GRADE 9 English INCOME-GENERATING ACTIVITIES – READING:PLAY - LESSONS LEARNT Notes
READING: PLAY - LESSONS LEARNT
Topic: INCOME-GENERATING ACTIVITIES — Subject: English (Grammar focus) — Target age: 14 (Kenyan context)
Short play (reading passage)
Amina: "Mama Wanjiku, how did you start selling sukuma wiki here?"
Mama Wanjiku: "I saved a little from a small jiko business and then bought vegetables. At first I sold just a few bunches."
James: "What lesson did you learn?"
Mama Wanjiku: "I learned to keep records and treat customers kindly. If I had known earlier, I would have expanded sooner."
Grammar points to study from the play
- Past Simple — used to tell what happened: saved, bought, sold, learned. Example: "I saved a little."
- Present Simple — used for facts or routines: sells, treats. From the play: "Mama Wanjiku sells vegetables."
- Present Perfect — talk about experiences or recent results: have learned, has saved. Use: "I have learned to keep records."
- Modal verbs for advice & possibility — should, must, can, would. Example in play: "If I had known earlier, I would have expanded sooner." (modal 'would' in a conditional)
- Conditional (type 3) — for past regrets or things that did not happen: structure if + past perfect, would have + past participle. Example: "If I had known earlier, I would have expanded sooner."
- Reported speech — change direct speech to reported: tense often shifts back. Example: Amina asked, "How did you start?" → Amina asked how she had started.
- Sequencing words — first, then, after that, finally — useful to report steps: "First I saved, then I bought vegetables."
- Using passive voice — when the focus is on the action or result: "Records were kept" or "A stall was opened."
Examples from the play (with explanation)
- Past simple: "I sold just a few bunches." — action completed in the past.
- Reported speech: Direct: Amina: "How did you start?" → Reported: Amina asked how she had started. (Question becomes statement; did start → had started).
- Conditional type 3: "If I had known earlier, I would have expanded sooner." — regret about past.
- Advice (modal): "You should keep records." — strong suggestion for success in IGAs.
Practice exercises
- Change into reported speech: Amina asked, "What lesson did you learn?"
- Rewrite using past perfect: "I saved a little from a small jiko business."
- Make a sentence using a modal for advice about record keeping.
- Complete the conditional (type 3): "If Mama Wanjiku _____ (know) about bookkeeping, she _____ (expand) sooner."
- Turn this active sentence into passive: "She buys vegetables from the market."
Answers (check your work)
- Reported: Amina asked what lesson she had learned.
- Past perfect: I had saved a little from a small jiko business.
- Example modal sentence: You should keep records of every sale. (Other correct answers: You must keep records; You can write daily sales.)
- Complete conditional: If Mama Wanjiku had known about bookkeeping, she would have expanded sooner.
- Passive: Vegetables are bought from the market by her. (Or: Vegetables are bought from the market.)
Short writing task (use grammar above)
Write 5–7 sentences saying what lesson a young trader in your neighbourhood has learned. Use at least one past simple, one modal for advice, and one conditional (type 3) to show a past regret.
Tip: Start with a sequencing word: "First..."