| << Chapter < Page | Chapter >> Page > |
ACTIVITY
TO READ FICTION AND NON-FICTION AT APPROPRIATE LEVEL
[LO 3.6.1]
The story I chose: ______
Now that we have met some interesting people, let us meet a heroic man, Nathan Ross, and read about the miracle he helped to perform…
Flying blind
Nathan Ross was worried. Something wasn’t right. It was about eight, the wind was lashing the rain and Ross’s border collie was running around, barking furiously. Ross was standing in his yard in the raging thunderstorm, listening hard.
Ross had been interested in flying since he could remember and he made a hobby of tracking planes as they soared past. He listened again and could hear a small aircraft circling Tenterfield, flying past his house again and again. Suddenly the red and green lights of the Cessna broke through the cloud cover. Judging by the way the little aircraft was bucking in the sky he realised that something was seriously wrong. Either the pilot was lost or in trouble – or both.
Ross, who had an electronics and communication business, owned an air–band portable radio, which looked like a cellphone and could be used to contact aircraft overhead. With this radio, he began to call the pilot. First he could hear only static, but then the radio came alive.
“This is Juliet Uniform Alpha – and no, I’m not OK, repeat, not OK. I’m not sure how much fuel I have left. I can barely see and I need help!”
“Don’t worry,” Ross reassured him, “We’ll organise something.” Ross did not feel as confident as he sounded, as he knew that Tenterfield’s airstrip was a grassy field with no runway lights or control tower. Getting the pilot down in the dark and rain on the airstrip surrounded by hills and mountains would be very tough.
Ross was concerned that it would be hours before the clouds would clear enough for the pilot to be able to see the airstrip. He knew there was a chance that he could crash into one of the hills surrounding the town. His best bet was to call Robert Wild, a local pilot who knew the airstrip well, and to ask for his help.
Thirty minutes later, after having found flares, Wild spoke to Esmond Yasi, the pilot, and told him to follow the streetlights to the edge of town and then the car lights on the main road out of town to the air-field.
“Tenterfield Ground, I’m at 700 feet and don’t know how much lower I can go.” The pilot’s frightened voice rang in Ross’s ears. “Stay calm, mate,” Ross said, noticing that the radiophone battery was running low.
“Forget about finishing lighting the flares,” Ross said to Wild, “The cloud cover is descending too fast and he must land now!” Blue and red police lights flashed in the dark. Townsfolk wishing to help sat in their cars, watching, with their headlights on.
From inside the cockpit, Yasi headed the plane for the airstrip. Suddenly he was momentarily blinded by a colossal flash of lightning and where Tenterfield’s lights had blinked just seconds before, there was total darkness. “It’s a blackout!” the voice from the ground told Yasi.
In desperation, Ross turned on the hazard lights of his car and roared his Mitsubishi through the wet streets of the town, heading for the airstrip, with the Cessna only 250 feet above him.
Flying nearly blind, Yasi did not realise that he had come very close to crashing into Howard’s Hill as he flew above and behind Ross’s car. He saw the flashing lights of the police cars and the headlights of the other vehicles as he lowered the wing-flaps, readying the plane for landing.
His hands were shaking on the controls. He eased the controls back to keep the aircraft’s nose up. Car headlights whizzed past – and with a light thud, the rear wheels touched the ground. He had landed and was safe!
(Adapted from a story by Sandy Guy and David Crofts, Reader’s Digest July 2001)
Well, we are sure that you enjoyed this story.
Just as in previous modules, you need to practise in order to read fluently. Let us pay attention to fluency. Ask your teacher to help you with pronunciation.
LO 3
READING AND VIEWING The learner will be able to read and view for information and enjoyment, and to respond critically to the aesthetic, cultural and emotional values in texts.
We know this when the learner:
3.1 understands in a simple way some element of stories:
3.1.4 notices the role that visual images (pictures, photographs) play in the construction of meaning (e.g. how old and young people are represented in pictures);
3.2 understands, in a simple way, some elements of poetry:
3.2.1 rhyme;
3.2.2 words which begin with the same sound;
3.6 reads for pleasure:
3.6.1 reads fiction and non-fiction at an appropriate reading and language level;
3.6.4 solves word puzzles;
3.7 uses reference books and develops vocabulary:
3.7.1 uses a dictionary;
3.7.2 demonstrates a reading vocabulary of between 2 000 and 3 500 common words.
Ensure that the learners understand
In this activity the learner will assess him/herself, as well as a partner. Ensure that the children are well practised before assessment. Discuss the criteria with the learners beforehand, so that they are aware of what is expected.
Learners can write short phrases in the spaces provided, such as ‘good eye-contact’ or ‘a little bit slow ; need to change the tempo’. Another way of assessing would be to indicate with ticks (1 tick would indicate ‘needs more practice’; 2 ticks would indicate ‘satisfactory’ and 3 ticks would indicate ‘well done’.) Learners could choose to assess by means of smiling or frowning faces. Decide on a system and ensure that the learners understand what to do.
Notification Switch
Would you like to follow the 'English first additional language grade 5' conversation and receive update notifications?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|