III. Post-reading
3.1. Future: in focus.
With all his k.een interest in the natural world, Little Joe may one day become — what? Try to foresee Joe's future. What will become of him one day?
3.2. Day-dreaming.
Some drearrus cease to be such when fulfilled. Others remain never-to-be-rea lized, but they stay with you forever, shining like a beacon. Would yoou like to share your golden dream with the group? Find out whose dream is the dreamiest of all?
Make a list of top ten dreams in the group.
Dream # 1
Dream # 2
Dream # 3
3.3. Poems to read & discuss.
Find poems describing children's experiences of meeting with Mother Nature. The following one can be an example- Can you read it well? Try.
KICKING LEAVES UP THE HILL
By Christine B. Kluge
My sister and I are kicking leaves up the hill,
their colors of cider, honey, wine, apple
We touch the splayed green hand of mountain lautd and
Moss green
Fern green
Pale blue lichen
My sister's shout bounces against the looming rocks
It echoes, echoes
When we climb upward through the secret cave,
we come out with white sparks leaping off our hair,
Queens of the Cliff
I hate the edge,
but I love the sun in my sister's wild eyes
above the shivering woods
3.4. Project work: more poems.
Find other poems describing children who are spending time out-of-doors. Read them well, and recite them in class — beautifully.
FISTFIGHT
by Kathleen Stevens
PRE-READING
1.1 SHARE some recollections of the past with the group. Did you ever have a major disagreement, if not a fight, with your best friend? Remember it now - to forget it altogether later.
1.2 ADVISE your friend on the things he or she should always forgive and forget. Compare your view on that with those of your group mates. What do you think is the one thing everyone agrees to forget?
1.3. DISCUSS your experiences of watching, participating in, or interfering in some kids' fight. Say if that was an experience of sorts for you.
II. READING
2.1. Understanding the title.
The story, has a title that evokes but one association. It is something violent, if not bloody. What do you think the conflict described in the story was caused by?
2.2. Reading for pleasure and enrichment.
Read the story and answer the question: What was the mistake Mr Barber, the teacher, made in class?
The following words will be helpful to understand the events better.
Flash
— show something to someone for a very
short time Bounce — move from a surface
Warble — sing (used with a twist of humor)
Call out — challenge someone to a fight
Culvert — a pipe that takes a stream under a road
Spin to a stop — turn around fast and stop
When my best friend, Tucker, turned sideways during science class and flashed a piece of folded paper, I figured he was trying to get my attention. Up front, Mr. Barber pointed to the blackboard. "Cotyledon," he said. "That's the first leaf to appear when a seed sprouts."
Tucker pitched the note. It shot toward my left ear, and I batted it down. The wad of paper bounced on the floor and spun to a stop at Mr. Barber's feet.
Uh-oh.
Mr. Barber picked up the note. "What's this — special delivery?" He unfolded the sheet of paper and read the note aloud. "Mary Ellen — will you wait for me after school? Tucker."
Tucker wanted to meet Mary Ellen after school? I couldn't believe it! Tucker always walked home from school with me. Besides, Tucker hated girls.
Mary Ellen slid down in her seat, and the girls started giggling. Tucker turned so red, his freckles vanished.
"Tucker," Mr. Barber said sternly, "note passing is not part of the science curriculum. I'd keep you after school to remind you of that fact, but I have a previous appointment. In the future, please arrange your social engagements outside class."
The dismissal bell rang. "O.K., people," Mr. Barber said. "That's it for today."
Everybody ran toward the door. On the school steps, Tucker grabbed my arm. "Phil, keep your crummy hands off my notes!"
"Tucker, you got snagged!" hooted Wally Davis.
Marvin Johnson warbled, "Meet me after school, Mary Ellen!" "Phil made a fool out of you, Tucker. Are you going to let him get away with it?" demanded Soup Claypool.
Kids pressed closer, curious to see what would happen.
"Call him out," Wally advised Tucker.
Marvin echoed, "Yeah, call Phil out."
Tucker looked at the ring of kids watching us and muttered, «I... I call you out, Phil."
Tucker and I hadrbeen buddies since second grade. Now he was challenging me to a fight! With that crowd listening to every word, what could I do but accept.
"Where will you fight?" Marvin asked me.
How would I know? I'd never been in a fight before.
"What's the matter, Phil?" Soup jeered. "Afraid you'll get a faceful of Tucker's fist?"
"Any place is fine with me," I blurted.
"Behind the cement factory," Wally decided. "Let's go."
The crowd poured across the street, sweeping Tucker and me along in the middle. It looked like the whole sixth grade of Burton P. Kendall Elementary couldn't wait to see Tucker and me bash each other's brains in.
"Why did you send that stupid note?" I whispered to Tucker.
"Why did you knock it down?"
"You dummy — I thought it was for me!"
The cement factory stood at the top of a hill, next to the railroad track. The whole mob swarmed across the factory yard, and I wished someone would come out and chase us away. No one did.
Next to the plant, a strip of cinders and weeds overlooked the gully where the railroad track cut through. Waving his arms at the gang of kids, Marvin ordered, "Step back! Give "em room."
I had a lump in my stomach, big as a watermelon. And I could see Tucker's freckles plain now. Real plain. This was crazy. Tucker didn't want to fight any more than I did.
"Lost your nerve?" sneered Wally.
Tucker balled his hands into fists. I crouched and danced sideways.
"Get him, Tucker!" somebody yelled.
"Murder him, Phil!"
Tucker's
shoulder twitched, and I threw a wild punch. Tucker swung and missed
by a mile. We backed off, circling each other. "Go for it,
Phil!" "After him, Tucker!"
I swung again, and Tucker ducked — right into my fist. He staggered sideways, clutching his nose, kids shouting around him. Was he hurt? I dropped my guard and Tucker rushed forward, butting me in the chest so hard I stumbled and fell. Tucker landed on top of me. "Hold it!" someone warned. Then I heard the sputtering noise everybody was listening to.
"Barber's motorbike!" said Wally. "He must know about the fight. Let's get out of here."
Everyone in the crowd shot over the fence and vanished down the embankment. If Mr. Barber caught Tucker and me fighting, he'd skewer us for shish kebab! "Get off," I grunted. Tucker heaved himself to his feet and hauled me after him.
We rolled over the fence and followed the crowd down the hill to the tracks and up the other side. Tumbling over the opposite fence, we crouched in the weeds along Muriel Avenue and peered back at the cement factory.
Putt-putt-bang! Instead of entering the factory yard, Mr. Barber's bike turned left. The sputtering faded, then grew loud again as Mr. Barber whizzed across the tracks on High Street. I turned to watch him cross the tracks — and saw a row of kids' heads along the fence rail.
"He's headed this way!" someone shouted as Mr Barber turned into Muriel Avenue. Five zillion kids jumped the fence, swarmed back down to the tracks, and ran up the other side. This time a factory window banged open, and somebody bawled, "You kids get out of here!'
Glad to oblige, Mister.
Most everyhody headed for the street. Tucker gave me a shove in the other direction, toward the patch of w0ods behind the cement factory. "The storm pipe," he panted.
We stumbled through the bushes to the Culvert where the storm sewer emptied out. Inside the pipe, we cr°Uched over the trickle of water, puffing like Tucker's spaniel wl^en it chases a rabbit. "How's your stomach?" Tucker managed.
"Better than your face."
Tucker wiped away the smear of blo»od under his nose. "Think we're in trouble with Barber?"
"I don't know — but if I don't get homes soon, my grandmother' 11 staple my ears to the wall."
"Let's go," said Tucker.
We sneaked through the woods to the railroad crossing. No one was in sight. We crossed the tracks to Muriel A.venue and started home.
At the corner, Tucker stopped abruptly. Leaning against the soda machine at Peterson's Gas Station was Mr. Barber. A mechanic was bent over his motorbike.
Mr. Barber waved his can of Orange Sparkle. "Hello, boys. Late getting home, aren't you?"
"We, uh, stopped to play ball," I stammered.
Mr. Barber's eyebrows arched. "Who won?" he asked.
Tucker and I looked at each other. "Ga,me ended in a tie," Tucker mumbled.
Mr. Barber grinned. "Glad to hear it. See you tomorrow."
Tucker blew out a sigh of relief. "Berber didn't say anything about the fight," he whispered.
"Pure luck he came along when he did," I said.
Tucker elbowed me. "Lucky for you. I was about to take you apart."
"Sure — as soon as your nose stopped, bleeding."
"Call it a draw," said Tucker. "Stop for me in the morning, Phil?"
"Like always," I told.
2.3. True or false?
Phil and Tucker have been buddies for ages.
Mr Barber never suspected there would be a fight.
The two boys looked forward to having a good fight after class.
The fist fight put an end to the boys' friendship once and forever It was the pressure of the crowd that drew the friends into the fight.
A factory yard was an ideal place for having a fist fight in.
The teacher made a mistake of reading the note aloud in class.
Mr Barber knew there was going to be fight somewhere.
2.4. Understanding points of view.
Scan the story and try to explain what the characters meant.
"What's this — special delivery?" "Tucker, you got snagged!" "Glad to oblige, Mister."
"If I don"t get home soon, my grandmother'11 staple my ears to the wall."
"Lucky for you. I was about to take you apart." "Game ended in a tie." "Call it a draw."
2.5 Vocabulary in focus.
Find the expressions in the story that correspond to the following
definitions:
Leave something unnoticed = let somebody get away with something
Go as an uncontrolled crowd =
Make a movement aiming to hit = .
Forget to be careful or watchful =
Walk unsteadily =
Disappear from view =
Go somewhere secretly and quietly =
Move in a certain direction =
2.6. Storing vocabulary.
Paraphrase the following sentences using the verbs from the list below.
When she saw the amount of housework, her smile disappeared.
Photographers used to crowd around the princess, wherever she appeared.
He knew Mum wasn't going to leave his misbehavior unnoticed.
He almost fell over, bending under the weight of groceries.
The board members directed their steps to the conference room.
The man brandished his stick at the barking dog.
The runaways managed to creep past the guard on the gate.
Let my attention wander for a moment, and made a mistake as a result.
Choose from: to swarm, to head for, to sneak, to vanish, to stagger, to drop one's guard, to swing, to let someone get away with something.
2.7. Colloquial English.
There are several phrases spoken by the characters in colloquial English. Could you possibly convey them into literary English?
"Lost your nerve?" — Have you decided to act cowardly?
"Afraid you'll get a faceful of Tucker's fist?"=
"Think we're in trouble with Barber?" =
"Step back! Give 'em room!" =
2.8. Grammar.
Here we can do nothing but pay attention to another good way of expressing yourselves. Complete the sentences below.
With the whole class giggling, Mary Ellen could do nothing but...
Though they realized it was silly, the boys could ...
Having heard the motorbike approaching, the kids...
When the fistfight began, the two friends...
When asked by the teacher, the two boys…
2.9. The language of fistfight.
Study the text again paying attention to some very violent verbs. Check on the exact moment when one of the boys grabbed,
crouched,
punched,
swung, ducked,
clutched, butted,
staggered, and stumbled.