4.1 Read a text

It is far more important to be ourselves and to develop our own identity than to try to fit into the crowd all the time. After all, variety is the spice of life, and it would be very boring if we were all alike, wouldn’t it?

We should all try to improve our values by having more empathy and tolerance towards others.

To have empathy means to put oneself into someone else’s shoes and to understand the way he/she thinks and feels. To be tolerant means to allow people to have their own beliefs, opinions and ways of doing things. It isn’t wrong to be different; it merely makes the world a more interesting place.

Activity 3

DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

Select a group of about five or six learners. Each learner must dress up as a “typical” character, e.g. a metal head, a nerd, a big tough rugby player, an artist, a rapper, a musician, etc., but he/she must remember that appearances can be deceptive. The rest of the class must stereotype or label each one of these characters in writing, according to the “norm”. Then form groups of about five, and hold a discussion about what you have written, and decide whether your labelling of these people was fair. You may ask the characters to tell you something about themselves, so that you can discover that they are not altogether what they appear to be.

Activity 4

1. Read the passage below loudly, paying special attention to stress and intonation.

FROM URCHIN TO SPORTS STAR

Three years ago Bongani Magali (13) was abandoned and had to scavenge for food in a pigsty. He had nowhere to go, and nobody to turn to for help. Then, on Easter Monday 2000 the five-year-old Grant Moore asked his father, a farmer in Philippi, if the boy with whom he had played at the pigsty could spend the weekend with them. Since then he has been part of the Moore family. The five Moore children regard him as their “Ouboet”.

The Moores have a riding school and shortly after his arrival on the farm, Bongani asked whether he could ride one of the horses. Within a short time, it was clear that he was a talented rider, and today he is an excellent horseman, with many trophies to prove it. “In all the local competitions in which he competed he came third twice, and he won all the others,” says Mr Moore proudly.

Bongani is now a grade 6 learner at the Groote Schuur Primary School, and he excels in rugby, swimming and high-jump. He was also selected as a member of the WP Craven week rugby team. He says the Springbok wing, Breyton Paulse, is his hero.

According to his headmaster, Mr Anton Meyer, he is a born leader. His fellow learners are mad about him. Mr Meyer believes that he will go far in sport if he continues to make the most of every opportunity, as he has done so far.

Who would have thought that a poor, hungry, abandoned urchin from the Cape Flats would be such a star? Who knows, he might be an idol one day!

Source: Die Burger , 7 January 2003

2. Record the following words and their meanings in your personal dictionary and use each of the original words in a sentence of your own. Your educator will check to see whether you have used it correctly.

Activity 5

READING

Read a book of your own choice, and write a very short report / comment on it.

Recommended reading : Madiba Magic: Nelson Mandela’s favourite stories for children (Tafelberg, R154)

This is a beautifully illustrated book of African stories (about the San, Khoi, Cape Malay and Cape Dutch cultures, amongst others) that have been passed down from generation to generation. They are often about cunning tricksters, magic spells and even a cannibal or two. Why not try to get hold of it for some entertaining reading?

Source: Sunday Times, 12 January 2003

AND FINALLY, JUST FOR FUN:

• Ask your teacher if you can have a Sixties party, and play some Elvis songs. Learn the jive or the bop. Dress up like real Sixties characters.

• Then Watch a real Elvis video from the sixties like “Jailhouse Rock”!!

PS: Do you know the meaning of “aka” (see very first text)?It means “also known as”.

Assessment