Bahasa Inggeris notes, unit 7

Healthy and Wise

Textbook English Year 6 SK (Buku Teks Bahasa Inggeris Tahun 6, KSSR), pages 61-70 (English Year 6 SK, Unit 7 Healthy and Wise)

What this chapter covers

I can talk about fast food and home-made food, and give reasons why one is healthier (2.1.3)
I can read a short passage about food in the old days and answer questions on the main idea, details and reasons (3.2.1, 3.2.2)
I can read a poem about healthy living and work out the meaning of words like wise, perk, quit and in the pink (3.2.3, 3.2.4)
I can form similes, such as as fit as a fiddle, and explain the proverb "Early to bed, early to rise"
I can write instructions in the correct order using sequence words, and a paragraph giving a reason for my choice (4.2.5)
I can make a verb agree with its subject, including indefinite pronouns (everyone, nobody) and collective nouns (team, family)
I can use a story character to plan how I would act and how the story would end (5.2.1)

Unit 7 is about living a healthy life: what we eat, how we cook it and the habits we keep. You will read about food in the old days, a poem, write instructions and a choice paragraph, and master subject-verb agreement.

7.1Listening and speaking: fast food and home-made food

The book gives reasons why fast food is not good for our health. Use the same ideas when you talk or debate.

Fast food	Home-made food
a lot of salt, fat, sugar and preservatives	fresh and healthy ingredients
artificial sweeteners; high in calories	low in calories, easy to digest
can cause weight gain, stomach upset, diabetes and heart disease	high nutritional value
quick to prepare, tasty, affordable, many choices	takes more time, but you control what goes in

English Year 6 SK, pp. 62-63.

Giving a reason (p. 62)

My mother discourages me from eating fast food because it has low nutritional value.
My father does not recommend it because it contains a high amount of sugar, sodium and preservatives.

In a debate, give your opinion, then a reason with because, then an example. Say "Home-made food is healthier because it is made from fresh ingredients."

Give one reason why fast food can make us put on weight.

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It is high in fat, sugar and calories, so it adds weight when we eat it often.

7.2Reading: food in the old days

The passage on p. 64 compares cooking long ago with cooking today. Main points:

Main idea: food in the old days tasted better and was more nutritious because of the way it was cooked.
Great grandparents had no microwave ovens, food processors or automatic cookers. They cooked on charcoal.
They used a pestle and mortar to pound spices, then used the spices to marinate fish and chicken or to cook curries.
They wrapped fish in banana leaves before grilling it, and cooked vegetables freshly picked from their gardens.
So the nutritional value was kept and the food tasted better.

English Year 6 SK, p. 64.

pestle and mortar: a tool for pounding (crushing) spices. Marinate: soak food in spices or sauce before cooking. Nutritional value: how much goodness (vitamins, protein, fibre) food gives your body.

For a "Why" question, find the reason word (because, thus, so) near the answer in the passage and write a full sentence: "Food tasted better because it was cooked in traditional ways."

What was the purpose of a pestle and mortar?

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It was used to pound spices.

7.3Reading: the poem "For us"

Three verses of a poem. Each verse begins For us, to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. The words wise, perk, quit and in the pink are in bold. — The poem on healthy, wealthy and wise living. Bold words are the ones to find in a dictionary.

English Year 6 SK, p. 65.

What the poem says: being healthy, wealthy and wise takes more than hard work. We must sleep and wake early, eat well, keep fit, breathe fresh air, exercise, quit bad habits, avoid fast food and sugary drinks, and listen to good advice. Then life will be "in the pink".

Word or phrase	Meaning
wise	able to make good, sensible decisions
perk	an extra benefit or reward
quit	stop doing something
in the pink	in very good health

Similes and the proverb

simile: compares two things using as ... as or like. A proverb is a short, well-known saying that gives advice.

as wise as an owlvery wise

as happy as a larkvery happy

as fit as a fiddlevery healthy and fit

The proverb "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" means that going to bed and waking up early is a good habit that helps us stay healthy, work well and make good decisions.

A simile uses as ... as or like. "He is a lion" is a metaphor, not a simile. Do not write "as fit like a fiddle".

Complete the simile: "She runs every day. She is as ______ as a fiddle."

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fit (as fit as a fiddle)

7.4Writing: instructions and a choice paragraph

Writing instructions (recipe, p. 66)

The book gives a chicken wrap recipe: a list of ingredients (what you need) then instructions (what to do). Each instruction starts with a verb and the steps are in order.

Steps in the recipe (p. 66)

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil on a non-stick pan.
2. Saute the onion. 3. Add the chicken once the onion is soft.
4. Add pepper and soya sauce. 5. Mix well and put the chicken on a plate.
6. Steam the beans. 7. Place the lettuce, vegetables and chicken on the wrap, then fold and roll it.

English Year 6 SK, p. 66.

Use sequence words: first, next, then, after that, finally.

Choice paragraph (p. 67)

The book compares Breakfast Set A (whole grain bread sandwich, salad, milk, fruit; protein and fibre) with Set B (fried rice, sausage roll, nuggets, cola; high sugar and excess oil). The model paragraph has three parts:

Part	Model sentence
Choice	I would choose Breakfast Set A because it is a healthy meal.
Details	The breakfast consists of a sandwich, salad, a glass of milk and fruit.
Reason and ending	Most importantly, it contains protein and fibre. Therefore, Breakfast Set A is my choice.

Link ideas with because, most importantly and therefore, and finish by repeating your choice.

Which linking word gives the conclusion: because, therefore or but?

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Therefore.

7.5Grammar: subject-verb agreement

The verb must agree with its subject in number.

Subject	Verb	Example
singular (he, she, it, Kamini, the cake)	singular: is, has, walks	He walks around the lake. Kamini is at school.
plural (they, we, you, the animals)	plural: are, have, walk	They have three children. The animals are in the zoo.
indefinite pronouns: anyone, everyone, someone, somebody, no one, nobody	always singular	Everyone has to be present. Nobody is allowed to leave.
collective nouns: group, team, committee, class, family	singular	The team practises hard. The family has a lot of pets.

English Year 6 SK, pp. 68-69.

Watch the tricky ones: "I am", "I have", "you are". Never write "I has". "Everybody" is singular, so say "Everybody knows", not "Everybody know".

Choose the correct verb: "The class (is / are) going to the library."

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is. "Class" is a collective noun, so it takes a singular verb.

7.6Language arts: Hansel and Gretel

On p. 70 you imagine you are a character in the story. Say who you would be, describe your personality, what you would do and how the story would end. You can also make a sock puppet: draw eyes and a mouth on a sock, stick on wool thread hair, then act out the character.

Use would for imagining: "I would be Gretel. I am brave, so I would ..."

Summary

Topic	Remember
Fast food	high in salt, sugar, fat, preservatives; can lead to weight gain, diabetes, heart disease.
Old-day cooking	charcoal, pestle and mortar, fresh vegetables; food kept its nutritional value.
Poem words	wise, perk, quit, in the pink.
Simile	as ... as / like: as fit as a fiddle.
Instructions	verb first, steps in order, sequence words.
Subject-verb agreement	singular with singular; everyone, nobody and collective nouns are singular.