Teacher's Notes: One of Us, Part I
This is a ghost story, broken up into three parts. The first part is not so demanding and is great for intermediate students. Advanced students can continue the story by reading Parts II and III, which have a much higher level of vocabulary. This story has been very popular with our students. Originally, I wrote Part I thinking that would be all. However, so many students requested a sequel that I later wrote Parts II and III. Their eagerness for more was one of the best compliments I could have gotten.
It's easy to introduce the topic of ghosts and start a discussion. You can ask the students if they have ever seen a ghost, if they believe in them, if their friends and family have had any experiences with ghosts, and if their country has any particular legends or ghost stories. It's always interesting to hear their personal tales. If they don't believe in ghosts, you can ask them if they like to watch horror movies and which ones are their favorites.
New Words
whistle
whole
look forward to
occupied
sun tan
load up
set off
reservation
apologetic
exasperation
supposed to
mention
squeaky
clearly
survey
surroundings
couch
guest
peek
flicker
for some reason
haunted
ridiculous
imagination
streaming
out loud
pleasant
soak
refreshing
float
disturb
towel
sunglasses
rent
canoe
row
shore
motor
head to
waving
crunch
crash
sunset
groan
accident
cuts
bruises
annoyance
give up
starving
suspicious
nonchalant
stranger
to object
laughter
stumble
admire
too bad
fearful
Worksheet Answers
Match with definition: look forward to – be excited about; whole – entire, all; survey – look around; couch – sofa; occupied – busy; disturb – bother, annoy; set off – leave for; apologetic – be sorry about; fearful – scared, frightened; (2nd set) exasperated – fed up, frustrated; pleasant – nice; ridiculous – silly, funny, stupid; bruise – blue mark on your skin; shore – edge of the lake; give up – stop trying; starving – very hungry; suspicious – distrusting, wary; nonchalant – calm, normal; (3rd set) stranger – unknown person; mention – talk about briefly; peek – look quickly; admire – look at with appreciation; stumble – have trouble walking; too bad – unfortunate, a pity; haunted – scary, where ghosts live; supposed to – should; refreshing – cold and clean
Sentences: 1. suspicious, 2. looking forward, 3. bruise, 4. gave up, 5. crunch, 6. refreshing, 7. occupied, 8. flickered, 9. peeked, 10. supposed to, 11. exasperated, 12. apologetic, 13. surveyed, 14. stumbled, 15. admired, 16. too bad
