1 action 1
action 2, etc action 2, etc.
Legend:
Character - the target character
Reaction - a descriptive word or phrase specifying the
character’s behavior or feeling
Action - a phrase of brief statement stating an action taken as
an effect or a reaction
72
Speaking/Listening
Activity 2. Group presentation
Present your group output to the class.
(Instruct students to listen carefully to the presentations and to take
note of similarities and differences in the characters’ reactions)
Activity 3. Synthesis and Processing of Group Activity
1. What is common in the reactions of the different characters?
2. Was it a normal reaction? Explain your answer.
3. Could the negative reaction of the characters have been avoided? How?
4. What could the government and the school teacher have done?
5. In what way/s does education affect your life?
6. How do you maximize the use of the things you learn in school to develop
yourself?
7. The story talks about a serious problem in the educational system. In what
manner was this presented?
8. In a scale of 1-5 with 5 as the highest, how would you rate the anecdotes or
the little stories within the story that told us about the boy’s experiences, on
the following points: a. humor; b. exaggeration
9. Is the story just trying to entertain readers? What else is it trying to?
10. What do you call that type of story that actually talks of a serious topic but
presents it in a light and humorous manner?
C. Closure
Let us make graffiti of your ideas about school and education. Add your
honest idea to either of the following:
1. School ______________________________________________
e.g. School can be boring.
2. Education __________________________________________
e.g. Education makes a nation.
(Teacher posts a manila paper on the wall and asks students to do the
graffiti during their fee time.)
Reading
A. Preparation
Distinguish Facts from Opinions
Following is a list of statements taken from the selection. Put a check
(/) before the items that tell what really happened, the facts; and a
cross (x) before the items that make them statements of belief,
judgment or feeling, the opinions. Underline the clue words in the
statement of opinions.
73
1. On his first day at school the boy came back with eight books.
2. The books cost a dollar and twenty cents.
3. A boy in the country gets to be at least half as useful as a
grownup by the time he is 8 or 9 years old
4. Classes don’t start until nine. It’s only five thirty.
5. One book ought to be enough to start with.
6. The books cost so much considering that there are only 3 or 4
characters on a page.
7. The boy came back from school at three thirty, just as his father
was going back to work.
8. The price of the books had a great deal to do with the their
temper.
9. It couldn’t be said that the boy was not diligent.
10. He reviewed his lesson every day after school.
B. Development
Read the following headlines and be able to tell which ones express a
fact and which ones express an opinion. Underline the words which
signal that the headline is an opinion.
1. a. RP’s all-out support for US-led war pays off.
b. RP supports US-led war.
2. a. House approves 2002 budget.
b. House approves bloated budget.
3. a. Washington basilica looks like Quiapo.
b. Faithful flock at Washington Basilica.
4. a. Business should take a look at itself.
b. Business grows by 5%.
5. a. GMA reports to the nation.
b. GMA gives positive report to the nation.
Remember
Facts are statements that tell what really happened or what really is the case. It
is based on direct evidence and shows by actual experience or observation
Opinions are statements of belief, judgment, or feeling. They show what
someone thinks about a subject. They are somebody’s views and are not facts.
• Some words give an opinion by evaluating or making judgment, e.g. sage,
clever, good, dangerous
• Some expressions clearly state that an opinion will follow, e.g. I believe, I
think, In my opinion, I feel, I suggest, etc.
• Some words show that some doubt may exist about a statement. They show
that a statement is not always true or that other opinions are possible, e.g.
probably, likely, sometimes, etc.
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Activity 3 Distinguishing facts from opinions in a text
Read texts A and B. In your notebook, list down the facts and opinions
expressed in them. Write only key ideas. Follow this format.
Text FACTS OPINIONS Supporting Ideas
A. Paragraph 1
2
B. Paragraph 1
2
3
4
Text A: “An Excerpt from the 2002 Curriculum”
1. The revised Philippine Development Plan of 2004 mandates the Department
of Education, Culture and Sports to institute changes that will make the
curriculum more relevant to students’ needs. These reforms are meant to
address three objectives:
1. to make the curriculum more-learner centered;
2. to make it more responsive to developments in the field of education
as well as to the demands of the market; and
3. to ensure continuing evaluation.
2. The 2002 curriculum includes only five subjects: Mathematics, Science,
Filipino, English, and Makabayan which includes Sining, Kultura, Musika,
Physical Education, Produktibong Pamumuhay, Edukasyong Pantahanan at
Pangkabuhayan, Heograpiya, Kasaysayan, Sibika, Araling Panlipunan,
Technology and Home Economics, Health, and Character Education.
Excerpted from: The 2002 Curriculum
Sept. 6, 2001
Text B; “Unwise DECS Curriculum Merger”
1. The Department of Education, Culture and Sports plan to merge three noncore
subjects into one in its New Basic Education Curriculum slated for
implementation next year is both unwise and impractical. Relegating the
teaching of values to what seems to be a token concession or a mere
afterthought, at a time when it really needs to be reinforced and emphasized,
sends the wrong message to our students that character and morality are not
that important after all. We have seen the disastrous effect of too much
75
learning on people without the concomitant tempering balm of compassion –
they become politicians, they become corrupt, and then they become mad.
2. There is in fact a greater need to lengthen the time a student is supposed to
be in school, both in terms of extending the daily schedule and of changing,
for example, the present four year high school course to five years. The
solution really lies in the judicious management of the little time that is allotted
to the student in the school.
3. What is more important is the need to institute immediate and meaningful
reforms in the area of textbooks, a large percentage of which I have
discovered to be substantially defective. Faulty textbooks institutionalize
mental mediocrity by teaching what are false or incorrect.
4. The subject Values Education assumes the guiding and counseling role which
many of today’s parents have relegated to the schools. It is the one
redeeming factor in the present curriculum which tends to promote the
ascendancy of mind over heart, mental acuity over spiritual fortitude. Keeping
in mind that character is the end of life, we must lobby for the retention of
Values Education as a full-time sovereign subject. We should also demand
that reforms be made in the system of textbook development, evaluation and
selection to ensure quality education for all schoolchildren.
Antonio Calpjo Go
Academic Supervisor
Marian School for Q.C.
Comprehension Questions
1. What is the topic of Text A? of Text B?
2. Which of the two texts is factual?
3. Which one expresses opinion?
4. What is the stand of the writer on the issue?
5. What is the objective of the letter to the editor?
6. What technique did the writer use to meet his objective?
7. Does the series of causes and effects help the writer in proving his point?
8. What other techniques can help you express and support your opinion?
Language
There is a way by which opinions or ideas about a certain topic can be
expressly indicated. You can do this by following a pattern of putting together
words in a sentence as shown in these activities.
Activity 4. Expressing personal views using opinion clue words and expressions
1. Go back to the sentences identified as Opinions in Activity 1 of the
Reading lesson
2. Expand those sentences by adding a clause that will
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a. specify the person/s who has/have a particular opinion; and
b. use appropriate words or expressions which signal an opinion,
doubt, etc.
e.g. A boy in the country gets to be at least half as useful as a
grownups by the time he is 8 or 9 years old.
Answer: The elders believed that a boy gets to be at least half as
useful as a grownup by the time he is 8 or 9 years old.
What did we add to the original statement?
What pattern did we use to express an opinion?
S + V + that + Noun clause
Using the same sample sentence, we can also say:
I believed that a boy . . . . 8 or 9 years old.
The family thought that a boy .. . . 8 to 9 years old.
Grandmother’s opinion is that a boy. . . 8 or 9 years old.
Activity 5
1. Pair off.
2. Study and compare your lists of opinions in the table you did in f the Reading
Lesson.
3. Using the key ideas you listed down, construct sentences expressing opinions
just like those you made in the previous activity. Try to vary the opinion clue
words or expressions you use.
Pre-Writing
Activity 6. Expressing opinions about the school issues
1. Form groups of 4.
2. Get your notebook and go back to the list of problems and issues in our
school which you identified and ranked before our discussion of the selection
“A Country Boy Quits School.”
3. Share the ideas in your respective lists.
4. Choose one and brainstorm on it. Be sure to take down notes as you discuss.
5. Take turns in giving your personal views and opinions about your chosen
issue or problem. Then make suggestions as to how the issue may be
effectively addressed.
Writing
In the previous activities, we were able to do several things.
(N.B. Teacher should elicit the following from the students.)
1. We went over and studied a sample letter to the editor.
2. We distinguished facts from opinions.
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3. We studied a way of effectively expressing our opinions.
4. We identified school issues, expressed our opinions about them, and
suggested ways by which those issues may be addressed.
Activity 7 . Text analysis of a letter to the editor
1. What is presented in the opening sentence of paragraph one?
2. What do the other sentences in that paragraph express?
3. What does the writer do in the 3rd paragraph?
4. How does he bring his letter t a close in the 4th paragraph?
Activity 8. Writing a letter to the school paper editor
1. Break your original group into 2 pairs.
2. Work cooperatively with your partners. Use the notes you took down in the
Activity 6 to develop a 3 to 4 paragraph letter to the editor of your school
paper/
3. Keep the following in mind.
3.1 The issue or problem must be clearly presented in your opening
paragraph
3.2 Your opinions, strongly supported by facts, should all address the issue
you presented.
3.3 The development of your thoughts must be logical and clear. You can
ensure this by using certain writing techniques like: giving examples,
giving supporting details, showing cause-effect relations, etc.
III. Evaluation
1. Exchange works with the other pair in your original group.
2. Read and rate their work according to the following criteria:
Points
The issue is clearly presented 3
Opinions are clear, and supported by facts 5
Ideas are developed one at a time in a logical manner 5
Use of the English language is correct and effective 5
Work follows the conventions of a letter to the editor
(There is no address, no date, no opening greetings nor
closing, but the name address or the letter writer are
provided)
2
20 points
Assignment:
These past seven weeks we have been taking up how we learn to know things.
Recall what you have found out about how we get to know things and list at least
ten of
them. Number them as the most important.
78
A COUNTRY BOY QUITS SCHOOL
By Lao Hsiang
Translated by Chin-Chen Wang
A boy in the country gets to be at least half as useful as a grownup by the time
he is
nine years old. He can weed in the spring or tie up harvest bundles in summer;
he is
able to pass bricks when a house is built or open and shut the furrows to the
irrigation
ditches. That being the case, who’d want to send him to school? But an official
proclamation had been issued in the city to the effect that unless a boy over six
years of
age is sent to school, some adult in the family will have to go to jail. This was
how it
happened that the country boy of our story went to school.
On his first day at school, the boy came back with eight books. His grandparents
and his father and mother all gathered around him and marveled at the pictures
in the
books; said Grandfather: “The Four Books and the Five Classics never had any
pictures
like these.”
“The people in the pictures are not Chinese!” Father suddenly exclaimed. “Look
carefully and you’ll see that none of them wear the kind of clothes we do. See,
these are
leather shoes, this is a foreign costume, this is what is called a dog stick. They
remind
me of the old missionary who preaches at the cross street in the city?
“This woman at the spinning wheel is also a foreigner,” Grandmother said. “We
use
the right hand to spin but she uses her left.”
“If that makes her a foreigner, then this driver is not a Chinese, either. Look, have
you ever seen a Chinese driver standing on this side of the cart?” commented
Grandfather.
“The teacher says, the books costs a dollar and twenty cents,” the boy suddenly
said, taking courage in their absorption in the books. The statement stunned
everyone
like a sudden clap of thunder.
Grandmother was the first to speak, “They certainly have nerve to make us pay
for
the books after we give up the boy for them! He’s gone to school hardly a day
and it costs
us over a dollar already. Who can afford to such school? We can’t save that
much money
if we go without light for half a year, and we’ll have to sell at least eight bushels of
corn to
raise that much money.”
“I should think one book ought to be enough to start with. They can get another
after
they have finished that,” Grandfather said.
“Moreover, why should it cost so much when there are only three or four
characters on
a page?” Grandfather continued. “The almanac had both large and small
characters and
is closely printed and it costs only five coopers. How could these be worth more
than a
dollar?”
The books which they had marveled at a few minutes before had mainly become
a
cause of depression. The family discussed the matter at supper and all through
the rest of
the evening and finally decided that they would accept this calamity and pay the
amount
required, since it was the first time. In order to make up the sum, the boy’s
mother had to
contributes the proceeds from two pairs of earrings that she had recently sold.
His father
gave him a solemn lecture saying, “You are now nine, no longer so young. We’re
sparing
you from work and sending you to school, though we can’t afford it in our
circumstances.
You’ll be very ungrateful if you don’t study hard and learn something.
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The boy took his father’s instructions to heart and set out for school the next day
at
dawn. When he got home there, however, the porter said to him in a low voice,
“Classes
don’t start till nine. It’s now only five thirty. You are too early. The teacher is
asleep and
the classroom isn’t unlocked. You had better go home now.” The boy looked
around the
yard and found that he was indeed the only student there; he listened outside the
teacher’s window and heard him snoring; he walked around the lecture room and
found
no open door. There was nothing for him to do but run back home. Grandfather
was
sweeping the yard when he suddenly caught sight of the boy. He threw down his
broom
and said, “What is the use of trying to make a scholar of a boy whom Heaven
had
intended for the hoe? Look at him. It’s only the second day and he is playing
truant
already!” The boy was just about to explain when his mother gave him two
resounding
slaps and made him tend the fire for breakfast. Needles to say, the price of the
books that
they had to buy had a great deal to do with their temper.
When the boy went to school again after breakfast, the teacher was already on
the
platform and was holding fort on the subject of being late to school. To illustrate
his point,
he told a story about a little fairy that waited by the wayside with a bag of gold to
reward
the earliest boy. Our boy was enchanted with the story and the words “fairy” and
“gold”
but he could not figure out just what was meant by “earliest.”
In the afternoon, our young hero came back from school at three thirty, just as his
father
was going back to work after his midday nap. Luckily his father happened to see
the other
boys also coming home from school and the teacher taking a stroll with his “dog
stick,”
and concluded that his son was not playing truant. He kept wondering, however,
about
the strange ways of these foreign schools.
The first six days of school were taken up with the first lesson in the reader with
the text,
“This is my Mama.” It couldn’t be said that the boy was not diligent. He reviewed
his
lessons every day after school, reading over and over again, “This is Mama,”
until dusk.
With his left hand holding the book open and his right following the characters, he
read on
faithfully and conscientiously, as if afraid the characters, would fly away if he did
not fix
his entire attention on them.
But every time he read, “This is my Mama,” his mother’s heart would jump. On
the sixth
day of school, she could stand it no longer. She snatched the book from him and
said,
“Let me see who your mama is!“ Thinking that his mother was eager to learn, the
boy
pointed to the accompanying picture and said, “This is Mama – the lady with
leather
shoes, bobbed hair, and long dress.” One glance at the picture and Mother burst
out
crying. Grandfather, Grandmother, and Father were frightened, thinking that she
might
have possessed by some evil spirits. At first, she only cried and would not say
anything
when they asked her what the matter was, but they persisted, she said, “Where
did that
boy get that vampire-like mama?”
When they found the cause of her distress Father said, “We’ll have the boy ask
his
teacher whose mama this really is. Maybe it is the teacher’s mama.
The next morning before dawn, Mother woke up her son and made him go to
school
and ask the teacher for a solution to the problem that had bothered her all night.
Arriving
at school, the boy found that it was Sunday and that there would be no school.
Moreover,
the teacher had drunk more wine than was good for him the night before and was
still
sound asleep. The boy told Mother the circumstances, which made her curse the
institution of Sunday.
80
At general assembly on Monday, the teacher said gently to his charges, “One
who
wants to learn must not be afraid to ask questions. Anyone who has any question
should
raise it at once, to his teacher at school or to his parents at home.” They’re upon
our hero
stood up and asked. “The reader says, “This is Mama.” Whose mama is she
really?” The
teacher answered even more gently than before. “It is the Mama of anyone who
happens
to read the book. Do you understand now?
“No,” the boy said. This embarrassed the teacher a little but he said patiently,
“Why
don’t you understand?”
“Baldy is also reading this, but his mama is not like this lady,” the boy said.
Baldy’s mother is lame in one arm and had only one eye,” Hsiao Lin said.
“And you have no mama at all. She died a long time ago,” Baldy said in self-
defense.
“Don’t talk among yourselves!” the teacher said, knocking at the blackboard with
his
ferule. “We are going to have the second lesson today: “This is Papa, Look
everyone.
This is Papa, the man with spectacles and parted hair.”
After school, Mother was still worried about who the picture woman was, but
when she
heard his son reiterating, ‘This is Papa,’ she did not dare to pursue the question,
being
afraid that her husband might want to know when she’d found a new papa for
their son.
She was puzzled more than ever and wondered why the book insisted on
presenting
people with papas and mamas when they had them already.
A few days later, the boy learned two new sentences: “The ox tends the fire; the
horse
eats noodles.” He read the text over thousands of times, but he could not get
over the
feeling that there was something queer about the assertions. They had an ox and
a horse
and he had himself taken them over to graze in the hills, but he had never once
seen a
horse eat noodles and he was sure that their ox could not tend to fire. But could
the book
be wrong? Since he could not answer these questions, he obeyed his teacher’s
injunction
of the week before and asked his father about it. Father said, “I once went to a
foreign
circus in the city and saw a horse that could ring a bell and fire a gun. Perhaps
the book is
talking about such horses and oxen.”
Grandmother, however, did not agree with Father’s explanation. She said, “The
ox must
also a demon. Don’t you see that they all wear human clothing? They haven’t
changed
their heads for human heads yet, but that alone will take five hundred years.” The
old lady
than went to tell stories about demons that could command the wind and
summon rain;
the result was that the boy dreamed that night of being hazed by a winged-wolf
demon
and woke up crying.
The following day, the boy asked his teacher, “Is this ox that can tend the fire a
foreign
ox?”
The teacher laughed and said, “You are too literal! The book has only made
those
things up. It is not true that oxen can really tend to fire or that horses really eat
noodles.”
The explanation cleared up at one stroke many things in the book that had
puzzled the
boy. He had read about such things as bread, milk, park, ball, and the like which
he had
never seen and which had made him wonder. It dawned upon him that the book
dealt
only with make believe things.
One day, the boy and his schoolmates decided that they would play a tea party
as they
had read about it in their reader. They agreed that each would contribute twenty
cents so
that they could send to the city for oranges, apples, chocolates, and things. Our
boy
knew, of course that he would only be inviting a beating to ask money for buying
81
sweetmeats. Grandmother always mumbled that school would bankrupt them
yet,
wherever he had to buy a sheet of writing paper. But he could not resist the
glowing
picture that his book gave of the tea party, and decided to help himself to the
money that
his mother had just got from selling more of her jewels and which she had set
aside for
buying cabbage seedlings.
Grandfather had been suffering for a long time from a chronic cough, and
someone had
told him that orange peels would give him a relief. He kept on asking what
orange peels
were like and where they could be gotten. Thinking that this was a chance for
him to
ingratiate himself into his grandfather’s favor, the boy said, “We are getting some
oranges.”
“You are getting some oranges?” Grandfather asked. “What are you getting
oranges
for?”
“We want to hold a tea party,” the boy said.
“What is a tea party?”
”It means to get together and eat things and drink tea,” the boy said. ”It is in the
book.”
“What kind of book is that which is either making animals talk or teaching people
to eat
and play? No wonder the boys have become lazy and choosy about their food
since they
went to school!” Grandmother said.
“And it was always foreign food. There doesn’t seem to be any corn stew or bean
curd
with onions in it,” Grandfather said.
“Remember, Son, to bring back some orange peels for your grandfather’s
cough,” said
Mother.
Where did you get the money to buy oranges?” asked Father.
“The teacher – “ but before the boy could finish up his story, they heard Baldy,
who lived
in the next dwelling to the east, suddenly begin to cry, Then they heard his father
shout,
“We can’t even afford salt, and yet you want to buy candy.”
This was followed by the voice of Hsiao Lin’s uncle who lived to the west. “I let
you buy
books with my hard-earned money because it is for your good, but I haven’t any
money
for you to buy sweetmeats. You can asked whoever wants you to hold tea parties
for it.”
The truth came out. The boy’s father aimed a kick at him, but fortunately the table
intervened. He only upset the table and broke a few rice bowls. Grandfather was
of the
opinion that it might be better to take the boy out of school, but Grandmother did
not want
her son to go to jail. After a long argument, it was decided that they would let the
boy try
school for a few more days.
After this humiliation, our young scholar vowed to study harder and to recover his
lost
prestige in the family. Every day after school, he read without stopping until it
was dark.
He did not realize that the source of his troubles laid in the textbooks itself.
For Grandmother had been feeling that her son was no longer as close to her as
before
his marriage and that her position in the family had been gradually slipping. Now,
as he
listened to the boy reading aloud his latest lessons, she heard him say, “In my
family I
have a papa, a mama, a brother, and a sister,” but nothing about Grandfather
and
Grandmother. She became very indignant and shouted. “So this house is now all
yours
and I have no longer a share in it!” She was mad with fury. She picked up a brick
and
broke their iron pot into pieces.
“Don’t be angry anymore!” the boy’s father said. “We won’t let him read this kind
of book
any longer. I would rather go to jail.”
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And so the next day, Father discharged a day laborer and the teacher marked
the boy’s
absence in the record book at school.
Vocabulary
Give the meaning of the italicized words:
1. shut the furrows
2. playing truant
3. to ingratiate himself
4. after this humiliation
Discussion
1. Describe the setting of the story
2. What prompted the country boy to go to school?