Oral Language Retelling a Story A Think about another story you’ve read. What are the main events and relevant details? Make a cluster web. Long ago, a woman named Arachne . . . B Retell the story you chose in Activity A. end beginning middle LANGUAGE FRAMES Long ago, . One day, . First / Next / After that, . Ever since . Then, . When you summarize, you only include the central ideas. When you retell a story, you include the main events and relevant details. UNIT 5 181 pad gigantic LISTENING STRATEGY Listen for Main Events and Relevant Details When you listen to someone retell a story, listen for the main events and relevant details. You will hear fewer relevant details than you read in the original story. Retelling a Story A Listen to Ricardo retell the myth Anansi and His Six Sons. B Listen again. Check the events and details that the student uses when he retells the myth. 1. the names of the characters 2. what each character looked like 3. what each brother did to save Anansi 4. the size of the fish 5. what the brothers screamed when Crow snatched Anansi 6. why the brothers argued about the ball I emptied the river and located the fish! I captured Anansi, but then I dropped him. CONNECT TO Oral Language UNIT 5 180 Grammar in Action A Read the Chinese myth. THE Candle Dragon Long ago, near the Chishui River, there lived a strange creature on Zhangwei Mountain. He was red, like a dragon, and people called him Zhulong, or Candle Dragon. He had the head of a human, but his body looked like a reptile that was very long and thin. In fact, he was longer than the river—over 325 miles long! He had the power to control nature. His eyes were unusual because one was on top of the other. They were brighter and more powerful than anyone’s eyes in the land. Zhulong didn’t sleep, but he opened and closed his eyes daily. When his eyes were open, it was daytime. When he closed his eyes later, it was night. Zhulong controlled the seasons and weather, too. He never ate or drank, and he didn’t even breathe most of the time. When he did breathe in, it was spring and warm outside. He held his breath for an extremely long time. Then, he sniffed the air, and the temperature got hotter. It turned to summer. Finally, he breathed out, and there were strong winds and rain. The season changed to fall. After a long time, his breathing became harder to make dark clouds and heavy snow. It was winter and much colder outside. He did this every year, which is why we have seasons. B Use the vocabulary 1. What did Zhulong control? 2. Why were his eyes unusual? 3. How were Zhulong’s eyes different from everyone else’s? What happened when they opened and closed? 4. How did Zhulong change each season? CONNECT TO Grammar UNIT 5 182 Tutorial A Complete the sentences with the comparative of the adjectives in parentheses. 1. A strong wind is (powerful) than a breeze. 2. Summer is (hot) than spring. 3. The dragon’s breathing was (hard) in the winter. 4. A mountain is (big) than a hill. 5. Spring flowers are (beautiful) than summer flowers. 6. The dragon’s eyes were (large) during the day. B Write sentences with comparative adjectives. Compare different characters from myths or stories. Arachne was nicer than Athene. C Share your sentences with a classmate. Which characters did you compare? GRAMMAR Comparative Adjectives Use a comparative adjective + than to compare two things. Zhulong was longer than the river. To form comparative adjectives: Although she would never admit it, she could see that Arachne’s weaving was better than her own. They were brighter and more powerful than anyone’s eyes in the land. adjective comparative One syllable, add -er long longer One syllable, ends in -e, add -r late later One syllable, ends in one vowel + one consonant, double the consonant and add -er hot hotter Two or more syllables, add more powerful more powerful IRREGULAR COMPARATIVES good better bad worse UNIT 5 183 Grammar in Action A Read the informational text. THE Northern Lights IN MYTHOLOGY In the northern parts of the world, the northern lights, or aurora borealis, dance magically in the night sky. For thousands of years, nobody knew what caused the lights, so people from different cultures made up stories about them. In a Greek myth, Aurora was the sister of the Sun and the Moon. Just before morning, she raced speedily across the sky to tell both the Sun and the Moon that a new day was going to begin. She rode a colorful chariot, which made the northern lights. In a Norse myth, Valkyries caused the northern lights. Valkyries were women warriors who rode horses. They wore armor and carried shields. The light of the Sun reflected off their armor and shields, creating bright colors in the sky. A Mandan myth says the lights were from torches—sticks with fire on them. Friendly giants went fishing at night, and they used the torches to see clearly in the dark. The giants were very tall, so their torches were high in the sky. A Finnish myth says a fox made the lights. The fox wagged its tail quickly across snow and caused sparks. These sparks went up into the night sky. Today, scientists have an explanation for the lights, but it’s fun to read myths about them. B Use the vocabulary What caused the northern lights in each myth? Norse = from what is now Scandinavia Mandan = from what is now North Dakota, USA Finnish = from Finland CONNECT TO Grammar 184 UNIT 5 Tutorial A Complete the sentences with adverbs in the box. Use the texts to help you. Then, identify the verbs they describe. The Northern Lights in Mythology 1. The northern lights dance in the sky. 2. They used the torches to see in the dark. 3. The fox moved its tail across the snow. The Story of Arachne 4. “I don’t care,” Arachne said . 5. “Could you do better?” asked Arachne, . 6. She tapped Arachne on the shoulder. B Choose adverbs and write sentences. I can see well when I wear my glasses. GRAMMAR Adverbs Adverbs are words that describe verbs. They tell how something is done. For example, the adverb speedily shows that something happens fast. Just before morning, she raced speedily across the sky. Adverbs often end in -ly. Other adverbs are irregular. “How will we get to the river fast?” the brothers asked. IRREGULAR ADVERBS well fast hard late early daily straight wrong quickly lightly clearly magically boldly loudly 185 UNIT 5 Connect to Oral Language • Each unit provides opportunities for the development of listening skills and oral fluency. • A listening passage recycles vocabulary and introduces new thematic vocabulary. Animated Grammar Tutorials engage students by pairing grammar rules with fun explanations. Connect to Grammar • Each unit presents two grammar points and provides explicit grammar, usage, and writing instruction. • Writing activities, as well as pair and group work encourage communication. The listening passages are available online. WALK-THROUGH Txi
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