Grade 7 English PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY – READING:TRICKSTER NARRATIVES Notes
READING: TRICKSTER NARRATIVES — PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Subject: English · Level: Grade 6 / Age 12 · Context: Kenyan stories (simple language focus on grammar)
Kalulu the Hare loved to play tricks. One morning he told his friend, the tortoise, "Leave your yams outside. I will watch them for you." The tortoise trusted Kalulu and slept. Kalulu invited the monkeys. They ate the yams and laughed. When the tortoise woke up, he cried, "My yams are gone!" Kalulu felt sorry, but he did not fix the problem. Later the village elders asked Kalulu to return the yams. Kalulu said, "I did not take them." The elders asked, "What happened?" Kalulu told the true story, and he helped the tortoise plant new yams.
- Past simple tense: used for the events (loved, told, trusted, slept, invited, ate, cried). Note endings (-ed) and irregular verbs (eat → ate).
- Direct speech: words in "quotes" show what a character said. Example: "Leave your yams outside."
- Reported (indirect) speech: we change direct speech when we report it later. Example: Kalulu said, "I did not take them." → Kalulu said that he had not taken them.
- Modals of responsibility: should, must, ought to — used to give advice or show duty. Example: Kalulu should have watched the yams carefully.
- Pronouns and reference: pronouns (he, them, I, they) link actions to characters. Correct pronoun use shows who is responsible.
- Active vs passive: Active: The monkeys ate the yams. Passive: The yams were eaten (by the monkeys). The active voice shows who did the action (useful to assign responsibility).
- Conditionals for consequences: If Kalulu had told the elders earlier, the tortoise would not have lost the yams. (Third conditional for past hypothetical.)
• Past simple: "Kalulu invited the monkeys." (Who? Kalulu — action done.)
• Direct & reported speech: "I will watch them for you." → He promised that he would watch them.
• Modal for advice: "You should tell the elders." (Use "should" to show duty.)
• Active: "The monkeys ate the yams." — Passive: "The yams were eaten by the monkeys."
- Underline the verbs in the short story and write whether each is past simple, present, or past participle.
- Change the direct speech into reported speech (2 examples):
- a) "Leave your yams outside." → ____________________________
- b) "My yams are gone!" → ____________________________
- Rewrite these sentences using a modal to show responsibility (should/must/ought to):
- a) Kalulu did not watch the yams. → __________________________________
- b) The monkeys ate the yams. (Give advice to the monkeys) → __________________________________
- Change to passive voice:
- a) The monkeys ate the yams. → ____________________________
- b) The elders asked Kalulu to return the yams. → ____________________________
- Make a conditional sentence (If + past perfect, would + have) about what could have prevented the loss of yams.
- Verbs (examples): loved (past simple), told (past simple), told (past simple), will watch (future), trusted (past simple), slept (past simple), invited (past simple), ate (past simple, irregular), cried (past simple), felt (past simple), did not fix (past simple), asked (past simple), said (past simple), told (past simple), helped (past simple), plant (infinitive).
- Reported speech:
- a) He told the tortoise to leave his yams outside. OR He told the tortoise that he should leave his yams outside.
- b) The tortoise cried that his yams were gone. OR He cried that his yams had been stolen.
- Modals:
- a) Kalulu should have watched the yams. (shows he had a duty)
- b) The monkeys should not have eaten the yams. / The monkeys ought to return the yams. (advice/responsibility)
- Passive:
- a) The yams were eaten by the monkeys.
- b) Kalulu was asked by the elders to return the yams.
- Conditional (example): If Kalulu had told the elders earlier, the tortoise would have found his yams. (This shows a past hypothetical and consequence.)
In pairs, retell the story using reported speech and at least two modals (should/must/ought to). Then swap and correct each other's sentences for verb tense and pronoun use.
Tip for teachers: Focus corrections on tense consistency (past for events), correct pronoun reference (who is "he" or "they"), and appropriate modal use to teach responsibility language.