GRADE 9 English TOURIST ATTRACTION SITES:WORLD – READING:READING FLUENCY Notes
English — Reading: Reading Fluency (Grammar focus)
Topic: Tourist Attraction Sites: World 🌍 — Age: 14 (Kenya)
Learning aims
- Use correct grammar when reading and talking about world tourist sites.
- Recognise and use articles, tenses, relative clauses, comparatives, passive voice and common prepositions correctly.
- Practice short written tasks that appear in reading passages about attractions (e.g., guidebooks, signs, short reports).
Key grammar points with examples (tourist-site context)
1. Articles: a / an / the
- Use "the" for unique or known places: The Eiffel Tower, The Great Pyramid(s), the Maasai Mara.
- Use "a / an" for one of many: a museum, an island, a tall building.
Examples:
- Use "a / an" for one of many: a museum, an island, a tall building.
Examples:
• The Pyramids of Giza are in Egypt.
• We visited a national park near Nairobi.
• We visited a national park near Nairobi.
2. Present simple for facts and descriptions
- Use for general truths and descriptions: subject + base verb (add -s for he/she/it).
Examples:
Examples:
• Mount Kenya is in central Kenya.
• The Serengeti supports many wild animals.
• The Serengeti supports many wild animals.
3. Past simple for events in the past
- Use to tell when something happened at a specific past time. Regular verbs end in -ed; irregular verbs change form.
Examples:
Examples:
• The fortress was built in the 16th century. (built = irregular)
• I visited Fort Jesus last year.
• I visited Fort Jesus last year.
4. Present perfect for experience (no specific time)
- Use have/has + past participle to say you have the experience of visiting.
Examples:
Examples:
• I have seen the Great Wall of China. (experience)
• She has visited Amboseli several times.
- Compare: "I visited Amboseli in 2018." (past simple — gives time)
• She has visited Amboseli several times.
5. Comparatives and superlatives
- Compare two things: use -er or "more": higher, more famous.
- Most extreme: use -est or "most": highest, most beautiful.
Examples:
- Most extreme: use -est or "most": highest, most beautiful.
Examples:
• Mount Kilimanjaro is higher than Mount Kenya.
• The Nile is one of the longest rivers in the world. The Amazon is the largest by volume.
• The Nile is one of the longest rivers in the world. The Amazon is the largest by volume.
6. Passive voice — focus on the place or object
- Use when the doer is unknown or not important: be + past participle.
Examples:
Examples:
• The Taj Mahal was built in the 17th century.
• Many artifacts in the museum were found by archaeologists.
• Many artifacts in the museum were found by archaeologists.
7. Relative clauses (describe places or people)
- Defining (no commas): use "that/which/who/where" to identify.
- Non-defining (with commas): add extra information; use "which/who".
Examples:
- Non-defining (with commas): add extra information; use "which/who".
Examples:
• The museum that displays Kenyan history is in Nairobi. (defining)
• Lamu, which is an island, has old Swahili houses. (non-defining)
• Lamu, which is an island, has old Swahili houses. (non-defining)
8. Prepositions of place and movement
- in (country, city), on (island, street), at (specific place), to (movement towards).
Examples:
Examples:
• We are in Kenya.
• He went to the island of Lamu.
• The museum is on the main road.
• He went to the island of Lamu.
• The museum is on the main road.
9. Gerunds and infinitives (common verbs with visiting)
- Enjoy + gerund: I enjoy visiting national parks.
- Plan + to + infinitive: They plan to climb Mount Kenya.
Examples:
- Plan + to + infinitive: They plan to climb Mount Kenya.
Examples:
• Tourists love taking photographs. (gerund)
• We decided to join the guided walk.
• We decided to join the guided walk.
Short practice (write answers on a separate sheet)
- Articles: Fill in a / an / the / (leave blank if none)
___ Maasai Mara is ___ famous national park in Kenya. We saw ___ elephant.
- Choose tense: Present simple or present perfect?
a) I (see) the Eiffel Tower. [use present perfect or past simple if you want to give time]
- Past simple: Change to past simple
They visit Fort Jesus every year. → __________________________
- Passive: Rewrite in passive voice
They built the museum in 1900. → __________________________
- Relative clause: Combine using who / that / which / where
The guide shows us the caves. The caves are famous. → __________________________
- Comparative: Fill in correct form
Mount Kenya is (high) __________ than many hills, but Mount Kilimanjaro is (high) __________ in East Africa.
- Punctuation: Add commas where needed
Lamu which has old streets is an island town. → __________________________
Answer key
- Articles: The Maasai Mara is a famous national park in Kenya. We saw an elephant.
- Choose tense: I have seen the Eiffel Tower. (Present perfect = experience) — or "I saw the Eiffel Tower in 2019." (past simple with time)
- Past simple: They visited Fort Jesus last year. (or: They visited Fort Jesus.)
- Passive: The museum was built in 1900.
- Relative clause: The guide shows us the caves that are famous. (Or: The guide shows us the caves, which are famous.)
- Comparative: Mount Kenya is higher than many hills, but Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest in East Africa.
- Punctuation: Lamu, which has old streets, is an island town.
Teacher note: Use short reading passages about tourist sites (Kenyan and world sites). Ask learners to underline the grammar items above in the passage, then practice aloud to build fluency with correct grammar forms. ✈️🏞️