Unit 1

All in Our
Family
1 Circle the words in the puzzle. Which word is not in
the
puzzle?

B I G G E R ORR FR
BIGGER CUTER OLDER
FASTERSHORTER
FRIENDLIER
TALLER
SLOWERUGLIER
F L R I E ND L I E HA HARDER SMALLER YOUNGER
S Y O U N G E R STRONGER
T R O N G E R A R
M A E L O W E F
S R
A L O L D O T T D A
L L C L L K H Z E S
L E S H O R T E R TE
G L I E R Q R
ERU
R B I G G C U T E

2 Find the opposites. Draw a line.

1. older2. bigger3. taller4. slower5. uglier

3 Complete the sentence. Circle the correct word.

1. My dad is thirty years harder / older / younger than his dad, but he’s taller!
2. Our car is really slow! We want to buy a new car that isfaster / cuter / shorter.
3. My hair is very long. My sister’s hair is much shorter / smaller / taller.
4. Cats make good pets. They are much slower / uglier / friendlier than turtles.
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4 Read and write. Read the spelling rules. Do the puzzle.

One-syllable adjectives with

Two-syllable
consonant–vowel–
adjectivescons
end
One-syllable adjectives

tall short smart

taller shorter smarter faster busy happy funny
busier happier fun
fast cuter big sad bigger sadder silly uglier
cute hot hotter ugly

1. busy
1 U S I E R
2. tall B A L L E R
2
3. big 3 I G G T E R
4. happy B 4 A P P I E R
5. fast H 5 A S T E R
F
6. small 6 M A L L E R
S
7. cute 7 U T E R
8. short 9U
C
8 H O R T E R
9. ugly S
G L I E R
10. smart 10 M A R T E R
S
5 Write. Complete the questions.
1. Who is taller (tall), you or your dad?
2. Who has shorter (short) hair, you or your best friend?
3. Who is friendlier (friendly), your grandma or your grandpa?
4. Which is bigger (big), your bedroom or your kitchen?
5. Which is cuter (cute), a cat or a monkey?
6. Which is easier (easy), math or English?

6 Write and speak. Answer the questions in Activity 5.

Compare your answers with a partner.

Who is taller, you or your dad? My dad. He’s stronger, too!

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7 Listen to the song. Write the order (1–6) in which you hear
these words. TR: 02
Verse 1 Verse 2
2 younger 6 funnier
3 faster 5 bigger
1 shorter 4 smarter
A.
8 Draw a line from the sentences to the pictures.
1. I like being me!
B.

2. My dad’s shorter than your dad.

C.

3. Our car is faster than their car.

D.

4. My dog is funnier than your dog.

9 Write and draw. Write a new line for the song. Then draw a
picture for that line.

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 GRAMMAR

I’m
my brother.
You’re
taller his sister.
He’s / She’s
cuter my best friend.
We’re than
bigger my cousins.
They’re
friendlier me / him / her / us /
My dog is
them. your dog.

10 Read and write. Complete the paragraph.

Naomi and Zoe are sisters. Most people
think they look the same, but their mom and
dad know who is who! Naomi was born three
minutes before Zoe, so she’s older (old)
than Zoe. Naomi is also a bit taller (tall)
than Zoe, and her hair is shorter (short)
than Zoe’s hair. Zoe likes to talk to everyone.
She’s friendlier (friendly) than Naomi.
She also has bigger (big) eyes than Naomi.
Who am I?

Look and write. Write two or three

sentences about these two people.
smartoldshortfriendlyhappy

Answers will vary; examples include:

Grandpa is older than Mom.
Grandpa,
Mom is happier than Grandpa.age 62 Mom, age 31
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12 What about you? Compare two people in your family. Make

true sentences.
1.
2. 5
13 Unscramble the words. Then draw a line from the words to
the pictures.
1. iashtrgt riah straight hair

2. yavw irah wavy hair

curly hair
3. ruycl ahri

4. dolbn blond

5. slesags glasses

14 Listen and answer. Check the pictures that are described. TR: 03

1a 1b

2a 2b

15 Write. Describe the boy’s dad. Use the words from Activity 13.

1. He doesn’t wear glasses.

2. Answers will vary; examples include: He has straight hair. He’s blond.
3. He doesn’t have wavy or curly hair.
16 Work with a partner. Ask and answer questions about your families.
Well, she’s tall and she has dark hair. She also wears glasses. W
What does your mom look like?

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17 Listen to the girl describe her family. Circle the correct answers. TR: 04

1. She has sister(s).

a. no b. one c. two
2. Her brother is than her.
a. younger b. older c. smarter
3. She has cousins.
a. two b. three c. four
4. Jamie is than her three cousins.
a. smarter b. taller c. stronger
5. Her favorite relatives are .
a. her brother and sister b. her cousins c. her mom and dad

18 Work with a partner. Listen to the dialogue in Activity 17 again.

Practice it aloud. Then write the missing lines.
Boy: Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Girl: Yes, I do. I have a brother and a sister.
Boy: How old are they?
Girl: They’re younger than me. My brother’s five years old, and my sister’s four.
Boy: Wow! How many cousins do you have?
Girl: I have four cousins. They’re all older than me.
Boy: Really? What are they like?
Girl: They’re great, especially my cousin Jamie. He’s smarter and friendlier than
my other cousins.
Boy: What does he look like?
Girl: He has curly hair, and he wears glasses.
Boy: So who’s your favorite relative?
Girl: Well, of course my mom and dad are my favorites!

19 Work with a partner. Student 1, go to page 122. Student 2,

go to page 124. Find the differences. Take turns.

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 GRAMMAR
What is she doing this weekend? She’s going to a movie.
Where are we going tonight? We’re going to a party!
What are you doing tomorrow morning? I’m riding my bike to the park.

20 Read and write. Write what people are doing tomorrow.

1. Carolina is having (have) lunch with her grandmother tomorrow.

2. Who is spending (spend) the day with her mom? Erica!
3. Is Fernanda making (make) a cake? Yes!
4. Berto and Daniel aren’t going out (not / go out) with their dad.
5. Is Mario going (go) shopping? No.
6. Berto isn’t going (not / go) to a movie. He and his sister are playing
(play) tennis.
7. Is Daniel seeing (see) his cousins tomorrow? Yes!
8. What are Andres and his brother doing (do)? They are watching
(watch) a movie.

21 Work with a partner. Read the sentences in Activity 20. Draw

lines connecting each person with the activity he or she is doing.
Andres is having lunch with her grandmother.
Berto is playing soccer with cousins.
Carolina is watching a movie with his brother.
Daniel is playing tennis with his sister.
Erica is making a cake.
Fernanda is spending the day with her mom.
is seeing his cousins.
22 Write. What are you doing this weekend? Write two or three
sentences about your plans.

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23 Look at the picture. Check T for True and F for False.

Emilio
Carolina Alex Brendan
Deirdre

1. Brendan’s hair is wavier than Carolina’s. T F

2. Carolina and Emilio are happier than the three singers. T F

3. Deirdre has straighter hair than Emilio. T F

4. Emilio has curlier hair than Alex. T F

24 Compare the people on stage. Write four new sentences.

bigsmalltallshortold strongfriendlysmartcurlystraight
young wavy
cute

1.

2.

3.

4.

25 Work in a group. Take turns reading your sentences from

Activity 24. Don’t say the name of the person you’re
describing. Can your partner guess?

It’s Carolina! Yes, you’re right! Now it’s your turn.

OK, I’ll start. This girl is older than the others. Who is it?

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26 Listen and read. TR: 05

Cool Families
Imagine you live with the same relatives all your life,
from the day you are born until the day you die! You
are always with your mom, your sisters, and your
maternal aunts (mom’s sisters). You also spend time
with your paternal aunts. You clean them and
rest next to them. You don’t leave them to go to
school, and they don’t leave you. Not for one
minute! This is how the females in baboon
families live.
For orcas, there is a very special
relationship between mothers and sons.
Orca daughters often go to live with a new
family. Orca sons, however, usually stay
with
their mom their whole life. The moms look
after their sons very well and protect them.
Sometimes, the sons live with another female,
for example, an aunt, instead of mom.
Young meerkats play games every day while
their parents look for food (like tasty insects).
Their brothers and sisters are the babysitters. When
meerkats turn one month old, they don’t have a
party or balloons. Instead, they go out for the first time
and learn to hunt. When they are four months old, they can
already find their own food! Bye-bye, mom and dad!

27 Read the text again. Match. When meerkats get angry, they
stand up and try to look taller.

1. parents 5. female
2. maternal aunt
3. paternal aunt
4. babysitter

1
a. girl or woman
b. someone who
looks after a
child when his
or her parents
can’t
c. mother and
father
d. mother’s sister
e.father’s sister

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28 Read the text again. Check the chart.

Baboons Orcas Meerkats

1. They never leave home.

2. They leave home before their

first birthday.
3. They don't spend much time
with the male relatives.
4. Their aunts are very
important to them.
5. Their parents are often away
from home.

29 Write your opinion. Write a sentence about each animal.

Include your personal opinions.

shortertallerfasterslower strongerbiggersmallercuter
smarter uglier
friendlier

1. Baboons:

2. Orcas:

3. Meerkats:

30 Work with a partner. Talk about the three types of families

described in the story. What do they have in common with
human families? Which one is most like a human family?

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31 Read. Read the journal entry on page 16 of your Student
Book. How did the writer plan her writing? Read the steps
below.
1. First, the writer chose a special day to write about. What day is it?
September 4th—the first day of fourth grade
2. Second, the writer wrote down
ideas—good and bad—about how I feel a
she feels when she starts a new little worried.
school year. She used a word
map to brainstorm her ideas.
Circle the words that It’s nice to New school
meet I’m a bit scared.
describe her feelings. year
new friends.
3. Third, the writer wrote down
some examples of special moments
It’s fun to
or events. She added some details
start a new
about the people and how she felt.
grade.
She used a chart to do this. Put the
three details in the correct place.

Name or description Event Emotions

a girl with curly brown hair
a boy with black hair
and glasses
my old friend Sam
They were friendlier
She smiled at me.
than I expected.
He asked my They made me feel
name. happy to be there.
He thinks fourth
grade is harder I think it’s more fun!
than third grade.

I think it’s more fun! my old friend Sam

He thinks fourth grade is harder than third grade.

4. Fourth, she thought of an introduction and a conclusion.

Introduction: Today was my first day in fourth grade.
Conclusion: I’m happy to be back in class.

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5. Finally, she wrote a draft, or a first version, of her paragraph.

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 32 Choose a topic. Choose a special day to write about in
your journal. See Activity 18 in your Student Book.

33 Prewrite. Follow steps 2 and 3 on page 12. Plan your journal entry.

Events Emotions

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

Useful expressions
It / they made me feel . . .
I felt . . .
It’s nice to . . .
I’m happy to . . .
I was a bit scared/ worried about . .
. It was . . . than I expected.
I don’t care . . .

34 Plan your writing. Think of an introduction and a conclusion to

your journal entry. Then write your journal entry in your
notebook.

Introduction:

Conclusion:

35 Express yourself. Choose one of the topics below and write a

paragraph that describes someone’s feelings. Plan your writing and
follow the steps on page 12. Write your paragraph in your
notebook.
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A Special Family Day A Childhood Memory