Stabroek News Sunday

Grade Six English

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Answers

Grammar

1) We walked to the park.

2) The dogs barked loudly.

3) We worked together and created beautiful sceneries. 4) My cousins swept the yard and watered the plants. 5) The young musicians played the violin and the guitar. Comprehens­ion

1)D 2)B 3) A 4)C

Hello Boys and Girls of Grade Six! Today you will learn to use two other tenses – the Present and Past Continuous Tenses. Do you want to improve the paragraphs you write? The lesson in compositio­n will get you started. Let’s begin! Make sure you read carefully and complete all the exercises before the end of the week. Enjoy your session.

GRAMMAR

WITH MY FRIEND

-Take turns to read these correspond­ing sentences.

Present Continuous Past Continuous

Amy is writing a letter. Amy was writing a letter.

The children are playing a game. The children were playing a game.

- Make a rule about the tenses above. - Read and discuss the notes.

The Present Continuous Tense

The Present Continuous tense is used to talk about events that are happening now. It is used on the following occasions:

1) To express a present/temporary action, which is one which is happening now but may be temporary and may stop eventually.

The butcher is cutting the meat.

2) To express an action which has already been planned. (We often mention the time when the action will take place.)

My son is leaving for Trinidad next Friday.

3) To show habitual actions.

The sun is always shining in various parts of the world.

The Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense is usually used for actions which were going on at a particular time in the past.

It is used on the following occasions:

1) To express a past action which was happening when another past action was completed.

Mom was reading when the telephone rang.

2) To express two past actions which happened at the same time, and which were both continuous.

While I was sweeping the kitchen , Mom was mopping the floor.

3) To show what has happened at some time in the past. At 10:00 a.m., it was raining heavily.

4) To replace the present continuous tense in reported speech.

“The cows are grazing in the pasture,” said Farmer Brown. Farmer Brown said that the cows were grazing in the pasture.

How to form the Past Continuous Tense

To form the past continuous tense, we use was or were with the present participle.

(The helping verb am, is only used with the subject I)

ON MY OWN

Write each sentence in the tense indicated in brackets.

1. The seamstress was sewing a dress. (present continuous)

2. They are eating mangoes and oranges. (past continuous)

3. I was making a cake. (present continuous)

4. The ladies are planting seeds. (past continuous)

5. Kendra was washing the clothes while Joy was drying them. (present

continuous)

COMPOSITIO­N

WITH MY FRIEND

Read and discuss the notes.

Paragraph Building Using Supporting Sentences

- Support sentences are used in a paragraph to develop the topic sentence. - They make up the rest of a paragraph.

Follow these steps to help you develop paragraphs.

1. Think about the main idea which you wish to express in the paragraph. 2. Write a topic sentence which tells what the paragraph is about.

3. Make a list of ideas that support your topic sentence.

4. Use supporting sentences in one of these ways to develop the topic sentence:

Give reasons

Give explanatio­ns

5. Include only sentences that support the topic sentence.

(Remember to check your support to make sure it is correct, detailed and appropriat­e.)

6. Read your paragraph after you have written it. Check the spelling, the punctuatio­n and the grammar.

ON MY OWN

Exercise

Read the paragraph carefully.

Honeybees produce pollen and nectar from the plants they pollinate. The honey is produced from the nectar they digest from different types of flowers. The bees make the honey by regurgitat­ing digested nectar into honeycomb cells and then fanning it with their wings. Many people use honey all over the world.

Select the most suitable topic sentence for the paragraph above.

Honeybees have a great impact on our society.

Honeybees produce food which is consumed by humans.

Honeybees work hard.

COMPREHENS­ION ON MY OWN

Read the extract carefully then answer the questions which follow.

Black and red beetles, two and a half centimeter­s long have invaded the crops of several farmers in the Black Bush area. These beetles are boring into the sterns and trunks of trees and entering the roots. Acres of produce, yams, dasheen, potatoes, eddoes and tannia have been destroyed by these pests.

They are also attacking banana and cocoa trees.

These farmers are now faced with grave financial problems. They have lost thousands of dollars in produce which they had hoped to sell. How will they now feed their families and pay their workers? Not only have their crops been destroyed, but money spent on cultivatin­g their crops has been lost. According to a reliable report, one farmer has lost over thirty thousand dollars.

The situation at Black Bush is grim. Farmers have applied a variety of chemicals and insecticid­es to the soil, but the beetles are still eating into the crops.

The farmers are unable to say when they will be able to replant their crops. The Ministry of Agricultur­e is trying its best to find a way to eliminate the scourge that now faces farmers at Black Bush.

(Adapted from Rainbow Readers, A Caribbean Reading Series,Reader 5)

Questions

Provide examples List facts

Read each question carefully then draw a heavy black line through the letter (A, B, C or D) which is near the answer you choose.

1. The original report is an extract from a

A) fiction book B) magazine C) newspaper D) textbook

Tell a story.

2. The main reason for writing the report is to

A) explain a situation which has occurred in the Black Bush area. B) explain the use of chemicals and insecticid­es to the soil

C) discuss ways how the Ministry of agricultur­e can assist farmers. D) report the damage which has been done by black and red beetles to farmers

3. The writer states that “the situation at Black Bush is grim” for all of these

reasons except

A) because of the presence of black and red beetles, two and a half centimeter­s long.

B) acres of produce -yams, dasheen, potatoes, eddoes and tannia have been

destroyed.

 ?? ?? 5) B
5) B

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