adjectives and adverbs. reading a story.

1. D E V E L O P I N G N A R R A T I V E S K I L L S . B Y R O S I E
N A V A R R O .
S
P
O
O
K
Y
T
A
L
E
S.

2. LOOK AT THE PICTURES AND LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS. WHAT WILL
THE STORY BE ABOUT.

3. UNDERLINE THE CORRECT WORD (1-6).
LISTEN AND CHECK . WHICH PARAGRAPH(S):
1. DESCRIBE CHARACTER’S FEELINGS?
2. SETS THE SCENE?
3. INCLUDES THE EVENTS BEFORE THE CLIMAX?
4. INCLUDES THE CLIMAX?

4. • 1. It was a cold, dark evening with wintry winds howling
through the hills and mountains of the Great Smokies.
The train slowly moved along and its engineer, James
Burton, who was new to the area, yawned lazily as he
drove the train into the black night. James was so
exhausted that he could hardly keep his eyes open.
• 2. Suddenly / After all, he saw a figure of a Cherokee
Indian standing very still on the tracks. Horrified, James
violently sounded the train’s whistle to warn the man, but
the strange figure didn’t respond. Frightened, James
sounded the whistle again and desperately tried to slow
the train down. 2) As soon as / Then , he realized that the
lights of the train were shining right through the man on
the tracks. The Indian was a ghost!

5. • 3. When/ Since James turned his head, the Indian was
standing next to him. James thought the Indian would
attack, but he said quietly, “Protect the land. Keep it
beautiful! Live in peace! 4) Finally / Before James could
say anything, he disappeared once again. 5) After that/
While, James was in such a state of shock that he
completely forgot to stop at the next station.
• 4. James didn’t want to tell anyone about the ghost.
“No one would believe me!” he thought. 6) But /Finally
he decided to tell the story to a fellow driver. “Oh, that’s
the ghost of Tsali, the Cherokee Indian who wanders the
hills of North Carolina. He was shot to death in this area
while he was trying to protect his people. Many people
claim to have seen him”, his friend said. James breathed
a huge sigh of relief. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who
has seen the ghost”, he said.

6. WHICH TITLE BEST MATCHES THE STORY?

7. SPEAKING.
• STUDY SKILLS.
• DEVELOPING NARRATIVE SKILLS.
• In order to make a story more interesting, use
descriptive language. The use of vivid adjectives
and verb-adverb combinations can help readers
picture the story in their minds. Try to use direct
speech to help readers experience the story and
the characters more strongly.

8. UNDERLINE ALL THE ADJECTIVES USED IN THE STORY. WHICH
NOUNS / PRONOUNS DO THEY DESCRIBE? CAN YOU THINK OF
SYNONYMS FOR THESE ADJECTIVES?
Adjectives Nouns

9. REPLACE THE UNDERLINED ADJECTIVES WITH:
WASTEFUL, SKILLFUL, INTRIGUING, KIND
1. He’s a (n) good driver .
2. Ann’s mother is nice.
3. It is bad to throw away paper.
4. This novel has a (n) good plot.

10. CIRCLE THE VERB-ADVERB COMBINATIONS IN THE
STORY. USE THEM IN SENTENCES OF YOUR OWN.
Verb Adverb