It's an emergency!

This chapter covers the Welcome unit (pp. 4-7), where you meet the Academy Stars and revise vocabulary, and Unit 1: It's an emergency! (pp. 8-17), which is about newspaper reports, power cuts, fires and rescues. It ends with the traditional story The trick (Reading time 1, pp. 18-21). The main grammar is the past continuous with the past simple.

W.1Welcome: meet the Academy Stars

On p. 4 four pupils introduce themselves: Alice loves reading, Oliver wants to discuss interesting topics, Kit wants to learn how to find and organise information, and Sophia (12) loves science and technology. Then they ask you: "What would you like to learn about this year?"

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.4.

Lesson 1 (p. 5) is a listening task with a fact table. You listen and find the information that is not true.

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.5.

Notice the two tenses in the table. Free-time activities use the present simple (reads, makes models, does karate). Holiday activities use the past simple (visited museums, swam in the sea, ate ice cream).

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.2 (scope and sequence) and p.5. The first question is the book's own example.

W.2Welcome: vocabulary review (pp. 6-7)

The picture over pp. 6-7 shows a countryside and a small town. You find words that start with p, s, b, f and c (the book's example is photographer) and write four words for each of five categories: parts of a plant or animal (the book's example is feathers), outdoor sports, jobs, shops, and things in the countryside.

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.7.

Categories from Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.6; the word lists are my own, read from the picture on pp.6-7.

In activity 3 you work in pairs and say true or false sentences about the picture. The book's model: "A chef is coming out of the greengrocer's." (True) and "Some people are swimming in the sea." (False: they are surfing and sailing, not swimming).

1.1Reading: a newspaper article (pp. 8-9)

Unit 1 opens by asking: What happens during a power cut? Who can you call for help? Then you work out where the text on p. 9 comes from (a book, a website or a newspaper) and how you know. The text is a newspaper article, "The day the lights went out", by Tony De Marchi, from New York Metro.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.8-9.

Summary of the article. A power cut hit New York State and parts of Canada at 7 pm. Thirty million people had no electricity for 13 hours. The article gives eyewitness accounts: pupils were rehearsing for a school concert, families were cooking dinner, a train stopped in the dark, traffic lights failed and there were road accidents, and an elephant escaped from New York Zoo when the lights went out while the keepers were feeding the animals and someone forgot to close the gate. The cause, said the power company, was a squirrel that jumped on the power lines.

Key sentences from the article (use them as models):

• "My train was leaving the station when the lights went out."
• "I was singing when suddenly all the lights went out."
• "The lights went out while we were feeding the animals."

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.9.

The vocabulary panel (p. 8) lists accident, ambulance, cooker, electricity, embarrassed, heating, hit, million, power and rehearse (rehearsing). Work out the meaning from context:

Word list from Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.8; meanings are my own, taken from the context on p.9.

1.2Reading comprehension and Learning to learn (p. 10)

You answer questions about facts and details: where the power cut was, how long it lasted (13 hours), why a woman screamed (the train went dark and stopped), why there were traffic accidents (the traffic lights stopped working), and why people left their cars in Times Square (it was too dark to drive; there was no moon). Then you decide who said each quote: a zookeeper, a mother, an ambulance driver, a worker at New York Power or a police officer.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.10 (questions) and p.9 (answers).

Some verbs change to form nouns. Compare "We couldn't cook dinner" (verb) with "The cooker isn't working" (noun), and "We couldn't heat soup" (verb) with "The heating isn't working" (noun).

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.10.

1.3Grammar: past continuous with past simple (p. 11)

The grammar box on p. 11 shows a zookeeper feeding an elephant. The elephant escapes in the second picture. The book uses colour blocks to show the two tenses.

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.11.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.11; the I/she and we/they lines are from the article on p.9.

Picture the action as a long line with a short stop on it:

The book's practice shows a family on the night of a power cut: "I was doing my homework last night when I lost all my work." and "My brother was watching TV when all the lights went out."

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.11 (activity 2).

1.4Language in use: when and while (p. 12)

The emergency words for p. 12 are alarm, emergency, experiment, fire drill, smoke and fire engine. In the dialogue two pupils talk about a school fire drill. One wears goggles; the other wears an old shirt for art class.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.12.

Questions: "What were you doing when the alarm rang?" Answer: "It rang while I was painting in art class."

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.12.

1.5Listening: emergencies at school, in space and at sea (p. 13)

You match three pictures to the places at school, in space and at sea. The new words are lifeboat, life jacket and rescue boat. For each dialogue you answer: What's the problem? Do they need help? The audio is not printed in the book, so on this site we only describe the pictures.

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.13.

• School: a fire engine, smoke, pupils waiting outside.
• Space: an astronaut who needs her torch (the questions on p. 13 ask what she sees and why she needs a torch).
• Sea: a captain, a lifeboat and children wearing life jackets.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.13.

The Values box asks: "What can you do to help in an emergency?" Sensible answers: stay calm, listen to adults, call the emergency number, do not run or push, help younger children.

1.6Writing: a newspaper article from notes (pp. 14-15)

Direct speech means the exact words a person says. In the article, Natasha says: "My train was leaving the station when the lights went out." On p. 14 you answer: What are the actual words? How can you recognise direct speech? Why does the reporter use it? The book's reasons you tick include that it is accurate, dramatic and exciting, clear and shows how people feel.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.9 and 14 (direct speech idea and Natasha's quote); the Martha Miller line is also from p.9.

Next, a reporter interviewed Mark Kapinski about the power cut, and you use the reporter's notes to write an article. The notes are in three parts:

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.14 (reporter's notes, summarised).

The model opening on p. 15 is: "A power cut hit New York last night. Mark Kapinski, from Brooklyn, New York, was walking home from football practice when ..." In your article remember to give a headline, organise it into an introduction, main body and conclusion, and use direct speech.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.15.

1.7Working with words: adjectives ending in -ing or -ed (p. 15)

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.15.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.15 (the six pairs come from the practice paragraph about a train stopped in a tunnel).

1.8Speaking: express feelings (p. 16)

A picture story shows a boat with smoke coming from the engine, the children putting on life jackets, a lifeboat and a rescue boat. You match speech to the pictures, for example "I'm frightened. Our boat is sinking.", "There's smoke coming from the engine.", "Everyone get into the lifeboat, please!" and "Look! It's the rescue boat!" Then you match the sentences to ways of speaking: shout, whisper, scream, explain.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.16.

Ways of speaking from Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.16; the explanations are my own.

A reporter then asks the three children how they felt. The book's answers include "I was terrified.", "Yes, I was really worried.", "I'm a bit cold and tired." and "I was surprised and excited." Use feeling words (terrified, worried, excited) and let your voice and face show the feeling too. In groups you act out the emergency; the captain says "There's smoke coming from the boat. Please send a rescue boat."

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.16.

1.9Think about it: plan a rescue (p. 17)

Thinking skills: analysis and problem-solving. The task: you are the director of a rescue team. It is four o'clock in the morning. Last night Mike Dobbs was climbing Misty Mountain when he fell and broke his leg. He needs a doctor immediately; then you must get him back to base camp as quickly as possible. One way to name the three parts of the problem (my reading of the task) is the injury (he needs a doctor), the location (a mountain) and the time (it is early morning and he must come back quickly).

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.17.

Task and first sample note from Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.17. The recording that gives the book's own notes is not printed.

The book then asks the group to decide the best way, using up to two forms of transport. Use this frame: "I think we should send ... first because ..." Give a reason, listen to others, and decide together.

1.10Reading time 1: The trick (pp. 18-21)

This is a traditional story about two friends, Musa and Hakan, who live next door to each other in a small village. Here is the story in my own words, with a few quotes.

1. Money is very important to Hakan, sometimes more important than his friends. His horse, Atik, is not well, so Hakan decides to sell him. His wife Pinar says it is not honest to sell a sick horse, and certainly not to a friend. Hakan says he is doing "a good thing" because he will give Musa a good price.
2. Musa is watering plants next door and hears them through the open window. He decides "to teach my friend a lesson".
3. The next day Musa asks Hakan if he knows of a horse for sale. Hakan says Atik is "the strongest and fastest horse in the village".
4. That evening, while Hakan is having dinner, Musa breaks a chair against the wall, shouts for help and lies on the floor. Hakan runs to Musa's house.
5. Musa says he fell from the chair and thinks he has broken his leg. The nearest hospital is thirty kilometres away. He says that Hakan can take him there on Atik, "the strongest and fastest horse", in three hours.
6. Hakan knows this is an emergency and that Atik cannot carry his friend for three hours, so he tells Musa the truth. He offers to buy him the strongest and fastest horse in the country. Musa stands up and shows that his leg is not broken. Hakan laughs, hugs him, and promises never to trick him again. Atik gets better and Hakan gives the horse to Musa as a present.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.18-20.

Grammar to notice in the story: past continuous with past simple: "Musa was watering the plants in his garden when he heard the last part of the conversation." "Musa and Hakan were drinking coffee together when Musa asked ..." "While Hakan was having dinner, Musa took a chair and broke it." Also used to: "he used to be stronger" (he was stronger in the past, but is not now).

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.18-19.

On p. 21 you answer questions about why Pinar was angry, why Hakan thought he was doing a good thing, and why Hakan decided to tell the truth. You tick the main themes, such as "You should be kind to friends or you will lose them", "It's important to be honest" and "It's important to say sorry when you hurt a friend". You also discuss which of the two tricks was wrong, and who was the better friend. The book asks you to give reasons for your answers, and to imagine a different ending.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.21.

Summary