Bahasa Inggeris notes, unit 3

Family Ties

Textbook English Year 6 SK (Buku Teks Bahasa Inggeris Tahun 6, KSSR), pages 21-30 (English Year 6 SK, Unit 3 Family Ties)

What this chapter covers

I can name family members and describe a nuclear family and an extended family (3.1)
I can read an article and a short text about family gatherings and find specific information (3.2)
I can use a family tree to write a short description of each family member, and write simple sentences in neat handwriting (3.3)
I can use reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, yourselves, ourselves, themselves) correctly, with and without by (3.4)
I can recite a poem and talk about its meaning, and write my own poem about my family (3.5)

Welcome to Family Ties (Unit 3)! You will talk about nuclear and extended families, read about family gatherings, describe the people in a family tree, use reflexive pronouns and enjoy a poem about a messy baby sister.

3.1Listening and speaking: Types of family

Nuclear family: a father, a mother and their children.
Extended family: the nuclear family plus grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces.

Lee Ann's nuclear family: father, mother, Lee Ann, her twin brothers and a little sister, each with a speech bubble about name, age and job — Lee Ann's nuclear family: Meng Chong (father, 45, shoemaker), Lai Fong (mother, 39, chef), Lee Ann (12, Year 6), twin brothers Jia Shun and Jia Zhen (9, Year 3) and Wei Ling (6, kindergarten).

English Year 6 SK, p. 22.

Person	Relationship
Tan Meng Chong	father of the four children, husband of Ong Lai Fong
Ong Lai Fong	mother, wife of Meng Chong
Tan Jia Shun and Tan Jia Zhen	twin brothers (both 9); Lee Ann's younger brothers
Tan Wei Ling	youngest child; Lee Ann's little sister

Lee Ann's extended family in one photo, with labels for cousin, uncle, aunts, parents and grandparents — Lee Ann's extended family. The labels show a cousin, an uncle, aunts, parents and grandparents.

English Year 6 SK, p. 23.

Use these questions when you interview a friend: Do you have an extended family? How many siblings does your father have? Can you name some of your uncles, aunts and cousins? Do you keep in touch with them? How?

A nuclear family has only parents and children. Uncles, aunts and grandparents belong to the extended family.

Which of these is part of an extended family but not a nuclear family: father, cousin, sister?

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Cousin.

3.2Reading: Family gatherings

Magazine article: ideas for a family reunion (p. 24)

Activity	What it is for
Family scavenger hunt	Different generations talk to each other while they answer family questions.
Family tree chart	A big chart where everyone writes in their own details.
Heritage cookbook	Every family gives a favourite recipe, making one family cookbook.
Memory T-shirts	Each family wears one colour with its name, so people can tell the families apart.
Story time	Sharing sweet memories by telling stories.
Photo swap	Everyone brings photos and labels them with details, then shares the stories.
Tour into the past	A trip to places near the family's birthplace, to share memories.

Idith's family (p. 25)

Idith and her relatives say why an extended family is a blessing. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins join the children's lives. They gather at weddings, birthday parties and funerals, and these meetings bring them closer. Cousins become best friends and share interests, hobbies and problems. A relative who lives far away is a real treat when he or she visits. Idith studies in London and keeps in touch through social media.

To answer "Why?" questions, look for the reason in the text and begin with because. A good answer uses your own words, not a copied line.

Which reunion activity helps people from different generations talk to each other?

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The family scavenger hunt.

3.3Writing: Family tree and sentences

Najmee's family tree: grandfather and grandmother at the top, uncle and aunt, mother and father, then cousin, brother, Najmee and sister, with a box of details for each — Najmee's family tree. A tree shows who is related to whom.

English Year 6 SK, p. 26.

Person	Details from the tree
Razali and Rahayu (grandparents)	69 years old, live in Tumpat, ex-teachers, enjoy travelling
Nina and Naim (mother and father)	40 years old, live in Kuala Lumpur, lawyers, love dancing
Zurina (aunt)	45, Seremban, housewife, loves cooking
Faez (uncle)	48, Seremban, businessman, loves fishing
Kamila (cousin)	26, Kedah, doctor, loves shopping
Nazeem (brother)	20, Shah Alam, undergraduate, loves reading
Nazeera (sister)	16, Kuala Lumpur, Form 4 student, enjoys painting

Model description

Encik Faez is Najmee's uncle. He is 48 years old. He lives in Seremban and is a businessman. He loves fishing during his free time.

Basic sentence patterns (p. 27)

Pattern	Example
There is / are / was / were ...	There is a television in the room.
This is / was ...	This is a flower.
These are / were ...	These are my friends.
Subject + verb with -ing + object	Kamini is eating an apple.
Subject + verb with -ing + adverb or complement	The nephews are sleeping soundly.

You can change the tense: is eating (now), ate (past), will eat (future). Write in neat joined-up (cursive) writing, with a capital letter at the start and a full stop at the end.

Using the tree, write one sentence about Nazeera.

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For example: Nazeera is Najmee's sister. She is 16 years old and lives in Kuala Lumpur. She is a Form 4 student and enjoys painting.

3.4Grammar: Reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronoun: a word ending in -self or -selves that is the object of the sentence and points back to the same person or thing as the subject.

Number	Personal pronoun	Reflexive pronoun	Example
Singular	I	myself	I made the blouse myself.
	you	yourself	Why do you blame yourself?
	he / she	himself / herself	He bought himself a pair of jeans.
	it	itself	The door closed by itself.
Plural	you	yourselves	You must wash the clothes yourselves.
	we	ourselves	We baked the cakes ourselves.
	they	themselves	They washed their clothes themselves.

English Year 6 SK, p. 28.

You can be one person or many. One person: "You painted the wall yourself." Many people: "Did you cook the food yourselves?"
Put by before a reflexive pronoun to show you did it without help: "I cooked the curry all by myself." (p. 29)

The plural is -selves (themselves, ourselves), never "themself" or "theirselves". Do not write "hisself" or "ourself" either.

Find the subject, then match it: Siti ... herself; the boys ... themselves; my brother and I ... ourselves.

Complete: "Children, please help ______ to the food," said Mother.

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yourselves (Mother is speaking to many children.)

3.5Language arts: A poem about a baby

The poem "My sister's eating porridge" (John Coldwell, p. 30) is about a baby sister who makes a mess while she eats.

Stanza	What it describes
1	Porridge goes everywhere: up her nose, down her front and in her hair.
2	She misses her mouth, and the porridge drips from the spoon like lumpy rain.
3	Most of the porridge lands on the floor, so she is still hungry and cries for more.

Dollop: a small lump of soft food, such as porridge.

The poet compares dripping porridge to rain. A comparison with the word like is called a simile.

Why is the baby still hungry?

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Most of her porridge has fallen on the floor instead of going into her mouth.

Summary

Topic	Remember
Families	Nuclear: parents and children. Extended: also grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces.
Reunion ideas	Scavenger hunt, family tree chart, heritage cookbook, memory T-shirts, story time, photo swap, tour into the past.
Describing people	Name, relationship, age, home, job, hobby. Use is / are and the -ing verb pattern.
Reflexive pronouns	myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself; yourselves, ourselves, themselves. "By + reflexive" means without help.
Poem	A baby sister's messy meal; simile "like lumpy porridge rain".