10

English
Quarter 3 -Module 4:
Recognizing the
Gift of Nature

i
English – Grade 10
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 3 – Module 4: Recognizing the Gift of Nature
First Edition, 2020

Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in any work of
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Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names, trademarks,
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The publisher and authors do not represent nor claim ownership over them.

Published by the Department of Education

Secretary: Leonor Magtolis Briones
Undersecretary: Diosdado M. San Antonio

Development Team of the Module riter:

Writer: Aissa Maris A. Andales
Editor: Josefa V. Bardinas
Grammarian: Margaux Valerie B. Peñaflor
Reviewer: Matilde A. Duangon
Layout Artist: Gretchen O. Macapobre
Subject Area Supervisor: Matilde A. Duangon
Management Team: Ronald G. Gutay, Estela B. Susvilla,
Mary Jane J. Powao, Aquilo A. Rentillosa,
Cristina T. Remocaldo
ADM Coordinator: Ryan B. Redoblado

Printed in the Philippines by

Department of Education – Region VII – Central Visayas

Office Address: Department of Education – Carcar City Division
Learning Resources Management Section
P. Nellas St., Poblacion III, Carcar City, Cebu
Telefax: (032) 487-8495
E-mail Address: carcarcitydivision@yahoo.com

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 10

glish
er 3- Module 4: Recognizing the Gift of N
Introductory Message

This Self-Learning Module (SLM) is prepared so that you, our dear learners, can continue
your studies and learn while at home. Activities, questions, directions, exercises, and discussions are
carefully stated for you to understand each lesson.

Each SLM is composed of different parts. Each part shall guide you step-by- step as you
discover and understand the lesson prepared for you.

Pre-tests are provided to measure your prior knowledge on lessons in each SLM. This will tell
you if you need to proceed on completing this module or if you need to ask your facilitator or
your teacher’s assistance for better understanding of the lesson. At the end of each module,
you need to answer the post-test to self- check your learning. Answer keys are provided for each
activity and test. We trust that you will be honest in using these.

In addition to the material in the main text, Notes to the Teacher are also provided to our
facilitators and parents for strategies and reminders on how they can best help you on your home-
based learning.

Please use this module with care. Do not put unnecessary marks on any part of this SLM. Use
a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises and tests. And read the instructions carefully
before performing each task.

If you have any questions in using this SLM or any difficulty in answering the tasks in this
module, do not hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator.
Thank you.
For the learner:

Welcome to the English 10 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on

Recognizing the Gift of Nature!
The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often used to depict
skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create and accomplish. Hence, the hand in
this learning resource signifies that you as a learner is capable and empowered to successfully achieve
the relevant competencies and skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your
own hands!
This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for guided
and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to process the contents of
the learning resource while being an active learner.
This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

What I Need to Know This will give you an idea of the skills or
competencies you are expected to learn in the module.
This part includes an activity that aims to check what
you already know about the lesson to take. If you get
all the answers correct (100%), you may decide to skip
this module.
What I Know This is a brief drill or review to help you link the
current lesson with the previous one.
In this portion, the new lesson will be introduced to
What’s In
you in various ways such as a story, a song, a poem, a
problem opener, an activity or a situation.
What’s New This section provides a brief discussion of the lesson.
This aims to help you discover and understand new
concepts and skills.
This comprises activities for independent practice to
solidify your understanding and skills of the topic.
What is It You may check the answers to the exercises using the
What’s More Answer Key at the end of the module.
This includes questions or blank sentence/paragraph to
be filled into process what you learned from the
lesson.
What I Have Learned
This section provides an activity which will help you
What I Can Do transfer your new knowledge or skill into real life
situations or concerns.
Assessment
This is a task which aims to evaluate your level of
mastery in achieving the learning competency.

Additional Activities In this portion, another activity will be given to you to

enrich your knowledge or skill of the lesson learned.
This also tends retention of learned concepts.
Answer Key
This contains answers to all activities in the module.

At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in
developing this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the module. Use
a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities included
in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.

If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not hesitate to
consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and gain deep
understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!
 What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master in
evaluating and making judgments about a range of text using criteria .The scope of this module
permits it to be used in many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the
diverse vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of
the course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the textbook
you are now using.
In this lesson, you will be reading a selection inspired from the real-life experiences of the
author.

After going through this module, you are expected to:

Lesson 1 - Explain how the elements specific to genre contribute
to the theme of a particular literary selection (EN10LTIIf2.2)

Specifically, you are to:

1. analyze the elements of a short story;
2. discover the theme of the story through its elements; and
3. explain how the elements contribute to the theme.

1
 What I Know

Directions: Read and understand the items from 1 to 15 and choose the answers from the box.
Write the complete term for your answers in your answer sheet.

A. characters B. plot C. setting D. them

E. point of view F. first person G. second person H. third person
I. climax J. rising action K. exposition L. direct/indirect
M. conflict N. prose/fiction O. falling action P. resolution

1. Characterization may be of these two types.

2. The highest point of suspense or action-the conflict is resolved here-the
turning point.
3 The point of view written by someone outside the story. . .'He thought that
Pam I would never win.
4. The point of view narrated by the main character. "I sneaked around
fearing my shoes would make too much noise."
5. The message that the author wants to share with the reader.
6. The sequence of events and all the action of the story that is centered
around a problem.
7. The main people, animals, or creatures that take part in the action of the
story.
8. The action that builds suspense.
9. The opening of the story that introduces the characters, the setting, and
the conflict.
10. The standpoint from which the story is told.
11. The problem of the story that can be a decision, an argument or problem with
another person, a clash of morals or values, a challenge against the forces of
nature, or other difficulties.
12. The time and place in which the action of the story occurs.
13. The major genre of literature that describes all short stories.
14. The part of a story that shows the events after the climax and the effects of
the climax on the characters.
15. The part of the story that shows how the conflict has been resolved.
 What’s In

Let’s Review

Directions: Read the story “To Build a Fire”, then answer the following questions. Write
the letter of the best answer in your answer sheet.

1. Where is the man going?

a. The man is going to the Yukon.
b. The man is going to his camp.
c. The man is going to Alaska
d. The man is going to the top of a mountain?

2. What kind of dog is travelling with the man?

a. a black Labrador retriever b. a husky
c. a Saint Bernard d. a German shepherd

3. What is the main conflict of this story?

a. man against nature b. man against dog
c. dog against nature d. dog against fire

4. How could the relationship between the man and the dog be described?
a. The man and the dog are best friends.
b. The man and the dog do not know each other at all.
c. The man and the dog are companions but are not too friendly.
d. The man and the dog are enemies and only stay together because they are lost.

5. What is the man’s name?

a. Jack b. Manny c. London d. We never find out

6. At what temperature does the old-timer tell the man it is dangerous to travel alone?
a. Thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit
b. Seventy degrees Fahrenheit below zero
c. Fifty degrees Fahrenheit below zero
d. Zero degrees Fahrenheit

7. What is the man fearful of as he walks along the trail?

a. Bears b. Moose c. Hidden springs d. Wet snow
 What’s New

TASK 2: GETTING A LITTLE INFO

A. AGREEING-DISAGREEING
Directions: After reading the story “A Day in the Country” do the
following.

1. Put a check mark if if you agree with the statement;

you disagree.
2. Fill in the Reflection part: Are you correct? If not, what did you learn?

Statement Agree or Disagree Reflection

A warm wind frolics over the
grass, bends the trees, and stirs up the
dust. Between three and five o'clock in
the morning.

Danilka, a little beggar-girl of

six, is running through the village,
looking for Terenty the cobbler.

In the count's copse Fyokla

stuck his hand into a hole in a tree, and
he can't get it out. Come along, uncle,
do be kind and pull his hand out!"

Terenty answers all his

questions, and there is no secret in
Nature which baffles him.

The children fall asleep thinking

of the homeless cobbler, and, in the
night, Terenty comes to them, makes
the sign of the cross over them, and puts
bread under their heads.
 What Is It

Elements of a Short Story

PLOT
The plot is how the author arranges events to develop his basic idea; It is
the sequence of events in a story or play. The plot is a planned, logical series of events having a
beginning, middle, and end. The short story usually has one plot so it can be read in one sitting.
There are five essential parts of plot:

1. Introduction - The beginning of the story where the characters and the setting is
revealed.

2. Rising Action - This is where the events in the story become complicated and the
conflict in the story is revealed (events between the introduction and climax).

3. Climax - This is the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story. The
reader wonders what will happen next; will the conflict be resolved or not?

4. Falling action - The events and complications begin to resolve themselves. The reader
knows what has happened next and if the conflict was resolved or not (events between
climax and denouement).

5. Denouement - This is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story.

It is helpful to consider climax as a three-fold phenomenon:

a. the main character receives new information
b. accepts this information (realizes it but does not necessarily agree with it)
c. acts on this information (makes a choice that will determine whether he/she gains his
objective).

POINT OF VIEW

Point of view, or p.o.v., is defined as the angle from which the story is told.
1) Innocent Eye - The story is told through the eyes of a child (his/her judgment being
different from that of an adult).
2) Stream of Consciousness - The story is told so that the reader feels as if they are
inside the head of one character and knows all their thoughts and reactions.
 3) First Person - The story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters who
interacts closely with the protagonist or other characters (using pronouns I, me, we, etc).
The reader sees the story through this person's eyes as he/she experiences it and only
knows what he/she knows or feels.
4) Omniscient- The author can narrate the story using the omniscient point of view. He
can move from character to character, event to event, having free access to the thoughts,
feelings and motivations of his characters and he introduces information where and when
he chooses.

There are two main types of omniscient point of view:

5) Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in third person (using pronouns they,
she, he, it, etc). We know only what the character knows and what the author allows
him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the author chooses
to reveal them to us.

6) Omniscient Objective – The author tells the story in the third person. It appears as
though a camera is following the characters, going anywhere, and recording only what is
seen and heard. There is no comment on the characters or their thoughts. No
interpretations are offered. The reader is placed in the position of spectator without the
author there to explain. The reader has to interpret events on his own.

CHARACTER

There are two meanings for the word character:

1. Persons in a work of fiction. Short stories use few characters. One character is
clearly central to the story with all major events having some importance to this
character- he/she is the protagonist. The opposer of the main character is called the
antagonist.

2. The Characteristics of a Person. In order for a story to seem real to the reader its
characters must seem real. Characterization is the information the author gives the reader
about the characters themselves. The author may reveal a character in several ways:
his/her physical appearance
what he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams what
he/she does or does not do
what others say about him/her and how others react to him/her Characters are
convincing if they are: consistent, motivated, and
life-like (resemble real people)
Characters are...
Individual - round, many sided and complex personalities.
Developing - dynamic, many sided personalities that change, for better or worse, by
the end of the story.
Static - Stereotype, have one or two characteristics that never change and are
emphasized e.g. brilliant detective, drunk, scrooge, cruel stepmother, etc.

SETTING
The time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting. For some stories
the setting is very important, while for others it is not. There are several aspects of a story's
setting to consider when examining how setting contributes to a story (some, or all, may be
present in a story):

1. Place - geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place?
2. Time - When is the story taking place? (Historical period, time of day, year, etc.)
3. Weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc.?
4. Social conditions - What is the daily life of the characters like? Does the story
contain local color (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc.
of a particular place)?
5. Mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Is
it bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?

CONFLICT
Conflict is essential to plot. Without conflict there is no plot. It is the opposition of
forces which ties one incident to another and makes the plot move. Conflict is not merely limited
to open arguments, rather it is any form of opposition that faces the main character. Within a
short story there may be only one central struggle, or there may be one dominant struggle with
many minor ones.

There are two types of conflict:

1. External - A struggle with a force outside one's self.
2. Internal - A struggle within one's self; a person must make some decision,
overcome pain, quiet their temper, resist an urge, etc.

There are four kinds of conflict:

1. Man vs. Man (physical) - The leading character struggles with his physical strength
against other men, forces of nature, or animals.
2. Man vs. Circumstances (classical) - The leading character struggles against fate,
or the circumstances of life facing him/her.
3. Man vs. Society (social) - The leading character struggles against ideas, practices,
or customs of other people.
 4. Man vs. Himself / Herself (psychological) - The leading character struggles
with himself/herself; with his/her own soul, ideas of right or wrong, physical limitations,
choices, etc.

THEME

The theme in a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight. It is the author's
underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to convey. The theme may be the author's
thoughts about a topic or view of human nature. The title of the short story usually points to what
the writer is saying and he may use various figures of speech to emphasize his theme, such as:
symbol, allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony.

Some simple examples of common themes from literature, TV, and film are: Things are not
always as they appear to be.
Love is blind. Believe
in yourself.
People are afraid of change. Don't
judge a book by its cover.

What is theme?
The theme is the controlling idea. It is the life lesson to be learned from the story. The
big idea of the author’s message.

In order to discover the theme you need to look at:

a. What a character learns/discovers (characters’ actions)
b. Conflict in the story
c. Series of events that take place (plot)

All these elements of a story affect the theme

So how do the elements of the story affect the theme?

- If the conflict of a given story was a change then the story would take a different path
- Therefore, it would change the actions of the characters, which at the same time could
change the plant
- Since the theme is the main idea, topic plus the message the author is trying to convey;
all the changes precisely mentioned will directly alter the theme of that story.
 What’s More

TASK 3

Directions: Read the selection and do the activity below by identifying the elements of the
fiction story.

A Day in the Country

by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904)

Between eight and nine o'clock in the morning.

A dark leaden-coloured mass is creeping over the sky towards the sun. Red zigzags of lightning
gleam here and there across it. There is a sound of far-away rumbling. A warm wind frolics over
the grass, bends the trees, and stirs up the dust. In a minute there will be a spurt of May rain and a
real storm will begin.

Fyokla, a little beggar-girl of six, is running through the village, looking for Terenty the cobbler.
The white-haired, barefoot child is pale. Her eyes are wide- open, her lips are trembling.
"Uncle, where is Terenty?" she asks every one she meets. No one answers. They are all
preoccupied with the approaching storm and take refuge in their huts. At last she meets Silanty
Silitch, the sacristan, Terenty's bosom friend. He is coming along, staggering from the wind.
"Uncle, where is Terenty?"
"At the kitchen-gardens," answers Silanty.
The beggar-girl runs behind the huts to the kitchen-gardens and there finds Terenty; the tall old
man with a thin, pock-marked face, very long legs, and bare feet, dressed in a woman's tattered
jacket, is standing near the vegetable plots, looking with drowsy, drunken eyes at the dark storm-
cloud. On his long crane-like legs he sways in the wind like a starling-cote.
"Uncle Terenty!" the white-headed beggar-girl addresses him. "Uncle, darling!"

Terenty bends down to Fyokla, and his grim, drunken face is overspread with a smile, such as
come into people's faces when they look at something little, foolish, and absurd, but warmly
loved.
"Ah! servant of God, Fyokla," he says, lisping tenderly, "where have you come from?"
"Uncle Terenty," says Fyokla, with a sob, tugging at the lapel of the cobbler's coat. "Brother
Danilka has had an accident! Come along!"
"What sort of accident? Ough, what thunder! Holy, holy, holy…. What sort of accident?"

"In the count's copse Danilka stuck his hand into a hole in a tree, and he can't get it out. Come
along, uncle, do be kind and pull his hand out!"
"How was it he put his hand in? What for?"

"He wanted to get a cuckoo's egg out of the hole for me."
"The day has hardly begun and already you are in trouble…."Terenty shook his head and spat
deliberately. "Well, what am I to do with you now? I must come… I must, may the wolf gobble
you up, you naughty children! Come, little orphan!" Terenty comes out of the kitchen-garden and,
lifting high his long legs, begins striding down the village street. He walks quickly without
stopping or looking from side to side, as though he were shoved from behind or afraid of pursuit.
Fyokla can hardly keep up with him.

They come out of the village and turn along the dusty road towards the count's copse that lies
dark blue in the distance. It is about a mile and a half away. The clouds have by now covered the
sun, and soon afterwards there is not a speck of blue left in the sky. It grows dark.

"Holy, holy, holy…" whispers Fyokla, hurrying after Terenty. The first rain- drops, big and
heavy, lie, dark dots on the dusty road. A big drop falls on Fyokla's cheek and glides like a tear
down her chin.

"The rain has begun," mutters the cobbler, kicking up the dust with his bare, bony feet. "That's
fine, Fyokla, old girl. The grass and the trees are fed by the rain, as we are by bread. And as for
the thunder, don't you be frightened, little orphan. Why should it kill a little thing like you?"

As soon as the rain begins, the wind drops. The only sound is the patter of rain dropping like fine
shot on the young rye and the parched road.

"We shall get soaked, Fyokla," mutters Terenty. "There won't be a dry spot left on us….Ho-ho,
my girl! It's run down my neck! But don't be frightened, silly….The grass will be dry again, the
earth will be dry again, and we shall be dry again. There is the same sun for us all."

A flash of lightning, some fourteen feet long, gleams above their head. There is a loud peal of
thunder, and it seems to Fyokla that something big, heavy, and round is rolling over the sky and
tearing it open, exactly over her head.
"Holy, holy, holy…" says Terenty, crossing himself. "Don't be afraid, little orphan! It is not from
spite that it thunders."
Terenty's and Fyokla's feet are covered with lumps of heavy, wet clay. It is slippery and difficult
to walk, but Terenty strides on more and more rapidly. The weak little beggar-girl is breathless
and ready to drop.

But at last they go into the count's copse. The washed trees, stirred by a gust of wind, drop a
perfect waterfall upon them. Terenty stumbles over stumps and begins to slacken his pace.

"Whereabouts is Danilka?" he asks. "Lead me to him."

Fyokla leads him into a thicket, and, after going a quarter of a mile, points to Danilka. Her
brother, a little fellow of eight, with hair as red as ochre and a pale sickly face, stands leaning
against a tree, and, with his head on one side, looking sideways at the sky. In one hand he holds
his shabby old cap, the other is hidden in an old lime tree. The boy is gazing at the stormy sky,
and apparently not thinking of his trouble. Hearing footsteps and seeing the cobbler he gives
sickly smile and says:

"A terrible lot of thunder, Terenty….I've never heard so much thunder in all my life."
"And where is your hand?"
"In the hole….Pull it out, please, Terenty!"
The wood had broken at the edge of the hole and jammed Danilka's hand: he could push it farther
in, but could not pull it out. Terenty snaps off the broken piece, and the boy's hand, red and
crushed, is released.
"It's terrible how it's thundering," the boy says again, rubbing his hand. "What makes it thunder,
Terenty?"

"One cloud runs against the other," answers the cobbler. The party come out of the copse, and
walk along the edge of it towards the darkened road. The thunder gradually abates, and its
rumbling is heard far away beyond the village.

"The ducks flew by here the other day, Terenty," says Danilka, still rubbing his hand. "They must
be nesting in the Gniliya Zaimishtcha marshes….Fyokla, would you like me to show you a
nightingale's nest?"
"Don't touch it, you might disturb them," says Terenty, wringing the water out of his cap. "The
nightingale is a singing-bird, without sin. He has had a voice given him in his throat, to praise
God and gladden the heart of man. It's a sin to disturb him."

"What about the sparrow?"

"The sparrow doesn't matter, he's a bad, spiteful bird. He is like a pickpocket in his ways. He
doesn't like man to be happy. When Christ was crucified it was the sparrow brought nails to the
Jews, and called 'alive! alive!' "
A bright patch of blue appears in the sky.
"Look!" says Terenty. "An ant-heap burst open by the rain! They've been flooded, the rogues!"

They bend over the ant-heap. The downpour has damaged it; the insects are scurrying to and fro
in the mud, agitated, and busily trying to carry away their drowned companions.
"You needn't be in such a taking, you won't die of it!" says Terenty, grinning. "As soon as the sun
warms you, you'll come to your senses again….It's a lesson to you, you stupids. You won't settle
on low ground another time."
They go on.

"And here are some bees," cries Danilka, pointing to the branch of a young oak tree.
The drenched and chilled bees are huddled together on the branch. There are so many of them
that neither bark nor leaf can be seen. Many of them are settled on one another.

"That's a swarm of bees," Terenty informs them. "They were flying looking for a home, and when
the rain came down upon them they settled. If a swarm is flying, you need only sprinkle water on
them to make them settle. Now if, say, you wanted to take the swarm, you would bend the branch
with them into a sack and shake it, and they all fall in."

Little Fyokla suddenly frowns and rubs her neck vigorously. Her brother looks at her neck, and
sees a big swelling on it.

"Hey-hey!" laughs the cobbler. "Do you know where you got that from, Fyokla, old girl? There
are Spanish flies on some tree in the wood. The rain has trickled off them, and a drop has fallen
on your neck—that's what has made the swelling."

The sun appears from behind the clouds and floods the wood, the fields, and the three friends
with its warm light. The dark menacing cloud has gone far away and taken the storm with it. The
air is warm and fragrant. There is a scent of bird-cherry, meadowsweet, and lilies-of-the-valley.

"That herb is given when your nose bleeds," says Terenty, pointing to a woolly- looking flower.
"It does good."

They hear a whistle and a rumble, but not such a rumble as the storm-clouds carried away. A
goods train races by before the eyes of Terenty, Danilka, and Fyokla. The engine, panting and
puffing out black smoke, drags more than twenty vans after it. Its power is tremendous. The
children are interested to know how an engine, not alive and without the help of horses, can move
and drag such weights, and Terenty undertakes to explain it to them:
"It's all the steam's doing, children…. The steam does the work…. You see, it shoves under that
thing near the wheels, and it…you see…it works…"
They cross the railway line, and, going down from the embankment, walk towards the river. They
walk not with any object, but just at random, and talk all the way…. Danilka asks questions,
Terenty answers them…

Terenty answers all his questions, and there is no secret in Nature which baffles him. He knows
everything. Thus, for example, he knows the names of all the wild flowers, animals, and stones.
He knows what herbs cure diseases, he has no difficulty in telling the age of a horse or a cow.
Looking at the sunset, at the moon, or the birds, he can tell what sort of weather it will be next
day. And indeed, it is not only Terenty who is so wise. Silanty Silitch, the innkeeper, the market-
gardener, the shepherd, and all the villagers, generally speaking, know as much as he does. These
people have learned not from books, but in the fields, in the wood, on the river bank. Their
teachers have been the birds themselves, when they sang to them, the sun when it left a glow of
crimson behind it at setting, the very trees, and wild herbs.

Danilka looks at Terenty and greedily drinks in every word. In spring, before one is weary of the
warmth and the monotonous green of the fields, when everything is fresh and full of fragrance,
who would not want to hear about the golden may-beetles, about the cranes, about the gurgling
streams, and the corn mounting into ear?

The two of them, the cobbler and the orphan, walk about the fields, talk unceasingly, and are not
weary. They could wander about the world endlessly. They walk, and in their talk of the beauty of
the earth do not notice the frail little beggar-girl tripping after them. She is breathless and moves
with a lagging step. There are tears in her eyes; she would be glad to stop these inexhaustible
wanderers, but to whom and where can she go? She has no home or people of her own; whether
she likes it or not, she must walk and listen to their talk.

Towards midday, all three sit down on the river bank. Danilka takes out of his bag a piece of
bread, soaked and reduced to a mash, and they begin to eat. Terenty says a prayer when he has
eaten the bread, then stretches himself on the sandy bank and falls asleep. While he is asleep, the
boy gazes at the water, pondering. He has many different things to think of. He has just seen the
storm, the bees, the ants, the train. Now, before his eyes, fishes are whisking about. Some are two
inches long and more, others are no bigger than one's nail. A viper, with its head held high, is
swimming from one bank to the other.

Only towards the evening our wanderers return to the village. The children go for the night to a
deserted barn, where the corn of the commune used to be kept, while Terenty, leaving them, goes
to the tavern. The children lie huddled together on the straw, dozing.
The boy does not sleep. He gazes into the darkness, and it seems to him that he is seeing all that
he has seen in the day: the storm-clouds, the bright sunshine, the birds, the fish, lanky Terenty.
The number of his impressions, together with exhaustion and hunger, are too much for him; he is
as hot as though he were on fire, and tosses from side to side. He longs to tell someone all that is
haunting him now in the darkness and agitating his soul, but there is no one to tell. Fyokla is too
little and could not understand.

"I'll tell Terenty to-morrow," thinks the boy.

The children fall asleep thinking of the homeless cobbler, and, in the night, Terenty comes to
them, makes the sign of the cross over them, and puts bread under their heads. And no one sees
his love. It is seen only by the moon which floats in the sky and peeps caressingly through the
holes in the wall of the deserted barn.

TASK 4: RESPOND TO READING

Directions: Read and understand each question then answer the following.

1. Why do you think Terenty helped the orphans? What did he portray in the life of the
children?
2. Explain the relevance of the following lines to your life.
3. “The grass and the trees are fed by the rain, as we are by bread. And as
for the thunder, don’t you be frightened, Little orphan.”
4. Why did Danilka say that there is no secret in nature that baffles in Terenty?
5. How does Terenty recognize the gift of nature? Give some details from the text.
 What I Have Learned

TASK 5: MY LEARNING, MY ANALYSIS, MY REALIZATIONS

Directions: After reading the story “A Day in the Country” complete the following sentences.
Write your answer in your answer sheet.

MY LEARNING

After reading the story, I learned that

MY LEARNING

After reading the story, I realized that

What I Can Do

TASK 6 #relatemuch

What is the theme of the story? Show the theme by citing instances in your life which you
think are similar with the characters or the events in the story. Write your answer in your
answer sheet.
MY EXPERIENCE

SIMILARITIES THEME
 Assessment

TASK 7: ALL ABOUT IT

A. What was the story all about? Fill in the Graphic Organizer below with the needed
information. Write your answers for Tasks 7, 8 and 9 in your answer sheet.

WHERE? WHAT?

A DAY IN THE

WHEN? COUNTRY WHO?

HOW?

A theme is the central message the author wishes to convey through a

literary work.

TASK 8

B. Directions: After reading and identifying the elements, write what you think is the
theme on the lines provided. Write your answer in your answer it.
 TASK 9

Directions: Fill in the box to analyze and explain how the theme is developed around the
elements of the text.

HOW DO THE CHARACTERS CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR CHOOSEN THEME

HOW DOES THE SETTING CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR CHOOSEN THEME

HOW DOES THE PLOT CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR CHOOSEN THEME

TASK 10: Checking What You’ve Learned

Directions: Read each statement carefully. Choose the letter of your answers and write on
a separate sheet.

1. In A Day in the Country by Anton Chekhov, what did Terenty leave under the children's
heads in the night?
A. coins B. some bread C. book D. blanket

2. A little beggar with a white hair and a six year old girl.
A. Fyokla B. Danilka C. Terenty D. Sacristan

3. Fyokla’s brother who got his hand stuck in a tree’s hole (count’s copse) to
get a cuckoo egg.
A. Fyokla B. Danilka C. Terenty D. Silanty Silitch

4. The author of a touching, reflection of a nature’s beauty and wisdom of

country folks’ story.
A. Jack London C. Stephen Crane
B. B. Alice Low D. Anton Chekhov

5. Terenty’s bosom friend.

A. Fyokla C. Silanty Silitch
B. Danikla D. Anton
 6. It is a pickpocket in his ways, bad and spiteful bird based on the story.
A. Falcon B. sparrow C. nightingale D. eagle
7. A singing bird without a sin which has been given a voice in his throat to praise Goad and
gladden the heart of men.
A. Falcon B. nightingale C. sparrow D eagle

8. A cobbler who has a big heart to the orphans.

A. Silanty Silitch C. Sacristan
B. Terenty D. Fyokla

9. The orphans usually stay at night in place where the corn of the commune used to be kept.
A. deserted barn B. tavern C. club D. farm

10. In the story, what do the villagers expect on that day?

A. Storm B. earthquake C. tornado D. feast

Additional Activities
Directions: Complete the story map below. Write your answer in your answer sheet.

MAIN
SETTING
ARACT
CHERS

The problem of the story

The Story Event

The Story Event

How the problem solved

The Ending
 Answer Key

What’s In TASKS 8 and 9 Assessment TASK 1 What I Kow

1. B - Answers may vary 1. Direct/indirect
2. B 2. Climax
Task 10: Assessment
3. A 3. Third person
1. B
4. A 4. First person
2. A
5. A 5. theme
3. B
6. Sixty 6. plot
degrees 4. D
7. characters
below zero 5. C
8. conflict
7. D 6. B
9. exposition
7. B
10. Point of View
8. B
11. Rising action
9. A
12. Setting
10. A
13. Rising action
14. Falling action
15. resolution

ASSESMENT TASK 7
- The problem presented in the story A Day in the Country by Anton Chekov is when Danilka's hand
got stuck in the thicket. It is still very early in the morning but Danilka already put himself in trouble.
A heavy storm is also looming above so he wants his hand to be free as soon as possible.

- Fyokla - the little girl beggar in the story. Her age is six(6)
1) Terenty - the cobbler in the stor
2) Danilka - an eight-year old little fellow in the story.
3) Silanty Slitch - the Terenty's bosom friend and sacristan in the story

- In a village between eight and nine o’clock in the morning

- There was a threatening storm luring at the village urging the villagers to evacuate and take a safer
refuge. In the middle of the storm was a busy Fyokla. She was running, looking for her Uncle Terenty.
She needed the town's cobbler's help to rescue her brother Danilka who happened to have his hand
trapped in the hole while playing.
- Exposition: A day in the country is a story about two orphans, Fyokla and Danilka and it happens in
a village between eight and nine o’clock in the morning.
- Rising Action: A threatening storm is appearing forcing the residents to take refuge.
Danilka managed to have his hand trapped needing assistance.
- Climax: Fyokla called the town cobbler, Terenty to help his brother pull his hand out of the tree and
when they found Danilka, they successfully released the hand of Danilka from the tree.
- Falling Action: The storm passed and the rest of the afternoon, the three enjoys the splendours of the
country and two orphans ask question to their uncle.
Resolution: The children fall asleep at night with Danilka still awed by nature and its beauty.
References
 https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=storyboard+of+a+day+in+the+country&spell=1&s
a=X&ved=2ahUKEwj4seqK7Y3vAhXaE4gKHVtMCTsQBSgAegQIAxAu&biw=1366&bih=657

 https://www.google.com/search?q=theme+worksheets&tbm=isch&chips=q:theme+workshe
ets,g_1:high+school:eNyZaRUAkRA%3D&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwidv7vu1o3vAhUWAqYK
HfRlB34Q4lYoBnoECAEQJQ&biw=1349&bih=657#imgrc=bj6Wj8_IEOUmnM

 https://www.google.com/search?ei=Fxg8YIG6MsjT-
Qbbs4m4Cw&q=theme+of+the+story+activity&oq=theme+of+the+story+activity&gs_lcp=Cgd
nd3Mtd2l6EAMyBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB46CAguEJECEJMCOgUIABCRAjoECA
AQQzoECC4QQzoFCAAQiwM6AggAOgsILhCLAxCoAxCjAzoFCC4QiwM6CwguEIsDEKQDEKgDO
gcIABBDEIsDOgcIABDJAxBDUJEYWN9RYN1UaAJwAngBgAHhB4gB5jWSAQ4wLjE3LjcuMC4yLj
EuMZgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXq4AQLAAQE&sclient=gws-
wiz&ved=0ahUKEwjBoYa1z43vAhXIad4KHdtZArcQ4dUDCA0&uact=5

 https://quizlet.com/318613384/to-build-a-fire-reading-questions-flash-cards/

 http://www.thebellacademy.com/uploads/2/6/5/6/26569366/_7th_grade_ela_summer_20
15.pdf

 English 10 Learning Material

For inquiries or feedback, please write or call: Department of Education – Region VI
Office Address:Department of Education – Carcar City Division
Learning Resources Management Section
P. Nellas St., Poblacion III, Carcar City, Cebu
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