The Fun They Had , English Workshop, Part II

                                         

 English Workshop 

The Fun They Had 

 

      1. Use the proper punctuation mark.

        (a) Where did you find it

         -  “Where did you find it?”

        (b) What’s it about

         - “What’s it about?”

 

        (c) They had a teacher

        -   “They had a teacher.”

 

        (d) How could a man be a teacher

         -  “How could a man be a teacher?”

 

        (e) Sure, if they were the same age

         - “Sure, if they were the same age.”

2. The following sentences have an unusual meaning in the context of the story.

Write what these sentences would mean today, and what they mean in the context

of the story.

     A)  She had been hoping they would take the teacher away altogether.

Today, this means

      - A teacher should be dismissed from his post forever, as some students dislike some teachers for their academic or personal reasons. 

       In the context of the story,

     - Margie doesn’t like the school and the mechanical teacher so she thinks that her mechanical teacher should be removed forever from the school, as she doesn't like school and homework.

 

b)  They had taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month.

Today, this means-

      -  Any teacher who is on the leave or holidays for a month because of his personal or health reasons.

       In the context of the story,

      - Tommy's mechanical teacher had got some serious technical problems so it took nearly a month to get repaired and come back. 

            

       (c) It wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.

       Today, this means-

      - Today this is a meaningless sentence. (today only humans can teach)

        In the context of the story,

      - Margie and Tommy have mechanical teachers, that is their regular teacher. They can't think           the human as a teacher.

      (d) How could a man be a teacher?

     Today, this means-

    - Today this is a meaningless question. 

     In the context of the story,

   - Margie thinks that a man could not be a teacher, as the machines are very intelligent and human cannot compete with them

(e) A teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches

    Today, this means-

    -     Each child has a different way of learning and all cannot learn in the same way. so the teacher has to make adjustments to teach them according to their mindset.

       In the context of the story,

      - Margie is surprised to hear that all students go to school and the teacher teaches them the same thing to all. then she reminds of her mother's words that how a teacher should be adjusted with the age of each child.  

3. Write words related to the following words. (At least ten words each.)

Add caption

4. Discuss: How would you like to learn -
from a human teacher or a mechanical teacher?
Present your arguments in the form of a chart.

 

Human teacher		Mechanical teacher
Advantages	Disadvantages	Advantages	Disadvantages
Can understand situations and behave accordingly	No disadvantage	Have same pattern in teaching	Cannot understand the situation and students mind
Can give motivation, which is a important for human learning	In larger number it may be difficult to motivate all students.	Can give exact knowledge in the exact time	Cannot motivate humans
Can give demonstration	Cannot take the participation of all students.	makes predictions based on a set of examples	Machine learning is difficult to comprehend (understand)
Can arrange discussions and guide them	Shy and reserved students may not take part in a discussion	Can give tasks to students	Cannot supervise activities
Can inculcate values naturally	No disadvantage	Can teach values artificially	Values are not taught
Can do something original	No disadvantage		Cannot do original
can teach with speed of average of or slow learners	It maybe slow for clever students	Can be very fast and accurate learning	All students cannot learn with that speed

 

5. Rewrite the following using complete words instead of contracted forms.

(a) ...when you’re through. 

    - ..when you are through.

(b) ...and it’s good for plenty more.

   - ...and it is good for plenty more.

(c) I wouldn’t throw it away.

   - I would not throw it away.

(d) She hadn’t seen as many telebooks.

   - She had not seen as many telebooks.

(e) “What’s it about?”

     -“What is it about?”

(f) I’ve slowed it up.

  - I have slowed it up.

(g) I don’t know.

   - I do not know.

(h)  It wasn’t a regular teacher

-    It was not a regular teacher

The Fun they Had, (English Workshop, Part I) with Margin Question, class 9th English.

 Watch on youtube- Click here -  The Fun They Had English Workshop part 1

                                                         The Fun They Had English Workshop part 2

      

Warming up!       

  1)  What do you like best about your school?

Ø I like the atmosphere of my school where we get a good quality of education, knowledge, and values.
                                       OR

     I like being with my friends and having a lot of fun.

                                             OR

     I like the big playground, well-equipped laboratory and the library with a treasure of knowledge.
 

2)   Do you think school is fun?
Ø Yes, it is.
 

3)    Which is the part that you don’t like?
Ø There is nothing in my school which I don’t like.

                                 OR
Ø I like everything about my school.

 
4)   How often should the teacher give you a test?
Ø The teacher should give us test regularly after the new topic is completed and understood by all the students.
  

 

Margin questions –

1.    Can you think of any devices/objects that came into use in the recent past but are now outdated?

 Find an example of outdated devices/ words from the list given here.   

Ø Floppy disks, windmills, mortar and pestle, Cassettes, earthen stoves

 Think of other examples on your own. 

  Ø Typewriters, phone booths, and telephone directory, films used in the camera for photography, fax machines, slide projectors, pagers, Walkman, CD players, etc.  are some devices used in the recent past but today they are outdated.

 2.    When does the story take place?

     Ø  The story takes place, in the future, in the year 2157.

 

 3.    What does Margie mean by ‘a real book’?

      Ø    A real book is the book where the printed on the paper and pages are bound together.

 

4.    Margie and Tommy use ‘telebooks’. What are they like?

  Ø Telebooks are the books that show text on the television screen.

 

 5.    Margie uses a diary. What would it be like?

  Ø Margie’s diary would be like an i-pad device of the future.

 6.    What do we understand by the words,’ took the teacher apart?

  Ø The words took the teacher apart means the mechanical teacher (the television screen like device)       was separated into parts and taken away to repair it.

 7.    Which part of the machine did Margie hate most?

  Ø The part Margie hated most was the slot where she had to submit her homework and test.

 

 8.    What fault did the Inspector repair?

  Ø The Inspector repaired the geography sector, which was geared a little too quick.

 9.   What is Margie like as a student-bright, average or below average?

  Ø Margie is like an average student.

 

 10.   Do you think the school described in the ‘book’ existed   

         centuries ago?

  Ø No, because the school described in the ‘book’ exists now in the 21^st century. But the story takes place in the future, in the 22^nd century; they think that book as the book of olden times.

 

11.   Do you think Tommy likes the school in the olden days?

  Ø I think Tommy likes the school in the olden days because he tells many things about the school of the past to Margie. This shows that he has got a lot of information about the school in the book.

 

 12.  Is Tommy Margie’s brother or friend?

               Find the sentences that help you to decide that.

  Ø Following line shows that Tommy is Margie’s friend-

 ‘He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his arm’.

 

  13. Would you like your own mechanical teacher?

-     Ø  No, I would like to learn everything from a human teacher only.

 

14.    Do you agree with Margie?

-     Ø Yes, I agree with Margie because there is no fun in sitting in front of a machine

             for studies and learning from the machine. On the other hand, a human teacher can

             understand all the students.