Unit 3
Stories of
adventure
About this unit
In this unit, “Stories of adventure”, the pupils
read a Greek myth and answer questions related
to it. They look at and discuss some blurbs for
different books.
Lesson 1
Lesson aims
Pupils will:
 Listening and speaking: look at a picture and
discuss what the story is likely to be about;
learn about setting and characters; learn new
vocabulary associated with stories.
Resources

Chalkboard; PB; A selection of different
kinds of books
Starting off
Tell the pupils you will be looking at different
types of stories. Show them the books you have
brought to school and ask them to tell you, from
looking at the cover illustration, what the story in
each will be about.
Ask the pupils, if they had a selection of these
books, which they would choose.
Now ask the pupils to sit with a friend. In
pairs, the pupils are to look at the photograph of
the reading girl on page 22 of the PB. They are
to talk about the photograph, describing what
they can see. Apart from the girl, what else can
they see in the picture? (Ask the pupils to
describe the girl’s surroundings.) Also, is the girl
enjoying her read? Ask the pupils what tells
them she is. (The expression on her face, and her
body posture.) How old would they say the girl
is? Where is she? (In the school library.) What is
the title of the book she is reading? (Timeless
Myths.) Ask the pupils what a myth is. They can
look up the word in the New words box on page
23 of the PB.
Ask the pupils to say what kind of story the
girl is reading. Myths can be all these things:
exciting, funny, full of action. They can also be
about love, and can be based on the truth. They
can also be suspenseful, fascinating, interesting,
and instructive (i.e. they can teach us
something). They can be well written or told,
and they can reveal a lot about life and people’s
beliefs in the past.
Pupils would have read different myths
throughout their school careers so should be
familiar with what a myth is. Remind them that a
myth is a traditional, typically ancient story
dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or
heroes and that very often explains aspects of the
natural world. Ask pupils to name any myths
they have read.
Listening and speaking
(PB p. 22)
Ask pupils to form groups of three and four and
to answer the questions in the activities in the
‘‘Before you read’’ section on page 22.
First ask pupils to discuss Question a) among
themselves. Remind them that no answer is right
or wrong, as their answers are subjective.
Nevertheless, they must provide sound reasons.
Question b) introduces pupils to two key
components of literature: setting (where a story
happens) and characters (the people in the story
or play).
Let pupils discuss Question c) among
themselves. Again, remind them that no answer
is right or wrong but make sure that their
reasoning is logical.
Assessment
You can use the criteria on Checklist 4: Selfassessment of group work and Checklist 5:
Teacher’s assessment of group work. You will
find this on the website.
Extension
Pupils work in small groups and tell the group
members about stories they have enjoyed. In
particular, they must describe the characters,
stating what role each of the characters played in
the story. They must also identify the setting.
Support
Ensure that pupils have grasped the concept of
character and setting.
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the questions before they start answering them
and to query anything they are unclear about.
Lesson 2
Lesson aims
Pupils will:
 Reading: take turns to read a Greek myth
and answer questions about it; apply what
they know about setting and characters to
the myth; learn new vocabulary.
Resources

Chalkboard; PB; World map or globe
Starting off
Ask pupils to turn to page 23 of the PB. Tell
them they will be reading a myth from Greece.
Ask a pupil to find Greece on the globe or
map, and show his or her classmates. Ask this
pupil to also find the capital city of Greece and
tell his or her classmates what it is called:
Athens.
Say that a long time ago, Greece was a very
powerful country with a very rich culture, which
had a great influence over many parts of Europe
and the world. Say the Olympic Games
originally come from Greece, and were started in
those days. Also say that many myths come from
ancient Greece.
Then say that there are also many African
myths.
Ask the pupils if they know any myths from
Africa or even Nigeria. For instance, they may
know the myth about the birth of the River
Niger. Ask who the main characters of their
stories are, and what their stories are about. Ask
the pupils to tell the rest of the class the old
stories from Africa they know.
Reading
(PB pp. 23&24)
Let the pupils form small groups of about four or
five. They then read the story on pages 23−24,
with different pupils reading paragraphs.
Try to ensure that the groups are composed of
strong readers, as well as readers who are not so
strong. Encourage group members to help one
another with pronunciation, where required.
Let pupils work on their own to write answers
to the comprehension questions on page 25 in
their exercise books. Encourage them to read all
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(PB p. 25)
Answers
1. a) The people were put in a labyrinth, which
twisted and turned. They would never
find their way out and would be eaten by
a fierce Minotaur.
b) Ariadne was in love with Theseus.
c) Theseus did the following: i) He threw
the powder in the Minotaur’s eyes, which
blinded him. ii) He tied one end of the
string to the door of the labyrinth and
unwound it along the length of the
labyrinth so that he could find his way
back. iii) He used his sword to kill the
Minotaur.
d) A labyrinth is a maze, which is a
complicated system of interleading
passages, which make it difficult for a
person to find their way.
e) Any reasonable answer. For example,
people asked them what had happened,
they celebrated, they wrote the story of
what happened.
2. a) Where did Theseus return to?
b) How many people were sent to Crete at a
time?
c) Where did the Minotaur live?
d) Who helped Theseus?
e) Why did Theseus put powder in the
Minotaur’s eyes?
f) Where did Ariadne go after Theseus
escaped?
g) How did Adriane and Theseus return to
Athens?
Extension
As a challenge, ask the pupils to draw their own
labyrinth puzzle.
Support
Assess whether pupils were able to answer the
comprehension questions correctly.
Lesson 3
Lesson aims
Pupils will:
 Grammar: review the pronunciation of
contrasting vowel sounds; arrange

contrasting sounds in pairs; practise using
adverbs.
Reading: read an adventure story and
answer questions about it.
Resources

Chalkboard; PB; Reader
Starting off
Tell pupils that language is made up of different
sounds and that the way we say these sounds can
affect the meaning of the words.
Grammar – Pronunciation – Phonics
(PB pp. 25&26)
1. Let pupils work in pairs and to say the
following sounds to one another. They must
be able to discern the differences.
a) at – art; b) bud – bird; c) cot –
caught
2. Pupils then complete Activities 2, 3 and 4 in
their exercise books.
(PB pp. 25&26)
Answers
2. cat – cart; pot – port; had – hard; shot – shout;
hot – shot; mat – cat; start – cart
3. Pupils look up the meanings of the words in
the dictionary.
4. Pupils add some new words to their dictionary.
Grammar
(PB p. 26)
Let pupils turn to page 26 of the PB and let them
read about the function of adverbs. Impress on
them that the function of an adverb is to modify
a verb, adjective or other adverbs by showing
how the action is performed. Work through the
examples in the PB. Encourage pupils to come
up with other examples.
Pupils complete Activities 1−4 on page 27.
(PB p. 27)
Answers
1. Pupils first discuss the words before filling
them in in Activity 2.
2. possible answers: a) wickedly; b) bravely;
c) loudly; d) madly; e) patiently; f) hurriedly
3. Own answers, for example: a) very/quite;
b) smartly/neatly; c) extremely/really;
d) very/extremely e) wildly/loudly
4. Pupils read their sentences aloud.
Reading
(Reader p. 8)
Let pupils turn to page 8 of the Reader. Tell
them they will be reading an adventure story
quietly to themselves. They should first skim and
scan the text to get a rough idea of what it is
about. They should also try to identify the names
of the main characters, and the setting.
The pupils should begin reading. If they come
across a word they do not understand, they
should first try to work out the meaning of the
work from the context. Failing that, they can
check if the word is listed in the New words
boxes that accompany the story. As a last resort,
they should look up the meaning of the word in a
dictionary.
If pupils are unable to finish the story in class,
they can finish it at home as homework. They
should then answer the questions on page 11.
(Reader p. 11)
Answers
1. The passengers would have been even more
cross with him than they were before. The
passengers would have been stranded because
no one had picked them up.
2. Some people are not affected by bee stings,
and they wouldn't feel anything more than a
little sting. However, some people are allergic
to bee stings and the part of the body that is
stung can swell up. Some people can even die
of bee stings.
Extension
Ask the pupils to write three sentences about the
adventure story they have just read, giving the
title, and discussing the setting and characters.
Support
Assess the sentences the pupils wrote for the
extension exercise. Check their accuracy,
grammar and spelling and give advice, where
appropriate.
Lesson 4
Lesson aims
Pupils will:
 Listening and speaking: read and discuss
examples of blurbs; match blurbs to titles
and a sentence about the book.
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Starting off
Bring some books to the classroom or look in the
class library for books with an interesting blurb.
Remind pupils that a blurb on a book cover
contains information about the book. If you have
brought examples of books with good blurbs to
the classroom, read the blurbs to the class now
and ask whether these would be interesting
books to read. Say that a blurb is often the only
thing that people read when they pick up a book
in the bookshop. The blurb helps them to decide
whether to buy the book or not, so what is in the
blurb is very important.
Danger at the
dump
2. Pupils make up a blurb for a book they have
read. They then read it to their partner.
3. The key elements of a blurb are the following:
It must make the reader want to buy the book.
It must reveal just enough about the story
without giving the plot away.
It can reveal some important information about
the author, as well as some key selling points.
Extension
(PB pp. 27&28)
Now read the rest of the instructions to Activity
1 on page 27 of the PB with the class. The pupils
are to match up the book cover in column A of
the table with the correct blurb in column B and
a sentence from the book in column C.
Afterwards, they are to tell their neighbour why
they matched the different parts of the table in
the way they did.
For Activity 2, ask the pupils to sit in twos.
The pupils are asked to look at one of the book
covers in Activity 1 for a minute. Afterwards,
their partner is to ask them six questions about
the book cover, as outlined in the activity. This
will show them how observant they are when
looking at a picture, and how well they
remember. Each pupil is to have a go at trying to
remember, and a go at asking their partner
questions. Ask who scored 6 out of 6 points.
(PB p. 28)
A Book cover
B Blurb
C Sample
sentence
Zizi and Ixau: The
Eagle Calls
This story is
about Zizi, who
has a dream in
which an eagle, a
messenger of the
spirits, calls him
to go on a
journey.
Tom lives with his
aunt. One night,
Tom and his
friend Huck see a
terrible crime.…?
You must travel
to a distant place,
where you will
find what you are
looking for.
The Adventures
of Tom Sawyer
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Come on, Wally!
A truck has just
turned in at the
dumping site.
Pupils are to write a blurb for their favourite
book/story.
Listening and speaking
Answers
1.
Donna discovers
children playing
with used
injection needles.
…
Tom and Huck
hid quietly in the
shadows and
watched the men.
Support
Check to ensure that the blurbs the pupils write
adhere to the key elements for writing blurbs, as
identified in the answer to Question 3 above.
Lesson 5
Lesson aims
Pupils will:
 Grammar: choose adjectives to describe
characters; practise using adverbs.
 Writing: write three paragraphs about a story
they have read.
Resources

Chalkboard; PB; WB
Starting off
Pupils will continue learning about character.
Extension
(WB p. 9)
Pupils complete Activities 1, 2 and 3 on pages
9–10 of the WB.
Answers
1.
(WB pp. 9&10)
Character
Adjective
Why you chose that
adjective
King of Create
wicked
He sent young people
to the labyrinth knowing
that they would not
come back
Theseus
Ariadne
brave
kind
The Minotaur
dangerous
He killed the Minotaur
She loved Theseus and
told him how to get out
of the labyrinth
He killed people who
entered the labyrinth
2. Pupils say which word the adverb modifies in
each of the sentences and have to identify
whether the word is a verb, adjective or
adverb.
a) “I am not afraid. I will kill the Minotaur,”
Theseus said bravely.
Bravely modifies the word “said”, which
is a/an verb/adjective/adverb.
b) Ariadne very quietly unlocked Theseus’s
door.
Very modifies the word ‘unlocked’,
which is a/an verb/adjective/adverb.
c) The Minotaur lived in the middle of a
really big labyrinth.
Really modifies the word ‘big’ which is
a/an verb/adjective/adverb.
d) When the Minotaur woke up, Theseus
quickly threw the powder at him.
Quickly modifies the word ‘threw’, which
is a/an verb/adjective/adverb.
3. Pupils’ own answers.
Writing
Pupils should begin by rereading the story on
page 23 of the PB to remind themselves about
Theseus’ character: was he brave or cowardly,
honest or dishonest, big or small, young or old?
Do they admire him or fear him? The Theseus
they write about in their paragraphs will have to
retain these aspects of his original character.
Pupils should first think about a title for their
story. They should then think about the setting,
bearing in mind that the story is a myth and can
contain elements of the unnatural and unworldly.
They should also think about the characters they
will include, in addition to Theseus.
It is a good idea for pupils to first write their
ideas in draft, and then to perfect the story once
they have checked their spelling and grammar.
Extension
Pupils work in groups to act out the stories they
have written.
Support
Check to ensure that pupils have grasped the
concept of character and setting.
(PB p. 28)
For the next written activity, pupils are to write
three paragraphs about Theseus under these
headings: Title, setting and characters.
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