A very kind and friendly girl named Shushan came into our
class two years ago. She wasn't bad in any way but she came
from another country.
Some of the kids in our class are either unaware or ignorant,
but they wouldn't make friends with Shushan. Also they said bad
things about her. They said, “Shushan is silly. Shushan is ugly.”
I couldn't believe how mean these kids were. Some of the
girls were friendlier; they made friends with her. But sometimes
they changed and laughed with the others.
Shushan never complained about it to our teachers, but they
knew about it. One day our class teacher said, “Students, I know
what has been going on. This ugliness to Shushan must stop. You
need to be tolerant and kind.”
After discussing our situation she told us about one of her
pupils. His name was Maxim. He protected people from other
regions who were being teased. He stopped someone else who
played jokes on his Ukrainian teacher. Maxim is now an authority in our school and under his influence our boys began
to realize their mistakes.
After this, everyone made friends with Shushan and I hope
that we never tease her or people from other places again. It was
a good lesson for us!
Exercises
I. Understanding the Story
Write the main idea of this story.
II. Vocabulary
Use these words to complete the sentences.
tease authority unaware situation protected influence
1. Children need to be _________________ from bullies.
2. Don't ________________ people for being different.
3. The child was ____________________ about how unkind he
was.
4. The director was a/an _________________ in the school.
5. The __________________ in the classroom became worse.
6. Maxim was a good ________________ on other boys.
III. Now you Talk
1. What is the difference between being ignorant, unaware and
stupid?
2. Why didn't Shushan complain?
3. If you moved to another region or another country, would
people ridicule you? What would you do if they did?
IV. Now you Write
Write a summary of the story.
V. Role Play
1. Shushan and her mother: Her mother gives her advice.
2. Shushan and the writer: They talk about telling the teacher.
3. Shushan and mean (cruel) girl: They talk and disagree.
4. Teacher and Maxim: They discuss the situation in her class.
5. Maxim and mean (cruel) boy: Maxim tells him how he should act. |
