Your name

A Ghost School — Nonfiction

by Martin Faint, Photography by Tim Suess

A Strange School Vocabulary

There are no teachers. The lockers are dirty. There are no Ghost =
children in the hallways or classrooms.
The plates in the cafeteria are broken. The library is full of
books but they are not popular. Strange =

The teachers live far away now and never go to the school.
The students are now adults. Dirty =
The classroom is colorful but a chair is on the desk and the
bookcase is on the floor. The information on the bulletin
board is very old. Broken =
Why?

Never =

Copyright Martin Faint 2018

 A Terrible Accident
Draw a picture to
This school is in Pripyat, Ukraine. In 1986 there was an
accident close to the school at Chernobyl nuclear show an explosion.
power plant. Power plants make electricity, but it
exploded and made the area dangerous.
Everyone left the town. They never returned.
Now, no students go to the school.

Questions
1. Label 5 things on the picture.
2. Circle the words in the story that are in your dictionary under A Classroom
and School.
3. Write. Where is this classroom?

The classroom is:

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

4. Why is the title of the article “A Ghost School”?

The title of the article is “A Ghost School” because…

Vocabulary
________________________________________________________ Article = a true
piece of writing.
________________________________________________________

To be (past) 5. Choose the correct verb: 6. What is your opinion?

I was
You were A. The classroom is / was dirty. Would you like to visit the school? Why?
He was
She was B. The chair is / was on the table. _____________________________________
They were
We were C. The school is / was full of students. _____________________________________

D. There are / were teachers in the _____________________________________

school.
_____________________________________
Comprehension check
Circle the best answer:

1. The classroom is now:

A. Used every day by students.
B. Never used by students.
C. Sometimes used by students.

2. The classroom is a mess because:

A. Everyone left the town.
B. The students are lazy.
C. The teacher is not tidy.

3. Power plants make:

A. Food.
B. Clothes.
C. Electricity.

4. The chair is on the:

A. Desk.
B. Lockers.
C. Teacher.

5. There is still writing on the:

A. Chair.
B. Blackboard.
C. Table.

Fill in the correct tense of “to be”: was (past); is (present).

6. In 1986 there ______ an accident.

7. The classroom ______ now empty.
8. The desk ______ now dirty.
9. Everyone in the city ______ scared during the accident.
10. The chair ______ now on the desk.


Sentence writing
Now you have read the story answer these questions. Write a complete
sentence.

1. What is on the desk?

___ A chair is on the desk. _____________________________________

2. Where is the bookcase?

__________________________________________________________________

3. What is in the library?

__________________________________________________________________

4. Which students go to the school?

__________________________________________________________________

5. Why is the school empty now?

__________________________________________________________________

6. Are there really ghosts in the classroom?

__________________________________________________________________

7. Do you like this article?

__________________________________________________________________

 Dictionary sections:
School
A Classroom
Notes for teachers.
A Ghost School — Nonfiction.
Before reading:
• Possible aims - “What is a nonfiction article?”; “How can we describe what
happened in the past?”; “How can text details describe a place?”
• Discuss the picture. What do they see? What questions do they have?
• Label some vocabulary. The dictionary section on A Classroom will help.
• Make a prediction: What type of classroom is this?
• Look up or translate the words in the vocabulary box: ghost, strange, dirty,
broken, never.

While reading:
• Read through the text. Students will probably do better reading as a class.
• Some students might want to translate parts into their language. This is ok.
• Monitor how much understanding the students have.
• Pause and discuss after why. Note new predictions on a board.

After reading:
• Have students use the dictionary section A Classroom and School to find and
circle words. (teacher, lockers, hallways, classroom, library, school, chair,
desk).
• Which tense is this story? Why does it change halfway through?
• Reread the text if necessary with the class. The second time use a T-Chart to
compare and contrast details with your school.
• Teach the definition of nonfiction article (note - you can do this as a mini
lesson beforehand too.)
• Discuss — what would you do if you enrolled in this school. How would you
react?
• Expand on the question: “how is this school different to yours?” Model
writing a paragraph using input from the class.
• Model writing a summary.
• Have students use the story grid to show the sequence of events.
• For the story behind the picture: Read the Chernobyl Journal
on timmsuess.com. Find Ukraine on a map or globe and mark it on the map.

Literary terms: Grammar: Photo Rights:

Nonfiction, article To be - Past Photo by Tim Suess, https://flic.kr/p/6v61Qc
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-sa/2.0/
Title:

Your name:
Copyright Martin Faint 2018
Title:

Your name:
Copyright Martin Faint 2018
 A portrait of ___________________ Detail from the text:
________________________

________________________

________________________

Detail from the text:

________________________

________________________

________________________

Detail from the text:

________________________

________________________

________________________

Your name:
Copyright Martin Faint 2018
This is the setting of ___________________

Detail from the text:

________________________

________________________

________________________

Detail from the text:

________________________

________________________

________________________

Detail from the text:

________________________

________________________

________________________

Your name:

Copyright Martin Faint 2018

Your name:

A T-Chart Comparing

_____________________________ and _____________________________.

Copyright Martin Faint 20018

A Ghost School — Nonfiction
Answer Key

1. Students should label directly on the picture or to the side.

2. teacher, lockers, hallways, classroom, library, school, chair, desk.

3. The classroom is in Ukraine.

4. The title of the article is “A Ghost School” because there are no students in the school.

5. A. is B. is C. was D. were

6. Students will write their own response reflecting their opinion.

Comprehension check
1. B

2. A

3. C

4. A

5. B

6. was

7. is

8. is

9. was

10. is

Sentence writing
1. A chair is on the desk.

2. The bookcase is on the floor.

3. Books are in the library.

4. No students go to the school.

5. The school is empty now because of the accident.

6. No, there are not really ghosts in the classroom.

7. Yes or No = Student’s opinion.