junior english text books (sample) - Liberal Party

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This is the first Unit of the Grade 6 Junior English Textbook published by
International Book House for the use of Sri Lankan students.
As noted in the introduction, ‘ this book explains elements of English in a manner
that will help both students and teachers to understand what they learn and teach.
..Each unit contains one or more reading texts, on which several exercises are
based. Pre-reading questions are given in some instances, and … writing tasks
should be given due attention and … Each unit also includes a Conversation
section, which avoids the familiar practice of setting out a dialogue which
students learn by rote. Students should first develop understanding of the speech
patterns they use, and for this purpose they should first fill in the blanks as
indicated. Initially much help may be required, and group work may be
desirable….Teachers are also advised, on the pattern of the texts included here, to
encourage active learning of useful subjects… including matters of wider interest
that will be useful for students in the future.’
These books are available at 151 A Dharmapala Mawata, Colombo 3. You can
contact the publisher for further information at newpet@sltnet.lk or 037-2225884
or 011-2330742.
Grade 6: Unit One – A Visit to the Zoo
When you study this unit, pay careful attention to the building blocks of language
given below. Be careful to write and speak carefully, after you study these
sounds and the shape of these letters. Also be careful to use correctly the
grammar of English that you learn here. Also pay attention to the new words you
learn.
Using these building blocks or tools of the language carefully, you will soon be
able to use English actively. The order in which you should do the exercises is
suggested by the numbers. Read the text carefully before you do the exercises,
and also practice the Conversation section carefully.
The Tools of English
Simple and Capital Letters – writing Proper Nouns, shaping difficult letters
Pronunciation – focus on v,w,f,p,s and pronouncing the s in plurals
Grammar – the ‘be’ verb (am, is,are); pronouns; prepositions

Reading Text - A visit to the Zoo
Mala and Ravi are asleep in their beds. Their mother comes into the room
“Get up, children. We must leave early today.”
Ravi looks at her sleepily from the bed. “Why must we go early? Where will we
go?”
“We will visit the Zoo today,” she tells him.
“Oh, good,’ shouts Mala and jumps out of her bed.
The children get ready quickly. They are happy to go to the Zoo.
The bus stops at the Dehiwela Zoo. They get off and go in.
“Look at those birds,” says Mala. “What is that bird with a long tail? Look at its
colours – red, green, yellow and white.”
“That is a parrot,” Ravi tells his sister.
Ravi likes to look at the lions, tigers, leopard and bears in their cages.
“Don’t they look big and strong? Look. See how they walk up and down in their
cages. I think they want to come out,” he tells Mala.
Mala does not like to think about that.
Then they go to see the elephants. It is 3 o’clock, and the elephants have tea and
then dance round in a ring. Mala’s eyes open wide as she watches them. “Look
how they hold the cups with their trunks,” she says. “This is the best part of our
visit.”
“Let us have some ice-cream while we watch the elephants,” says their father.
Mala and Ravi are very happy. They like ice-cream.
It is late when they get back from the Zoo. Mala is very tired and her father has to
carry her.
Ravi is excited. “I want to be a zoo-keeper when I am big,” he tells his parents.

Learning to speak and to write
Exercise 1
Say the following sentences aloud. Listen carefully to your teacher so that you
say the words correctly. Notice the difference in how you pronounce the letter ‘v’
and the letter ‘w’.
“Where will we go?”
“We will visit the zoo today,” she tells him.
Practice this in pairs, replacing ‘the zoo’ with ‘the river’, ‘the stream’, ‘the sea’,
‘the pond’, ‘the pool’, ‘the forest’. Which one of these six words is different in
meaning from the others? Notice the difference in how you pronounce the letter
‘v’ and the letter ‘w’.
Write these two letters in their simple and capital forms. Notice how they are
similar in size, and where they appear on the line on which you write.
Exercise 5
Practice the sentences in Exercise 1 again, in pairs, replacing ‘the zoo’ with ‘the
kovil’, ‘the temple’, ‘the mosque’, ‘the church’, ‘the pola’, ‘the factory’. Which two
of these five words is different in meaning from the others? Notice the difference
in how you pronounce the letter ‘f’ and the letter ‘p’.
Write these two letters in their simple and capital forms. They are similar in size.
Both capital letters appear in the same place on the line on which you write, but
one of the simple letters goes below the line. What are the other simple letters
that go below the line?
Exercise 8
Read these sentences also aloud. Practice them carefully.
Ravi likes to look at the lions, tigers, leopards and bears in their cages.
Mala’s eyes open wide as she watches them. “Look how they hold the cups with
their trunks,” she says. “This is the best part of our visit.”
It is late when they go back after their visit to the Zoo. Mala is very tired and her
father has to carry her.

Be careful when you read words that end in the letter ‘s’. When it comes after
another consonant (letters except a,e,i,o,u), you must pronounce both letters. In
English we usually form the plural (more than one) of nouns, by adding ‘s’ to the
singular. We must pronounce this clearly when we speak.
Some words that end in s or y have different ways of forming the plural (dressdresses,
baby-babies) and in a few words there are big changes, but for most
words you only need to add s.
Exercise 2
Write down the words that begin with capital letters in this passage. Some words
begin with capital letters only when they come at the beginning of a sentence.
Write down names of people that begin with the following letters – d, m, r, s, v
Names of people must always begin with capital letters.
Exercise 6
Write down names of places that begin with the following letters – b c, j, k, m.
These must always begin with capital letters.
The names of places and people are called proper nouns. They always begin
with capital letters. Nouns are naming words. Other nouns, that name things
or animals for instance – room, bed, bird, bus – are called common nouns, and
begin with simple letters (except when they begin a sentence).
You must always use simple and capital letters correctly when you write English.
If you remember the rules given above, this will not be difficult.
Reading and Writing
Group work.
Exercise 3
What are the animals mentioned in this story? Write down the names of animals
that begin with the following letters – a, c, d, m, o. You can include birds and
insects in your list.
Exercise 10
Why do you think Ravi wants to be a zoo-keeper? Discuss in groups what each
of you what to be when you are big. Individually write this down, with reasons.

Individual work.
Exercise 4
Show the meanings of the following words through actions – sleepily, quickly,
tired, big, happy, excited, wide, jump, dance, open
Write down the opposites of the following words - quickly, big, happy, wide, open.
Use them in sentences of your own.
Exercise 12
Write five sentences about your favourite animal. You should describe it, and
also why you like it.
Grammar
Exercise 7
Write down the words ‘am’, ‘is’ and ‘are’ when they appear in the passage.
Use the correct word to fill in the blanks in the following sentences
Who ….. you?
I ….. Mala. I … ten years old.
Who ….. that?
That …. my brother. He …. twelve. His name …. Ravi. What …. your name?
My name …. Priya. I …. also ten. My brother …. Suresh and my sister …..
Lakshmi.
How old ….. they?
He …. three years older than me and she …. one year younger than him.
I see. So he …. thirteen and she …. twelve.
You … right.
Where …. they?
They ….. at school now.
Exercise 9
Look at the following table. Copy it into your exercise book.
I Me My
You You Your
He Him His
She Her Her
We Us Our
It It Its
They Them Their

These words are called pronouns. Find out those that appear in the passage,
and underline them in the table in your book. The words in the first five rows are
used usually of people and those in the sixth of animals or things. The words in
the last row are used of people and animals. See the examples in the passage.
The words in the last column are used to show ownerships. Look at the following
paragraph.
I have a dog. Its name is Bindu. It is white, with black spots. I love my dog very
much. It greets me when I come home from school and licks my feet. Then it tries
to bite my toes.
Sometimes people like to treat their pets as people, so they call them ‘him’ or
‘her’.
Write a short paragraph like the one given above, about a pet or about a brother
or sister. You can also look at the conversation in Exercise 7.
Exercise 11
Find the words ‘bed’ (or ‘beds’) and ‘Zoo’ (or ‘Dehiwela Zoo’) in the above
passage. Look at the words that come before them. Apart from pronouns and
‘the’ you find
in, from, out of, to, at, from
These words are called prepositions. They link words. In English prepositions
come before the noun or pronoun that they link to the rest of the sentence.
Find other examples of these prepositions, and of others – with, of – in the
passage, and say to what noun they are connected.
Use the following prepositions correctly in sentences of your own – to, from
The word ‘in’ is in the box shown below. Copy the box in your exercise books,
and write down the following prepositions in suitable places – on, under, above.
Use arrows to indicate to, from.
in

Conversation
Introduce yourself
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with suitable words from the list
below. Then fill them up correctly with information about yourself.
Teacher – Hello, everybody. I’m your teacher. My name is Miss ……. I come
from Kuliyapitiya. Tell me about yourselves.
Students – Good morning, ……….
I am …..
I’m …..
My name is…..
I am ….. years old
I’m ………
I come from ……….
My home is in ……..
I live in ………
Mala, eleven, Ratnapura, teacher, Kuliyapitiya, Ravi, Lakshmi, twelve, Vavuniya,
Fernando
Write cards with names and ages and places. Students pick these out and
introduce themselves according to the cards they have.

This is Unit 2 of the book for Grade 10 in the Secondary English Series
published by International Book House. These books are available at 151 A
Dharmapala Mawata, Colombo 3. You can contact the publisher for further
information at newpet@sltnet.lk or 037-2225884 or 011-2330742.
Grade 10: Unit 2 - Exercise 1
Read the first five verses of the following poem aloud. You can take it in turns,
with individuals reading the first four lines of each verse, and the last two lines
being read together. Write a brief description of what happens as though you
were Wilhelmine. End with a couple of sentences to indicate what you expect
your grandfather to say about the battle.
After Blenheim
(Robert Southey, 1774 – 1843)
It was a summer evening,
Old Kaspar’s work was done,
And he before his cottage door
Was sitting in the sun:
And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.
She saw her brother Peterkin
Roll something large and round
Which he beside the rivulet
In playing there had found;
He came to ask what he had found
That was so large and smooth and round.
Old Kaspar took it from the boy
Who stood expectant by ;
And then the old man shook his head,
And with a natural sigh,
‘‘Tis some poor fellow’s skull,’ said he,
‘Who fell in the great victory.
‘I find them in the garden,
For there’s many here about ;
And often when I go to plough
The ploughshare turns them out.
For many thousand men,’ said he,
‘Were slain in that great victory.’

‘Now tell us what ‘twas all about,’
Young Peterkin, he cries;
And little Wilhelmine looks up
With wonder-waiting eyes:
‘Now tell us all about the war,
And what they fought each other for?’
Noun Clauses
Look at the following pairs of sentences
He asked a question
He asked what he had found
Tell us the truth
Tell us what it was all about
Ask and tell are transitive verbs. They need an object, which is usually a noun.
However, they can also take a clause as their object, as in the second sentence
in each of the above pairs.
Such clauses are called noun clauses, because they take the place of a noun.
Sentences with a main clause and a noun clause are also called complex
sentences.
Note that, when you have a noun clause, the main clause is not complete in
itself, because it needs a noun (object, or sometimes a subject) to make sense.
Exercise 2
Fill the blanks in the following sentences with a noun clause selected from those
given beneath.
I will eat…….
………… will be punished
She said….
………… will be provided.
He asked ………..
that she was tired, whoever stole the money, when the train was due, what you
need, what you give me
Now read the rest of the poem.
‘It was the English,’ Kaspar cried,
‘Who put the French to rout :
But what they fought each other for

I could not well make out.
But everybody said,’ quoth he,
‘That ‘twas a famous victory.
‘My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by :
They burnt his dwelling to the ground.
And he was forced to fly:
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.
‘With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,
And many a childing mother then
And newborn baby died :
But things like that you know, must be
At every famous victory.
‘They say it was a shocking sight
After the field was won ;
For many thousand bodies here
Lay rotting in the sun :
But things like that, you know, must be
After a famous victory.
‘Great praise the Duke of Marlboro’ won
And our good Prince Eugene!’
‘Why, ‘twas a very wicked thing!’
Said little Wilhelmine;
‘Nay …. Nay … my little girl,’ quoth he,
‘It was a famous victory.
‘And everybody praised the Duke
Who this great fight did win.’
‘But what good came of it at last?’
Quoth little Peterkin: -
‘Why, that I cannot tell,’ said he,
‘But ‘twas a famous victory.’
In this section Kaspar describes the battle. However, he is talking about
something that happened when he was small, so he has to report what other
people said. What he says is presented in inverted commas, which we call direct
speech. When he reports what other people say, he uses what is called indirect
speech. Look at these examples –
Everybody said that it was a famous victory.
They say it was a shocking sight.

Indirect speech uses a noun clause after a verb of saying or asking. It can also
be used for thoughts and ideas as in
I believe it will rain tomorrow.
I thought she would pass the exam.
I could not make out what they fought each other for. (taken from the first verse)
The noun clause in indirect speech is introduced by that, or a suitable question
word. Note that when you report speech in the past, the verbs must be changed
to the past tense, and pronouns should be changed as required. Look at the
following examples –
‘How are you?’ she said. She asked how he was.
‘I will see you next week,’ he said. He promised that he would see her the
following week.
‘I want to know what she told you,’ he said. He said that he wanted to know what
she had told him.
Exercise 3
Turn the following into reported speech. The word ‘quoth’ means ‘said’ or ‘asked’.
‘It was the English,’ Kaspar cried, ‘Who put the French to rout: But what they
fought each other for I could not well make out.’
‘Why, ‘twas a very wicked thing!’ said little Wilhelmine;
‘My little girl,’ quoth he, ‘It was a famous victory.And everybody praised the Duke
who this great fight did win.’
‘But what good came of it at last?’ quoth little Peterkin.
‘‘Tis some poor fellow’s skull,’ said he, ‘Who fell in the great victory. I find them in
the garden, for there’s many here about; and often when I go to plough, the
ploughshare turns them out.’
Comprehension
Exercise 4
Say whether the following sentences are true or false
1. The English defeated the French in the battle of Blenheim
2. The battle was fought when Kaspar was a young man.
3. The Duke of Marlboro led the French army.
4. Kaspar’s father lived near a stream at Blenheim.
5. Peterkin had found a round stone in the river.
6. Kaspar could not answer his grandchildren’s questions.
7. Kaspar used to farm the land where the battle had been fought.
8. More than thousand people died in the battle.
9. The battle of Blenheim took place in the 19 th century.
10. Wilhelmine did not approve of the battle.

Exercise 5
Discuss in pairs what ideas the writer wants to give you about war. Write a brief
paragraph about what you think of war after reading Southey’s poem.
Now read the following poem, which was written during the First World War
(1914-1918) and answer the following questions
Exercise 6
1 What does the poet suggest has happened to him?
2. What phrase suggests that many people have died?
3. How does the poet indicate that the war continues?
4. To whom is the poem addressed?
5. What does he want them to do?
.
In Flanders Fields
(Colonel John McCrae, 1872-1918)
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch - be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Exercise 7
Contrast the impressions created in your mind about war by this poem and the
earlier one. In actual fact the writer of this poem was killed shortly before the war
ended. Does that affect your attitude to this poem and the ideas it gives?

Exercise 8
Now read the following poem, and find the answers to the following questions
1. What is happening at Netherby Hall when Lochinvar enters?
2. What words indicate his bravery?
3. What lines make clear his attitude to the bride?
4. Pick out the words that refer to his horse or horse riding.
5. What do you think happens at the end of the poem?
Young Lochinvar
(Sir Walter Scott, 1771-1832)
Oh, Young Lochinvar is come out of the west:
Through all the wide border his steed was the best;
And save his good broadsword he weapons had none;
He rode all unarmed and he rode all alone.
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar!
So boldly he entered the Netherby Hall,
Among bridesmen and kinsmen, and brothers and all:
Then spoke the bride's father, his hand on his sword
(For the poor craven bridegroom said never a word),
‘O come ye in peace here, or come ye in war,
Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar?’ -
‘I long wooed your daughter, my suit you denied, -
Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like its tide!
And now am I come, with this lost love of mine,
To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine:
There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far,
That would gladly be bride to the young Lochinvar.’
The bride kissed the goblet. The knight took it up,
He quaffed off the wine, and he threw down the cup.
She looked down to blush, and she looked up to sigh,
With a smile on her lips, and a tear in her eye.
He took her soft hand, ere her mother could bar, -
‘Now tread we a measure!’ said young Lochinvar.
One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear,
When they reached the hall door, and the charger stood near;
So light to the croup the fair lady he swung,
So light to the saddle before her he sprung!
So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,
Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar?

Exercise 9
Match the italicized words above with these meanings – dance, drank, cowardly,
refused, grows, before, wedding, reduces, brave, horseback
Exercise 10
Describe this incident from the point of view of the bride’s mother.