3.8 To give other learners a chance to speak

English first additional language

Grade 6

Module 36

To use a dictionary to develop vocabulary

Activity 1:

To give other learners a chance to speak [lo 1.5.1]

To sustain a conversation [lo 2.1.2]

To create a graph [lo 5.4.2]

We are going to focus on YOU again in this activity! We want to see just how well you cope with being by yourself? Some people love being on their own, having time to think and do exactly what they like. Other people find the thought of being alone rather scary and like to have people or family around them most of the time. What do you do on dull and rainy days when your friends are all away and you cannot bear the company of your brother or sister a moment longer? Try this quiz to see how you shape up…by yourself. Be completely honest and do not discuss your answers with your friends just yet - there will be time for that later. Underline your answer with a ruler.

1. When I’m by myself I generally:

1. mope;
2. turn on the TV;

c. grab the chance to write my first best-selling novel.

2. If it’s raining, I always:

1. complain bitterly to whoever will listen that there’s nothing to do;
2. kill time until the rain stops;
3. rush outside in my Wellington boots to try out my new design for a puddle yacht.

3. When I grow up, I intend to be:

1. prime minister;
2. the first astronaut on Mars;
3. an inventor.

4. I think brothers and sisters are:

1. essential;
2. quite useful;

c. all right in small doses/a nuisance.

5. My idea of a really good time is:

1. a big party with numerous games and a magician;
2. watching Star Wars on video for the fourteenth time;
3. building a secret den at the end of the garden.

6. To me, a good book is:

1. a handy doorstop;
2. a way of passing the time;
3. a place of magic and adventure.

7. My main complaint about my parents is they will not let me have my own:

1. telephone;
2. hi-fi system;
3. private castle.

8. If I were marooned on a desert island, I would probably:

1. go mad with boredom;
2. plan an immediate rescue attempt;

c. build a cabin and learn to catch fish.

Now we are going to take your answers and plot them on a graph to see how you would do on your own. Colour in the following graph according to the answers you underlined.

My answers to the questions:

Now take a careful look at your answers! Are they mostly a’s, b’s or c’s?

Number of a’s: __________

Number of b’s: __________

Number of c’s: __________

Look at the following explanations to see how you did.

If you scored mostly a’s

Without other people you completely fall apart. One day you may really find yourself on a desert island with only a parrot for company – so find out how to have fun by yourself now, before it is too late!

If you scored mostly b’s

You cope quite well with being alone – but you do not really make the most of it. Try taking a break from the TV and try some activities from books for a rainy day – you will soon see what you have been missing!

If you scored mostly c’s

You are obviously a natural ‘by yourselfer’ and will go on to achieve great things. Books are your friends and your imagination your inspiration!