ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE WEEKS 3 & 4:

GRADE 9 TERM 2
LISTENING AND SPEAKING

Activity 1: Listen to a dialogue

Instructions:
• Play the following video and listen carefully to the conversation between Jimmy
Kimmel and The Rock
• Take notes while the video plays
• Read through the questions before playing the video a second time, then answer the
questions

Dwayne Johnson wants

Jimmy Kimmel to deliver
his baby

Questions:
1. When last did Jimmy and The Rock see one another? (1)


2. Explain why Jimmy says, “If I wore that shirt it would look like I bought half a sack
of potatoes.” (2)


3.1 How does the Rock’s girlfriend prank him? (2)


3.2 In what way does this contribute to the prank The Rock plays on Jimmy? (1)

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 ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE WEEKS 3 & 4:
GRADE 9 TERM 2
LISTENING AND SPEAKING

4. What is Jimmy trying to imply by saying, “so when the baby graduates high
school you’ll be there?” (2)


5. Discuss why Jimmy will not cut the umbilical cord? (2)


6. What movie is The Rock promoting? (1)


Subtotal /11

Activity 2: Unprepared reading

Instructions:
As a class you will read the following section from Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar
Children. Your teacher will ask you to read and will let you know when to stop.

You must:
• Pay attention to your tone and pace, it should match the content that you are reading
• Be conscious of your eye-contact, expression and
posture, making use of these elements correctly
will ensure that you will read clearly and
effectively.

I could not have been less in the mood for a party.

I’d known I was in for one the moment my parents
began dropping unsubtle hints about how boring and
uneventful the upcoming weekend was sure to be,
when we all knew perfectly well I was turning 16.
I’d begged them to skip the party this year because,
among other reasons, I couldn’t think of a single
person I wanted to invite, but they worried that I
spent too much time alone, clinging to the notion
that socialising was therapeutic. So was electroshock,
I reminded them. But my mother was loathe to pass
up even the flimsiest excuse for a celebration—she
once invited friends over for our cockatiel’s birthday—
in part because she loved to show off our house.

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 ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE WEEKS 3 & 4:
GRADE 9 TERM 2
LISTENING AND SPEAKING

Wine in hand, she’d herd guests from room to over-furnished room, extolling the genius of
the architect and telling war stories about the construction (“it took months to get these
sconces from Italy”).

We’d just come home from my disastrous session with Dr. Golan. I was following my dad
into our suspiciously dark living room as he muttered things like “What a shame we didn’t
plan anything for your birthday” and “Oh well, there’s always next year,” when all the lights
flooded on to reveal streamers, balloons, and a motley assortment of aunts, uncles, cousins
I rarely spoke to—anyone my mother could cajole into attending —and Ricky, whom I was
surprised to see lingering near the punch bowl, looking comically out of place in a studded
leather jacket. Once everyone had finished cheering and I’d finished pretending to be
surprised, my mom slipped her arm around me and whispered, “Is this okay?” I was upset
and tired and just wanted to play Warspire III: The Summoning before going to bed with the
TV on. But what were we going to do, send everyone home?

I said it was fine, and she smiled as if to thank me. “Who wants to see the new addition?”
she sang out, pouring herself some chardonnay before marching a troupe of relatives up the
stairs. Ricky and I nodded to each other across the room, wordlessly agreeing to tolerate
the other’s presence for an hour or two. We hadn’t spoken since the day he nearly shoved
me off the roof, but we both understood the importance of maintaining the illusion of
having friends. I was about to go talk to him when my Uncle Bobby grabbed me by the
elbow and pulled me into a corner.

Bobby was a big barrel-chested guy who drove a big car and lived in a big house and would
eventually succumb to a big heart attack from all the foie gras and Monster Thick-burgers
he’d packed into his colon over the years, leaving everything to my pothead cousins and his
tiny quiet wife. He and my uncle Les were co-presidents of Smart Aid, and they were always
doing this — pulling people into corners for conspiratorial chats, as if plotting a mob hit
rather than complimenting the hostess on her guacamole.
“So, your mom tells me you’re really turning the corner with, uh … on this whole Grandpa
thing.” My thing. No one knew what to call it.
“Acute stress reaction,” I said.
“What?”
“That’s what I had. Have. Whatever.”
“That’s good. Real good to hear.” He waved his hand as if putting all that unpleasantness
behind us. “So your mom and I were thinking. How’d you like to come up to Tampa this
summer, see how the family business works? Crack heads with me at HQ for a while?
Unless you love stocking shelves!” He laughed so loudly that I took an involuntary step
backward.
“You could even stay at the house, do a little tarpon fishing with me and your cousins on the
weekends.” He then spent five long minutes describing his new yacht, going into elaborate,

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 ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE WEEKS 3 & 4:
GRADE 9 TERM 2
LISTENING AND SPEAKING

almost pornographic detail, as if that alone were enough to close the deal. When he finished,
he grinned and stuck out his hand for me to shake.
“So whaddaya think, J-dogg?”

I guess it was designed to be an offer I couldn’t refuse, but I’d have rather spent the summer
in a Siberian labor camp than live with my uncle and his spoiled kids. As for working at
Smart Aid HQ, I knew it was a probably inevitable part of my future, but I’d been counting
on at least a few more summers of freedom and four years of college before I had to lock
myself in a corporate cage. I hesitated, trying to think of a graceful way out. Instead what I
said was, “I’m not sure my psychiatrist would think it’s such a great idea right now.”

His bushy eyebrows came together. Nodding vaguely, he said, “Oh, well, sure, of course. We’ll
just play it by ear then, pal, how’s that sound?” And then he walked off without waiting for an
answer, pretending to see someone across the room whose elbow he needed to grab.

My mother announced that it was time to open presents. She always insisted I do this in
front of everyone, which was a problem because, as I may have mentioned already, I’m not
a good liar. That also means I’m not good at feigning gratitude for regifted CDs of country
Christmas music or subscriptions to Field and Stream. For years Uncle Les had laboured
under the baffling delusion that I am “outdoorsy”—but for decorum’s sake I forced a smile
and held up each unwrapped trinket for all to admire until the pile of presents left on the
coffee table had shrunk to just three.

I reached for the smallest one first. Inside was

the key to my parents’ four-year-old luxury
sedan. They were getting a new one, my mom
explained, so I was inheriting the old one. My
first car! Everyone oohed and aahed, but I felt
my face go hot. It was too much like showing
off to accept such a lavish present in front of
Ricky, whose car cost less than my monthly
allowance at age twelve. It seemed like my
parents were always trying to get me to care
about money, but I didn’t, really. Then again, it’s
easy to say you don’t care about money when
you have plenty of it.

Taken and adapted from: Riggs, Ransom. Miss

Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, 2011,
Quirk Books Ransom Riggs

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 ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE WEEKS 3 & 4:
GRADE 9 TERM 2
LISTENING AND SPEAKING

You will be marked on the following rubric:

Teacher Rubric:

0-1 2 3 4 5
Not Needs work Achieved Achieved with Achieved
achieved a measure of successfully
success
Confidence Lacks Starts off Reads in a Reads Reads in a
confidence reading in self-assured confidently self assured
a hesitant manner and confident
manner and manner
then gains
confidence
Fluency and Hesitant; Sometimes A few Fluency Fluent
pronunciation often repeats self; inappropriate is lacking; reading;
repeats pronunciation pauses; pronunciation pronunciation
self; is ambiguous; attempts to is clear and is clear and
difficult to sometimes modulate unambiguous unambiguous
follow difficult to voice
understand
Projection of Voice soft; Voice is soft; Moderate Good Excellent
voice unable to unable to projection; projection; projection;
hear the hear all of the able to hear able to hear able to hear all
words words clearly most of the most of the of the words
words words clearly
Expression Very little Some Moderate use Excellent use Excellent use
to no effective of effective of expression of effective
effective expression expression but it has expression
expression used not always
used been used
effectively
TOTAL 20

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 ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE WEEKS 3 & 4:
GRADE 9 TERM 2
LISTENING AND SPEAKING

Learner’s Rubric:
Place a tick in the column which most applies to you

Not at all Somewhat Completely

I understood what I was reading
I felt confident while I was reading
I remembered to make eye-contact
I read fluently
I pronounced all of the words correctly
I used expression while I was reading
If I were to give myself a mark out of 10 it would be /10

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 ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE WEEKS 3 & 4:
GRADE 9 TERM 2
LISTENING AND SPEAKING MEMORANDUM

Activity 1: Listen to a dialogue

1. In December.
2. The shirt is brown like the bag of potatoes would be, he is shorter than the rock so it
would be half a bag and he is implying that he is overweight so the brown shirt
would be lumpy as if it was filled with potatoes.
3.1 She convinces him that she is in labour and makes him rush to get her to the
hospital before revealing that it was a joke.
3.2 The Rock made the story up.
4. The Rock travels a lot and is not home very often.
5. He says that it is patronising. And he doesn’t want to damage his children’s belly
button.
6. Rampage.
Subtotal /11

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