☰ Year plan · English (Connect)

A busy-day report, blog posts and a first story

Week 3 · Unit 1 (B) and the first chapter of the reader: a night report with idioms (reference only), main idea and supporting details, the structure of a blog post (title, introduction, main body, conclusion), a model post about a cold (reference only), a blog task, reading the first chapter of the reader (reference only) · 3 lessons
3

Reading a longer story: setting and character clues

English Secondary 3 Term 1, The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 1: pp. 5–11
GoalRead a short story for setting, mood and character clues and learn how to prepare for Chapter 1 of the reader.
New words
setting · the time and place of a storymood · the feeling that the story gives the readertrait · a part of a person’s character, such as honest or patientclue · a small detail that helps you to understand somethingobservant · good at noticing small thingsvalue · something that a person thinks is important, such as honesty
Explanation

A story begins with a setting: a time and a place. The writer shows it with sounds, smells and light, and these details also create the mood. A character is shown in the same way. A writer seldom says that someone is honest; the writer shows it through actions and words. To answer a question about character, name the trait and then give the clue: He is honest because he runs after the customer to return the note. Other characters show values too: a person who offers tea and says that the work can wait may value kindness more than speed. In your reader, The Count of Monte Cristo, read Chapter 1 on pages 5 to 11. The exercises on this chapter are on page 41. We do not retell the chapter here. After you read it, look for its setting and for clues about its characters, using the questions in the table.

Look atQuestion to askExample from our story
SettingWhere and when? What can you hear, smell and see?a market before sunrise; lamps, mint, carts
MoodHow does the place feel?busy and warm
TraitWhat is the person like?honest and careful
ClueWhich action or word shows it?he runs after the customer with the note
Worked examples

Long before sunrise the vegetable market was already awake. Lamps swung above the crates, the air smelled of mint and wet carrots, and the first carts rolled over the stones with a low rumble. Youssef, sixteen, was helping at his aunt’s stall for the first time. He rubbed his eyes and began to stack the tomatoes in neat pyramids. His aunt, Madam Samia, watched his hands and said nothing. At eight o’clock a hurried customer paid for her onions, took her bag and left in a rush. Under a crate Youssef noticed a folded twenty-pound note. He remembered the woman’s open purse, picked up the note and ran between the carts. “Excuse me! Is this yours?” he called. She stared at it, then smiled. When he came back, the tomato pyramid had fallen. His aunt only raised an eyebrow and passed him a glass of tea. “Sit,” she said. “The tomatoes can wait.”

Read our own short story. A grown-up can read it aloud first.
Setting: a vegetable market before sunrise. Clues: the lamps, the smell of mint and wet carrots, the carts on the stones. The mood is busy, warm and full of life.
Trait: Youssef is honest and observant. He notices the note under the crate and runs between the carts to give it back.
Another trait: he is careful, because he stacks the tomatoes in neat pyramids. The writer never says it; the action shows it.
A second character: Madam Samia says only a few words, but she passes him tea and says that the tomatoes can wait. She values kindness more than a perfect stall.
Class activity

Clue notebook. Choose a character from a film or a story you know well. Write one sentence about the setting and two trait clues, each with because. List clues only; do not retell the story.

Practice
1
Which sentence describes the setting? (a) Youssef was very honest. (b) The market smelled of mint and wet carrots before sunrise. (c) The woman smiled.
2
What mood do the lamps, the carts and the early hour create?
3
Name one trait of Youssef and give a clue with because.
4
The aunt says only, “Sit. The tomatoes can wait.” What does this show about her?
5
Why does the writer not say “Youssef was careful”?