1

Unit Curriculum for Traditional Stories

Purpose of the Unit
The main purpose of selecting Traditional Stories as a unit curriculum is to
appreciate the literature of target language .These stories embrace the cultural and
historical essence and promote language diversity. They enrich our vocabulary and
introduce us to various structures of language. They enhance our quest for reading
by invoking our thinking and inferential skills. They provide us a pattern to
construct a well formed story and focus on collaborative learning. They are a great
source of learning authentic language. They provide students a chance to
differentiate between direct and indirect speech and enjoy natural language. They
highlight various traits of characters and give deep insight into their intricate
emotions and feelings. Traditional stories promote moral lessons to inculcate
ethical values in readers.
This unit curriculum encompasses two competency levels namely Reading and
Thinking skills and Writing skills. Their standards and bench marks are taken from
National Curriculum. Detailed lesson plans having instruction objectives,
methodology and assessment technique are devised to teach this unit effectively.
The scope and sequence of unit is also discussed in detail.
Competency
Reading and Thinking skills
Standard1
All students will search for, discover and understand a variety of text types through tasks
which require multiple reading and thinking strategies for comprehension, fluency and
enjoyment.
Benchmarks
Analyze patterns of text organization, and function of various devices used in a
paragraph.
Extend conceptual understanding of processes, procedures, events and issues, applyinag
reading comprehension and thinking strategies.
2

Standard2
All students will read and analyze literary text to seek information, ideas, enjoyment: and
to relate their own experiences to those of common humanity as depicted in literature.
Benchmarks
Analyze short stories and poems: identify with characters emotional response, motives
and actions
Students Learning Outcomes
Invoke inferential skills by using traditional stories.
Utilize time line graph to teach various components of the story.
Draw a character sketch by exploiting students knowledge about various traits of
individual.
Competency
Writing Skills
Standard 1
All students will produce with developing fluency and accuracy, academic, transactional
and creative writing skills, which is focused, purposeful and shows an insight into the
writing process.
Benchmark
Write descriptive, expository and narrative text for different purposes and audiences
Students Learning Outcomes
Enrich students vocabulary through synonyms.
Use direct and reported speech efficiently and effectively while writing stories.
3

Develop a well-structured traditional story using all the essential components.















4


Teaching Plan Day 1
Class: 7
th
Subject: English Unit: Why the Tortoises shell is not smooth Topic: Questions/Answers
SLOs Instructional
Objectives
Plan/ Methodology Resources Assessment

Invoke
inferential skills by
using traditional
stories.







Trigger
students
inferential and
thinking skills to
answer the
questions
logically.























Oracy:
First the teacher will brainstorm
the students by making two
clouds on the board of fiction
and nonfiction.
Teacher will ask about
traditional stories. Like;
What are traditional stories? Are
they fiction or nonfiction?
Which traditional stories are based
on your culture?
How do you know about these
stories?
Do you know any traditional stories
from other cultures?
What do we learn from traditional
stories of other cultures?
Name some traditional stories
you know
Routine Lesson:
1-The teacher will ask the students
to read the story Why the
Tortoises shell is not smooth in
the form of pairs
2-After reading the students will
conduct a group discussion on
different questions.
3-The complex questions will be
viewed from different angles to
check students understanding of
the text
It will also provide them a chance
to analyze the situation logically
and develop their inferential
abilities
Wrap up:
The teacher will share his own
point of view regarding different
questions whose details are not
mentioned in the text
Home work:
Students will be asked to write
questions/answers in note books.

White
board
Handouts
of the story
Why the
Tortoises
shell is not
smooth in
printed
form





Pupils will be
assessed
informally on
their abilities to:

Understand the
text thoroughly
and to conduct
group discussions
and analyze the
situation by
giving logical
answers using
their inferential
skills.













5

Teaching Plan-Day 2
Class: 7
th
Subject: English Unit: Why the Tortoises shell is not smooth Topic: Time line graph
SLOs Instructional
Objectives
Plan/ Methodology Resources Assessment
Utilize time line
graph to teach
various
components of the
story




Measure
students
excitement level
about various
events in the story
by using time line
graph.

Warm up:
The teacher will brain storm
the students by asking different
types of graphs and their
elicited answers will be written
on the white board.
i) Line graph
ii) Bar graph
iii) Pie chart
Main Activity:
The teacher will distribute
printed line graphs amongst the
students.
The series of actions will be
written horizontally at the
bottom of graph whereas
excitement rating out of 10 will
be written vertically along the
line graph.
The students will read all
events written on the time line.
They have to join the dots to
make an excitement graph for
the story.
They will mention the words
complication, climax, and
resolution at the appropriate
places on the excitement graph.
They will also have to explain
why they think those events are
exciting.


Sheets of
time line
graphs






















Students will be
assessed
individually on
their abilities to:

Construct an
appropriate time
line graph. They
will be judged by
mentioning correct
level of
excitement on the
scale and ability to
defend their
choice regarding
complication,
climax and
resolution.









6

Teaching Plan-Day 3
Class: 7
th
Subject: English Unit: Why the Tortoises shell is not smooth Topic: Tortoises character
sketch
SLOs Instructional
Objectives
Plan/ Methodology Resources Assessment
Draw a character
sketch by
exploiting students
knowledge about
various traits of
individual.





Develop a
character sketch
of Tortoise by
extracting
responses from
the students.
Warm Up
The teacher will ask the
students about their favorite
characters either from cartoons
or traditional stories. Later, the
teacher will solicit the reasons
for their liking about that
particular character. Ask them
to describe that character using
TWO adjectives i.e. vivacious,
funny, kind, benign etc
Main Activity:
Draw a SQUARE on the white
board and elicit one adjective
that they can relate to the
Tortoise from all students
The teacher will distribute
sheets of paper having some
statements about the Tortoise
and the students have to mark
them as True or False.
Now the students will
discuss the character of
Tortoise in group reflecting
on his appearance, nature,
attitude, convincing power,
relationship with other birds,
and how he acts in times of
crisis in detail. After this
group discussion students
will draw the character
sketch of Tortoise
individually in their copies.


White
board,
Marker,
and printed
handouts of
the story
Why the
Tortoises
shell is not
smooth














Students will be
assessed on their
abilities to:

discuss the
various traits of
Tortoise informally
and draw an
elaborated
character sketch
individually by
using those traits in
written form. The
correct use of
vocabulary and
sentence structure
will be accounted
in their written
sketches.








7

Teaching Plan Day 4
Class: 7
th
Subject: English Unit: The Lost Ruby. Topic: Synonyms
SLOs Instructional
Objectives
Plan/ Methodology Resources Assessment
Enrich
students
vocabulary
through
synonyms

To teach
vocabulary
through
synonyms by
using thesaurus
based game

The whole class
will be divided into
two groups.
Thesauruses will be
provided to them.
The story The
Lost Ruby will be
divided into two
halves. .
Each group will be
asked to select 20
words with their
synonyms. They
have to make
synonym lists.
Each group leader
will ask the
synonyms of words
from the other
groups.
Note:2 synonyms are
to be told
Their scores will be
written on the board
Final wrap up by
teacher through
throwing light on
final scores.
Two
thesauruses,
White board
and handouts of
the story The
Lost Ruby.
Informal
assessment of
pupils ability
to conduct a
game based on
thesaurus.
Student final
score will
determine their
knowledge of
vocabulary










8

Teaching Plan Day 5
Class: 7
th
Subject: English Unit: The Lost Ruby Topic: Synonyms
SLOs Instructional
Objectives
Methodology Resources Assessment
Enrich
vocabulary
through
synonyms

Utilize online
thesaurus to
enhance
vocabulary
through
synonyms.
Students will be taken to
computer lab and they will
be asked to write a
traditional story of their
own choice in 250 words
For example: Sleeping
Beauty, Cinderella, The
Fair one with golden locks,
The Frog Prince, Ugly
Duckling etc.
Students will be shown
how to use the tool bar of
word processor to access the
thesaurus or how to use
online thesaurus.
Students will highlight the
words, which seem boring
or weak in the story.
They will use word
processing or on line
thesaurus to look up all of
the highlighted words.
Students will edit their
stories using more
descriptive and interesting
words
On line &
word
processing
thesauruses,
students
writing
samples
Students stories,
written on word
document will
be monitored
and checked
individually. If
words from their
original stories
are changed
appropriately
with interesting
synonyms, then
accomplishment
will be noted.










9

Teaching Plan Day 6
Class: 7
th
Subject: English Unit: The Lost Ruby Topic: Direct and Indirect Speech
SLOs Instructional
Objectives
Methodology Resources Assessment
Use direct and
reported
speech
efficiently and
effectively while
writing stories




































Differentiate
between direct
and indirect
speech.






































Teacher will play a news clip
in the class, in the clip the news
caster will report about a recent
protest of any political group.
Teacher will give instruction to
the students for noticing the
general information and
comments of political leaders on
it.
Teacher will form pairs and
ask first member to write
general report and second
student to write comments of
leaders in inverted commas to
differentiate between direct and
reporting speech.
Teacher will explain the
purpose of using direct and
indirect speech in stories to
bring real, authentic and natural
language in stories.
The teacher will explain the
rules for changing direct speech
into indirect speech and vice
versa on white board.
Teacher will ask the students
to read the story The Lost
Ruby. He will ask the students
to highlight the sentences
written in inverted commas
He will ask the students to
make a list of highlighted
sentences. Teacher will give
instruction to rephrase the
highlighted sentences into
indirect speech -

Home work:

Students will be asked to write
the whole story The Lost Ruby
in the form of a dialogue.
News clip,
Television, CD
player, Head
phones, Note
book, pens








Handouts of the
story The Lost
Ruby
The students will
be assessed on
their ability;

To differentiate
between direct
and indirect
speech, evident
from sentences
written in their
note books and
to transform a
story into an
interesting
dialogue.

10

Teaching Plan Day 7
Class: 7
th
Subject: English Topic: The Lost Ruby Topic: Collaborative Story
SLOs Instructional
Objectives
Plan/ Methodology Resources Assessment
Develop a well-
structured
traditional story
using all the
essential
components.





Exploit various
components of
traditional stories
to construct a
collaborative story.

























Warm Up:
The teacher will ask the
students about various genres
of stories. Their elicited
responses will be written on
white board as:
Horror
Suspense
Crime
Love
Contemporary
Traditional

Main Activity:
The students will be asked for
loud reading individually in the
form of different sections.
Teacher will write the name of
sections i.e. introduction,
problem, climax and resolution
on board and explain them.
Extension Activity:
Students will be divided into
groups of four members.
They will be asked to discuss
the story of their own choice
with their group. For example,
Alice in Wonder land,
Aladdin and his magic lamp,
Rapunzel, Seven dwarfs,
Snow white etc.
First student has to write
introduction, second will write
problem, third will suggest
climax and fourth will present
resolution on separate sheets of
papers. Then every story will
be compiled.
All stories will be read and
best story will be selected
amongst all.
Handouts
of
traditional
story The
Lost Ruby

White
board,
Sheets of
Papers






Pupils ability to
construct a
collaborative story
will be assessed
by monitoring
connections,
cohesion,
coherence, unity
and syntactical
structure of the
stories as different
sections will be
developed by
students
individually.













11

Scope and Sequence
Why the tortoises shell is not smooth
Trigger students inferential and thinking skills to answer the questions logically.(Day 1)
Observations occur when one can see something happening. In contrast, inferences are what we
figure out based on our experiences. Helping students understand when information is implied,
or not directly stated, will improve their skill in drawing conclusions and making inferences.
These skills will be needed for all sorts of school assignments, including reading, science and
social studies. Inferential thinking is a complex skill that develops over time and with
experience. It can be taught through explicit instruction in inferential strategies. Inferring
requires higher order thinking skills, which makes it a difficult skill for many students.
Teaching inference includes the following assumptions:
One needs to find clues to get some answers.
One needs to add those clues to what we already know or have read.
There can be more than one correct answer.
We need to be able to support inferences
In this lesson, the students by answering complex questions learn to infer and it will enhance
their comprehension of the text. The learners in the form of pairs will read the story Why the
Tortoises shell is not smooth. Then, after reading the passage they will conduct a group
discussion on different questions. Next, the complex questions will be posed to check students
understanding of the text and answers will be analyzed from different angels. In fact all will be
done purposely because the teacher will ask the easy questions first, students will search the
answer from the text one by one. Later, he will ask difficult questions so that they could be able
to infer correctly from the text. So, the teacher should work on developing inferential skills by
giving appropriate training and challenging tasks.

Measure students excitement level about various events in the story by using time line
graph.(Day 2)
A timeline graph is a way of displaying a list of events in chronological order, sometimes
described as a project artifact. It is typically graphic design showing a long bar labeled
with dates alongside itself and events labeled on points where they would have happened. One
uses the timeline graph because it helps make any data more effective, interesting, easy to
understand, effortless to analyze and compare. It also helps one to present data in a logical and a
consistent way. Timeline allows students to create a graphical representation of an event or
process by displaying items sequentially along a line. Fiction texts, in many students' opinion,
lack the excitement, energy, and element of adventure. In this lesson, students use timelines as a
motivational factor to read more fiction, which will, in turn, help to increase their comprehension
level. Students will start by reading all the events written on the timeline. Then, they have to join
the dots to make an excitement graph for the story. Afterwards, students will mention the words
12

complication, climax, and resolution at the appropriate places on the excitement graph.
Last but not the least, learners will also have to explain why they think those events are exciting.
By using timeline graph, the teacher will bring an element of interest in the lesson and students
varied excitement level regarding various sections of story will be monitored by the teacher and
students have to present logical reasons for their choices.
Develop a character sketch of Tortoise by extracting responses from the students.(Day 3)
A character sketch is a short piece of writing that tells about a certain character in a short story or
novel. It is a characterization tool used by many writers as a way of adding details not just to the
character's physical description, but also the personality and traits of that certain character.
Novelists write character sketches in order to create a strong mental image of characters. Since
they are writing fiction, the characters that they include in their stories are products of their
imagination. However, they still need to mold the characters in their minds in order to impart
their characteristics to readers. A character sketch does this job, making the characters more alive
and believable on paper. It helps writers to bring out the motivations of characters, thus making
for a more logical flow of plot in a piece of fiction. Similarly, readers also use character sketches
so that they can understand a character better. Character sketches are also used in writing
exercises for aspiring writers.
In this lesson, Why the tortoises shell not smooth the teacher will break the ice by asking the
students about their favorite character either from story books or cartoons. They describe
different qualities of those characters. Similarly, the students will learn to develop a character
sketch of Tortoise. They will begin this by relating adjectives to the Tortoise. From there
onwards students on sheets of paper which has few lines regarding Tortoises character will mark
it either True or False. Afterwards, in groups the students will discuss its character,
appearance, nature, and attitude etc. as well behavior in hour of crisis. At the end, every learner
would draw the character sketch of Tortoise individually in their copies.


















13

The Lost Ruby

Enrich vocabulary through synonyms by using print thesaurus based game and online
thesaurus (Day 4&5)

Vocabulary teaching is one of the most essential aspects of successful teaching of English as a
foreign language. While studying, students deal with dubious and unfamiliar words, causing
hurdles in their understanding. Vocabulary is the glue that holds stories, ideas and content
together, making comprehension accessible for children. To make students proficient in using
vocabulary effectively is the significant objective of the unit.
Vocabulary can be taught by employing various techniques such as by teaching word parts
(suffixes and prefixes), definitions, contrasts, flash cards, context clues etc. Usually teachers use
bilingual dictionaries to teach vocabulary but they may contribute to a narrow view of language
learning as being merely a matter of one-to-one word translation. But vocabulary is learnt more
effectively through synonyms.
Synonyms can be defined as words having similar or almost identical meanings For example
synonyms for crisis are disaster, calamity, emergency, plight or catastrophe etc.
Synonyms help writers to develop style. If we ask the student to tell more words for beautiful,
he can tell you one or two words, pretty or charming that seems boring and exhibit limited
vocabulary. But while referring to the same subject several times, students can avoid repetition
and create interest in their writing by using synonyms. Instead of saying "beliefs" every time, a
writer can substitute the word with "values," "credo," "philosophy" or "faith" at different times.
Second language learners retained more studying words whose synonyms they had learned
Synonyms help to enrich student's vocabulary bank and provide alternative words instantly.
Students build ample vocabulary through synonyms to write interesting stories. Using online
thesaurus helps the students to refine their sample stories by substituting boring and simple
words with more descriptive and interesting synonyms to bring uniqueness and originality into
their stories. Playing thesaurus based games in fun loving way break the monotony of class room
environment and makes lessons more involving. Students enjoy this motivating and innovative
experience very much and retain vocabulary on long term basis. Being involved in competition,
they will develop synonym lists efficiently and tell the synonyms quickly, when they will be
asked by leader of a rival team.
Differentiate between direct and indirect speech.(Day 6)
Direct speech refers to the quoted words of a character given by the narrator. It is an attempt to
represent exactly what a character says. Good storytellers know how to narrate a story in a lively
and engaging manner. They use more direct speech than indirect speech in their narratives.
Almost all great novelists use direct speech as a stylistic device to give a live portrayal of the
characters in their stories. Why direct speech? Conversational style is a natural way of
communication. If arguments, quarrels and different moments of action are presented in direct
speech, they provide excitement, tension, and amusement. As each character speaks differently,
it is important to let the audience know what and how the characters speak in different situations.
It helps in depicting the portrayal of the characters. Direct speech reveals the tone and mood.
Indirect speech, if it is not used properly, creates a distance between the utterance and the
14

readers perception of it. Sometimes when we convert jokes into indirect speech it kills their
charm and make them artificial.
The teacher will use news report about a recent political protest to grab the attention of students.
He will invite their auditory and visual senses. They will have to listen very carefully and
separate the general incident from the comments of political leaders. After noting down those
comments, they will put inverted commas with these comments and label them as direct speech.
Then the teacher will explain certain rules to convert direct speech into indirect speech.
Use of conjunction that before the indirect statement.
Change of pronoun
Change of verb form
Change of adverbs of time
The teacher will also explain rules about same tense forms, questions, commands and requests,
exclamations and wishes as well. He will also teach them how to convert indirect speech into
direct speech. He will give them sheets and ask them to convert direct speech into indirect and
vice versa.
The teacher will relate this newly learnt knowledge to the unit The Lost Ruby by asking the
students to highlight the direct speech and convert it into indirect speech. The students will be
assigned the home task of removing unnecessary details from the same story and transform into
an interesting dialogue between king and Prime Minister. The same story, presented in the form
of dialogue will look more authentic and natural.
Exploit various components of traditional stories to construct a collaborative story.(Day7)

Collaborative stories are sometimes called chain stories because of the way writers link their
ideas together to create them. The term collaborative writing refers to projects where written
works are created by multiple people together rather than individually. It is often the case that
when users can directly contribute to an effort and feel that they've made a difference, they
become more involved with and attached to the final outcome of the project. A collaborative
approach to demonstrate the basics of writing to children was developed in the 1980s and 1990s
for use in early literacy programs. The rationale behind writing collaborative story is to develop
social and interactional skills amongst learners. Every student has his own learning style and
individual abilities, so they help each other in attaining final goals. Group discussions provide
them opportunity to exchange their views with each other. Students finish the collaborative task
in tension free environment which accelerates the learning process.
The teacher will write essential components of the story on white board i.e. introduction,
problem, climax and resolution He will cover these sections in the form of Reading aloud by
students. He will briefly discuss setting, plot, theme and characters of story.
15

The teacher will activate their prior knowledge by asking about their favorite traditional story.
The students will discuss that story. i.e. The Pied piper of Hamelin in the group of four
students. They will be asked to develop their assigned sections individually .These stories will be
compiled after completion. These stories will be read aloud one by one. Later the teacher will
check these stories on the basis of connectivity, cohesion, coherence, vocabulary, syntactical
structure and style. These stories will be produced by students having different writing styles and
mental abilities. So, teacher will give detailed feedback after making corrections. The best story
will be selected and awarded by the teacher.
Conclusion
The students will find this curriculum unit on Traditional Stories very interesting and
innovative. All the activities are designed to develop pleasure for reading rather than considering
it as dull, tedious and unwanted activity. It stimulates students inferential skills and aims to
bring remarkable increase in their vocabulary by teaching synonyms in entertaining way. It
focuses on social interactions and provide ample opportunities to work collaboratively. On the
whole this unit will prove to be a memorable experience for students and polish their reading,
writing and speaking skills. It will provide a guide line to practicing teachers to plan, sequence
and develop their materials and review their methodology. On the whole, it was an unforgettable
experience to develop a unit curriculum like this.














16

Appendix1
Why the tortoises shell is not smooth
Adapted
An African folktale
Once upon a time, all the birds were invited to a feast in the sky .They were very happy and
began to prepare themselves for the great day. They painted their bodies with cam wood and
drew beautiful patterns on them with uli. There was a famine and tortoise had not eaten a good
meal for two months. As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky, his throat began to itch.
He began to plan how he would go to the feast. Tortoise had no wings, so he went to the birds
and asked to be allowed to go with them. We know you too well, said the birds. You are too
cunning and ungrateful. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief.
You do not know me, said tortoise, I m a changed person. I have learnt that one who makes
trouble for others is also making trouble for himself. Tortoise had a sweet tongue and soon all
the birds agreed that he was a changed person. They each gave him a feather with which he made
two wings. At last the great day came. When all the birds had gathered, they set off together with
tortoise. Tortoise was so happy and chatty that the birds decided to let him speak for the party.
There is one important thing which we must not forget, he said as they flew on their way.
When people are invited to a great feast like this they take new names for the occasion. Our
hosts in the sky will expect us to honor this age-old custom. None of the birds had heard of this
custom. However, they knew that tortoise was widely-travelled and knew the customs of
different peoples, so each bird took a new name. Tortoise called himself All of you.
At last the party arrived in the sky and their hosts were very happy to see them. Tortoise stood up
in his multi-colored plumage and thanked them for the invitation. His speech was so eloquent
that all the birds were glad they had brought him. Their hosts mistook him for the king of the
birds as he looked different from the others. After nuts had been served the people of the sky set
fire. There were also pots of palm wine. When all the dishes had been set before the guests, the
birds were invited to eat. Suddenly, Tortoise jumped to his feet and asked, For whom have you
prepared this feast?
17

For all of you, replied the host. Tortoise turned to the birds and said, you remember that my
name is All of you. The custom here is to serve the spokesman first and the others later. They
will serve you when I have eaten. He began to eat and the birds grumbled angrily. The people of
the sky thought it must be their custom to leave all the food for their king. Tortoise ate the best
part of the food and then drank two pots of palm wine. The birds gathered around to eat what
was left and to peck at the bones he had thrown all about the floor. Some of them were too angry
to eat. They chose to fly home on an empty stomach. Before they left, each bird took back the
feather it had given to tortoise. As tortoise did not have any wings to fly home, he asked the birds
to take a message to his wife. All the birds refused. In the end, parrot, who had felt angrier than
the others, suddenly changed his mind and agreed to take the message.
Tell my wife said tortoise to bring out all the soft things in my house and cover the compound
with them so that I can jump down from the sky without hurting myself.
Parrot promised to deliver the message and left. When he reached tortoises house, he told his
wife to bring out all the hard things. So she brought out her husbands hoes machetes, spears,
guns and even his cannon. Tortoise looked down from the sky and saw his wife bringing things
out, but it was too far to see what they were. When all seemed ready, he jumped and fell through
the sky. Then with a great boom, he crashed onto the compound.
His shell broke into pieces. Tortoises wife sent for a great medicine man in the neighborhood.
The medicine man gathered all the bits of shell and stuck them together. This is why a tortoises
shell is not smooth.












18

Appendix 2
The Lost Ruby
By Ruskin Bond
Once upon a time there lived a king, who was great and powerful monarch. One day he was very
sad, and the chief minister who was a good and wise man, asked him. Defender of the World!
Why is your spirit sad today? Your majesty ought not to allow grief to trouble your mind. The
king would not tell him his grief .On the contrary, he resented his good ministers concern for
him. It is all very well for you as talk, he said.
But if you had reason to be sad. I am sure you would find it impossible to practice what you
have just suggested.
The king decided to put his chief minister to the test .He gave the minister a ruby of great price
and told him to look after it with great care. After the wily king had given the ruby to his
minister, he ordered female spies to follow him and mark where he kept the jewel. After a few
days he bribed the steward of the ministers household to steal it for him. When the jewel was
brought to him, he deliberately threw it into the river. The next morning, he asked the chief
minister, where is the ruby which I gave you the other day? I have it Defender of the world.
Well then, said the king go and fetch it , for I want it right now. Imagine the poor ministers
amazement when he got home and discovered that the ruby was nowhere to be found. He hurried
back to the king and reported the loss Your majesty, he said if u will allow me a few days
grace. I hope to find it and bring it back to you.
Very well, said the king laughing to himself, I give you three days in which to find the ruby.
If, at the end of that time, you fail to find it, your life and the lives of all who are dear to you will
be forfeit. And your house will be razed to the ground and ploughed up by donkeys!
The minister left the palace with a heavy heart. He searched everywhere for the lost jewel, but
because of its mysterious disappearance he did not have much hope of finding it. I have no one,
19

he thought, to whom I can leave my riches and possessions. My wife is the only soul on earth
who is dear to me and it seems we must both die after three days. What could better then to make
the most of the time thats left to us by enjoying ourselves?
In this mood the told his wife about the kings decision. Let us spend our wealth liberally and
freely he said, for soon we must die. His wife sighed deeply and only said. As you wish.
Fate has dealt us a cruel blow. Let us take it with dignity and good cheer.
That day saw the commencement of a period of great revelry in the chief ministers house.
Musicians were engaged and the halls were filled with guests. Rich food was served and night
and day the sound of music and laughter filled the house .In addition, large quantities of food
were prepared and given to the poor. No one who came to the house was allowed to leave empty
handed. Tradesmen bearing presents were rewarded with gold coins and went away rejoicing. On
the morning of the last day of the minister life a fisherman living in a village nearby caught a
large Rohu, the most delicious of Indian fresh water fish .Immediately he brought the fish to the
minister house. The minister was pleased to see such a fine rohu and gave him two gold coins.
Being very fond of fish curry, he said to his wife, Lets have one of your delightful fish curries
for lunch today for we will never be able to enjoy it again. Now heres a fine Rohu. Lets take it
to the kitchen and have it cleaned. He and his wife sat together to see the fish cut. As the cook
thrust his knife into the fishs belly, out dropped the ruby which had been thrown into the river.
The minister and his wife were overcome with astonishment and joy. They washed the ruby in
perfumed water and then the minister hastened to return it to the king. The king was equally
amazed to see the ruby which he had thrown into the river. He at once demanded an explanation
for its recovery. The minister told him how he had decided to spend all his riches, and how he
had received the present of a fish in which the lost ruby was found. The king then acknowledged
the part he had played in the loss of the ruby. But I see that you took your own advice to me,
he said. Endure sorrow cheerfully! He bestowed high honors on his minister, and commended
his wisdom and understanding before all his courtiers and ministers, and so the minister evil
fortune was changed to good.
And may the Eternal Dispenser of all good thus deal with his servants.
20

Appendix 3
Teaching Plan 1
Class: 7
th
Subject: English Topic: Question &Answers
Answer these questions to learn more about Why the tortoises shell is not smooth.
Reading for details
1. Why were the birds happy to be invited to the sky?
2. How did the birds prepare for the feast?
3. Why was Tortoise mistaken to be the king of birds?
4. How did the birds feel when Tortoise insisted that he had the right to eat first?
5. How did the birds prevent Tortoise from returning home?
Reading for meaning
6. In your own words, explain why Tortoises throat began to itch at the thought of the feast.
7. How did Tortoise convince the birds that he was a changed person?
8. What two things did Tortoise do to ensure that he would go to the sky and enjoy the feast?
9. Write out Tortoises message to his wife in your own words.
10. How did the birds finally manage to avenge themselves over Tortoises greed?
11. Why is Tortoises shell not smooth?
Reading for ideas
12. What do you think had caused the birds to be easily convinced by Tortoises persuasion?
13. State Parrots real intention for agreeing to deliver Tortoises message to his wife?
14. What do you think Tortoises wifes reaction to his message reveal about her character?
15. What do you think is the moral of this story?


21

Appendix 4
Teaching Plan 3 (Practice sheet)
Class: 7
th
Subject: English Topic: True and False
Put mark in front of a True sentence and X which is False.
1. Tortoise had a sweet tongue and soon all the birds agreed that he was a changed person.
2. The custom here is to serve the spokesman first and the others later.
3. The people of the sky thought it isnt their custom to leave all the food for their king.
4. There was a famine and tortoise had not eaten a good meal for three months.
5. For the feast the birds only painted their beaks with cam wood.
6. Tortoises throat began to itch when he started eating the food.
7. Birds nominated the Tortoise to speak for the party.
8. Tortoise ate the best part of the food and then drank two pots of palm wine.
9. The birds gathered to eat what was left and to peck at the bones he had thrown all about the
floor.
10. After nuts had been served the people of the sky set fire.







22

Appendix 5
Teaching Plan 6 (Practice sheet)
Class: 7
th
Subject: English Topic: Direct and Indirect
Convert the following direct narration into indirect one:
i. She asked me, May I ask you a question?"
__________________________________________
ii. He asked me, "Jump in!"
__________________________________________
iii. He asked me, "Have you set your alarm clock?"
__________________________________________
iv. He ordered us, "Get out of my way!"
_____________________________________
v. Sarah said, "Pass me the salt, please."
__________________________________________
Convert the following indirect narration into direct one:
i. He said that he had passed the examination
____________________________________________
ii. She said that German was easy to learn.
____________________________________________
iii. Ali says that he is unwell.
____________________________________________
iv. They told that the horse had died yesterday.
____________________________________________
v. He ordered them to go away.
____________________________________________



23

Appendix 6
Teaching Plan 7 (Practice sheet)
Class: 7
th
Subject: English Topic: Collaborative story
Title of the story

INTRODUCTION


PROBLEM


CLIMAX



RESOLUTION