Mrs Maneo’s pumpkin

GRADE 5
Grade 5 English First Additional Language Term 2 Weeks 1&2: Unit 6 “Stories from Africa’: Reading and viewing: Reads a story
Name:

Before you read

What do you think is happening in this story?
Look at the heading, the images and scan the
text for clues.

Read
Read aloud in a group.
Take it in turns to read.
Read the story a few
times.
One day, Mrs Maneo
planted a pumpkin seed.
It grew into a very big
pumpkin. The pumpkin
blocked her garden path.
‘Mrs Maneo wanted to
move the pumpkin. She
went to her neighbour.
“’Mrs Mapalesa, please
help me to move my
pumpkin. It is blocking my path,” said Mrs Maneo. The two ladies pushed and
pushed, but that pumpkin did not move. They went to other villagers who were
friends. “Please help us move Mrs Maneo’s pumpkin!” they asked. The villagers
came to help them. They pushed and pushed that pumpkin, but still it did not
move. “I don’t know what to do,” said Mrs Maneo.

Just then a little worm came into Mrs Maneo’s garden. It was hungry. It nibbled
the big pumpkin.
“Stop,” said the pumpkin. But the little worm nibbled again.
“Stop! You are tickling me,” said the pumpkin. “I don’t like it.” And, suddenly, the
pumpkin rolled away down the hill. The pumpkin stopped in a small field at the
bottom of the hill.

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 GRADE 5
Two shepherds found the pumpkin.
“What shall we do with this pumpkin?”

Grade 5 English First Additional Language Term 2 Weeks 1&2: Unit 6 “Stories from Africa’: Reading and viewing: Reads a story
they asked each other.
“Let’s eat it. It looks delicious.”
The shepherds took a big stone and tried
to break open the pumpkin. “No!” cried
the pumpkin. The shepherds jumped back
in shock.

The shepherds ran back home to their

parents.
“It is a very special pumpkin,” said the
shepherds’ parents. “You must leave
it alone. Next summer the pumpkin
will open again and pumpkin seeds will
scatter all over our villages. We will have many, many pumpkins to eat,”

That is exactly what happened. The next summer the pumpkin scattered its
seeds all over the valley. The seeds grew into beautiful big pumpkins in all the
gardens. That winter everyone in the villages had lots of pumpkins to eat. They
went to Mrs Maneo.
“Thank you, Mrs Maneo!” they called.

Adapted from a Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 story on The African Storybook
website: http://www.africanstorybook.org

After you read

Answer these questions orally in your group.
1. What problem did Mrs Maneo have with her pumpkin?
2. Can you describe the pumpkin in your own words?
3. Who are the characters mentioned in the story?
4. What is the plot in this story?
5. What is the setting of this story?
6. Here are some scenes in the story – the pumpkin spreads its seeds, the villagers
push the pumpkin, the shepherds tell their parents, the villagers thank Mrs
Maneo, the worm eats the pumpkin, Mrs Maneo tries to push the pumpkin. Put
these in the right order, and say what happens in each scene.
7. Make up three more questions of your own about this story.

Reading and viewing: Discuss and learn new vocabulary

Match the words to their meanings in the table on the following page. Then write
them in your personal dictionary: Learn how to spell these words.

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 GRADE 5
block people who look after sheep

Grade 5 English First Additional Language Term 2 Weeks 1&2: Unit 6 “Stories from Africa’: Reading and viewing: Reads a story
nibble to throw in different directions
tickle very pleasant to taste
shepherds take small bites of something

delicious better and different from what is usual

special lightly touch or prod someone so that they laugh

scatter make the movement of something difficult or impossible

Reading and viewing: Read a book review

Sometimes, when people have read a book or a story, they give a book review. Read
this book review with a partner. It is about a book called Charlotte’s Web.
Name of story: Charlotte’s Web
Author: E.B. White
Who are the main characters in this story?
Charlotte the spider, a pig named Wilbur, A little girl
called fern, Fern’s father, other barnyard animals.
What is the story about? Give a summary of the plot.
This story is about a pig named Wilbur who lives on a farm. Fern, the farmer’s
daughter saves him from being sent away. However, Fern’s father sells Wilbur
to a farm down the road. In his new home, Wilbur makes friends with the
barnyard animals, including a spider named Charlotte. Charlotte saves Wilbur
from being sent to the butcher.
Write some new words you came across when reading this story.ww
radiant barnyard
precious friendship
What was interesting about this story?
I liked the way the spider made good friends with the pig.
Would you recommend this story to your friends? Give a reason for your
answer.
Yes, I think all children would enjoy this story because it is about making
friends with those who are different to yourself.

Reading: Independent reading - Give an oral book review

Choose a storybook from the reading corner or library. Try and find something that
you like. Give your partner an oral book review like the one above. Use the same
headings as above.
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 Memorandum

GRADE 5
Reading and viewing: Mrs Maneo’s pumpkin

Grade 5 English First Additional Language Term 2 Weeks 1&2: Unit 6 “Stories from Africa’: Reading and viewing: Reads a story
Introduce this week’s reading text called ‘Mrs Maneo’s pumpkin. This is another story
from the African Storybook website, and it fits in well with our unit on stories from
Africa. Start off by letting the learners predict what the text will be about by reading
the heading, the images and scanning the text. Read the text to the learners at least
twice first before they read, and stop and ask questions every so often in the second
reading. Explain the meaning of difficult words. At the end of the second reading ask
the learners questions to see how much they have understood. Then let the learners
read the story in groups where they take turns reading. When then groups have
finished reading the story, they discuss the questions and answer them orally. Go
through the answers with them after this.

Suggested answers to the questions:

1. What problem did Mrs Maneo have with her pumpkin?
her pumpkin was big and it blocked her garden path.
2. Can you describe the pumpkin in your own words?
Learner’s own answer.
3. Who are the characters mentioned in the story?
Mrs Maneo, the pumpkin, Mrs Mapalesa, the villagers, a worm, shepherds,
shepherds’ parents
4. What is the plot in this story?
The pumpkin was very big and it only moved when a worm ate some of it. The
shepherds wanted to eat it but their parents said they must wait till it scatters
its seed and gives everybody food.
5. What is the setting of this story?
The countryside
6. Here are some scenes in the story – the pumpkin spreads its seeds, the villagers
push the pumpkin, the shepherds tell their parents, the villagers thank Mrs
Maneo, the worm eats the pumpkin, Mrs Maneo tries to push the pumpkin. Put
these in the right order, and say what happens in each scene.

7. Make up three more questions of your own about this story.
Learners’ own answers.

Reading and viewing: Discuss and learn new vocabulary

The learners match the words in the table below which are from the reading text with
their meanings.
Suggested answers:

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 GRADE 5
block make the movement of something difficult or impossible.

Grade 5 English First Additional Language Term 2 Weeks 1&2: Unit 6 “Stories from Africa’: Reading and viewing: Reads a story
nibble take small bites of.something
tickle lightly touch or prod someone so that they laugh
shepherds people who look after sheep
delicious very pleasant to taste
special better and different from what is usual.
scatter to throw in different directions

Reading and viewing: Read a book review

The learners work with a partner and read a book review that is placed inside a
template.

Independent reading: Give an oral book review

The learners choose a storybook from the reading corner or library. They give their
partner an oral book review using the same categories as the one above.

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