MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL
FCAT Reading &
Writing Focus:
FCAT Support Skills:
Language Focus:
Text:
English
alerted
bottlebrush
British army post
bungalow
burrow
cobra
cotton wool
creature
crept up
croaked
curious
explored
flood
fluffed up
fur
habits
lured
melon bed
mongoose
muskrat
nest
particularly
prized
protective
raw
rescued
should
single-handedly
sorrowful
strike
tail
tailorbird
tame
threaten
tricked
veranda
washed up
weasel
The Short Story: “Rikki-tikki-tavi” by Rudyard Kipling
Comparison/Contrast
Simile and Imagery, Making Generalizations, Drawing Conclusions
Comparisons: Equal and Unequal
Prentice Hall Literature: Bronze Level
Spanish
alertó
cepillo en forma de botella
puesto militar británico
bungalow, chalé
madriguera
serpiente cobra
lana de algodón
criatura
deslizó sigilosamente
croaron (las ranas)
curiosas
exploró
inundación
engrifó
pelo/ pelaje
costumbres
atraer (con señuelo)
melonar
mangosta
rata o ratón almizclero
nido
particularmente
premiado
protector
crudo
rescató
debe
a mano limpia
afligidos
(snake) morder
cola, rabo
pájaro tejedor
domestican
amenazando
timó, engañó
terraza
empapado y exánime
comadreja
Haitian Creole
vivan
bwòs an fòm boutèy
pòs militè britanik
boungalo
twou
kobra
koton lèn
kreyati
mache sou pwent pye
chante
kirye
(te) eksplore
inondasyon
gonfle
fouri
abitid
devye atansyon
jaden
mangous
rat
nich
patikilyèman
rekonpanse
pwotektif
kri
(te) sove
ta dwe
poukont li
tris
atak
ke
zwazo
donte
menas
kraponnen
veranda
delave
belèt
Portuguese
alertou
escova de garrafas
base militar britânica
bangalô
toca
naja
algodão
bichinho, criatura
rastejava
coaxaram
curiosos
explorou
enchente
empinou
pêlo
hábitos
atraiu
plantação de melão
mangusto
rato almiscarado
ninho
especificamente
elogiou
protetor
cru(a)
salvou, resgatou
devia, deveria
por si só
tristes
dar o bote
cauda, rabo
pássaro-alfaiate
mansos
ameaçar
atraiu, enganou
varanda
todo encharcado
doninha
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
Page 1
English Summary
“Rikki-tikki-tavi” by Rudyard Kipling
This is a story about a great war that Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handedly with the help
of his animal friends, in the bungalow of a family in India. Rikki-tikki-tavi was a mongoose that
had fur like a cat, and he had a tail, head, and habits similar to a weasel. Rikki’s eyes and the
end of his nose were pink, and he used all four legs as he pleased. When he fluffed up his tail, it
looked like a bottlebrush. Rikki made a sound like a war cry, “Rikki-tikki-tikki-tikki-tchk!”
One summer day, a flood washed Rikki out of his burrow where he lived with his mother
and father. A small boy named Teddy found Rikki washed up in the middle of a garden. Teddy
thought the mongoose was dead, but Teddy’s mother and father revived Rikki. After Rikki was
rescued, the family warmed him in cotton wool and fed him raw meat. Teddy’s father knew a lot
about animals, and he told Teddy not to frighten the creature. It is hard to frighten mongooses
because they are very curious. Teddy’s father knew that all mongooses are tame around
humans. The family fed Rikki and allowed him to run wherever he wanted in the house and
garden. Rikki explored the house and garden and was not afraid to learn new things.
Out in the garden, Rikki met Darzee the tailorbird and his wife, who were sorrowful that a
big black cobra named Nag had eaten one of their babies. The most important thing in a
mongoose’s life was to fight and eat snakes. Rikki’s eyes grew red and his tail fluffed up ready
to attack Nag. Rikki turned and bit Nagaina, Nag’s wife, who had crept up behind him. The
cobras disappeared into the grass. Just as Teddy was running down the path to pet Rikki, Rikki
saw a dusty brown snake named Karait whose bite was as dangerous as the cobra bite. Rikki
attacked and killed Karait, saving Teddy from death. When night came, Chuchundra, the
muskrat, alerted Rikki to the cobras’ plan to attack. Nag and Nagaina planned to kill the humans
so that Rikki would go away. The cobras knew that a mongoose in the garden sooner or later
meant death for a cobra. Nag waited in the bathroom to kill Teddy’s father, but Rikki attacked
Nag and held him with his teeth until Teddy’s father shot the cobra with a shotgun. Rikki had
saved the lives of his family.
In the morning, Darzee the tailorbird sang Rikki’s praises throughout the garden for all
the animals to hear. Rikki knew that Nagaina and her eggs were just as dangerous as Nag was.
Rikki went to see Darzee the tailorbird to help him find Nagaina and the nest with her eggs. The
eggs were in the melon bed, and Darzee’s wife lured Nagaina away from her eggs. Rikki bit off
the tops of the eggs and crushed the young cobras, all except one. At that moment, Darzee’s
wife arrived screaming to warn Rikki that Nagaina was threatening his family. Rikki put the egg
in his mouth and ran to the veranda. Nagaina was ready to strike Teddy’s leg, when Rikki
tricked her by showing her the egg of her young cobra. When she looked away, Teddy was
rescued. Rikki followed Nagaina with her egg in her mouth into her underground hole. Rikki
emerged and announced that Nagaina was dead.
The Coppersmith bird told the garden that Nagaina was dead, and the birds and frogs
sang and croaked. From that day on, Rikki kept the garden as a mongoose should keep it. No
cobra dared to show its head inside the walls. The story ended with a song in honor of Rikkitikki-tavi.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
Page 2
Spanish Summary
“Rikki-tikki-tavi” de Rudyard Kipling
Este es la historia acerca de la guerra que Rikki-tikki-tavi peleó a pata limpia y con la
ayuda de sus amigos contra las cobras, en un bungalow familiar del puesto militar británico de
Segowlee en la India.
Rikki-tikki-tavi era una mangosta, tenía un pelaje como el de los gatos, un rabo, una
cabeza y unas costumbres parecidas a la de la comadreja, los ojos y la punta del hociquito eran
rosados, y usaba sus cuatro patas como le venía en ganas. Cuando se enojaba o peleaba,
Rikki engrifaba su cola, y ésta parecía una brocha en forma de botella, entonces lanzaba su
grito de guerra, un sonido similar a “¡Rikki-tikki-tikki-tikki-tchk!”
Un día de verano, las aguas de una inundación arrancaron a Rikki de la madriguera
donde vivía con sus padres. Un pequeño llamado Teddy encontró a Rikki empapado y
exánime en medio del jardín y lo dió por muerto, pero su papá y su mamá lo revivieron.
Después que Rikki fue rescatado, la familia lo arropó con lana de algodón para que entrara en
calor y le dió de comer carne cruda. El padre de Teddy sabía mucho acerca de animales y le
dijo a su hijo que no asustara a la criatura, aunque fuera difícil amedrentar a las mangostas ya
que eran muy curiosas. El papá sabía también que todas las mangostas se domestican
cuando están cerca de los humanos. La familia alimentaba a Rikki y le permitía correr por
donde quisiera, explorando la casa y el jardín, sin tener miedo de conocer cosas nuevas.
Afuera, en el jardín, Rikki conoció a Darzee el pájaro tejedor y su esposa, quienes
estaban afligidos porque una serpiente cobra, negra y enorme, llamada Nag, se había comido a
uno de sus pichoncitos. La cosa más importante en la vida de una mangosta era pelear con las
serpientes y después comérselas. Cuando Nag hizo su aparición, los ojos de Rikki se
enrojecieron y su cola se engrifó: estaba listo para atacar. Rikki se volteó y mordió a Nagaina,
la esposa de Nag, que se había deslizado detrás de él sigilosamente y las dos cobras
desaparecieron en la hierba. Justamente mientras Teddy iba corriendo por el sendero para ir a
atenderlo, Rikki vió a una pequeña serpiente de color tierra llamada Karait cuya mordida era tan
peligrosa como la de la cobra, Rikki atacó y mató a Karait salvando de la muerte a Teddy.
Cuando vino la noche, Chuchundra, la rata almizclera, alertó a Rikki del plan de ataque de Nag
y Nagaina: ellos proyectaban matar a los humanos para hacer que Rikki se marchara, ellas
sabían que una mangosta en el jardín significaría su muerte más tarde o más temprano. Nag
se agazapó en el baño para asesinar al padre de Teddy, pero Rikki atacó primero y lo sujetó
con sus dientes mientras que el papá de Teddy le disparaba con una escopeta. Rikki había
salvado las vidas de su familia.
A la mañana siguiente, Darzee el pájaro tejedor cantó alabanzas a Rikki para que todos
los animales lo escucharan a través del jardín. Sin embargo, Rikki estaba preocupado porque
la cobra Nagaina y sus huevos eran tan peligrosos como lo era el difunto Nag, por eso fue a ver
a Darzee para que lo ayudara a encontrar a Nagaina y su nido. Descubrieron que los huevos
estaban escondidos en el melonar, así que la esposa de Darzee fue hasta allí y, usándose ella
misma como señuelo, logró atraer a Nagaina bien lejos. Rikki llegó al nido y mordió la parte
superior de los huevos aplastando a todas las jóvenes cobras, excepto a una. En ese
momento, la esposa de Darzee llegó piando muy alterada para avisarle a la mangosta que
Nagaina estaba amenazando a su familia; Rikki, poniendo el huevecillo en su boca, corrió hacia
la terraza donde la cobra estaba a punto de morder la pierna de Teddy. Rikki la timó
mostrándole el huevo de la joven cobra, y en el instante que ésta apartó la mirada, el niño fue
rescatado. Rikki, con el huevo aún en la boca, persiguió a Nagaina hasta su cueva bajo la
tierra, poco más tarde salió y anunció que la malvada serpiente estaba muerta.
El pájaro calderero le contó al jardín que Nagaina había muerto, y las aves y las ranas
cantaron y croaron de alegría. Desde ese día en adelante, Rikki mantuvo el jardín como una
mangosta lo debe mantener: ninguna cobra se atrevía a asomar la cabeza dentro de sus
muros. El cuento finaliza con una canción en honor a Rikki-tikki-tavi.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
Page 3
Haitian Creole Summary
“Rikki-tikki-tavi” daprè Rudyard Kipling
Sa se istwa yon gwo gè Rikki-tikki-tavi te mennen poukont li avèk èd zanmi bèt li yo nan
boungalo yon fanmi nan peyi End. Rikki-tikki-tavi se te yon mangous ki te gen pwal tankou
chat, yon ke, yon tèt, epi ki viv menm jan ak yon belèt. Je Rikki-tikki-tavi ak pwent nen li te wòz
epi li te sèvi ak tout kat pat li nenpòt jan li te vle. Lè li gonfle ke li, li sanble ak yon bwòs boutèy.
Kri Rikki te sanble ak yon kri degè: “Rikki-tikki-tikki-tikki-tchk”!
Nan yon sezon ete, te gen yon inondasyon ki te pase ki te ratibwaze twou kote Rikki te
rete ak manman li ak papa li a. Gen yon ti gason ki te rele Teddy ki te jwenn Rikki byen neye
nan mitan yon jaden. Teddy te konprann mangous la te mouri. Men manman Teddy ak papa li
te resisite Rikki. Aprè yo te fin sove Rikki, fanmi an te chofe li nan lèn an koton ak ba li manje
vyann kri. Papa Teddy te konnen bèt byen, kidonk li te di Teddy pou pa fè kreyati a pè. Li difisil
pou moun fè mangous pè paske yo se bèt ki kirye anpil. Papa Teddy te konnen mangous se
bèt ki pa pè moun. Fanmi an te nouri Rikki epi yo te kite li kouri tout kote li te vle nan kay la ak
nan jaden an. Rikki te pwonmennen nan tout kay la ak nan jaden an, epi li pa t ezite aprann kèk
nouvo bagay.
Deyò nan jaden an, Rikki te rankontre Darzee, ti zwazo tit la ak madanm li ki te gen
lapèn akoz yon gwo kobra nwa ki rele Nag te manje youn nan pitit yo. Sa ki pi enpòtan nan lavi
yon mangous se goumen ak manje koulèv. Je Rikki te vin wouj ak kolè epi ke li te gonfle, prèt
pou atake Nag. Rikki vire pou mòde Nagaina, madanm Nag ki te ranpe tou dousman pou vin
dèyè li. Koulèv yo te fonn disparèt nan zèb la. Pandan Teddy t ap kouri desann pou vin karese
Rikki, Rikki te remake yon koulèv mawon pal ki rele Karai ki te danjere menm jan ak yon kobra
lè li mòde. Rikki te atake ak touye Karai pou te kab sove lavi Teddy. Nan aswè, Chuchundra,
yon rat miske, te fè Rikki konnen plan atak kobra yo. Nag ak Nagaina te gen plan pou touye
moun yo yon fason pou Rikki te kab ale. Kobra yo te konnen prezans yon mangous nan jaden
an te vle di lanmò pou yo yon jou kou jodi a. Nag te kache ap tann nan twalèt la pou rive touye
papa Teddy, men Rikki te atake Nag kote li te rive kenbe li a ak dan li jiskaske papa Teddy te
tire li ak yon fizi. Rikki te sove lavi fanmi an.
Nan maten, Darzee, zwazo tayè a te chante louwanj Rikki nan jaden an pou tout bèt
tande. Rikki te konnen Nagaina ak ze li yo te danjere menm jan ak Nag. Rikki te ale kote
Darzee, zwazo tayè a, pou ede li jwenn Nagaina ak nich kote li gen ze li yo. Ze yo te nan chan
melon an epi madanm Darzee te devye atansyon Nagaina pou li pa jwenn ze li yo. Rikki te
mòde ze yo nan tèt pou defèt yo epi li te kraze tout tibebe kobra yo, eksepte yon sèl. Pandan
tan sa a, madanm Darzee te kouri vini ap rele pou avèti Rikki Nagaina t ap menase atake fanmi
li. Rikki te mete ze a nan bouch li kouri al sou veranda a. Nagaina te fin pare pou mòde janm
Teddy lè Rikki te fè li wè ze tibebe kobra a nan bouch li pou kraponnen li. Lè li te vire tèt li
gade, Teddy te gen tan sove. Rikki te suiv Nagaina ak ze a nan bouch li rive jis nan twou li
anba tè. Rikki te soti parèt deyò pou anonse Nagaina te mouri.
Zwazo tèt wouj la te di tout jaden an Nagaina te mouri epi tout zwazo yo ak krapo yo t ap
chante. Depi lè sa a, Rikki kenbe jaden an jan yon mangous ta sipoze kenbe li. Pa gen kobra
ki te oze parèt tèt li nan mi yo. Istwa a te fini ak yon chante kòm ochan pou Rikki-tikki-tavi.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
Page 4
Portuguese Summary
“Rikki-tikki-tavi” by Rudyard Kipling
Esta é uma história sobre uma grande batalha que Rikki-tikki-tavi travou por si só, com o
apoio dos animais, seus amigos, no bangalô de uma família da Índia. Rikki-tikki-tavi era um
mangusto que tinha o pêlo de um gato e tinha o rabo, cabeça e hábitos semelhantes aos de
uma doninha. Os olhos de Rikki e a ponta de seu focinho eram cor-de-rosa e ele se movia
livremente com suas quatro patas. Quando empinava o rabo, parecia uma escova de garrafas.
Rikki emitia um som que era como um grito de guerra: “Rikki-tikki-tikki-tikki-tchk!”
Num dia de verão uma enchente levou Rikki da toca onde morava com sua mãe e seu
pai. Um garotinho chamado Teddy encontrou Rikki todo encharcado no meio de um jardim.
Teddy pensou que o mangusto estava morto, mas sua mãe e seu pai fizeram com que ele
voltasse a si. Após salvar Rikki a família o aqueceu com algodão e o alimentou com carne crua.
O pai de Teddy sabia muitas coisas sobre animais e disse a Teddy para não assustar o
bichinho. É difícil assustar mangustos porque eles são muito curiosos. O pai de Teddy sabia
que todos os mangustos eram mansos diante das pessoas. A família deu comida a Rikki e
deixou que ele corresse onde quisesse, pela casa e pelo jardim. Rikki explorou a casa e o
jardim e não temia aprender coisas novas.
Lá fora no jardim, Rikki encontrou Darzee, o pássaro-alfaiate e sua esposa, que
estavam tristes porque uma grande naja preta, chamada Nag, havia comido um de seus
filhotes. A coisa mais importante na vida de um mangusto é enfrentar e comer cobras. Os olhos
de Rikki tornaram-se vermelhos e grandes e seu rabo empinou; ele estava pronto para atacar
Nag. Rikki se virou e mordeu Nagaina, a esposa de Nag, que se rastejava por trás dele. As
cobras desapareceram no gramado. Enquanto Teddy se dirigia a Rikki pelo caminho de
entrada para acariciá-lo, Rikki viu uma cobra marron-ferrugem chamada Karait, cuja mordida é
tão perigosa quanto à da naja. Rikki atacou e matou Karait, salvando a vida de Teddy. Quando
anoiteceu, Chuchundra, um rato almiscarado, alertou Rikki sobre o plano que a naja tinha de
atacar. Nag e Nagaina planejavam matar os humanos para que Rikki desaparecesse dali. As
najas sabiam que um mangusto no jardim, mais cedo ou mais tarde, significaria a morte delas.
Nag ficou esperando no banheiro para matar o pai de Teddy, mas Rikki atacou Nag e o
segurou firme com seus dentes, até que o pai de Teddy atirasse nele com uma arma. Rikki
salvou a vida dos membros de sua família.
Pela manhã, Darzee, o pássaro-alfaiate, cantou fazendo elogios a Rikki, para que todos
os animais do jardim ouvissem. Rikki sabia que Nagaina e seus ovos eram tão perigosos
quanto Nag. Rikki foi se encontrar com Darzee, o pássaro-alfaiate, para ajudá-lo a achar
Nagaina e seu ninho. Os ovos estavam numa plantação de melão e a esposa de Darzee atraiu
Nagaina para longe deles. Rikki mordeu a parte superior dos ovos e esmagou os filhotes da
naja, com exceção de um deles. Neste momento a esposa de Darzee chegou gritando para
avisar a Rikki que Nagaina estava ameaçando sua família. Rikki correu para a varanda, com o
ovo em sua boca. Nagaina estava pronta para dar o bote na perna de Teddy, quando Rikki a
atraiu mostrando-a o ovo com seu filhote. Assim que ela olhou, Teddy pôde se salvar. Rikki
seguiu Nagaina, que tinha o ovo em sua boca, até que ambos entrassem no buraco
subterrâneo de Nagaina. Rikki saiu do buraco e anunciou que Nagaina estava morta.
O pássaro capitão-de-bigode anunciou para todo o jardim que Nagaina estava morta e
os pássaros e sapos cantaram e coaxaram. Daquele dia em diante, Rikki manteve o jardim
como um mangusto deveria mantê-lo e nenhuma naja ousou aparecer novamente. A história
teve um final com uma música em homenagem a Rikki-tikki-tavi.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
Page 5
Beginning Listening Activities
Minimal Pairs
Objective: Auditory discrimination of confusing sounds in words
Procedure: Write a word pair on the board. (Example: there-dare) Write #1 above the first, #2
above the second. The teacher models by pronouncing one of the words without indicating
which. Teams guess which word they heard, #1, or #2. Pronounce both words in the pair.
Teams guess the order they heard (1-2, 2-1). Call out the numbers 1 or 2. Teams respond with
the word (Can be done with sentences). Use both words in the pair in otherwise identical
sentences. (Example: The Constitution is the heart of US government. The contribution is the
heart of US government.) Teams decide which sentence has meaning, and which is silly.
(Award points for correct responses.)
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Minimal Pairs Activity:
wash/watch
prize/price
post/boast
tame/dame
raw/law
flood/fled
Bingo
Objective: Auditory comprehension of vocabulary from the lesson
Procedure: Choose vocabulary words or phrases from the lesson summary list or from
students' classroom texts. Give each team a blank Bingo card. Each team writes vocabulary
words/text phrases you provide on the board in the spaces of their choice. Randomly select
sentences from the text and read them aloud. Teams mark their Bingo spaces when they hear
the word or phrase.
Intermediate Listening Activities
Team Spelling Test
Objective: Listen for lesson vocabulary words & collaborate with others to spell them correctly.
Procedure: Place ten vocabulary words (or fewer depending on time) in a pocket chart or on a
chalk tray. Teams get 3-5 minutes to study the words. Hide the words from view. Each team
uses one pencil and one sheet of paper. (Team name at top; numbers 1-10 down the left
margin) Read the spelling words as you would during a traditional spelling test. The first team
member writes word number one with the team's help, and then passes the paper and pencil to
the second team member who will write word number two, etc. Students on each team take
turns. Teams exchange papers. Place the 10 words back in view. Teams check each other's
tests. A team gets one point for each word spelled correctly.
Options: Ask for additional information. For example, you may ask teams to write a sentence
with the word in it. You might ask for a specific tense, plural form, opposite, etc.
An alternative technique is to have each team member complete all spelling items on his/her
own paper. Team members are allowed to help each other. On completion, collect the one
paper of your choice. The grade on that paper will count for each team member.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Spelling Activity: Use the following words for the test. The teacher gives the
singular form of the noun. The students give the plural form.
bungalow, burrow, cobra, creature, croaked, curious, mongoose, muskrat, threaten, weasel
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
Page 6
Follow Directions
Objective: Listen for the purpose of following spoken directions.
Procedure: With one piece of paper and one pencil, team members take turns writing on paper
what the teacher directs to complete a task.
1. For example, there might be a list of dates. The teacher might say the following: Draw a
circle around 1492. Make a star in front of 1546. Connect 1322 and 1673 with a line.
2. The teacher might direct teams to make changes to a sentence. Example: He sailed to the
Americas in 1492. The teacher says, “Circle the verb. Put a box around the preposition”.
3. Another example: Change the verb to the present tense. Add 505 years to the date. Change
the subject to the third person plural.
4. The teacher might also direct teams to complete a drawing, or draw the route of an explorer
on a map. Teams that complete the exercise correctly get a point.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Follow Directions Activity:
Provide teams with paper, pencil and a set of word cards. Teams will follow the directions to
hear, read, and classify words for rodents and reptiles.
Word cards: alligator, crocodile, gerbil, hamster, lizard, mouse, muskrat, rats, snake, squirrel,
turtle
Directions:
a) Fold a paper in half vertically.
b) Open the paper and you should see two columns.
c) At the top of the first column write, “Rodents”
d) At the top of the second column write, “Reptiles”
e) Find the word “rat”, and move it to the rodent column.
f) Find the word “snake”, and move it to the reptile column.
g) Find the word “mouse”, and move it to the rodent column.
h) Find the word “lizard”, and move it to the reptile column.
i) Find the word “squirrel”, and move it to the rodent column.
j) Find the word “turtle”, and move it to the reptile column.
k) Find the word “gerbil”, and move it to the rodent column.
l) Find the word “crocodile”, and move it to the reptile column.
m) Find the word “hamster”, and move it to the rodent column.
n) Find the word “alligator”, and move it to the reptile column.
o) Find the word “muskrat”, and move it to the rodent column.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
Page 7
Dictation
Objective: Listen to discriminate words in sentences and reproduce them in writing.
Procedure: Dictate sentences from the lesson, saying each sentence only two times (once if
listening skills allow) Team members take turns writing the sentences, assisting each other.
(Teams can write sentences on the board to correct them in class, or collect as a quiz.)
Option: An alternative technique is to have each team member complete all dictation items on
his/her own paper. Team members are allowed to help each other. On completion, collect one
paper of your choice. The grade on that paper will count for each team member.
Option: Dictate a sentence with an important word left out. Offer four choices for teams to write.
Example: Columbus landed in… a) Boston b) Haiti c) Argentina d) England
Option for Dictating Dates or mathematical concepts/formulas: Can be written in number
form or in word form (fourteen hundred and ninety-two) (All sides are equal in an equilateral
triangle.) Dictate the question, so teams can write them down. Then each team answers the
question in the group. (What kind of polygon has two parallel sides?)
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Dictation Activity:
a) Rudyard Kipling wrote a short story about a mongoose.
b) The mongoose was washed out of his burrow by a summer flood.
c) The mongoose ended up in a garden and became a family pet.
d) Mongooses help people by killing snakes, rats, and mice.
e) Rikki-tikki-tavi killed two cobras that threatened the family.
Proficient Listening Activities
Interview
Objective: Role play a verbal interaction in the form of an interview
Procedure: You play the role of an informative person relative to the topic of the unit.
Choose a representative from each team and distribute the questions among them. These
students play the role of journalists. Provide students with these questions to interview you in
your new role. Teams must coach their representative, and take notes of the answers for
Writing Activity #1, Language Experience Story.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Interview Activities: You play the role of the Teddy’s mother. Choose several
students to play the role of Teddy. Provide these students with the questions below. They take
turns asking you questions. Students not asking questions must take notes of Teddy’s answers.
Students save notes for Writing Activity #1, Language Experience Story.
When I found the mongoose, mother, what did you think?
When you looked at him, what did you see?
What did you do to revive him?
Why did you feed him?
What did you hope the mongoose would do?
What did you mean when you said that the mongoose was “providence” after he killed
the brown snake?
What happened when Nag came into the bathroom?
What happened when Nagaina went into her hole?
Will Rikki-tikki-tavi always live with us?
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Beginning Speaking Activities
Intentional Intonation
Objective: Auditory discrimination and oral production of intonation/stress patterns in spoken
English
Procedure: Write the sentence on the board and then say it, stressing one word. Teams take
turns explaining the special meaning the emphasis brings to the sentence. Repeat this process
several times with the same sentence, each time emphasizing a different word.
Example:
All for one and one for all! (not none) …..(not, “None for one and one for all!)
All for one and one for all! (not from) …..(not, All from one and one for all!)
All for one and one for all! (not three) …..(not, “All for three and one for all!)
All for one and one for all! (not or) …..(not, “All for one or one for all!”)
All for one and one for all! (not everyone) …..(not, “All for one and everyone for all!”)
All for one and one for all! (not to)….. (not, “All for one and one to all”!)
All for one and one for all! (not nobody) …..(not, “All for one and one for nobody!”)
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Intentional Intonation Activities:
This story is about a mongoose that lives at a British army post. (not poem)
This story is about a mongoose that lives at a British army post. (not above)
This story is about a mongoose that lives at a British army post. (not muskrat)
This story is about a mongoose that lives at a British army post. (not visits)
This story is about a mongoose that lives at a British army post. (not French)
This story is about a mongoose that lives at a British army post. (not navy)
This story is about a mongoose that lives at a British army post. (not base)
Backwards Build-up
Objective: Auditory discrimination and oral reproduction of rhythmic patterns of spoken English
Procedure: Students practice the intonation, stress, and punctuation of sentences by repeating,
by teams, the increasingly larger fragments of a sentence modeled by you. Repeat each line (as
necessary) until teams can pronounce the segments well. Continue to build up to the complete
sentence. Teams completing the exercise correctly get a point. Example:
…in fourteen hundred and ninety-two …blue in fourteen hundred and ninety-two
…the ocean blue in fourteen hundred and ninety-two. …sailed the ocean blue in fourteen
hundred and ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred and ninety-two.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Backward Build-up Activity:
a) The mongoose was washed out his burrow by a summer flood.
b) He ended up in a garden of a bungalow where an Englishman found him.
c) The Englishman dried out the mongoose and he kept him as a family pet.
d) Families in India prize mongooses because they kill mice, rats, and snakes.
e) The two cobras that lived in the garden tried to kill the Englishman’s family.
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Intermediate Speaking Activities
Charades
Objective: Oral production to determine word meaning and context of new lesson vocabulary
Procedure: Team members guess who/what the teacher (or student) is silently role-playing.
(Ex: famous person, geometric shape, scientific theory) The team guessing correctly gets point.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Charades Activity: Suggestions:
threaten, sang praises, crept up, croaked, explored, fluffed up, fur, nest, sorrowful, tame,
curious, crept up
Mixed-up Sentence
Objective: Each team consults to give spoken directions to correct a “mixed-up” sentence.
Procedure: Write a sentence on the board that contains lesson vocabulary and grammar, but
scramble the order of the words and put a capital letter or two in the wrong places(s). Tell the
class the way the sentence should read. Example sentence: A dicot seed has two parts. You
might write on the board: “tWo a seed dicot hAs parts”. The person whose turn it is must
verbally give directions to make a correction after consulting with the team. The teacher follows
the exact directions given and, if correct, gives the team a point. Then s/he calls on next team.
Example: “Move the A to the front”. You might decide to erase letter “a” in “part” and put it at
the beginning of the sentence. Perhaps you erase an “a” and rewrite it on the wall somewhere in
front of the classroom. In both cases, you were not given the detailed instructions necessary to
complete the task, and you would move on to the next group without awarding a point. You are
looking for a response something like, “Remove the first capital A and replace it with a lower
case A.” Directions like these get teams points. Continue until the sentence is reorganized, with
a capital at the beginning and a period at the end.
Notes: This activity is very difficult and takes several weeks to master. Students will prefer to
show you what to do, but do not let them. The idea is to tell you, not show you. The first time
you use the activity do not spend more than five minutes. Stop and discuss the kinds of
directions they need to give in the future. Do not give up on this activity, no matter how
immature the students.
Proficient Speaking Activities
Twenty Questions
Objective: Ask oral questions about a photo or picture to determine meaning of vocabulary
words.
Procedure: A student from one team selects a photo or picture without showing it to members
of teams. Teams take turns asking YES/NO questions about the picture. The picture holder can
only answer yes or no. If a team guesses correctly, it receives 20 points minus the number of
questions that have been asked divided by two. Example: Is it from the fifteenth Century? Is it a
boat? (etc.)
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Twenty Questions Activity: Photo or picture suggestions:
bottlebrush, bungalow, burrow, cobra, cotton wool, creature, flood, fur, India, melon bed,
mongoose, muskrat, nest, veranda, weasel
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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FCAT FOCUS READING SKILL: Using Comparison Contrast
Teacher-Student Grammar Notes are provided as a teaching resource or student study notes.
What to do and what to watch for-Comparing and contrasting is a skill you use every day.
You compare prices when you shop to get the best value for your money. You contrast one TV
show with another to decide which one you will watch. The ability to compare and contrast
details is an important skill.
The FCAT test requires you to compare and contrast. Sometimes you are asked to look at
things in one passage, and sometimes you will compare and contrast two passages that have
similarities and differences. Find the details in the passage(s) and organize them. Similarities
are easier to find than differences.
There are two kinds of comparison/contrast questions: multiple-choice questions and
READ/THINK/EXPLAIN questions. Do not let the questions get you confused. Follow the steps
below to stay on track.
a) Make a comparison/contrast diagram like the example above. Label the two things you
are comparing, and then list similarities and differences.
b) Look for the comparison/contrast words in the lists below.
c) In writing your responses, make a statement (like a topic sentence) about why
similarities and differences are important. You can also say the same thing again at the
end (like a conclusion).
d) Organize the main points you want to make in your comparison. Compare point by point
or compare points by topic.
Compare similarities and differences. In comparison/contrast, we tell how two ideas or things
are alike or how they are different. Sometimes something that is unknown will be compared
and contrasted to something familiar to you. This Venn diagram organizes information
comparing and contrasting baseball and soccer. It shows both similarities and differences.
DIFFERENCES
SIMILARITIES
DIFFERENCES
BASEBALL
BOTH
SOCCER
BAT
BASES
SMALL BALL
PITCHER
RUNS
ROUND BALL
GOOD ATHLETES
SPECTATORS
ACTION SPORTS
UNIFORMS
CLEETS
NET
LARGE BALL
GOALIE
GOALS
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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COMPARISON CONTRAST MODEL
DIFFERENT
SAME
DIFFERENT
_______________
_______________
____________
_______________
_______________
____________
_______________
_______________
____________
_______________
_______________
____________
_______________
_______________
____________
Learn key comparison/contrast words. These words signal or point out a comparison or
show a contrast. We can compare two or more things, people, or ideas. Some comparison
words make equal comparisons (similarities), and others make unequal comparisons
(differences). Review details in a text by skimming for comparison/contrast words.
Equal comparisons: Compare two people, things, or ideas with the same or equal qualities.
Here are some words to watch for and examples:
the same (+ noun) the same as… (+noun phrase) as…(+ adjective/adverb) as…
a) the same (+ noun)
The two girls have the same dress.
The two sentences say the same thing.
b) the same as… (+noun phrase)
I have the same car as you.
Girls are not the same as boys.
c) as…(+ adjective/adverb) as…
Vladimir is as tall as Tiago.
My watch is as expensive as your watch.
I work as diligently as I can.
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Unequal comparisons: Compare and contrast people, things, or ideas with similar or different
(unequal) qualities. Here are some words to watch for and examples.
like, alike
similar to
different
from
but…
more…(+adjective/adverb/noun)
than…
less…(+adjective/adverb/noun) than…
nearly as…(+adjective) as…
… (adjective+ -er) than…
almost as…(+adjective) as…
one of the…(adjective+ -est) +
noun
the…(adjective+ -est)
the most…(+adjective).
Examples:
a) like. Students in this class are like students in all other classes.
b) alike. Jose and Rudy look alike.
c) similar to. This flower is similar to that flower in shape and color.
d) different from. A circle is different from a square.
e) more…(+adjective/adverb/noun) than…
My CD player cost more money than yours did.
This book is more interesting than that one.
I walk more slowly than you walk.
f) less…(+adjective/adverb/noun) than…
Julia has less time than the other students do.
This play is less serious than the other play.
He works less efficiently than Joseph.
My suit cost less than that one.
g) … (adjective+ -er) than… She is much happier than her friends are.
h) But. A lemon is sour, but an apple is sweet.
i) but…affirmative/negative. I like chocolate, but Maria doesn’t.
An elephant doesn’t fly, but a bird does.
j) nearly/almost as…(+adjective) as…
James is almost (nearly) as tall as Rolfe is.
This class is nearly as easy as PE class.
k) the most…(+adjective). The most beautiful girl in the world is my mother.
l) the…(adjective+ -est). The fastest car in the race will win.
m) one of the…(adjective+ -est) + noun. One of the nicest days is Sunday.
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Comparison/Contrast Practice Activity: Students can work in groups to combine the following
statements by using the comparison/contrast words. Have groups share answers with the class.
Point out that there can be more than one way to make a comparison or show contrast. Have
students continue to work in groups to write their own original comparisons. Examples:
Maria has the red dress. Josefina has the red dress too.
(Maria and Josefina have the same red dress.)
Joe’s car is new. Bill’s car is old.
(Joe’s car is different from Bill’s car.)
The blue house has four bedrooms. The yellow house has five bedrooms.
(The blue house is almost as large as the yellow one.)
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)
m)
n)
o)
Marta likes hot dogs and cherry coke. Wilfredo does too.
Sports cars have two doors. Family cars have four doors.
Paul is 5’6” tall. Milee is 5’8” tall. Miko is 6’2” tall.
I have ten dollars. You have twenty-five dollars. Mom has fifty dollars.
My dog is 10 pounds. My sister’s dog is seventy pounds.
I like soup. My best friend doesn’t.
My motorcycle jumped 200’. The world record is 228’.
Oranges are orange. Apples are red.
Some people are nice. Some people are mean.
My hair is short and curly. Suzanne’s hair is short and straight.
French fries taste good. Rice is delicious.
A giraffe’s neck is thin. A bird’s neck is very thin.
This book is interesting. That book is very interesting.
Florida is a large state. Alaska is a very large state.
Texas is hot. Florida is very hot.
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Beginning Reading Activities
Pre Reading
Objective: Listen to a short series of oral sentences in order to answer simple questions.
Procedure: Use the short summary paragraph below (5-10 sentences). Read the paragraph to
the class two times. Then read the paragraph a 3rd time, stopping at the end of each sentence to
ask questions. Ask several questions for each sentence, and ask a variety of types of questions
(i.e. yes/no, either/or, and “wh-“). Ask the questions at a quick pace, and if the group cannot
answer quickly enough, move on to the next group.
Example: Columbus sailed to America in 1492. Sample Questions: Did Columbus sail to
America? Did Columbus sail to Europe? Did Columbus sail to Europe or America? Where did
he sail? Did King Ferdinand sail to America? Did Columbus or King Ferdinand sail to America?
Who sailed to America? Did he sail in 1942? Did he sail in 1492 or 1942? When did he sail?
Option: Read the paragraph a 4th time. Ask questions again. End the activity by dictating the
paragraph to the teams. Allow collaboration within the team. Collect/grade one dictation from
each team. Each student on the team receives the same grade.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Pre Reading Activity:
Rikki-tikki-tavi was a mongoose that was flooded out of his home and ended up in a
garden bungalow in India. At first, he looked dead, but the family who lived there revived him.
Rikki became the family pet and had the run of the house and garden. Rikki saved the lives of
his family when he attacked and killed two black cobras, Nag, and his wife Nagaina, and a
poisonous snake named Karait. Nag and Nagaina planned to kill the humans so that Rikki
would go away. Rikki kept the garden as a mongoose should keep it. No cobra dared to show
its head inside the walls
Intermediate-Proficient Reading Activities
Total Recall
Objective: Read a text in order to ask and answer short questions.
Procedure: Teams prepare 3 (or more) questions and their answers from the text. Teams are
allowed to write notes about the text. Teams take turns asking each other their questions, and
challenging incorrect responses. Responding teams are not allowed to raise hands. The team
asking the question chooses which team answers. The same question cannot be asked twice. If
a team does not answer correctly, it loses a point and the team asking the question gets a point.
When a team does not agree with the answer that the questioner deems correct, it can
challenge that team. The challenging team must prove that it is also correct or that the
questioning team is incorrect. It does not need to prove both. All teams can join a challenge on
either side (questioner's side or respondent's side), but they must do so immediately. (Teams
may wait to see how many teams are joining each side, which is unfair.). Once the teams have
taken sides on a challenge, they look up the answer in the book. All teams siding with the
correct answer get 2 points, and losers lose 2 points.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Story Grammars
Objective: Identify a common organizational pattern or “grammar” of a reading text.
Procedure: Introduce story grammars by using the Language Experience Approach. The
second time, have each group prepare one. Once groups have mastered story grammars,
individuals can prepare their own, but include incentives for the group to help individual
members. For example, you might want to give a team a point for each member who receives a
grade of B or higher.
Example: Setting:___, Characters:___, ___,Problem:___, Goal:___, Events Leading to goal
(list in order):___, ___, ___,Resolution: ___(Three possibilities include: character solves
problem, character learns to live with problem, problem defeats character)
Note: Story grammars help students understand that most stories have a common organization,
and they help students to write reports, evaluate the quality of stories, and write their own
stories.
Judgment
Objective: Read a text for the purpose of identifying facts and opinions.
Procedure: On five separate strips of paper, each team writes (or copies) 5 sentences from the
text that show facts and opinions. Teams write their team name on the backs of the 5 strips, and
swap their sentences. Teams read the sentence strips they have, and place them in either a fact
basket or opinion basket in front of the room. The teacher reads each sentence strip from the
two baskets. For each, the teams decide if the sentence was correctly placed. If correct, the
team with its name on the strip gets a point. If not correct, that team loses a point. (This
encourages effective writing.)
Option: This activity may be adapted to focus on cause/effect, reality/fantasy or inferred/explicit.
True or False
Objective: Read a text passage for the purpose of making true and false statements about it.
Procedure: Teams make a “T” chart (2 columns with titles--one side is for true, the other side is
for false). Teams make three true or false statements about the text. A representative from the
first team reads one statement aloud. The other teams listen and place their token on the
appropriate side of their True/False chart. The questioning team decides which choices are
correct. Each correct answer earns a team a point. In a disagreement, follow the challenge rules
of Total Recall.
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Scan
Objective: Scan a text for the purpose of asking and answering simple questions.
Procedure:
1. Teams write 3 questions about an assigned text. Next to each question, they write page
number and paragraph number where the answer is located.
2. A representative from each team asks the team’s questions. The other teams get 60
seconds for each question to scan the text, find the answer, page and paragraph numbers,
and write them on a sheet of paper. Any team not getting the answer within that time loses a
point.
3. Any time a responding team loses a point, the questioning team gets a point. The responding
teams take turns reading out their page and paragraph numbers. Then the questioning team
reads its page and paragraph numbers.
4. Team respondents who have the same answer as the questioner get an automatic point.
Respondents who do not have the same answer as the questioner are not automatically
wrong. Both the questioner and respondent read aloud their chosen paragraph. The
questioner then decides if the respondent is also correct (Many times the answer to a
question can be found in more than one place in a text). If the respondent is also correct, the
respondent gets a point.
5. If the questioner says that the respondent is incorrect, the respondent may challenge (as in
Total Recall). The responding team must prove that it is also correct or that the questioner is
incorrect. It does not need to prove both. Other teams may join one side or the other. The
teacher then decides who wins. Winning teams get 2 points and losers lose 2 points.
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Beginning- Writing Activities
Language Experience Story
Objective: Use student-created writing as a text as a model for individual student writings, for
rereading or other written activities, including Story Grammars, RAFT, and Spool Writing.
Procedure: Language Experience instruction involves asking students to talk about some item
of relevance to the class. You may use information from Listening Activity “Interview” or
information learned in other unit activities. Individual team members and teams take turns
offering sentences to be added to the text. You write individual contributions on the board,
including non-standard forms or word order. Then ask teams to correct or change the text to
standard English grammar and syntax and to decide on an organizational format. Assist teams
in making necessary adjustments. After the text is corrected, students copy it in their notebooks,
or you can type and distribute it.
Indirect Speech
Objective: Write a familiar dialog in paragraph form, using indirect or reported speech.
Procedure: Use the dialog in this lesson written for Presenting Activity “Dialog”. After teams
have completed presenting their dialogs (see Presenting Activities), have each group write the
dialog in a paragraph format using indirect speech. Example:
COLUMBUS: “I need money to buy ships to sail west.”
Columbus asked the queen for some money to sail to the west.
Teams use one piece of paper and one pencil only. Each member takes a turn writing a line of
the dialog. Other team members can offer help, but they cannot write it for the individual whose
turn it is to write. Collect and grade. Each member of the team gets the same grade.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Indirect Speech Activity: Use the dialog in this lesson written for Presenting
Activity “Dialog”.
Example:
Father to Mother:
A mongoose would be a good pet for Teddy.
Father told Mother that a mongoose would be a good pet for Teddy.
Intermediate-Proficient Writing Activities
Language Experience Story
Objective: Create a collaborative writing text to use as a model for re-reading, individual
student writing or other written activities (including Story Grammars, RAFT, and Spool Writing)
Procedure: Language Experience Story instruction involves asking students to talk about some
item of relevance to the class. (You may use information from Listening Activity 6, the Interview,
or information learned in other unit activities.) Teams take turns, through individual members,
offering sentences to be added to the text. You write their contributions on the board, including
non-standard forms and word order. Ask groups to change the text to standard English
grammatical and lexical forms and to decide on an acceptable organizational format. Help the
groups when they cannot make all of the necessary adjustments. After the text is corrected,
students copy it in their notebooks, or you can type and distribute it.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Framed Paragraphs
Objective: Use a “frame” (outline or template) for writing a paragraph that contains a main idea
(topic sentence), supporting details, and a summary statement (conclusion).
Note: Framed paragraphs are most useful in preparing students for exam questions. In fact,
framed paragraphs make very good exam questions.
Procedure: Introduce framed paragraphs to the class by creating a story collectively using the
language experience approach. The second time you assign framed paragraphs, have each
group prepare one. Once the groups have mastered framed paragraphs, have each student
prepare his/her own, but include incentives for the group to help individual team members. For
example, give a team one point for each member who receives a grade of B or higher. After
constructing a model, paragraph with the class, assign groups, pairs, or individuals to find
examples in the text.
Social Studies Example: There are many cultures of people living in Florida. First....
Second.... Third.... These groups and others....
Language Arts Example: ..., a character in the novel... by... is.... An example of this behavior
is... Another example is.... Finally.... Therefore, this character is...
Science Example: OBSERVATION: After observing... HYPOTHESIS: I think... MATERIALS:
1…2…3… PROCEDURE: 1…2…3… DATA: 1…2…3… ANALYSIS: The results of the
experiment show.... This was caused by.... Therefore, my hypothesis was/was not correct
because....
Framed Paragraphs Activities:
Sample #1: (Conclusions) Use these as starters for drawing conclusions:
a) Nagaina wants revenge for the death of her husband Nag
b) Nagaina is a good mother and wants to defend her eggs
c) Nag and Nagaina’s plan was to kill the humans was the best possible plan
d) Rikki tells Nagaina that he killed Nag to distract her from hurting Teddy
At the end of _____, by _____ , the reader draws the conclusion that _____ (Topic
Sentence). This conclusion is based on information in the story and personal knowledge. First,
in the story the author says that_____ (information in the story- Detail # 1). Second, _____
(information in the story- Detail # 2). Another detail in the story that leads us to this conclusion is
_____ (information in the story-Detail # 3). Personal experience and knowledge of the world
also tells us that _____ (Detail # 4). The reader can draw the conclusion that _____. This is
because of __ (information) __, and __ (information). Personal experience and general
knowledge about ____ help us to arrive at this conclusion.
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Sample #2: (Simile and Imagery) Use these as starters for simile and imagery:
a) “Nagaina gathered herself together and flung out at him…Again and again and again she
struck…and she gathered herself together like a watch spring.”
b) “When the cobra runs for her life, she goes like a whiplash flicked across a horse’s neck.”
c) “He (Rikki) held on savagely and stuck out his feet to act as brakes on the dark slope of
the hot, moist earth.”
d) As Rikki-tikki went up the path, he heard his “attention” like a tiny dinner gong.”
e) The Coppersmith is a bird who makes a noise exactly like the beating of a little hammer on
a copper pot…”
In the story _____, the author _____ uses similes to create images in the reader’s mind (Topic
Sentence). In the first comparison, the writer compares _____ to_____. This comparison
creates an image in the reader’s mind of_____ (Detail #1). This simile _____ (creates a real
sense or sensation of an experience, place, or person/appeals to the senses of sight, taste,
touch, hearing, and smell). In the second simile comparing _____ to_____, the writer leaves an
image in the reader’s mind of_____ (Detail #2). This simile _____ (creates a real sense or
sensation of an experience, place or person and appeals to the senses of sight, taste, touch,
hearing, and smell). In another simile comparing _____ to_____, the writer leaves an image in
the reader’s mind of_____ (Detail #3). This simile _____ (creates a real sense or sensation of
an experience, place or person and appeals to the senses of sight, taste, touch, hearing, and
smell). By using the literary devices of simile and imagery, the writer makes comparisons that
create powerful word pictures in the reader’s mind. (Conclusion)
Sample #3: (Generalizations) Use these starters for generalizations.
a) The way the family treats Rikki leads us to make a generalization about what kind of
people they are. The human family is not afraid of animals. They understand animals and
know that a mongoose is a good thing to have around in India where there are many
snakes.
b) The author refers to the cobras as “wicked”. We learn that they are poisonous and can kill
both people and animals. The reader can make a generalization that cobras are very bad
creatures.
c) The author calls Darzee a “featherbrained” little fellow, while his wife was smart enough to
make a plan to trick Nagaina. Nagaina was smart enough not to look the snake in the
eyes. The reader can make a generalization that male birds are not very smart, and female
birds are more intelligent.
At the end of the story_____, by _____, the reader can make generalizations that may or may
not be true. First, because of _____ the reader concludes that _____ and could generalize that
_____. This generalization is (is probably not) true because_____. Another example is after
_____, the reader concludes that_____ and could generalize about_____. This generalization is
(is probably not) true because _____. Finally, the reader could generalize that _____. This is
because in the story, _____ and the reader concludes _____. This generalization is (is probably
not) true because_____. In conclusion, an important factor in making generalizations is that they
may apply to the larger picture of life, or they may represent a stereotype that may not be true.
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Page 20
Opinion/Proof
Objective: Organize ideas/information to find supporting evidence for an opinion. (pre-writing)
Procedure: Introduce the concept by having students read a selection from which opinions can
be formed. Draw a “T” chart on the board. On the left side of the “T”, write OPINION and on the
right, PROOF. Under OPINION, write the students’ opinion(s) of the selection. For each opinion,
students must find factual statements from the text that support the opinion.
Example: OPINION: Napoleon was a great leader. PROOF: He ended the revolution. He drew
up a new constitution. He made taxation fair. He chose government workers for their ability.
Option: Opinion/Proof may be used for several written activities described in this document,
including Story Grammars, RAFT, and Spool Writing. It can also be used by students as a
format for note taking from books, videos, and lectures.
Option: Teams can write their opinions and support with proof. (think/pair/share activity).
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Opinion/Proof Activity: Opinion/Proof may be used for several written
activities described in this document, including Story Grammars, RAFT, and Spool Writing.
Students can also use it as a format for note taking from books, videos, and lectures. Allow
teams to write their own opinion to support with proof if they are at a proficient level. This can be
used as a think/pair/share activity. Use the following as a starter for less proficient students:
Opinion
Cobras are dangerous.
Proof
They kill many animals.
They are poisonous.
They are not afraid of humans.
They kill people.
They come into people’s homes.
They hide in gardens.
Kipling calls them “wicked”.
Spool Writing
Objective: Write a “spool” (5-paragraph essay with an introduction, 3-paragraph body of
supporting arguments with evidence, and a concluding paragraph.
Procedure: Use graphic organizers, the summary, modeled writing, and guided writing to plan
prewriting activities for developing a “spool”. A spool is a five-paragraph essay in which the first
paragraph is an introduction (controlling idea, or thesis). The next three paragraphs make up the
body of the essay. Each of these paragraphs begins with an argument sentence to support the
thesis and has three supporting sentences for the argument sentence. The weakest argument
should be presented in the first paragraph of the body, and the strongest argument in the last
paragraph of the body. The final (5th) paragraph is the concluding paragraph, which begins with
a restatement of the thesis sentence, and is followed by a restatement of the three argument
statements of the body. Introduce the spool essay by creating a story collectively using the
Language Experience Approach. The second time you use spool writing, each group prepares
one. Once the groups have mastered the spool essay, each student prepares his/her own, but
include incentives for the team to help individual members. For example, you might want to give
a team one point for each member who receives a grade of B or higher.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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SAMPLE #1: FORMAT FOR COMPARISON/CONTRAST:
In the story/piece/poem ____, by ____, the two (characters, events, results, places, etc.)
are very different (similar) in several ways that are evident in the story/piece/poem. These
differences (similarities) include _____ (Argument #1), _____ (Argument #2), and _____
(Argument #3). (Summarize key points).
First of all, by comparison, ____ (Argument # 1 Topic Sentence) _____ (Supporting
Detail #1) _____ (Supporting Detail #2) _____. (Supporting Detail #3)
A second difference (similarity) is _____ (Argument #2 Topic Sentence). (Supporting
Detail #1) _____. (Supporting Detail #2 _____) Finally,_____(Supporting Detail # 3)
Third, (Finally, The last difference (similarity) is _____ (Argument #3 Topic Sentence)
_____. (Supporting Detail #1)_____. (Supporting Detail #2) _____ (Supporting Detail #3)_____
In conclusion, there are many differences (similarities) between ____ and _____ in the
story/piece/poem. They are different (similar) in terms of _____ (Argument #1), _____
(Argument #2), and _____(Argument #3) (Briefly restate key arguments here)
SAMPLE #2: FORMAT FOR COMPARISON/CONTRAST:
In comparing the story/piece/poem _____, by _____, to the story/piece/poem _____, by
______, there are similarities and differences that are evident. The two main differences include
_____ (Argument #1) and _____ (Argument #2). Yet the two stories have several things in
common, including _____ (Argument #3) and _____ (Argument #4).
By comparison, _____
(Argument #1 Topic Sentence – state first difference)
(Supporting Detail #1) _____ (Supporting Detail #2) _____ (Supporting Detail #3) _____
Another main difference is _____ (Argument #2 Topic Sentence – state second
difference). (Supporting Detail #1) _____. (Supporting Detail #2) _____. (Supporting Detail #3)
_____.
Although there are differences between _____ and _____, there are also similarities
(Argument #3 Topic Sentence). The similarities include _____ (Supporting Detail #1).
Also,(Supporting Detail # 2) _____ In addition,_____ (Supporting Detail #3)
Another similarity between the two pieces is Argument #4 Topic Sentence. (Supporting
Detail #1) _____. (Supporting Detail #2) _____. (Supporting Detail #3) _____
In conclusion, there are many differences and similarities between _____ and _____ in
the story/piece/poem. They are different in terms of _____ (Argument #1), and _____
(Argument #2), yet similar because _____ (Argument #3), _____ (Argument #4).
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Spool Writing Activities:
Sample Format #1-Comparison/Contrast Topic(s)
a) Compare Teddy’s mother and Teddy’s father
b) Compare Karait and Nag
c) Compare the first fight between Nag and Rikki with the second fight
d) Compare the garden before Rikki came and after he came
e) Compare Darzee tailorbird and his wife
Sample Format #2-Comparison/Contrast Topic: Compare the similarities and differences
between Treasure Island and “Rikki-tikki-tavi”
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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RAFT
Objective: Write on a topic in a specific format, understanding role as a writer and audience.
R-A-F-T is a system for making sure students understand their role as a writer (R), their
audience (A), the format of their work (F), and the topic of the content (T). Examples: persuade
a soldier to spare your life, demand equal pay for equal work, or plead for a halt to coal mining
in our valley.
• (R): For role (R), of the writer, the writer considers who s/he is (Examples-a soldier,
Abraham Lincoln, a slave, a blood cell, or a mathematical operation).
• (A): For audience (A), the writer considers to whom s/he is writing (Examples-to a
mother, to Congress, to a child.)
• (F): Format (F) determines what form the communication will take. (Examples-letter,
speech, obituary, conversation, memo, recipe or journal)
• (T): The topic (T) consists of a strong verb as well as the focus.
Procedure: Introduce RAFT by creating a story collectively using the Language Experience
Approach. The second time you assign RAFT, have each group prepare one. Model for
students, explaining that all writers must consider their role as a writer, their audience, the
format, and the topic These four components are critical in every written assignment. Assist
teams to brainstorm ideas about a topic. Work with teams to list possible roles, audiences,
formats, and strong verbs that are appropriate for each topic. Once the groups have mastered
RAFT, have each student prepare his/her own, but include incentives for the group to help
individual members. For example, you might want to give a team a point for each member who
receives a grade of B or higher.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: RAFT Activity: Students write according to role, audience, format, & topic.
R-Your role as a writer is Darzee.
A-Your audience is the garden.
F-The format of your writing is a song.
T-Your topic is to write to sing the praises of Rikki-tikki-tavi.
FCAT Writing
FCAT Writing: Lesson Topic: (Persuasive or Expository Prompt) Distribute the planning sheets
and writing folders containing the prompts to the students. Provide students with the writing
situation and directions for writing. Remind the students to budget their time: approximately ten
minutes on brainstorming and prewriting, twenty-five minutes on drafting, ten minutes on editing.
Record the time and give students the command to begin. After 45 minutes, ask the students to
stop writing and place their planning sheets inside their folders.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: FCAT Writing Activity (Persuasive Prompt):
Writing Situation: Humans have always had a special connection with animals. Having an
animal as a pet can be a very special personal experience.
Directions for Writing: Think about having a pet. Imagine that you have found a very special
animal that you want to take home as a pet. What kind of animal is it? What are the advantages
of this particular animal as a personal pet? Why is this animal special to you? Why do you want
to bring this pet home? How will you take care of it? What can you give to this animal and what
can this animal give to you and your family?
Now write to persuade your family to allow you to have the pet you have chosen.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Beginning Presenting Activities
Dialog
Objective: Write a short dialog of 4-6 lines between two familiar characters.
Procedure: A dialog can be between 2 historical characters, 2 fictional characters in a story,
novel, play, etc. or between 2 imaginary characters such as a germ and a white blood cell. The
topic of the dialog should be related to the subject being studied, and the grammar and vocabulary
used in the dialog should reflect the grammar and vocabulary focus of the unit. Model each line of
the dialog, having the entire class repeat after you. Then, say each line and call on whole teams to
repeat the line. Then say each line and call on individual students to repeat the line. Practice
dialog lines using the whole class, a whole team, and individuals until students can know the lines
of the dialog. Example:
Character A: These items are expensive. We are not selling very many.
Character B: We need to sell more of them.
Character A: But, then the price will decrease!
Character B: But, we will still get more money because the volume will increase.
Character A: We do not have enough money to make more than we do now.
Character B: Then we will borrow some money by issuing bonds.
Option: You take the part of A and the class takes the part of B. Then you take part B and the
class takes A. Then work with whole teams and you, then individuals and you, then groups and
groups, then individuals and individuals. Move back and forth among these combinations until you
think the majority have adequate intonation, stress, and pronunciation.
Option 1: Erase two words at random from each line during repetition. Then erase two more, two
more, and so on until there are no words left on the board. Option 2: Each group chooses a
member to represent them by presenting the dialog with a member from another group in front of
the class. If the representative can say his/her lines correctly then the group gets a point. Option
3: Have each group rewrite the dialog from memory. Groups are to use one piece of paper and
one pencil or pen only. Each member takes a turn writing a line of the dialog. Other team
members can offer help but they cannot write it for the individual whose turn it is to write. Collect
the paper and grade it. Each member of the team gets the same grade.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Dialog Activity:
Father:
Mother:
Father:
Mother:
Father:
Mother:
A mongoose would be a good pet for Teddy.
I do not like this. He may bite the child.
Teddy is safer with that little beast than if he had a bloodhound to watch
him.
I suppose he is so tame because we have been kind to him.
All mongooses are like that. Mongooses kill snakes, mice, and rats.
If a snake came into the nursery now….
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Intermediate Presenting Activities
Show and Tell
Objective: Present orally on a familiar topic and respond to questions on the topic.
Procedure: A student brings something to class related to the subject at hand and, within 3
minutes, makes an oral presentation about it. Teams take turns asking the student questions
about it. For each question the presenter can answer, his/her team gets a point. For each
question he/she cannot answer, the team loses a point.
Proficient Presenting Activities
Making the News
Objective: Present orally to a group on a familiar academic topic in a news format.
Procedure: Teams take turns developing a 3-4 four-minute news broadcast about the subject
being studied. There may be several related stories. There must be one story (no matter how
short) for each member of the group. The reporting group may refer to notes but not to the text.
Other teams can refer to their texts, and have the opportunity to each ask two questions of the
reporting team. The reporting team members take turns answering questions, but other team
members may help them. The questioning group gets two points for each question the reporting
group cannot answer. The reporting group gets a point for each question it can answer. Follow
the rules for Total Recall when there is a challenge. Examples: Columbus gets the jewels from
the Queen of Spain, the long voyage, Hispaniola landing
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Making the News Activities:
Mongoose Found in Garden
Cobras Attack British Family
Intermediate-Proficient Viewing Activities
Total Recall, True or False, Judgment
Objective: View a video or speech for the purpose of asking and answering simple questions,
making true and false statements, and distinguish facts from opinions.
Procedure: Modify reading activities, such as Total Recall, True or False, and Judgment to use
when viewing a video or speech. The effectiveness of a challenge is not as high as with a
written text.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Beginning Vocabulary Activities
Line of Fortune
Objective: Identify and recreate words and word parts from spelling clues.
Procedure: (This activity is very similar to Hangman, but involves more complex team decisionmaking.) Choose a word from the lesson’s vocabulary and write the appropriate number of dashes
to represent the letters of the word. For example, for the word dicot you would draw five dashes. A
team member guesses a letter. If the letter is not found in the word, write the letter under the
dashes and move on to the next team. If their letter is found in the word, then write the letter on the
appropriate dash. When a team guesses correctly, they have the option to guess the word. If they
choose not to guess the word, call on the next team. If they choose to guess and successfully
guess the word, then they receive ten points minus the number of letters written under the dashes
from incorrect previous guesses, and the game is over. If they choose to guess and do not guess
the word, then they lose points equal to the number of letters written under the dashes, and you call
on the next team. If no team can guess the word before ten incorrect letters are written under the
dashes then all teams lose points equal to the number of teams in the class.
Concentration
Objective: Identify vocabulary words and their meanings.
Preparation: On twenty 8” x 5” index cards, write the numbers 1-20, one number per card. Place
these cards in order, 3 per line in a pocket chart. On another 20 index cards, write, one word per
card, 10 vocabulary items from the lesson 2 times each. Shuffle these cards and place them behind
the numbered cards.
Procedure: Teams will match the vocabulary words with their meanings. Choose one team to go
first. A member of that team picks two numbers. Remove those cards from the chart, leaving the
words behind them visible to the class. The student reads the words, with the team’s assistance if
needed. If the words match, leave them showing and give the team a point. If they do not match,
replace the numbers and call on the next team.
Option: Instead of writing each noun 2 times, write it once in the singular and once in the plural.
When working with verbs, write one in the present tense and one in the past. Matching variations
such as these helps the students understand that, despite certain differences in the visible spelling
of two words, they are still semantically related at a deeper level.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Concentration Activity:
Matching:
bungalow
cottage, small house
burrow
hole, hideaway
veranda
porch, patio
flood
overflow of water, deluge
curious
inquisitive, interested
sing praises
sing or speak in admiration and honor
single-handedly
alone, by yourself
sorrowful
sad, mournful
melon bed
area or place of land where melons grow
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Intermediate Vocabulary Activities
Jeopardy
Objective: Use clues to identify vocabulary words, characters’ names, places, etc. in the story.
Preparation: Place 3 cards across the top of a pocket chart, the first with the letter A printed on
it, the second with B, and the third with C. Down the left side of the chart (one per line), place
three cards with the numbers 2, 3, and 4 respectively. Place three easier vocabulary items (not
visible to the class) next to the number 1 card, and below each of the letter cards, place 3 more
difficult words on line 2 in the same manner, place three of the most difficult words on line three.
Procedure: Choose one team to go first. A member of that team picks the word s/he wants to
guess (“2-C” for example). Give the student a definition of clue for the word (This animal barks.)
The student, with the help of his team, responds with the word presented in question format
(What is a dog?). If the answer is correct, that team gets 2, 3, or 4 points, depending on the
word’s level of difficulty. If the answer is incorrect, the next team tries for the same word but for
one point less than the previous team. For example, if the first team guessed incorrectly for a
word worth 3 points, the next team to try would get 2 points if it answered correctly. If it too
guessed incorrectly, the next team would get one point if it answered correctly. If no team can
answer correctly before the points are reduced to zero, then all teams lose 1 point.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Jeopardy Activity:
Question
Answer
a) Who was Rikki-tikki-tavi
a) Where Rikki was found
a) What country Rikki lived in
b) Where the bungalow was
b) How Rikki was washed out of his burrow
b) What Rikki killed
c) Who was Nag
c) Why the frogs croaked
c) How Rikki saved the family
a mongoose
the garden of a bungalow
India
British Army Post
summer flood
snakes, mice, rats
big black cobra
the cobras were gone
he killed Nag and Nagaina
Classification
Objective: Classify vocabulary into two or three groups.
Procedure: Model the activity, beginning with several words for teams to classify into groups.
Ask students to identify an appropriate label for the groups they create. Discuss other words
that could go into each group. Each team gets out one pencil and one sheet of paper. The
captain writes team name and divides the paper into the appropriate number of columns
(groups). The captain labels columns for classifications and sets timer for 5 minutes. Team
members take turns writing words in appropriate columns (as in the Team Spelling Test). Note
that words do not have to come from the lesson vocabulary. When the timer rings, collect
papers. Teams get one point for each word they place correctly. Spelling should not count.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Wrong Word
Objective: Identify, analyze, and correct errors in vocabulary usage.
Procedure: Teams find the word that is “wrong” and correct it. Teams get a point for each
correction. Read a sentence with a wrong word in it. Examples: The contribution tells us how
the government will operate. (should be Constitution) Many people have moved to Florida for
the arctic climate. (should be tropical)
When teams get good at this activity, embed an
incorrect sentence among other correct sentences. Teams can make sentences with incorrect
words for other teams to correct.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Wrong Word Activity:
a) A summer flood watched Rikki out of the garden. (washed)
b) The mongoose has a tale similar to a weasel. (tail)
c) Rikki and his family lived in a barrow. (burrow)
d) Every spring in India there is a fraud season. (flood)
e) He peeked out of a whole in the ground of the garden. (hole)
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Beginning Grammar Activities
Teacher-Student Grammar Notes are provided as a teaching resource or student study notes.
ADVERB CLAUSES & TRANSITION WORDS TO SHOW CAUSE & EFFECT
Adverb clauses that show cause and effect and time relationships: Adverb clauses cannot
stand alone as a sentence. They are always connected or added to a sentence, either at the
beginning, or at the end of the sentence. Below are the subordinating conjunctions that
introduce an adverb clause and signal both time relationships and cause/effect relationships.
Time relationships are important in determining cause and effect. Study the examples below.
Words that Introduce Adverb Clauses, Signal Time Relationships/Cause & Effect
because
in order that
until
since (i.e. because)
after
as soon as
now that
before
once
as (i.e. because)
as a result of
whenever
as/so long as
when
every time (that)
so
while
the first time that (2nd, 3rd, next, last)
so (that)
by the time (that)
in order to (to)
Because it was cold, we wore coats.
Now that school is out, I’m free to vacation.
Until the work was done, we waited for lunch.
As long as you’re not busy, can you help me?
We make a snowman when it snows.
Since no one was there, we didn’t go in.
As he had no plans, he went to the movies.
She ran a mile so that she’d stay in shape.
I studied for my test before I could party.
Once the phone is repaired, I can call you.
Word Order Cards
Objective: Identify and use appropriate word order in sentences.
Procedure: Choose some of the more complex sentences of the summary to cut up for this
exercise. After writing a sentence on a sentence strip, cut up the sentence into individual words.
Shuffle the words. With the team's support, one member rearranges the words to reform the
sentence. The team gets a point if the cards are rearranged correctly.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Modified Single Slot Substitution Drill
Objective: Substitute alternative vocabulary, syntax, and grammatical forms in a familiar
sentence in a single slot.
Procedure: The teacher writes a sentence on the board and underlines one word. Teams take
turns replacing the underlined word with a new word. When students can no longer think of
substitutes, the teacher underlines a different word, and the activity continues.
Example:
The soldiers who surrendered were killed.
Possible substitutions for killed:
butchered, kissed, hugged, spared
The soldiers who surrendered were butchered.
Possible substitutions for surrendered: spared, killed, ran, slept
The soldiers who surrendered were spared.
Possible substitutions for soldiers: people, police, robbers, children
Notes:
• Sometimes, changing one word necessitates changing another word as well.
The queen was dancing when the soldiers arrived. (Substitute
king and queen)
The king and queen were dancing when the soldiers arrived.
• It is not necessary for the sentences to be historically correct, sensible, or even possible. It is
important for the correct part of speech to be used.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Modified Single Slot Substitution:
(a) The Englishman (b) found (c) the mongoose (d) in the garden.
Possibilities:
(a) Teddy, a young boy, a rescuer
(b) discovered, located, saw
(c) a tailorbird, a muskrat, a weasel
(d) in the yard, near the bungalow, in India
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Intermediate Grammar Activities
Sentence Builders
Objective: Expand sentences by adding new words in the appropriate order in a sentence.
Procedure: The teacher says a sentence, and, after a pause, an additional word or words.
Teams must make a new sentence that adds the new word(s) in the correct place in the
teacher's original sentence. Give a point for each correct answer. Example:
Teacher:
Fish is a food. (healthy)
Team Response:
Fish is a healthy food.
Teacher:
Fish is a healthy food. (fresh)
Team Response:
Fresh fish is a healthy food.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Sentence Builders:
a) Rikki-tikki-tavi was a mongoose. (who lived in India)
Rikki-tikki-tavi was a mongoose who lived in India. (and killed snakes)
Rikki-tikki-tavi was a mongoose who lived in India and killed snakes. (and rats)
Rikki-tikki-tavi was a mongoose who lived in India and killed snakes and rats (by
shaking them)
Rikki-tikki-tavi was a mongoose who lived in India and killed snakes and rats by
shaking them.
Continue with the following:
b) He was washed out (of his burrow) (by a flood) (summer) (and landed in a
garden)
c) A man found him. (in the garden) (of a bungalow) (on a army post) (in India)
d) He dried out. (in front of the fire) (warm) (in the bungalow) (of the Englishman)
e) He became a pet. (family) (and slept with the son) (little) (teddy)
Multiple Slot Substitution Drills
Objective: Substitute alternative vocabulary, syntax, and grammatical forms in a familiar
sentence in a multiple slots.
Procedure: This drill is often taught together with or right after the single slot substitution drill.
Its organization is similar to single slot substitution, but more that one part of the sentence
changes. Give a point for each correct answer. Example:
Columbus sailed in 1492. (Pizarro)
Pizarro sailed in 1492. (1524)
Pizarro sailed in 1524. (arrived)
Pizarro arrived 1n 1524.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Multiple Slot Substitution Activities:
(a) Cobras (b) kill (c) people (d) and steal (e) the bird’s eggs. .
Possibilities:
frog eggs, and eat, Indian brown snakes, strike, poisonous snakes, and take, humans,
other animals, turtle eggs, bite
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Flesh it Out
Objective: Use key words in the appropriate order in a grammatically correct sentence.
Procedure: The teacher gives the key words of a sentence and teams puts them into a
grammatically correct sentence. Give points for correct answers in the oral format. Give grades
in the written format.
Key words:
he/sail/america/1492.
Answer: He sailed to America in 1492.
Key words:
he/sail/america/? (past)(yes/no)
Answer: Did he sail to America?
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Flesh it Out Activities:
a) Cobra/spread/hood/threatened/Rikki-tikki-tavi
b) Rikki/mongoose/kills/snakes/mice/rats
c) Englishman/garden/washed out/burrow/flood
d) Nag/Nagaina/cobras/garden/threatened/family
e) Rikki/killed/Nag/man/trash heap
Transformation Exercises
Objective: Change the form or format of a sentence according to the situation.
Procedure: Students change the format of a sentence based on teacher directions or prompts.
Give points for correct answers in the oral format. Give grades in the written format. Examples:
1. Is it raining? (Answer the question, yes.) Yes, it is raining.
2. It is raining. (Ask a yes/no question.)
Is it raining?
3. Many Indians died from disease. Many Indians died from starvation. (Combine 2 sentences
into one sentence.) Many Indians died from disease and starvation.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Transformation Exercises:
Students respond by using … (adjective+ -er) than… Follow the model.
Example:
Nagaina is smart. Darzee’s wife is very smart.
Darzee’s wife is smarter than Nagaina.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Teddy is happy with Rikki. Teddy’s parents are very happy with Rikki.
Rikki is small. Darzee’s wife is very small.
Nagaina is long. Nag is very long.
Nagaina is thin. Karait is very thin.
Chuchundra is pretty. Darzee’s wife is very pretty.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Who What, When, Where, How, Why
Objective: Listen to a sentence and respond to “Wh" questions in writing.
Procedure: Read a sentence and then ask the “wh" questions about it. Teams write a short
answer on a numbered sheet of paper. Example: Teacher: The heart constantly pumps blood to
the body 24 hours a day to keep the body alive. What…? (Teams write heart.) Where…?
(Teams write to the body) How...? (Teams write constantly) Why…? (Teams write to keep the
body alive) When…? (Teams write 24 hours a day).
Team members take turns writing answers on the board (for class discussion) or on a
team/individual paper (for a grade). An alternative technique is to have each team member
complete all items on his/her own paper. Team members are allowed to help each other. On
completion of the activity, collect the one paper of your choice. The grade on that paper will
count for each team member.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Who, What, When, Where, How, Why Activities:
a) Rikki-tikki-tavi was a mongoose that lived in the garden because he had been washed out of
his burrow by a summer flood. (who, what, where, why, how, when)
b) The Englishman who lived in a bungalow on an army post in India found him. (who, what,
where)
c) The muskrat that lived in the garden helped Rikki because he was afraid of the cobras.
(what, who, where, why)
d) Rikki killed Karait and the man beat him with a stick and threw him on the trash heap. (who,
what, where)
e) The cobra came into the bungalow through a pipe in the bathroom because he wanted to kill
the family. (what, where, why, who)
Look it Up
Objective: Identify specific grammatical structures and change them according to the situation.
Procedure: Teams look up sentences in their text that have a specific grammatical structure.
As an oral practice, teams get a point for a correct answer. As a written exercise, it can be
graded. Version One: Discuss the grammar point with the students then have them find
example sentences in their texts. You might want to limit the pages they are to search.
Version Two: Write sample sentences on the board in a tense not usually used in the text. Ask
students to find similar sentences in the text and to determine the difference between the text
sentences and the sentences on the board. In history books, for example, most sentences are
in the past tense, so the sentences you write on the board would be in the present tense. During
a discussion of the difference between the text sentences and your sentences, you would help
the class discover why the text uses past tense sentences so often.
Version Three - Students locate sentences in the text with a specific grammatical structure and
then restate or rewrite the sentence in a new form specified by you. Example: change
statements into questions, affirmative to negative, past to present, or passive voice to active.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Look it Up: Teams locate examples of Comparisons (Equal and Unequal) in
the text and in the summary.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Sentence Stretchers
Objective: Expand grammatically correct sentences by adding new words in appropriate order
Procedure: One team begins by making a sentence orally that contains the language or
content focus of the lesson. (Make the starter sentence as short as possible.) For example, in a
lesson focusing on weather and on adjectives, the first team might say, The cloud is floating.
The first team gets a point. Other teams take turns expanding the sentence, getting a point each
time something is added successfully or until teams run out of expansions.
The white cloud is floating.
The fluffy white cloud is floating in the sky.
The fluffy white cloud that looks like a boat is floating in the sky. Etc.
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Sentence Stretcher: Begin with the sentence: This is a story about a war.
This is a story about a great war.
This is a story about a great war that Rikki-tikki-tavi fought.
This is a story about a great war that the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi fought.
This is a story about a great war that the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handedly.
This is a story about a great war that the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handedly with
the help of his friends.
This is a story about a great war that the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handedly with
the help of his animal friends.
This is a story about a great war that the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handedly with
the help of his animal friends in the bungalow.
This is a story about a great war that the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handedly with
the help of his animal friends, in the bungalow of a family.
This is a story about a great war that the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handedly with
the help of his animal friends, in the bungalow of a family in India.
This is a story about a great war that the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handedly with
the help of his animal friends, in the bungalow of an English family in India.
Rewrite the Paragraph
Objective: Identify specific grammatical structures and change them according to the situation.
Procedure: Use a paragraph based on the text, and language focus structures of the lesson.
Teams read and discuss necessary changes. Members work together to rewrite a grammatically
correct paragraph with the changes. Collect one paper from each team for a grade. (Examples:
Change one verb tense to another, nouns to pronouns, adverbs to adjectives, etc.)
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Rewrite the Paragraph Activity:
Teams rewrite the paragraph in the present.
Rikki-tikki-tavi was a mongoose that was flooded out of his home and ended up in a
garden bungalow in India. At first, he looked dead, but the family who lived there revived him.
Rikki became the family pet and had the run of the house and garden. Rikki saved the lives of
his family when he attacked and killed two black cobras, Nag, and his wife Nagaina, and a
poisonous snake named Karait. Nag and Nagaina planned to kill the humans so that Rikki
would go away. Rikki kept the garden as a mongoose should keep it. No cobra dared to show
its head inside the walls.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Name ____________________________ Date __________
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks with the correct word.
revived
humans
bungalow
cobras
dared
garden
should
mongoose
pet
poisonous
flooded out
Rikki-tikki-tavi was a __________ that was __________ of his home and ended
up in a garden __________ in India. At first he looked dead, but the family who lived
there __________ him. Rikki became the family __________ and had the run of the
house and __________. Rikki saved the lives of his family when he attacked and killed
two black __________, Nag, and his wife Nagaina, and a __________ snake named
Karait. Nag and Nagaina planned to kill the __________ so that Rikki would go away.
Rikki kept the garden as a mongoose __________ keep it. No cobra __________ to
show its head inside the walls.
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Name _____________________________________ Date _____________
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Exercise 2
Read each sentence and decide if it is true or false. If it is true, write the word “true” on
the line. If the sentence is false, rewrite the sentence to make it a true.
1. Rikki-tikki-tavi was a muskrat.
______________________________________________________________________
2. Rikki was washed out of his burrow by a summer flood.
______________________________________________________________________
3. An Englishman who lived on the navy post saved him.
______________________________________________________________________
4. Rikki became a family pet.
______________________________________________________________________
5. Rikki began to live in the bungalow and slept with the boy Darzee.
______________________________________________________________________
6. Rikki protected the family against snakes, mice, and rats.
______________________________________________________________________
7. Nag was a brown snake who came into the house one night.
______________________________________________________________________
8. Nagaina, the tailorbird, helped Rikki kill the cobra.
______________________________________________________________________
9. Nag and Nagaina had laid their eggs in the melon bed.
______________________________________________________________________
10. Rikki wanted the eggs to hatch so there would be more cobras.
______________________________________________________________________
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Name ____________________________ Date __________
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Exercise 3 (FCAT Practice/Reading Comprehension)
Complete the chart by comparing and contrasting the conflict that Rikki faced with Nag
and the conflict Rikki faced with Nagaina. Think about the characters, events,
motivation, setting, and resolution.
RIKKI AND NAG
RIKKI AND NAGAINA
DIFFERENT
DIFFERENT
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
1.
2.
3.
SIMILAR
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Name ____________________________ Date __________
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Exercise 4 (FCAT Practice/Reading Comprehension)
Review the summary of the story, “Rikki-tikki-tavi”, by Rudyard Kipling. Then read the
excerpt from “Darzee’s Chant” and answer the questions. Use the context of the song
and what you know about the story.
Sing to your fledglings again,
Mother, O lift up your head!
Evil that plagued us is slain,
Death in the garden lies dead.
Terror that hid in the roses is impotent –
flung on the dunghill and dead!
What does “fledglings” mean?
___________________________________
The words “Terror” and “Death” refer to what
two characters in the story?
___________________________________
___________________________________
Who has delivered us, who?
Tell me his nest and his name.
Rikki, the valiant, the true,
Tikki, with eyeballs of flame –
Rikki-tikki-tikki, the ivory-fanged,
the hunter with eyeballs of flame!
Identify four words or expressions that
Darzee uses to describe Rikki.
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Refer to the text of the story to contrast the two characters, Chuchundra and Rikki. Then
complete the chart.
Points to Contrast
Chuchundra
Rikki
Motivation
Words & Thoughts
Actions
Goals
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Name ____________________________ Date __________
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Exercise 5
Fill in the blanks.
This is a story __________ a great war that __________ fought single-handedly
with the __________ of his animal friends, __________ the bungalow of a __________
in India. Rikki-tikki-tavi was __________ mongoose that had fur __________ a cat, and
he __________ a tail, head and __________ similar to a weasel. __________ eyes and
the end __________ his nose were pink, __________ he used all four __________ as
he pleased. When __________ fluffed up his tail, __________ looked like a bottlebrush.
__________ made a sound like __________ war cry, “Rikki-tikki-tikki-tikki-tchk!”
One __________ day, a flood washed __________ out of his burrow
__________ he lived with his __________ and father. A small __________ named
Teddy found Rikki __________ up in the middle __________ a garden. Teddy thought
__________ mongoose was dead, but __________ mother and father revived
__________. After Rikki was rescued, __________ family warmed him in __________
wool and fed him __________ meat. Teddy’s father knew __________ lot about
animals, and __________ told Teddy not to __________ the creature. It is __________
to frighten mongooses because __________ are very curious. Teddy’s __________
knew that all mongooses __________ tame around humans. The __________ fed Rikki
and allowed __________ to run wherever he __________ in the house and
__________. Rikki explored the house __________ garden and was not __________ to
learn new things.
__________ in the garden, Rikki __________ Darzee the tailorbird and
__________ wife, who were sorrowful __________ a big black cobra __________ Nag
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had eaten one __________ their babies. The most __________ thing in a mongoose’s
__________ was to fight and __________ snakes. Rikki’s eyes grew __________ and
his tail fluffed __________ ready to attack Nag. __________ turned and bit Nagaina,
__________ wife, who had crept __________ behind him. The cobras __________ into
the grass. Just __________ Teddy was running down __________ path to pet Rikki,
__________ saw a dusty brown __________ named Karait whose bite __________ as
dangerous as the __________ bite. Rikki attacked and __________ Karait, saving
Teddy from __________. When night came, Chuchundra, __________ muskrat, alerted
Rikki to __________ cobras’ plan to attack. __________ and Nagaina planned to
__________ the humans so that __________ would go away. The __________ knew
that a mongoose __________ the garden sooner or __________ meant death for a
__________. Nag waited in the __________ to kill Teddy’s father, __________ Rikki
attacked Nag and __________ him with his teeth __________ Teddy’s father shot the
__________ with a shotgun. Rikki __________ saved the lives of __________ family.
In the morning, __________ the tailorbird sang Rikki’s __________ throughout
the garden for __________ the animals to hear. __________ knew that Nagaina and
__________ eggs were just as __________ as Nag. Rikki went __________ see
Darzee the tailorbird __________ help him find Nagaina __________ the nest with her
__________. The eggs were in __________ melon bed, and Darzee’s __________
lured Nagaina away from __________ eggs. Rikki bit off __________ tops of the eggs
__________ crushed the young cobras, __________ except one. At that __________,
Darzee’s wife arrived screaming __________ warn Rikki that Nagaina __________
threatening his family. Rikki __________ the egg in his __________ and ran to the
__________. Nagaina was ready to __________ Teddy’s leg, when Rikki __________
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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her by showing her __________ egg of her young __________. When she looked
away, __________ was rescued. Rikki followed __________ with her egg in
__________ mouth into her underground __________. Rikki emerged and announced
__________ Nagaina was dead.
The __________ bird told the garden __________ Nagaina was dead, and
__________ birds and frogs sang __________ croaked. From that day __________,
Rikki kept the garden __________ a mongoose should keep __________. No cobra
dared to __________ its head inside the __________. The story ended with
__________ song in honor of __________.
MS Grade 7 Language Arts 2 Through ESOL: Rikki-tikki-tavi
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Name ____________________________ Date __________
Rikki-tikki-tavi: Exercise 6
Write an equal comparison for each pair, using as…as. Use the word in parentheses.
Example: Rikki’s fur/ cat (soft) Rikki’s fur was as soft as a cat.
1. Rikki’s eyes/ balls of fire (red)
______________________________________________________________________
2. Rikki’s tail/ bottlebrush (fluffy)
______________________________________________________________________
3. Darzee’s wife/ Nagaina (smart)
______________________________________________________________________
4. Karait’s bite/ Nag’s bite (dangerous)
______________________________________________________________________
5. The sound Rikki made/ war cry (frightening)
______________________________________________________________________
Combine the sentences, using an unequal comparison with more than… / less than…
Example:
Darzee had a lot of fear. Rikki had a little fear.
Darzee had more fear than Rikki. (Rikki had less fear than Darzee.)
1. Karait moved quickly. Rikki moved very quickly.
______________________________________________________________________
2. Nag had five feet in length. Nagaina had four feet in length.
______________________________________________________________________
3. Teddy’s mother loved animals. Teddy’s father loved animals a lot.
______________________________________________________________________
4. Chuchundra had a little confidence. Rikki had a lot of confidence.
______________________________________________________________________
5. Darzee had three babies to hatch. Nag had thirteen babies to hatch.
______________________________________________________________________
Rewrite the sentence, using an unequal comparison with different from… /similar to…
Examples:
Nagaina was like Nag. Nagaina was similar to Nag.
Darzee was not like his wife. Darzee was different from his wife.
1. Rikki’s head and habits were like a weasel.
______________________________________________________________________
2. Rikki was not like the other animals in the garden.
______________________________________________________________________
3. Darzee was like a songwriter.
______________________________________________________________________
4. Nagaina was not like Chuchundra.
______________________________________________________________________
5. Darzee was like a human man who protected his young.
______________________________________________________________________
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