Grade 7 English HEROES AND HEROINE – READING:EXTENSIVE READING Notes
English: Reading — Extensive Reading
Topic: Heroes and Heroines (age 12, Kenya)
Extensive reading means reading many books and stories for enjoyment and learning. When you read about heroes and heroines, you also practise important grammar: tenses, sentences, speech, and how ideas are joined. Use short daily readings (📚 15–30 minutes) and focus on simple grammar points inside the text.
Why read about heroes?
- Learn new words (e.g., courage, brave, leader).
- Practice grammar naturally while you read.
- Understand how writers use sentences to tell true stories or make characters alive.
Tips for extensive reading
- Choose easy books and short articles first.
- Read every day — even 10 minutes helps.
- Note down new words and grammar you see often.
Grammar points to look for when reading
- Tenses: Notice present, past and present perfect.
Example (past): "She planted many trees." 🌳
Example (present): "She teaches others to plant trees."
Example (present perfect): "She has inspired thousands." - Subject-verb agreement: Make sure verb matches subject.
"The hero runs." (singular) vs "The heroes run." (plural)
- Pronouns and reference: Check who words like "he", "she", "they", "it" refer to.
"Wangari loves trees. She cares for them." — 'She' = Wangari, 'them' = trees.
- Adjectives and adverbs: Describe people and actions.
Adjective: "brave woman" • Adverb: "she worked bravely"
- Comparatives & superlatives: Compare heroes.
"She is braver than many." • "He was the most famous leader."
- Direct & indirect speech (quoting): Change words a hero said into reported speech.
Direct: She said, "I will plant more trees."
Reported: She said that she would plant more trees. - Active & passive voice: Many biographies use passive for actions done to someone.
Active: People planted trees.
Passive: Trees were planted. - Linking words and cohesion: Words like "because", "so", "however", "then" join ideas.
"She planted trees because the land was bare."
- Punctuation & paragraphing: Look for full stops, commas, question marks, and topic sentences in each paragraph.
- Vocabulary in context: Guess meaning from the sentence before using a dictionary.
Short reading: A Kenyan heroine (example)
Wangari was a Kenyan woman who loved nature. She planted thousands of trees. People joined her to plant more trees. Because she cared for the land, farms and towns became greener. She taught others how to protect trees and water.
Exercises (use the short reading above)
- Find three verbs and write their tense.
- Change this sentence to passive: "She planted thousands of trees."
- Write the reported speech for: She said, "I love nature."
- Find one adjective and one adverb (if any). If no adverb, write one to describe how she planted trees.
- Underline the linking word in: "Because she cared for the land, farms and towns became greener."
- Write a short topic sentence for a new paragraph about why people joined her (one sentence).
- Summarize the passage in one sentence (use present simple).
Model Answers
- Verbs: loved (past), planted (past), joined (past), became (past), taught (past).
- Passive: "Thousands of trees were planted by her."
- Reported: She said that she loved nature.
- Adjective: Kenyan; Adverb: (none in passage) — example adverb: "carefully" → "She planted trees carefully."
- Linking word: "Because"
- Topic sentence example: "Many people joined her because they wanted to make their homes greener."
- Summary (present simple): "Wangari plants trees and teaches people to protect the land." (You can change names/verbs to match tense you choose.)
Final tips for learners
- While reading, write down one grammar item you see each day (e.g., a tense or a linking word).
- Try to change one sentence from the text (to passive, to reported speech, or to a different tense).
- Talk about the story with a friend or teacher — speaking helps grammar stick.
Good luck — enjoy reading about heroes and heroines and learn grammar as you go! 🌳🏅📚