“Go Away, Sun!”Written by Pam Bull, Illustrated by David Cockcroft, A-Z BOOKS.

“GO away Sun!” said Jack rabbit. "You're too bright, and I can’t find any shade to rest in.”

Sun's feelings were hurt. He moved west in the sky. As he moved above the cottonwood trees, he created shade in the grass below."Much better!" said Jackrabbit. She flattened her ears against her back and lay down to rest.

“GO away Sun!” said Rattlesnake. “Your strong rays have made this rock too hot to lie on.”

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Sun began to feel gloomy. He hid his face in the clouds and began to cry. Tears of sadness fell from the sky, cooling the desert floor.“Much better," said Rattlesnake. He curled himself up in the sand and shook his rattles to warn others not to bother him.

“Go away Sun!” said Roadrunner. "This desert heat is far too hot. All of the animals that I'd like to eat are hiding. "

Sun was very sad because of Roadrunner's remark. He decided to hide behind the mountains. As he slowly began to sink, beautiful shadows appeared along the horizon. All of the desert animals came out to see them."Much better," said Roadrunner. She dashed after a small lizard that had come out to see the shadows.

“GO away Sun!” said Kangaroo Rat. “You're still shining on the tops of the mountains! I'm hungry, and I'd like to gather my food without you around.”

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Kangaroo Rat's cold words made Sun disappear over the horizon. As he went, he created a dusty rose and orange sunset.“Much better!" said Kangaroo Rat. She left her burrow in search of food.

Night fell, and the desert air and sand began to cool.

Jackrabbit fed on grasses while keeping a watch out for enemies. Rattlesnake stayed close to his den searching for small rodents to eat. Roadrunner dined on tasty lizards.Kangaroo Rat gathered seeds.

The animals noticed that it had been dark for quite some time. Sun had not appeared as usual. They began to wonder what had happened to him.

“Come back, Sun!" said Jackrabbit. “How am I supposed to rest in total darkness?”

“Come back, Sun!" said Rattlesnake. “How am I supposed to sun myself on the rocks?

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“Come back, Sun!" said Roadrunner. "How am I supposed to warm myself from this cool night air? I haven't had a chance to build my nest of sticks."

“Come back, Sun!" said Kangaroo Rat. "How am I supposed to dry the seeds that I've spent all night collecting?"

Sun brightened as he heard the animals asking him to return. Suddenly, he had a warm feeling inside.

The animals looked to the east and saw a faint glow in the sky. There among the horizon, they saw a radiant Sun peeking up over the mountains.

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QUESTIONS GO AWAY, SUN!

1. Write below the names of the characters in this story.

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2. Who is the main character in the story?

A. the sun.B. day and night. C. the animals.

3. This story is related to some place where the climate is ....

A. really hot.B. cold and sunny.C. not very hot.

4. What happened when the snake asked the sun to go away in the first part of the story?

.............................................................................................................

5. Does the kangaroo rat eat other animals in the story?

A. Yes, it does.B. No, not at all. It eats seeds.C. There is no information about this.

6 a. When all the animals ask the sun to go away he feels.......

A. indifferentB. cool.C. unhappy

6 b. What words show that?

Words : .....................................................................................................

7. What do all the animals do immediately after the sun goes down?

.........................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................

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8. Give a title to the second half of the story, starting from “Night fell, and the desert air and sand began to cool.”

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9. Explain what makes the story unreal, no true.

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10. Find two sentences where the animals complain.

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11. How did the animals feel at the end of the story?

A. Anxious and worried B. Happy and relieved C. Amused and entertained

12. Invent and write two more sentences at the end to continue the story.

......................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................

13. Find two of the sun’s hiding places.

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.............................................................................................................

14. Find 3 regular verbs in the past and 3 irregular ones in the text and write them below.

Regular verbs Irregular verbs

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15. Find the nouns to which the underlined pronouns refer.

Example: “Go away Sun!” said Jack rabbit “You’re too bright, and I can’t find any shade to rest in”

Answer: You = Sun I = Jack Rabbit

Do the same with the following sentences:

Sun was very sad because of Roadrunner's remark. He decided to hide

behind the mountains. As he slowly began to sink, beautiful shadows

appeared along the horizon. All of the desert animals came out to see them.

He = he = them =

Sun brightened as he heard the animals asking him to return. Suddenly, he had a warm feeling inside.

him = he =

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TEACHER'S PAPER

QUESTIONS GO AWAY, SUN!Q. Marks Answers1 2 Jack rabbit, Rattlesnake, Roadrunner, Kangaroo Rat and the SUN.

2 1 A. the sun.

3 1 A. really hot.

4 2 It rained / It began to rain

5 1 B. No, not at all. It eats seeds.

6a/b 13

a) C. unhappy b)... Sun's feelings were hurt. Sun began to feel gloomy. …and began to cry. Tears of sadness fell from the sky. Sun was very sad.

7 2 They eat.

8 2 “Come back, Sun!" COME BACK SUN / Where are you SUN?/ (or something similar...)

9 3 Animals speak or behave like people. The sun and the animals have feelings like people

10 2 "You're too bright, and I can’t find any shade to rest in”.“Your strong rays have made this rock too hot to lie on”."This desert heat is far too hot. All of the animals that I'd like to eat are hiding. "“You're still shining on the tops of the mountains! I'm hungry, and I'd like to gather my food without you around.”

11 1 B. Happy and relieved

12 3 The animals felt happy. They all returned to their activities. Another day/story was about to begin. etc. etc.

13 3 He hid his face in the clouds and began to cry.He decided to hide behind the mountains.Kangaroo Rat's cold words made Sun disappear over the horizon.

14 2 Regular verbs: moved, created flattened, Curled, decided...

Irregular verbs: said, hid, Began Fell, came,...

15 5 He = The Sun …As he = the Sun….. them = beautiful shadows

Him = the Sun….. Suddenly, he = the Sun.

total 35

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D. GO AWAY, SUN!E. COMENTARIOS SOBRE LA CORRECCIÓN Y LOS RESULTADOS DE LA MUESTRA

Son 5 centros en la muestra: 8 clases y 167 alumnos

El texto puede considerarse difícil en líneas generales pues, aunque sigue un patrón repetitivo: (quejas y posteriores peticiones de varios animales al sol, que construyen un relato tipo fábula o mito sobre el día y la noche), se refiere a animales del desierto –con los que no están familiarizados– y cuenta con un vocabulario difícil y frases de tipo literario.

Es posible que tengan más experiencia en textos narrativos y su terminología y tipos de preguntas (elementos de la narración: personajes, lugar, etc.); pero no exactamente de este tipo. Las ilustraciones pueden facilitar la comprensión y la ambientación de la historia.

1. Write below the names of the characters in this story. La gran mayoría entiende la pregunta. Los que no recogen los 4 personajes (se admite el tipo de animal o su nombre en la historia) y el sol, reciben parte de los puntos. Hay alumnos que no se dan cuenta de que el sol es uno de los personajes, incluso alguno que luego lo realza en la siguiente pregunta; otros se dejan llevar por la apariencia de que los animales son los más importantes. Responden bien el 85%, la gran mayoría obtiene puntuación 2.

2. Who is the main character in the story? La pregunta exige valorar la información, aunque ciertamente hay muchas pistas. Es posible que los que hayan fallado desconozcan el significado de “main”. Las dos primeras preguntas denotan entrenamiento en el conocimiento de los elementos del texto narrativo.Responden bien el 65%.

3. This story is related to some place where the climate is .... La identificación de los rasgos del lugar no parece que plantee tantas dificultades, los dibujos dejan ver un lugar caluroso, soleado... Pero la distinción tiempo clima es compleja.Responden bien el 53%.

4. What happened when the snake asked the sun to go down in the first part of the story? Algunos han localizado el pasaje y lo han citado literalmente, sin interpretar la metáfora: la lluvia como lágrimas del sol. Esto les ha restado parte de los puntos. Es una de las preguntas difíciles. Además de su complejidad, han de construir la respuesta y aunque podían copiar o servirse del texto, en general, cuando han de escribir, abandonan la tarea o les reulta más fácil dejarla en blanco.Responden bien 25.7%, casi la mitad parcialmente.

5. Does the kangaroo rat eat other animals in the story? No es una pregunta muy difícil, pero exige reconocer el término “seeds” (palabra - dibujo).Responden bien 51.5%.

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6 a. When all the animals ask the sun to go away he feels....... Da la impresión de que muchos alumnos desconocen “asks”. En principio parece fácil reconocer “unhappy”, si entendieran la pregunta; pero los distractores les confunden y fallan.Responden bien 39.5%.

6 b. What words show that? Esta pregunta supera a la mayoría, algunos buscan las frases (se ha dado por bueno), pocos buscan las palabras exactas, que en algún caso son realmente difíciles. Buena parte de las respuestas son incompletas. Al estar encadenada a la respuesta anterior, la población que la podía responder era muy pequeña. Sólo 8% de repuestas correctas sobre el total de la muestra.

7. What do all the animals do when the sun goes down? Esta pregunta genera confusión porque aunque se refiere a la puesta del sol, no especifica el momento después de la puesta del sol al que se refiere. Así, bastantes alumnos relatan cosas que hacen los animales durante la noche. Sólo 10 repuestas correctas.

En el examen revisado se añade “immediately after” the sun goes down.

8. Give a title to the second half of the story, that would start from “Night fell, and the desert air and sand began to cool.” El título más fácil siguiendo cierto paralelismo antitético con el de la historia es “COME BACK SUN”, algunos lo utilizan, pero es una pregunta que aporta respuestas muy variadas, alguna interesante. Responden bien el 19%, algunos parcialmente.

9. Explain what makes the story unbelievable. El término “unbelievable” les resulta desconocido, además es una pregunta abierta o construida. Los resultados son por tanto bajos. Responden bien el 12.5%, algunos parcialmente.

En el examen revisado se sustituye “unbelievable” por “unreal, not true”

Sería deseable que conocieran que “UN”- es un prefijo negativo que aparece en muchas palabras comunes: UNTRUE, UNREAL, UNINTERESTING, UNBELIEVABLE, UNHAPPY, etc. (no muy distinto del castellano “IN”) - y otros prefijos y sufijos, que multiplican el vocabulario.

10. Find two sentences where the animals complain. El término “complain” les resulta desconocido, además es una pregunta abierta o construida: resultados bajos. Responden bien el 14.9%, algunos parcialmente.

11. How did the animals feel at the end of the story. No es una pregunta muy difícil, es predecible el “happy ending”; los dibujos dan información. Resultados positivos.Responden bien el 67.6%

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12. Add two more sentences to the end of the story. Muchos se lanzan aquí a copiar las últimas líneas de la historia. Los que contestan añaden líneas muy simples. Responden bien el 17.9%, algunos parcialmente.

En el examen revisado se reformula la pregunta: “Invent and write two more sentences at the end to continue the story” y se le dan 3 puntos (en vez de 4).

13. Find three of the sun’s hiding places. Responden bien 24%, la mayoría parcialmente.

14. Find 3 regular verbs in the past and 3 irregular ones in the text and write them below. Responden bien el 32%, la mayoría (29) parcialmente.

15. In the following example the arrow links words which are related...Las instrucciones de la pregunta son confusas, su extensión excesiva. No obstante hay que decir que la tarea de descubrir los referentes de los pronombres es fundamental para la comprensión de textos. Debiera hacerse frecuentemente cuando se lee en clase conjuntamente. Responden bien el 41.9%, la mayoría parcialmente.

En el examen revisado se reformula la pregunta y se ejemplifica así:

15. Find the nouns to which the underlined pronouns refer.

Example: “Go away Sun!” said Jack rabbit “You’re too bright, and I can’t find any shade to rest in”

Answer: You = Sun I = Jack Rabbit

Do the same with the following sentences:

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

1 2 Jack rabbit, Rattlesnake, Roadrunner, Kangaroo Rat the SUN.

2 1 A. the sun.

3 1 A. really hot.

4 2 It rained/It began to rain

5 1 B. No, not at all. It eats seeds.

ab

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a) C. unhappy b)... Sun's feelings were hurt. Sun began to feel gloomy. …and began to cry. Tears of sadness fell from the sky Sun was very sad,

7 2 They eat.

8 2 COME BACK SUN / Where are you SUN?/ (or something like this...)

9 3 Animals speak or behave like people. The sun and the animals have feelings like people

10 2 "You're too bright, and I can’t find any shade to rest in.”“Your strong rays have made this rock too hot to lie on.”"This desert heat is far too hot. All of the animals that I'd like to eat are hiding. "“You're still shining on the tops of the mountains! I'm hungry, and I'd like to gather my food without you around.”

11 1 B. Happy and relieved

12 4 The animals felt happy. They all returned to their activities. (other possible answers)

13 3 in the clouds and began to cry.behind the mountains.Sun disappear over the horizon.

14 2 Regular verbs moved created flattened Curled, decided...

15 5 He = The Sun he = the Sun… them = beautiful shadows Him = the Sun….. he = the Sun.

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