level 1 Teacher’s notes
Ali and his Camera
Raymond Pizante
Summary
The story revolves around a boy called Ali, who lives in
Istanbul, Turkey.
Pages 1–7
Ali loves taking imaginary photos. He doesn’t have enough
money to own a real camera, so he starts to work in the
market, and dreams about the day he can buy a camera.
One day, a thief takes Ali’s money. He’s unhappy, but
doesn’t tell his parents what has happened. He cheerfully
decides that he can start all over again. The next day,
Mrs Yildiz asks Ali to carry her heavy bags, and she gives
Ali a camera in return.
Pages 8–15
Ali’s mother gives him some money to buy some film,
but he wants to buy film with his own money. Mrs
Yildiz introduces Ali to her son Yusuf, who works for a
newspaper. When Yusuf tells Ali his photos aren’t bad,
Ali suddenly loses his temper and storms off. Ali starts
to learn about photography in a small photography shop.
The shop owner, Selim, thinks Ali is learning quickly, and
shows his photo to Yusuf without telling Ali. Ali learns that
one of his photos is in the newspaper and that he’s got a
new job with the newspaper.
Background and themes
Istanbul is one of the world’s most historical cities. Its
history tracks from Byzantium to Constantinople to its
place at the head of the Ottoman Empire. Istanbul is a
cultural and ethnic melting pot. There are many mosques,
churches, synagogues, palaces, castles and towers to visit
in the city.
pearsonenglishreaders.com © Pearson Education Limited 2016 Ali and his Camera - Teacher’s notes   1 of 1
Teacher Support Programme
Following your dream: Ali took photos in his head when
he didn’t have a camera. Even though there are ups and
downs, he always works hard, and he’s eager to learn
about photography.
Decency: Ali has a good nature. His diligence and positive
thinking make him a likeable person. He’s lucky to get
a camera and a job, but he also learns it’s hard work to
make money.
Discussion activities
Pages 1–7
Before reading
1 Guess: Have students look at the title of the book
and the word list at the end of the book. Elicit the
answers to the following questions:
• What’s the title of the book?
• Is Ali a boy or a girl?
• Where is Ali from do you think?
• What do you think the story is about?
2 Research: Have students look for information about
Istanbul, using the Internet, books or travel guides.
Have them list the things they want to do there.
After reading
3 Discuss: Have students work in pairs and discuss the
following questions:
• You want something, but you haven’t got any money
for it. What will you do?
• What will you do if a thief takes your money?
• Why does Mrs Yildiz give Ali a camera? Give as many
reasons as you can.
Pages 8–15
Before reading
4 Re-tell: Put students into small groups. Have them
take turns to look at the pictures on pages 1–7 and
re-tell the story for each page. When they are ready,
ask some students to re-tell the story in front of the
class.
After reading
5 Role play: Put students into pairs or small groups.
Have them think of the conversation between Ali and
his mother (and/or his father) after he comes back
from Selim’s shop.
6 Discuss: Talk about Ali. Have students work in small
groups to discuss the following questions:
• Ali doesn’t want to buy film with his mother’s money.
Why not? What do you think?
• Why did Selim show Ali’s photo to Yusuf ? What do
you think?
• Do you think Ali is lucky? Why/why not?