ENGLISH 7

MODULE 3: FOURTH QUARTER LESSONS

Compiled by:
ARMAE SHIELA JIMENEZ-ACA-AC

(For Revision)
Module 4: The Period of Contemporary Literature
Introduction:
The Contemporary period is seeing a “renaissance” in publishing which some publishers have
attributed to two factors – reinstitution of democratic processes and a strong economy. The dismantling of
martial law and its repressive measures has made the writers feel free again to write on all sorts of topics
according to their mood and mold. The proliferation of newspapers and magazines brought about by the
new freedom has also contributed to the sudden abundance of literary works of all genre. In addition,
several agencies and institutions sponsor literary contest. Probably the best known is the Palanca Awards
given by the Carlos Palanca Memorial Foundation which, lately, has added a new category – the category
for children writers.
The style of writing varies as widely as the spectrum of views and values that crop up. Content also
varies with some writers opting to be introspective while others choose to dwell on social issues.
Contemporary literature is a “see-sawing balance between cosmopolitanism and nationalism,
elitism and democracy, art and politics.”
This module tackles “Links with the Changing and Contradictory World.” Thus, this will answer the
question: What does contemporary literature reflect?
The Period of Contemporary Literature comprises the following lessons:
Lesson 1: When I Struggle
Lesson 2: Celebrating My Heroes’ Belief
Lesson 3: Building Bridges
Lesson 4: Going Extra Miles
Lesson 5: Broadening One’s Horizons
Lesson 6: Nurturing Mother Earth
Lesson 7: Recognizing Beauty

Lesson 1: When I Struggle

Introduction:
Everyone is a unique individual. But this uniqueness can sometimes be the source of many
conflicts. People often clash with other people because of their uniqueness. This lesson allows the students
to examine the reasons why they fight.

Objectives:
This lesson aims to:

 Discover the reasons why our people participated in several upheavals.

 Recall and explain the instances when you found yourself in fight.
 Interpret the meaning of words by looking for their antonyms.
 Use word clines in order to show the differences between synonyms.
 Paraphrase a long poem by turning each stanza into a meaningful sentence.
 Rewrite paragraphs in order to make them more cohesive.
 Explain how an individual can generate numerous internal conflicts.
 List down the main conflicts that you are currently undergoing and mapping out solutions on how
to resolve them.
Pre-Test: The Wars We Have Fought
Fill in the chart below. Your teacher may give this to you as homework.
 Battle/Revolution/War Reasons for Filipino Participations Result
1. Battle in Mactan
2. The Revolution of 1896
3. The Filipino-American War
4. World War II
5. The EDSA Revolution

Lesson Proper:
Activate: Why We Fight
Recall fights you have had with your parents, classmates, friends, or teachers. Complete the
spider map below by listing down the reasons for those fights.
Be prepared to share your answers with your classmates.

_________________

Reasons
_________________ ________________
Why You
Fought

_____________

Acquire:

 Discuss
 the reading text “If You Want to Know What We Are” by Carlos Bulosan
 Define Paraphrase
 How to paraphrase:
1. Read the entire selection to get the overall meaning before you begin writing your paraphrase.
2. Identify the main idea of the selection. Keep it in mind while you write a paraphrase.
3. Identify the speaker in fictional material. (Is the poet or the author speaking, or is a character?)
4. Write your paraphrase in your own words, using a complete sentences and standard paragraph
form.
5. Review the selection to be sure that your paragraph expresses the same ideas as the original.

 Present a Paraphrasing Poetry: Example

The following 8- line poem by Robert Frost should serve as a good example for paraphrasing. His
poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” is a metaphorical statement on how the beauty of Spring cannot
last forever (and ultimately, that the beauty of anything cannot last forever).

Read the poem, then scan the paraphrase and read the analysis that follows.

“Nothing Gold Can Stay”

By Robert Frost

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
 Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

A paraphrase of Frost’s poem, line by line;

The first growths in spring are more golden in color than green, but this golden shade
doesn’t last very long. The first sprouts on the branches are actually flower blossoms give way to
green leaves. The beauty of Eden (the Sumerian place of “delight”) eventually fades away, and
the golden rays dawn are replaced by harsher tones of delight(reality?). Nothing in nature, even
things that are most beautiful, last forever.
Source: Downloaded from the internet
(Dalal Al-Shareif)
Apply:
Task 1: OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Encircle the letter of the option that is most opposite to the underlined word in the sentence.
1. The Corrupt governor accumulated a lot of luxury cars during his stay in office.
a. collected b. dispersed c. coagulated
2. The constant air bombardment of the capital was the military’s ways of enervating the opposition.
a. strengthening b. weakening c. coddling
3. The comradeship that develops between soldiers is one that extends beyond the battlefield.
a. hostility b. romance c. amity
4. Leona’s face showed her disgust as she entered the sordid sausage factory.
a. squalid b. pleasant c. depressing
5. Carlo went down on his knees and declared his imperishable love to Carlita.
a. sectional b. immortal c. temporal
6. The day after the fire, the police released Lee’s picture to the public. Lee who was wanted for
arson, was now considered infamous.
a. notorious b. famous c. unknown
7. The Children descended into hysterical laughter when the clown began to perform his tricks.
a. Feverish b. composed c. unrelenting
8. Angela’s lustrous hair was the reason for her newfound celebrity.
a. dull b. gleaming c. limp

Task 2: Using Clines

Arrange the following words based on the degrees of their meanings.
SET A: war, conflict, argument, battle, skirmish, hostilities

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
SET B: revolt, revolution, insurrection, mutiny, rebellion, uprising

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________
SET C: heroism, martyrdom, patriotism, nationalism
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Task 3. Choose a poem about 2 stanzas and paraphrase it. Use only a single sentence
foreach stanza.
Task 4: Study the paragraph below. Rewrite each paragraph in order to make it more
cohesive.
One disturbing disadvantage of living in the dormitory is that girls assume I always have time to
listen to their problems. Laura pounded on my door. She angrily entered my room with her latest story.
She insisted that I listen to her story which was a long-drawn-out explanation of her argument with her
boyfriend, Tom. I found myself late to class. Margie came banging into my room. I postponed my studies.
This made me behind in my sociology class. Living in the dorm involves sharing your time with the girls on
the floor.

Assess:
Students will be grouped into five with 6 members (depending on the class size). They will be
tasked to prepare a presentation showing a conflict and how is it resolved situation.

Lesson 2: Celebrating My Heroes’ Beliefs

Introduction:
This lesson allows the students to discover the motivations of heroes when they go on adventures.
Learners should understand that being a hero doesn’t simply mean doing great deeds. The intention
behind the deed is more important.

Objectives:
This lesson aims to:

 Explain how people become recognized heroes.

 Express your opinion on why seemingly ordinary people do great acts.
 Show how monsters are symbols of the problems society faces.
 Decipher the expressions and techniques used in conducting interviews, or even holding casual
conversations.
 Determine which words do not belong to a set.
 Decode and use idiomatic expressions.
 Link the actions and motives of the characters in the given selection.
 Use non-verbal cues in delivering dialogues.
 Differentiate simple and compound sentences.
 Use coordinating conjunctions in forming compound sentences.
 Document your sources when researching for your projects.

Pre Test: Heroes and Monsters

On a half-sheet of paper, choose a hero based on the pictures to be shown to be shown to you by
your teacher. Explain what that hero is known for. Think of a reason why that hero committed heroism.
Be ready to share your answers. Next, you will be shown pictures of mythological monsters.

Lesson Proper:
Activate:
Find out which word does not belong to each set. Encircle that word. Be able to explain what the
rest of words have in common.
 1. horrible, ugly, frightful, pretty, shocking
2. enormous, great, large, small, intense
3. dreadful, alarming, terrible, peaceful, ghastly
4. summit, top, pinnacle, bottom, climax
5. exhausted, tired, collapsed, crippled
6. grief, sorrow, pain, joy, misery

Acquire:

 Remind them about the following facts:

a. A Simple Sentence is one which has only one Subject and one Predicate or A Simple Sentence is
one which has only one Finite Verb.
Example:
1. An honest man is loved by all.
Subject: an honest man
Predicate: is loved by all
2. All of us returned home.
Subject: all of us
Predicate: returned home

b. A Compound Sentence is one which consists of two or more Coordinate Clauses, joined by a
Coordinating Conjunction.
Example:
1. She is going to the store, or she is going to the mall.
Clause 1: She is going to the store.
Clause 2: She is going to the mall.
Conjunction: or
2. The sun rose and everything looked bright and gleaming.
Clause 1: The sun rose.
Clause 2: Everything looked bright.
Conjunction: and

c. Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, and clauses. And, but, for, nor, or, so,
and yet—these are the seven coordinating conjunctions also known as FANBOY.
Correlative conjunctions correlate, working in pairs to join phrases or words that carry equal
importance within a sentence.
Example:

1. She is both intelligent and beautiful.

2. I will either go for a hike or stay home and watch TV.
3. Jerry is neither rich nor famous.
4. He is not only intelligent, but also very funny.
5. Would you rather go shopping or spend the day at the beach?
d. Conjunctive Adverb connects two independent clauses or complete sentences.
Example:

1. You must do your homework; otherwise, you might get a bad grade.
2. I won't be attending the show; therefore, I have an extra ticket for anyone that can use it.
3. We were supposed to go dancing after dinner; however, we went home instead.
4. Amy practiced the piano; meanwhile, her brother practiced the violin.
5. Marion needed to be home early; as such, she left work at 3 p.m.

 Discuss EPIC (meaning and sample)

 Reading the text: Indarapatra and Sulayman(A Maranao Epic)

 1st reading: silent reading
2nd reading : by teacher with discussion

 Answer Comprehension Check Questions

a. Who were the four monsters that brought destruction to Mindanao?
b. Who tried to save Mindanao? What adventures did he undertake?
c. How did Indarapatra know that his brother had died? What did he do?
d. How did the headman of the tribe show his gratitude to Indaraatra?
e. What characteristics of an epic is shown in the story?
f. What details show that Indarapatraand and his brother were great men?
g. If you were in the same situation, would you have done what the two brothers did? Support your
answer.

 Discuss Idioms. An idiom is a phrase, saying or a group of words that has a metaphorical (not literal)
meaning, which has become accepted in common usage. An idiom's symbolic sense is quite different
from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made.
Example of Idioms:

a. piece of cake
a. Meaning: something that is easy to do.
Example: Making spaghetti Bolognese is a piece of cake.

b. a hot potato
a. Meaning: a controversial issue or situation that is awkward or unpleasant to deal with.
Example: The subject of bullying and fighting in my school is a hot potato.

c. once in a blue moon

a. Meaning: very rarely.
Example: I go to visit my grandfather only once in a blue moon; he lives in a remote farm
house.

d. a bed of roses
a. Meaning: easy option.
Example: Taking care of my younger sister is no bed of roses; she is very silly.

e. raining cats and dogs

a. Meaning: raining very heavily.
Example: I wanted to go to play outside, but it was raining cats and dogs yesterday.

f. when pigs fly

a. Meaning: something that will never happen or is impossible.
Example: William will keep quiet only when pigs fly.

g. devil's advocate
a. Meaning: one who presents a counter argument.
Example: Hey Jack! You're always playing devil's advocate! Give it a rest and mind your own
business.

h. miss the boat

a. Meaning: miss the chance.
Example: Peter wanted to enter the drawing competition, but he was too late to enter, and he
missed the boat.

i. apple of eye
a. Meaning: someone very precious or dear.
Example: Every kid in the world is the apple of their parents' eye(s).
 j. zip your lip
a. Meaning: to stop talking.
Example: I don't want to hear another sound out of you. Now do as you're told and zip your lip.

Apply:
Task 1: Word Sets
Determine which word does not belong to each set. Cross out that word. Be prepared to
explain what the rest of the words have in common.

1. ate, consumed, devoured, gobbled, harassed

2. chaos, disaster, havoc, order, mayhem
3. news, reports, tidings, words, values
4. apex, nadir, peak, summit, zenith
5. awful, dreadful, ghastly, indescribable, shocking
6. restored, reawakened, renewed, reneged, revived

Task 2. Say What?

Each sentence has an underlined idiomatic expression. Decide what each idiomatic expression
means.
1. When news about the plight of Mindanao reached King Indarapatra, he did not bear around the
bush. He immediately sent his brother to fight the monsters.
2. Sulayman, despite being of noble birth, did not hesitate to get his hands dirty.
3. Upon reaching Mindanao and killing the first monster, Sulayman realized that he had barely scratched
the surface of Mindnao’s problems.
4. Had the monsters closed ranks, they would have been able to defeat Sulayman.
5. Despite being a king, Indarapatra remained down to earth when he met the people who hid in the
caves.
Assessment:
Ask each student to write on a sheet of paper these three ideas. Use the grid below.

The most important The importance of the Traits needed to

insight/ knowledge epic to our country in become
they discovered after general and to Mindanao a hero.
reading the selection in Particular.

Then teacher will call on a few students to share their small group sharing. Then, synthesis the
lesson.

Lesson 3: Building Bridges

Introduction:
Building bridges is an idiomatic expression which means improving relationships between people
who are very different or who not like each other.
Objectives:
In this lesson the learners will:

 Learn the value of building brides;

 Appreciate everyone’s reliance on his/her own capabilities, judgement and resources;
Vocabulary
 Simplify explanations through the use of analogies;
 Illustrate comparisons via similes and metaphors; and,
 Be specific with the timelines of actions by being acquainted with simple verb tenses.

Pre-Test: Vocabulary/ Word Association

What ideas come to your mind when you hear the word “self-reliance?” Think of other words that
can be associated with “self-reliance.”

_________

__________ __________

SELF-RELIANCE

____________ ________________

_____________________

Lesson Proper:
Activate: Setting the Mood
When you don’t have to rely on someone else, you are the master of your own destiny. That’s
really the secret of everything in life. If you’re OK with yourself and you don’t need approval from
others for your happiness, then you are happy. Self- reliance comes with self-confidence. Self-reliance
helps a person to prepare for life’s challenges.
Task: SHARING
Cite an instance in your life when you have been self-reliant. What has been the product of
your self-reliance?

Acquire:

 Vocabulary
 Analogy is a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite
different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something that is
familiar. Metaphors and similes are tools used to draw an analogy. Therefore, analogy is more
extensive and elaborate than either a simile or a metaphor. Consider the following example:
 1. The structure of an atom is like a solar system. The nucleus is the sun, and electrons are the
planets revolving around their sun.

 Here, an atomic structure is compared to a solar system by using the word “like.” Therefore,
it is a simile. Metaphor is used to relate the nucleus to the sun, and the electrons to the
planets, without using the words “like” or “as.” Hence, similes and metaphors are employed
to develop an analogy.

 We commonly use analogy in our everyday conversation. Some common analogy examples are
given below:

a. Life is like a race. The one who keeps running wins the race, and the one who stops to catch a
breath loses.
b. Just as a sword is the weapon of a warrior, a pen is the weapon of a writer.
c. How a doctor diagnoses disease is like how a detective investigates crimes.
d. Just as a caterpillar comes out of its cocoon, so we must come out of our comfort zone.
e. You are as annoying as nails on a chalkboard.

 Writers use analogy to link an unfamiliar or a new idea with common and familiar objects. This
makes it is easier for readers to comprehend a new idea, which may have been difficult for them
to understand otherwise. In addition, by employing this literary tool, writers catch the attention of
their readers. Analogies help increase readers’ interest as analogies help them relate what they
read to their life.

 Discuss Verb tense

 simple present is use when an action is happening right now, or when it happens regularly
(or unceasingly, which is why it’s sometimes called present indefinite). Depending on the
person, the simple present tense is formed by using the root form or by adding -s or -es to
the end.
Example: I feel great! Pauline loves pie. I’m sorry to hear that you’re sick

 simple past is a verb tense that is used to talk about things that happened or existed before
now.
Example: Wolfgang entered a hula hoop contest. He won the silver medal.

 simple future is a verb tense that’s used to talk about things that haven’t happened yet.
Example: This year, Jen will read War and Peace. It will be hard, but she’s determined to do
it.

 Read the text: English by Estrella D. Alfon and discuss for the students to fully understand
and answer Comprehension question.

Apply:

Task 1: Student shall listen to a Song. Which part of the song left a lasting impression in you? why?

Task 2: Pick among the following conversation card and discuss your answer. (prepared by the teacher)

Assess: Have students practice language use by making a script out of the story with the assigned scene
to them. Then, make students do an Ad lib or speak out extemporaneously about the lines that are ought
to be expressed by the character they are portraying. Be creative and imaginative!

(Summative Test will cover the following topics: Similes (identifying Similes), metaphors (making
metaphors and understanding them), Simple present tense, simple past tense, and simple future tense.)

Lesson 4: Going Extra Miles

Introduction:
This lesson allows the learners to internalize a deep sense of sacrifice to sustain familial
relationship. It will help them realize that one has to undergo further or beyond the distance with the sense
of patience, understanding, and sacrifice before they finally move toward the life race’s end.

Objectives:
This lesson aims to:

 Activate prior knowledge about the selection

 Classify statements based on language functions.
 Identify words or expressions that have multiple meanings (homonymous words or
expressions).
 Determine the relevance and unity of the elements of a short story based on purpose.
 Identify the elements of a short story.
 Use appropriate present tense of verbs in sentences.
 Note specific details of the text listened to.
 Use past perfect tense to state completed action before something in the past.
 Prepare an expanded reference list of primary and secondary information sources of a given
topic.

Pre-Test: What story that you have read, caught you the most? Please share to class the title, characters
with description, theme and your reason for liking it that much.

Lesson Proper:
Activate: Setting the Mood
How much do you love your parents? Can you make sacrifices for them? Will you give up your
cherished possession for their welfare?
Acquire:

 Read the text: The Sacrifice Celso Al. Carunungan. Answer comprehension questions.
 Remember this!
 The communicative function of an expression relates to the speaker’s aim or purpose in
conveying
message.
 If you say “take your seat” it is entirely different in purpose from “Please take your seat.”
Functions of Utterances:
a. Asking information
When is she coming? Have you given your report?
b. Giving information
Anna is leaving the place. Cora is moving to Pasig.
c. Confirming information
Are you going to join us? Yes, I will join you.
d. Expressing surprise
Oh! You look awesome! What? That’s horrible!
e. Expressing wish
I wish Carlota all the best. Lerma wishes she were a mermaid.
f. Expressing appreciation/gratitude
I am so thankful to Edith. I owe Grace a lot.
g. Expressing regret/sympathy
I am so sorry to hear that. Please accept my sincerest condolences.
h. Expressing congratulations
Congratulations! You did a tough job. Congratulations! You are learning fast!
i. Expressing leave taking
 See you later. I have to leave now.
j. Giving a request
Please handle it with care. May I use your phone?
k. Giving a command
Lock the door. As you were.
l. Expressing an apology
I am so sorry for the delay. It was unpremeditated.
m. Expressing complaint
This gadget has inadequate features. The food is not available.
n. Relaying a message
Please tell them to assemble at the lobby. Tell Grace I miss her a lot.
o. Making a suggestion
We can work together as a team. I suggest you take another route.
p. Expressing approval
You did well! I just love how you did it!
q. Expressing disapproval
Your proposal was turned down. They didn’t like it.
 Use the language!
 Simple Present Tense states general truths, facts or things known to be true. Subjects like I,
You, We, They and other plural subjects take the base form.
 I/You/We/They/Plural Subjects: Verb without -s. (Also am, have, do, are)
 Subjects which can be substituted by singular third person pronouns (He, She, It) takes verb
with –s.
 The Past Perfect tense expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in
the past. It is formed by using had+ past participle of the verb, and the simple past tense for
the action in the past.
Example:

I have walked on this path before.

We have eaten the lasagna here.

 Homonyms are group of words that have the same pronunciation but different in
meanings.
Example:
 Address - to speak to / location
 Air - oxygen / a lilting tune
 Arm - body part / division of a company
 Band - a musical group / a ring
 Bark - a tree's out layer / the sound a dog makes
 Bat - an implement used to hit a ball / a nocturnal flying mammal
 Bright - very smart or intelligent / filled with light
 Circular - taking the form of a circle / a store advertisement
 Current - up to date / flow of water
 Die - to cease living / a cube marked with numbers one through six
 Express - something done fast / to show your thoughts by using words
 Fair - equitable / beautiful
 Jag - a sharp, jutted object / a crying spree
 Kind - type / caring
 Lie - to recline / to tell a falsehood
 Match - to pair like items / a stick for making a flame
 Mean - average / not nice
 Pole - a person from Poland / a piece of metal that holds a flag
 Pound - unit of weight / to beat
 Quarry - a site for mining stone / to extract or obtain slowly
 Ream - a pile of paper / to juice a citrus fruit
 Ring - a band on a finger / something circular in shape
 Right - correct / direction opposite of left
 Rock - a genre of music / a stone
 Rose - to have gotten up / a flower
 Spring - a season / coiled metal
 Stalk - a part of a plant / to follow or harass someone
  Tender - gentle / offer of money
 Tire - to grow fatigued / a part of a wheel
 Well - in good health / a source for water in the ground

Apply:
Task 1: Identify the following elements based on a short story read.
a. Title: _____________________________________________________________________
b. Author: ___________________________________________________________________
c. Characters: (describe
each)____________________________________________________

Character
Point of view

Conflict
Theme

Task 2:
A. Match the homonymous words in Column A with those in Column B.

A B
1. It a. for
2. were b. new
3. cup c. tale
4. sell d. pour
5. rice e. some
6. poor f. wear
7. four g. rise
8. knew h. cop
9. sum i. now
10. tail j. cell
k. eat

B. Identify homonymous words being defined by the following:

1. ______________ = a short piece of fiction
2. ______________ = rear part of animal’s body
3. ______________ = cereal plant
4. ______________ = get higher
5. ______________ = held information in mind
6. ______________ = recently made
7. ______________ = arithmetical calculation
8. ______________ = a little
9. ______________ = affected by poverty
10. ______________ = serve drink
11. ______________ = drinking container
12. ______________ = a police officer
13. ______________ = past tense of are
14. ______________ = to use for clothing
15. ______________ = an even number
16. ______________ = a preposition with the purpose of
 17. ______________ = to exchange for money
18. ______________ = small compartment
19. ______________ = a pronoun referring to an object
20. ______________ = consume something

Assess: Make Vocabulary Log of Homonyms with meanings.

Lesson 5: Broadening One’s Horizons

Introduction:
“Broadening one’s horizons” is an idiomatic expression which means widening or increasing the
range of things one knows about, has experienced, or is able to do so.

Objectives:
This lesson aims to broaden learner’s horizons by:
 Helping you look at the positive and negative sides of people / things/ places/ events/ ideas;
 Branching out your vocabulary through cline;
 Mapping out one’s characteristics; and
 Acknowledging possibilities using the modals may and might.

Pre-Test: (Present picture of Quiapo Church and Plaza Miranda)

Describe each pictures in 10 sentences.

Lesson Proper:
Activate: Setting the Mood
Quiapo is a district and primary city square of Manila. It derives its name from the water cabbage
(Pistia stratiotes), which is named Quiapo or Kiapo in Tagalog language.
Referred to as the “Old Town of Manila,” Quiapo is home to the Quiapo Church, where the feast of
the Black Nazarene is held with millions of people attending annually. Quiapo has also made a name
for itself as a place for market place bargain hunting.
Are all beggars in Quiapo pitiful? Why or why not?

Acquire:
Read the text: Quiapo by John Paul Abellera
It was only six o’ clock in the morning but Quiapo was already bustling with life. The streets and
thoroughfares were filled with cars, jeepneys and buses moving at sloth pace. People of all kinds—from
vendors with toothless smiles to professionals with frowns to hide their dentures—fought for space in the
overcrowded sidewalks. The combination of various city sounds—cars honking, preachers shouting,
beggars crying – threatened to break any sound barrier. It was only six o’clock.
All signs of morning life in Quiapo were lost on a young boy sleeping outside the doors of the
Church of the Black Nazarene. He was shivering in his sleep. How the rags he was wearing could have
protected him from the harsh cold was a mystery to everyone walking past him. He was dirty; his face and
limbs covered with numerous bruises. In his sleep, he brushed his dirty hand across his dirty face, smearing
his cheeks with the mucus flowing steadily from his nostrils.
The young boy awoke with the sensation of someone tickling his sole. He opened both eyes and
stared at the morning sky. The bright rays of the sun greeted him but they could not radiate enough warmth
to keep his body from shivering. He looked at his feet and saw the source of the tickling sensation – a limp
and dirty dog, a beggar like himself, was busy licking the sores at his foot. He kicked the dog away, and
even threw a stone at it. The poor dog scampered away whining. He sat up, scratching the mosquito bites
on his legs until they bled. Involuntarily his stomach growled. He suddenly remembered that he had not
eaten since lunch yesterday. He willed his weak body to move and went to the nearest garbage can. He
scavenged through it, sifting the pile of trash thrown by people comfortably placed on the opposite end of
the economic bracket. He soon found what he was looking for – a big, empty can of Del Monte pineapple
juice. He sniffed at it – the smell of pineapples was lost in the mix of hamburgers, chocolates, gums and
feces.
Holding the can firmly, he dragged himself to the doorway of the church. He leaned forward to catch
a glimpse of the church’s interior. He stared in awe at the various icons of spirituality dressed in majestic
robes and decorated with multi-colored gems. The pious ones, clutching faded plastic beads of the rosary,
walked on their knees towards these icons. In a slow, trance-like way, they wiped these icons’ limbs with
their handkerchiefs, which moments ago wiped away the sweat and mucus from their faces.
The boy gathered his strength and ran towards the start of the line. Lacking a handkerchief, he
rubbed his dust and soot-covered fingers across the Virgin Mary’s pristine white robes and ivory-smooth
feet. For each smear of his fingers, he breathed a prayer for a better life. He closed his eyes and imagined
the Virgin Mary leaning down to catch every wish that fell from his lips.
Suddenly, he felt someone grab his shirt. He opened his eyes, and saw a burly man in white barong
dragging him out of the church. He tried to clutch at the Virgin Mary’s robes, but he was far away from her.
The burly man dropped him at the church’s doorway. He tried to get in again, but the refused to let him in.
The boy finally gave up. He went towards the throng of people outside the church, and stretched
out his can to the old men with canes and the old women with veils. He silently prayed to the Black
Nazarene for these devotees to pity him and give him some of their copper, silver and gold coins. He
closed his eyes and prayed harder that some would be kind enough to give him folded bills instead of
coins.
Three-quarters of an hour had passed but not even once did hear a single coin drop in his can. He
shook the can, hoping to hear something move inside it. Nada. Tired and hungry, he sat down and leaned
back on the church door. He observed the various kinds of people walking, running before him. It was
during moments like this that he felt separated from the rest of society. He knew he was different, especially
from the cigarette-puffing college students. With their good looks, clean uniforms and gadgets of all types,
these students seem superhuman to him. They were fair, wingless angels walking on the dirty streets of
Quiapo, answering the calls of heaven through their cell phones and beepers. How he envied them! How
he wanted to be one of them! Then, perhaps, he would be able to leave his miserable life in Quiapo and
start anew in the gold and marble laden halls of heaven. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine himself
as one of those angels – puffing blue seal cigarettes and sending text messages to his fellow angels.
Even through his closed eyelids, he can sense something blocking the sunlight. He opened his
eyes and saw a tall man looming over him. The man was fair-skinned, with blond hair and an expensive
camera hung around his neck. The man was saying something but he could not understand him. The
language was different from the one he learned while growing up.
The man brought out a magazine and pointed at the cover where he saw a pair of African children
asking for alms. The man repeatedly pointed at the camera, the magazine cover and at him. Finally, he
realized that the man wanted to take his picture. He immediately stood up and nodded his head excitedly.
He arranged his rags and smiled at the camera. It surprised him when he saw the man vehemently shaking
his head. He watched as the man stretched out his hand and made a pitiful face, just like those of the
African children. He then understood that the man wanted to take his picture as a miserable child, not as
a happy one. Pretending to be one of the African children, he stretched out his hand and made a pitiful
face.
The flash blinded him for a moment. Afterwards the man took a bill from his wallet and gave it to
him. His dirty and callused fingers tightly gripped the bill. He watched the man leave, eventually losing
sight of him in the crowd of people. He then opened his fist and saw the crumpled ten-peso bill. He smiled
and looked upwards to the skies. Suddenly, he knew how it felt to be an angel. With the money in his hand,
he thought of the five days’ worth of cigarettes he could finally buy.

Read the Text: Children of the City by Amades Ma. Guerrero

 The father of the boy Victor worked on the waterfront and got involved in a strike, a long drawn out
affair which had taken the following course: It began with charges that the employees were not being given
a just compensation, that part of their earnings were being withheld from them, and that their right to form
a union was being disregarded. It escalated with the sudden dismissal, for unstated reasons, of several
workers, giving rise to fears that more layoffs would be carried out in the near future. This led to organized
defiance, and the setting up of picket lines. Finally, one stifling summer evening, violence broke out on the
piers of the city as the strikers were receiving sandwiches and soft drinks from sympathetic outsiders.

Victor had been, and still was, too young to understand it all. But when they were living in one of
the shanties that stood in Intramuros, he would frequently overhear snatches of conversation between his
parents regarding his father’s job. Sobra na, his father would say, we cannot take it anymore. Naglalagay
sila, they are depriving us of our wages, and they even have this canteen which charges us whether we
eat there or not.

Then his mother’s voice, shrill and excited, would cut in, urging him to swallow it all, accept what
little was given to him and stay away from the groups that wanted to fight back. She spoke bitterly of the
newly emerging unions – and that priest with his cohorts and his student volunteers – who were trying to
organize the workers. Victor’s father defended these groups, saying were only protecting the dockhands’
interests. You don’t know what it’s like out there, he would say, there have been beatings, and all sorts of
accidents. It’s a dreadful place really…

Once the boy interrupted them and wanted to know what the discussion was all about, only to be
met with a rebuke from his mother. But he was insistent, the heat of the argument stirring a vague fear
within him, and he asked what a cabo was. To distract him, his father playfully laid hold of him and hoisted
him over his shoulders (although Victor was getting a bit heavy for this sort of thing). And thus they horsed
about the house, or what passed for it, to the tune of the boy’s delighted shrieks and the cold stares of his
mother.

Occasionally, whenever he would find the time, his father would take him out at night for a stroll
along the Boulevard, to feel the breeze and to walk gingerly on the narrow embankment. The place at this
hour wove its spell around him, a kind of eerie enchantment, and he would gaze fascinated at the murky
waters gently, rhythmically swirling on the shore, and at the beckoning lights of Cavite, and thrill to the
mournful blast of a departing ship.

– Tatang, where is the ship going? –

– I don’t know, Victor. Maybe to the provinces. Maybe to another country, a faraway land. –

– When will we be able to travel too? –

– I don’t know, when we have a little money, perhaps. –

The whistle of the ship, which seemed to be a big liner, sounded once more as it steamed out of
the harbor and headed in the direction of the South China Sea. Arm in arm in the darkness punctuated
only by a few insufficient lights, father and son tried to make out the dim outline steadily moving away from
them. Then the ship faded into the shadows, and its whistle sounded no more.

Later they strolled on the promenade and made their way slowly to the Luneta, where his father
bought him some chicharon.
 The park was dimly lit and ill-kept, and as they passed by the Rizal monument they noticed a
number of rough-looking men lurking about in its vicinity. Two women, dressed gaudily and unaware of
their presence, were approaching from another direction. As they neared, the men unloosed a volley of
whistles, yells and taunts. Then stones were flung, triggering screams and curses from the two. Victor was
startled at hearing their voices, which, though high-pitched, sounded distinctly masculine.

His father hurriedly led him away from the scene, and to his puzzled queries replied that it was
nothing, just a quarrel, an incident. As an afterthought, he observed that the park had not always been like
this, that once in the distant past it had been a clean and picturesque place.

– Maybe it will become beautiful again in the future…

A week after this the dock strike materialized. It was called against a shipping firm following the
breakdown of negotiations. The picket dragged on, with the strikers and their families subsisting on funds
raised by student, labor and civic-spirited elements. And the tide seemingly began to favor the strikers, for
soon the case attracted national attention.

Victor’s father would return home late at night from the marathon picket manned in shifts, exhausted
but excited, and brimming over with enthusiasm for the cause. His mother made no comment, her protests
having long subsided into a sullen silence.

Students and unionists drummed up public support for the workers, organizing drives for them,
detailing their plight in pamphlets and press interviews. They reinforced the picket lines, held rallies to
boost their morale and distributed food and money. And the shipping management’s haughtiness turned
to concern and then to desperation…

ONE evening, four months after the strike began, the silence of the piers was broken by the rumble
of six-by-six trucks. There were three of them, and they were heading straight for the picket lines. A shot
rang out, reverberating through the night, then another and a third.

Panic spread through the ranks of the strikers, and a few started to run away. Calls by the activists
to stand fast, however, steadied the majority, who stood rooted on the spot following the initial wave of fear
and shock. – Easy lang, easy lang, they won’t dare crash through. – But the huge vehicles advanced
inexorably, and as they neared, a kind of apocalyptic fit seized three picketers who, propelled by the
months and years of exploitation, charged right into the onrushing trucks.

Amid screams and yells, the barricades were rammed. And the scores of strikers fell upon the 6-
by-6s loaded with goons in a fury, uncaring now as to what happened to them. They swarmed over the
trucks, forced open the doors and fought back with stones, placards and bare fists, as more guns sounded.

Then the harbor police moved in, and as suddenly as it began, the spasm of violence ended. The
moans of the injured mingled with the strident orders of the authorities to replace the noise of combat. In
addition to the three who had been ran over, two other men had been shot to death. One of them was
Victor’s father, and his picture appeared on the front page of one newspaper. It showed him spreadeagled
on the ground, eyes staring vacantly, with a stain on his breast.

Later that evening, the news was relayed to Victor’s mother, and she fell into hysterics. Her cries
betrayed not only anguish but fury and frustration as well, and learning of his father’s death and seeing
and hearing his mother thus, Victor, eight-year-old Victor, cowered in the shadows.
 Neighbors took care of him that night, but in the morning he managed to slip out, and he made his
way to the Boulevard, once there walking about aimlessly. He heard the call of newsboys going about their
job, and unknown fears began to tug at him. At a newsstand in the Ermita district his glance fell on the
photo of his father, and he stared at it long and hard. It was the first time he had paid such close attention
to a newspaper.

Victor’s father was laid to rest three days later at the crowded cemetery to the north. His fellow
workers had passed the hat around, and although the amount collected was meager, contributions from
the union organizers and their supporters had made possible the fairly decent burial. His mother sobbed
all throughout the ceremony, and broke down noisily when the time came for a final look at her husband.
The boy stood at her side, subdued. As the coffin was being lowered, he felt like calling out to his father,
tatang, tatang, but the impulse died down, swept aside by the copious tears of his mother. It was a bright,
clear day. On the avenida extension, the early morning traffic was forming and the sound of car horns
intruded into the place where the mourners were gathered.

Not long after his father’s death, Victor, a third-grader dropped out of school, and plans were made
to employ him as a newsboy with the help of an uncle who was a newspaper agent. His mother, who had
gotten into the habit of disappearing in the afternoons and returning home early in the evening, pointed out
that he was healthy and active, though lacking somewhat in aggressiveness. Surely this could be easily
acquired once he was thrown out into the field?

One day she brought with her a man, a stranger with a fowl breath who swayed from side to side,
and introduced him to Victor as your new tatang. The boy did not respond to him, thinking some joke he
could not comprehend was being played on him. And in the days that followed he avoided as much as
possible all contact with the interloper. This man, unkempt in appearance, seemed to be everything his
father wasn’t. For one thing he was always cursing (his father had done so only when angry, and kept this
at a minimum whenever Victor was around.) And in his friendlier moments he would beckon to the boy’
and say -want this, sioktong? – in such a falsetto tone that Victor coldly looked away. At night he heard
strange sounds behind the partition, accompanied by his mother’s giggling and the man’s coarse laughter,
and he felt like taking a peek, but some instinct held him back. He was disturbed no end.

One morning a week after the man moved in. Victor woke up to find him gone, along with his
mother. In their stead stood his agent uncle, Tio Pedring, who said his mother had gone on a long vacation,
and amid assurances that she would come back soon, informed the boy that he was to start to work
immediately as a courier for the newspaper he was connected with. It’s easy, Tio Pedring said, and
forthwith briefed him on his duties.

He was to report at the plant every night at 9 o’clock, wait for the first edition, which came out at 11
p.m., and observe the routine. He was to sleep right outside the circulation offices, and then awaken before
4 a.m., for that was the time the city edition was made available. A number of copies, perhaps 15 or 20,
would then be turned over to him, and it was up to him to distribute these in the Blumentritt area. Tio
Pedring, his mother’s older brother and a thin man with a nervous tic, gave him the names and addresses
of 10 regular customers, and said that it was up to him to develop, his own contacts so as to dispose off
the rest of the newspapers allotted. When he was off-duty, Victor could stay in his uncle’s Blumentritt place,
and for every newspaper he sold he would get three centavos. No mention was made of resuming the
boy’s interrupted schooling.
 THAT evening at the appointed hour he went over to the newspaper’s building located in the
downtown section, and was greeted by the sight of scores of ragged, barefooted newsboys swarming
before the dispatcher’s section. A few were stretched out on the pavement, asleep on kartons that served
as their bed, while others were having their supper, bibingka and softdrinks, from the turo-turo that catered
to them. The majority just milled around, grouped together in tight bunches playing their crude game of
checkers, or simply loafing, awaiting the call to duty. The noise of their conversation, loud and harsh and
punctuated by words like putangina, filled the newspaper’s building.

In reply to his hesitant queries, the guard directed him to the distributing center, a stifling, enclosed
place adjoining the printing presses. Victor entered, knowing that the notice which said unauthorized
persons keep out. Our work here is rush, rush, rush. You’ve got to be listo.

Victor nodded, then, dismissed, made his way back outside, where the chill of the evening had
replaced the heat of the plant. A mood of foreboding descended upon him, like a pall. He was hungry, but
had no money, and so contented himself with watching the other newsboys. He wanted to mingle with
them, but they didn’t seem to be very friendly. A dilapidated ice cream pushcart stood at one end of the
corner, and to this the urchins went for their ice cream sandwiches, consisting of one or two scoops tucked
into hot dog and hamburger-sized bread. Beside it was a Magnolia cart, patronized by outsiders.

One boy stood out from among the throng. The others called him Nacio, and like all of them he
wore a dirty T-shirt and faded short pants, and had galis sores on his legs, but cheerfulness emanated
from him and he seemed to enjoy a measure of popularity among his companions. Upon noticing Victor
watching from the side he detached himself from a group and offered him a cigarette.

Surprised, Victor demurred, and said he did not know how to smoke. Nacio shrugged his shoulders,
as if to say hindi bale, then asked if Victor was new on the job. Upon receiving a reply in the affirmative,
he nodded in satisfaction and told the other to learn from him, for he would teach him the tricks of the trade,
such as how to keep a sharp eye out for customers, how to swiftly board a bus or jeep and alight from it
while still in motion, and so on…

Nacio invited him to eat, but again Victor declined, saying he had no money.

– Hindi problema yan! – the irrepressible Nacio said, – Sige, I’ll pay for you. – He turned to the turo-turo
owner: Hoy, Aling Pacing! Pianono at Coke nga ho! Will you give me a discount? – Aling Pacing only
looked down coldly at the boy, and grunted – no discount for you. No discount for any of you –

Nacio winked at Victor as he paid, took the rolls and drinks, and handed over to the other his share.
Victor wolfed down the pianono, although it didn’t taste too new, and drank with deep satisfaction while his
companion chattered on, regaling him with his experiences as a carrier and his ability to skillfully dodge in
and out of traffic. He disclosed that once he had been sideswiped by a car, but escaped only with a few
scratches, and boasted: – I’m the fastest newsboy in Manila. – Victor marveled at his luck in finding such
a fine friend.

As the time for the release of the first edition neared, an air of expectation materialized outside the
plant. The newspaper’s trucks and vans stood in readiness. The newsboys grew in number and began to
form a dense mass. Their conversation became louder, more excited, and their horseplay rougher. Shortly
after 11 p.m. a team of dispatchers emerged with the initial copies, the ink of the presses still warm on
them, and was greeted by yells of anticipation. A stampede followed, and Victor noted that for every bundle
turned over to a newsboy, one distributor jotted down on a piece of paper the number allotted to him.
 The clamor grew as the boys dashed out of the building and surged into the darkened streets. They
were like school children being let out for recess. The noise continued, then subsided after a few minutes,
with the last urchin scampering away. The nighttime silence returned once more to the area, broken only
by occasional shouts of the men loading the main bulk of the provincial edition into the trucks, the toot of
passing motorist’s horn and the sound of laughter from drunkards in the sari-sari store in front.

Victor settled himself on the pavement, and despite the hard ground he felt tired and sleepy. He
used his right arm as a pillow, and thought briefly about his father, his mother and the man she had taken
up with, Tio Pedring and the day’s events, before sleep claimed him.

He awakened several hours later, jolted by the noise of the second wave of newsboys gathering
for the city edition. Gingerly he stretched his cramped arms and legs, peered about him and shivered, for
it had grown much colder. He kept an eye o ut for Nacio, although he felt sure he would not come back
anymore tonight. He could recognize, though, some of the faces in the crowd.

The same procedure took place at 4 a.m., it was like a reel being retaken. The routine was now
familiar to Victor, but with a difference. This time he was a participant in the activities, and he found himself
caught up in the excitement. All weariness gone from him, he sped away in the company of his colleagues,
holding on tightly to his ration of 15 copies. Exhilaration coursed through him, and he ran and ran, stopping
only when he reached the avenida. The others had scattered in different directions, and the street stretched
away endlessly, virtually devoid of traffic. Its stores had long closed down for the night, and only a few
neon signs glowed.

He began to walk slowly, sober now, his responsibilities heavy on him. His destination was
Blumentritt. As he crossed Azcarraga, a taxi slowed down, and its passenger called out to him. Tremblingly
he handed over a paper, and received 15 centavos in turn. His very first sale! His spirits soared anew…
perhaps it wasn’t so difficult after all to sell a newspaper. This impression was bolstered when in a matter
of minutes he made two more sales, to customers at a small, all-night restaurant.

It was still dark when he arrived at the district, and the first thing he heard was the whistle of the
train which passed through the place every evening. He reacted in the same way he had to the foghorn
blasts of the ships along the Boulevard.

He set about reconnoitering the area, to get the feel of it, and took out the list Tio Pedring had given
him. He recalled his uncle’s words:

– You’re lucky. Not all newcomers have mga suki when they begin, and they have to return so many copies
at first. Tambak sila. – The customers included a dressmaker, a barber, a small pharmacist, and a
beautician. And to their places Victor eventually made his way, slipping the newspapers under doors, into
mailboxes, and the apertures of padlocked steel gates.

Soon it grew light, and more jeepneys began to ply their routes, as buses appeared, bound for
Santa Cruz and Grace Park. The signs of activity in the neighborhood market increased while the small
parish church near it remained closed, silent and deserted. Young scavengers, worn out from poking all
night among trash cans, slept inside their pushcarts. Piles of garbage stood on several streets and
alleyways.

Victor made no other sales that day, and he returned to the plant with three unsold newspapers.
He turned them over apologetically. The one in charge now shrugged, then noted that he had not done
badly for a first night’s work. He added that he expected Victor to improve in the future and equal the other
newsboys, who always complained that their allotment was not enough. The dispatcher said: – Our
newspaper is sikat. By noon we are all sold out in the newsstands. –

On his second night on the job, Victor was set upon by a group of street boys his age, who sprang
up from out of the shadows and began to beat him up. He managed to flee from the scene in terror, leaving
behind all his newspapers. For this he was roundly cursed by his uncle, who promised to take it out on his
earnings for the next few days.

He took to haunting his beat even during the daytime and became friends with the little people, the
vendors, the sellers of peanuts, kalamansi, coconuts and pigs, the grocery employees, the market
denizens, the modistas and shop owners, and even some of’ the patrolmen. Through his constant
presence in the area, he was able to find additional regular customers, and no more did he have to return
unsold copies. At night he went about his tasks with renewed confidence, and when through he would rest
in front of the local bank. Gradually he lost his fear of thugs.

Though his work improved, his relations with the other newsboys didn’t. Nacio remained his only
friend, and whenever he was around the others let Victor alone. He couldn’t make them out at all, with their
rough games and harsh tongues, their smoking and their constant baiting. At one time he was jolted awake
from the dreamless sleep by the concerted yells of the newsboys, who were hurling missiles, with the
drivers reacting by merely stepping on the gas, and the passengers cowering in alarm. The guards whose
job it was to break up these things did not seem to be around. No one could give an explanation for the
sudden outburst.

VICTOR was eventually allowed to sell both editions of the paper and his daily quota was increased
to 20. Soon he was making about three pesos every day, sometimes more. His beat late at night was
transferred to the Boulevard district, where he peddled the provincial edition to night clubbers and cocktail
loungers. In the early hours of the morning he would distribute the city edition to his Blumentritt customers.
Tio Pedring expressed satisfaction with his development, and granted the boy more decent
accommodations and better food at his residence.

Victor settled down into the routine, which would be livened up sometime by big events, like an
earthquake. During such occasions the labor force would swell, augmented by now inactive boys who had
graduated to other fields of endeavor, like pickpocketing and the watch-your-car business. In January the
Press Club held its annual party in honor of newsboys, and Victor and Nacio along with many others,
attended. There were balloons, soft drinks and cookies. Nacio kept stuffing these into his pockets, to the
great amusement of Victor, who was tempted to do the same, but there didn’t seem to be enough around.

That was the last time the two spent together. Within a week Nacio met his death – violently; he
had been run over by a car while recklessly charging into the street following the release of the first edition.
The following afternoon, this sign stood at the corner leading to the newspaper building: SLOW DOWN
NEWSBOYS COMING OUT.

Victor grieved for his friend, and from that time on he became even more taciturn and withdrawn.

HE avoided the Boulevard by night, with its motionless ships, its necking couples, jagged
embankment and swaying trees, and stuck to the well-populated areas. The bar district in the southern
part of the city began to attract him, and fortified by his sheaf of newspapers, which was like a badge of
distinction for him, he would stare expressionlessly at the painted girls posing before the doorways under
the garish neon signs, at the customers briefly eyeing them before going in, and at the well-dressed
bouncers.

On this particular evening the bars were filled with foreign sailors, for a military exercise was to be
held within a few days. Red-faced and grinning, the fair-complexioned seamen made the rounds,
boisterous, arm in arm sometimes, and swaying from side to side (they reminded Victor of the man who
had replaced his father). Helmeted men, with MP arm-bands, stood in front of some of the cocktail lounges.

Victor approached one of the dives and, getting a nod from the bouncer, who saw he was a
newsboy, made his way in. It was almost pitch-dark inside, and it took a few minutes for his eyes to grow
accustomed to the cavern-like atmosphere. Hostesses and sailors were grouped around the small tables,
drinking, talking and laughing shrilly while a combo belted out pulsating music and a singer strained to
make herself heard above the din. Some couples were pawing each other.

He approached a group noisily drinking, and tugged at the sleeves of one sailor.

– You buy newspaper from me, sir. Sige na, Joe. –

The other peered at him in surprise, then guffawed loudly, and waved him away. He said thickly – Beat it,
Flip boy! –

Victor stood rooted on the spot. He didn’t understand the words, but the gesture was unmistakable.
Some hostesses started giggling nervously. He was about to turn away in anger and humiliation when
another seaman, blonde and clean-shaven, gently laid a hand over him – Wait a minute, sonny. – Then
he dipped into his pocket and handed over something to Victor. – Here, take it, it’s yours. Have a grand
time with it. –

Victor thanked him automatically, and went out swiftly. He looked at the paper bills in his hand and
saw that they totaled two pesos, practically a night’s work for him… and the pall that had descended over
him for weeks was suddenly lifted, like a veil. He felt liberated, renewed. He wanted to sing out, to shout
and dance about. And he began to run, joy spurring him on.

Later that night he recounted the incident to his surprised colleagues, who had never seen him this
garrulous before. He elaborated on the story, enriching it with imaginary details, and transformed it into a
tale of danger, excitement and exotic drama. As a clincher, he proudly showed off his money, realizing his
mistake in the next instant. But it was too late. The others began to advance toward him, encircling him.
Their words were flung at him like stones:

– Why aren’t you like us? –

– Why don’t you smoke? –

– Why don’t you curse? –

– Say putangina.

Victor drew back, frightened. With a chill he remembered the time the Blumentritt boys had ganged up on
him. – I don’t say words like that. –

– Say it! –
– All right, all right, putangina. – But the ephitet carried no conviction, and he repeated it, stronger this time.
The boys laughed in derision, and gave out a mirthless kind of cheer. After uttering the words, Victor could
no longer control himself. He began screaming all kinds of curses, and he hurled himself bodily upon them,
kicking, hitting, screaming, in the grip of a fury he had not known existed within him.

With a great shout, the others fell upon him. Newsboys sleeping on the ground woke up in alarm,
the night circulation people looked around in consternation, and the turo-turo owner screamed. The melee
continued until a shouting security guard rushed in and roughly broke it up. He led Victor away, and was
about to interrogate him when the boy, who had sustained some cuts and bruises, broke free of his grasp
and fled into the night.

He roamed the streets, the byways and darkened alleys of the teeming district. He passed by
children his age scrounging around trash cans, and dingy motels where couples went in and out. One
small restaurant, a focal point of excitement during the daytime when the racing results were posted, now
stood silent and almost empty, about to close down. His face and body ached from the blows he had
received, and a trickle of blood streamed down his nostrils. He wiped this on his T-shirt. He seemed to be
in good shape otherwise, and he felt relief that the fight had been stopped in time. His thoughts flew back
and forth. He promised himself that he would never go back to the plant, but his resolve soon began to
weaken. He was at a loss as to what to do.

A rough voice to his right drew his attention, and as he turned into a narrow sidestreet leading to
the avenida, he saw a policeman bending over a man sprawled on a heap, and apparently asleep. The
officer kept on shaking the fellow, who failed to respond. Then, cursing, he hit him with his night stick, as
Victor watched…

HE reported for work the following evening, prepared for anything. But nothing untoward happened. Last
night’s incident seemed to have been forgotten, and the others made no reference to it. Then one of the
boys, whom Victor recognized as a ring-leader, went over to him and, apparently as a kind of peace
offering, held out a cigarette. Victor hesitated, then said he
didn’t smoke.

The others began to form around him anew, but this time their attitude was one of curiosity rather than of
menace.

– Sige na, take it. It is very nice to smoke, and it is easy. All you have to do is take a deep breath, then
exhale slowly.
And Victor, his last defenses down, leaned forward and wearily accepted the cigarette, while around
them swirled the life of the city: this city, flushed with triumphant charity campaigns, where workers were
made to sign statements certifying they received the minimum wage, where millionaire politicians received
Holy Communion every Sunday, where mothers taught their sons and daughters the art of begging, where
orphans and children from broken homes slept on pavements and under darkened bridges, and where
best friends fell out and betrayed one another.

Apply:

Task 1: Note - taking Using Both Sides of the Brain

 Take brief notes about important ideas from the text read in the “Word and Phrase”
column. After taking notes, draw pictures or other visuals in the “Visuals and pictures” column. Finally,
summarize your notes in one or two sentences in the “Summary section.”

Note – taking Using Both Sides of the Brain

Word and Phrases Visuals and Pictures

Summary:

Task 2: Cline is a way of placing words within a slope to show degrees of intensity.

Arrange the following words into a cline:

1. Stout – whisper – murmur – howl 9. Cold – warm – boiling

2. Clever – bright – brilliant 10. Jade – turquoise – green – lime – mint
3. Sure – confirmed – convinced – certain 11. Hail – dew – snow
4. Bygone – forgotten – ended – ancient 12. Listen – fog – mist –frost
5. Abstain – refrain – shun – desists – avoid
6. Toughen – stiffen – support – strengthen
7. Drop – fall – collapse
8. Cold – tepid – hot

Task 3: Character Map

Describe Victor using a character map below. Near the pictures, write what Victor does. Beneath
the picture, write the sentence that tells what kind of person the character is.

_______________________
________________________
_
_______________________
________________________
_
_______________________
________________________
_

___________________________
___________________________
___________________________

Assess: Look for a partner and make up your own dialogue by using the situation below.
 Situation: You and your classmate are still in school at eight o’clock in the evening doing your project.
You suddenly hear a noise: What may/ might/could/ must/can be the cause. Then you finally find out what
is going on.

Lesson 6: Nurturing Mother Earth

Introduction:
This lesson will help the students appreciate nature or mother earth more fully. The selections that
the learners will read and listen to will show you the importance or the many benefits they enjoy from the
nature. The activities will make them aware of their responsibility to use nature’s gifts properly. They will
also help the learners to formulate ways of safeguarding them.

Objectives:
This lesson aims to:

 Determine the relationship of words or expressions.

 Use predictive and anticipatory tasks to activate prior knowledge.
 Use variety of expressions to affirm, to negate, to see further clarification and to summarize
points.
 Ask and answer different types of questions.
 Identify the most effective strategies used by different speakers to achieve specific intention.
 Use varied adjective complementation forms.
 Use direct quotations and restatements based on information sources.

Pre-Test: Examine the list of words and make some guesses about their meaning. Then try to combine
some words that make sense.

Planet Blooms tremendous

Threshold avent global
Catastrophe tilts ecological
Carbon dioxide strike critical
Climate survive God-given

Lesson Proper:
Activate: Setting the Mood
Based on the list you made earlier, predict what the selection is all about.
Acquire:

 Read the text: “The World is Ours to Keep” by Thor S. Orig. and answer comprehension
questions.

Apply:
Task 1: Reading Beyond Text
1. What is man’s biosphere? Do you believe that it is really in danger?
 2. Do you believe that there is ecological war in today’s world? Explain by citing proofs or
evidences.
3. What are the circumstances that may upset God-given systems?
4. Who is referred to as the earth’s steward? Do you believe that he is really doing his best as a
steward?
5. You might have studied / learned from your science class that everything on earth is
interconnected. Can you give concrete examples to prove this?
6. What is the message of the essay? Can you find practical ways to apply this in real life?
Task 2: Making Predictions
Give your predictions from the following facts and events.

FACTS/ EVENTS PREDICTIONS

1. Our bodies of water are taken care of.
2. More and more poisonous materials
pollute the bodies of water.
3. People continue to cut trees in the forests.
4. A law regulating the use of water is
passed.
5. Every community should have thick
forests.

Assess: Give 10 sentences following the S-TV-DO-DC pattern and 10 sentences following S-LV-C
pattern.

Lesson 7: Recognizing Beauty

Introduction:
Our land and culture is beautiful and we are the first ones who should recognize this. The
Philippines has been known to mesmerize foreigners with the enthralling beauty of places that some of us
do not even notice. This acquaints the learners with another aspect that adds to the beauty of our land and
culture.

Objectives:
This lesson aims to:
 Use predictive and anticipatory devices/ tasks to activate prior knowledge about the topic of
reading/viewing selection.
 Use information presented in a creation story to infer, to evaluate, and to express critical ideas.
 Identify figures of speech that show emphasis (hyperbole and litotes.)
 Formulate meaningful embedded sentences.
 Infer appropriate responses to listening guide questions.
 Distinguish between credible and incredible electronic information sources.
 Present points of view and opinions concerning the message of a selection in creative oral means.
 Compose and upload a blog entry based on a particular personal topic of interest.

Pre-Test: Reflect on what makes something or someone beautiful. What makes a place beautiful?
Complete the statements below to clarify your beliefs about this idea. Write your answer on a sheet of
paper.
For me, beauty is _____________________. It is present when ____________________. It is not
___________________. It is always ________________________. Examples of beauty are
____________.

Lesson Proper:
Activate: Setting the Mood
 Search for the meaning of the following words in a dictionary. Write the definitions and
construct sentences that use these words. Let you sentences be about beauty. You may use ideas you
have generated from previous activities. Write your answers in your notebooks.
1. Serene 6. Pave
2. Ethereal 7. Behest
3. Effulgent 8. Din
4. Crestling 9. Olympia
5. Lambent 10. Presage

Acquire:

 Read the text: “Moonlight on Manila Bay” by Fernando M. Maramag and answer
comprehension questions.

“Moonlight on Manila Bay”

by Fernando M. Maramag

1 A light, serene, ethereal glory rests

2 Its beams effulgent on each crestling wave;
3 The silver touches of the moonlight wave
4 The deep bare bosom that the breeze molests;
5 While lingering whispers deepen as the wavy crests
6 Roll with weird rhythm, now gay, now gently grave;
7 And floods of lambent light appear the sea to pave-
8 All cast a spell that heeds not time‘s behests.
9 Not always such the scene; the din of fight
10 Has swelled the murmur of the peaceful air;
11 Here East and West have oft displayed their might;
12 Dark battle clouds have dimmed this scene so fair;
13 Here bold Olympia, one historic night,
14 Presaging freedom, claimed a people‘s care.

Apply:
Task 1: Promote Manila Bay
Study the lines below. Identify what makes them interesting.
Visit the land of a thousand smiles!
Witness a moonlight memory for a lifetime.
This is NOT your usual walk in the bay.
Manila Bay is not the typical moonlight experience.

The lines present examples of hyperbole and litotes. A hyperbole is an exaggeration, while a litotes
presents an understatement by using the negative marker not. Litotes emphasize an idea through
negation. Which among the examples above are hyperboles and litotes? Do the tasks below. Present your
output on a sheet of paper.

Research on the beauty of Manila Bay by looking at a travel guides and other sources. Identify 3-
5 places in Manila which possess both beauty and history. You may also use credible internet sources.
Take note of any suspicious, incredible sites.

Formulate three catchy and interesting lines that promote the beauty of Manila Bay. Each line
should use a different hyperbole.
Formulate two lines of litotes that will encourage tourist to visit Manila Bay.

Task 2: Identifying Embedded Clauses

 An embedded clause, as the term suggests, is a clause that is fixed within a larger clause
or sentence which is called the matrix clause. The embedded clause is usually found in the beginning or
at the end of sentences. Markers commonly accompany or introduce embedded clauses. These markers
may be that, when, who, where, etc. However, there are instances when a marker does not precede an
embedded clause. Such is the case with gerunds (e.g. swimming, eating, etc.).
An embedded clause does not have its own meaning, so it has to be attached to the matrix clause
to present a complete meaning. Do you still remember the discussion about kernels? Basically, an
embedded clause presents a piece of information that is beyond the idea that a kernel presents. Remember
that a kernel presents one idea at a time only.

o Manila Bay presents a magnificent sunset experience that will last a lifetime.
o The place is often crowded in the early morning and late afternoon when people try to get
a glimpse of its world famous sunrise and sunset.
o Photographers take pictures of people sitting or walking along the bay area.

Assess: Chose your dream place. Make a brochure featuring the amenities and services offered in that
place.