Department of Education

SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CITY OF MEYCAUAYAN

Pag-asa St., Malhacan, City of Meycauayan, Bulacan

Activity Sheet 7
in
ENGLISH
Third Quarter – Week 5
Explain how a Selection may be Influenced
by Culture, History, Environment, or other
Factors
EN7LT-IV-h-3
 EXPLAIN HOW A SELECTION MAY BE INFLUENCED
BY CULTURE, HISTORY, ENVIRONMENT,
OR OTHER FACTORS

LET US KNOW
Hey there! We are all influenced by the happenings around us.
We have unique and individual experiences that may lead us to
reflecting; and writing is a possible form of expressing it.
Authors are the ones whose written works were published. Most of the
time, we became amazed and curious on how they write it, and what
influenced them to write beautifully.
Before we start in this journey, try to answer the following questions
based on the given situation. Think about your favorite story or essay.
 What is it all about?
 What do you think is in the author’s mind while writing that
story/essay?
 How does it affect you? Is the story/essay effective?
In this lesson, you will learn what influences an author in their
writings, and how they apply it effectively.

LET US REVIEW
Directions: Write P if the sentence is positive imperative and
write N if it is a negative imperative. Write your answers on a
separate sheet of paper.
1. Always bring your hand sanitizer. _________________________________
2. Do not eat it. _____________________________________________________
3. Claire, close the window. _________________________________________
4. Drive carefully. __________________________________________________
5. Do not write on the questionnaire. ________________________________
 LET US STUDY
What Influences Writers?
There are factors that contribute to an author’s style of writing.
Here are some:
 History- It is the study of the past.
Writers often try to convey the truth about the past, their
society, conflicts, and make stories from it.
 Culture- It is the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and
behavior that is transmitted to succeeding generation. Many ideas about
culture may influence a writer because they tend to write about the
things, they are already familiar with.
 Interest and Needs- they write about the things they would like to do,
and the things that they must do.
 Values and Beliefs- Values are culture’s standard for showing what is
good and just in a society, while beliefs are convictions that people hold
to be true. Writers are likely to choose examples that reflect their belief
on a topic. They will also try to relate to their readers to make it more
effective.
 Life experiences and knowledge- some authors tend to write about the
things that happened to them and use it as an inspiration. The writer’s
knowledge about a particular topic is also an edge because if they know
the topic well, it is easier to convey their thoughts in their work.
Now, let us focus on how a selection is influenced by the factors above and
observe how the author applied it.
All about the author

Loreto Paras-Sulit (1908-2008)

Loreto was born in Ermita, Manila. Her works

http://rizal.lib.admu.edu.ph/aliw
w/english_lpsulit.html
were famous during 1927-1937, including short
stories where Jose Garcia Villa was an admirer of
her works.
She co-founded the UP Writer’s Club in 1927,
and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in
Education as magna cum laude in 1930.
She was a member of Philippine Writers
Association and the Literary Guild of the Philippines
and also joined the Philippine National Red Cross as
secretary general in 1940.

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Let’s Read!
Man in Dapitan
Loreto Paras-Sulit

The boys came to know him very well. Their friendship with this lonely
man with the kind voice began one day when the boys could not agree on
the answer to a question in their day's lesson in catechism.
As they passed the house where he stayed, they had a discussion in
loud, angry voices, Lope shouting loudest of all. “I tell you that I am right.
My answer is the right one!” Hugo and Felix grinned in mock disbelief. Lope
with the curly heard, quick with his fists, quickly rolled the sleeves of his
camisa de chino. Hugo and Felix also rolled up their sleeves.
“Now, boys, can fists settle an argument? Are you trying to find out
who is the strongest among you, or are you trying to find out who is right?”
The boys stopped short in their coming fight. Everybody knew everybody
else in Dapitan. So, the boys knew that this was the man who had just
arrive in town. They saw someone with an attractive, kindly face. His eyes
could command when he wanted to. The strong line of his jaw reminded the
boys of rocks. It seemed to tell them of something hard and unbreakable. As
they stared at him, he went on to say, “If you want to find out who is right,
open your books, read the answer very well, and which of you gave the one
exactly like it. One of you may win with his fists, but that would not prove
that his answer is correct.”
His voice died away as he looked toward the sea. It seemed as if he
had fallen into a dream. The boys walked away in silence. At a distance,
they stopped and opened their catechisms. The man on the porch smiled to
himself.
After that say whenever the boys passed by the spot, they would
eagerly look for him. Usually, he was either reading or writing. When he saw
them he would wave to them.
One-day Lope took a bunch of ripe mangosteens along with him. He
pulled the other two with him and he shyly offered the fruit. The man's
quick bright smile completely won their hearts. Soon they were all
conversing with him as though he were their favorite uncle. “Boys,” he asked
them, “would you like to learn another language besides Spanish?” I'll teach
you another if you can stay with me half an hour every day about this time.”
“What language, sir?” asked Felix.
“Have your choice—French, English, German.”
The boys looked at him closely. At first, they thought he was joking,
but his unsmiling face told them he was serious.
“Let us study English,” suggested Lope.
 So English it was. After a week they knew the English names of many
objects in their homes and in the town. They could manage short answers to
questions, greetings, and simple statements.
During the days that followed, Lope, who had been the most
interested and active, appeared to be very absent-minded.
“What is the matter, Lope?” asked the teacher. Lope tried hard to
speak in a steady voice, but he could not stop the quiver of his lips. “It is my
mother, sir. My mother cannot see these days. She is almost blind. The
doctor says she has to go to Manila to be operated on. But father cannot
take her to Manila. We are very poor, sir.”
“Let us go to your mother, Lope. Perhaps I can help her.” He went
inside the house and came out with a black bag. Lope had no chance to
refuse. The man was fully prepared to go with him.
Lope's mother was sitting on a bamboo chair in the shady portion of
the yard. She inclined her face toward the sounds of coming footsteps. Lope
ran to her and rubbed his face against her left arm. She smiled gently, but
the light did not reach her eyes. There was only sorrow there.
“Mother,” cried Lope excitedly, “someone is here who will help us”
Lope was so sure his friend could help his mother.
His friend was now looking into his mother's eyes, just like any other
doctor peering into them. Lope felt better just to see him examining his
mother's eyes. When Lope's father arrived, there was a hurried consultation
between the two men.
Lope heard his friend say to his father, “It is not serious, really. It will
require only a simple operation if you will let me do it for you.”
From the look on his father's face, Lope knew that he has also
immediately trusted this man. His mother was taken into the house.
Lope waited outside. How long the hours seemed! Would they never
finish? What was happening to his mother?
At last his father and friend came out. They smiled when they saw
Lope's anxious face. “Don't worry too much, Lope,” said his friend. “Next
week your mother will be able to thread her needle even at night.”
“Sir,” said Lope's father, “in all this excitement my young son has
forgotten to tell me the name of the person we shall always be thankful and
grateful to. May we know the name of Mother's doctor?”
The man smiled briefly. “Well, if you want to remember my name—it is
Jose Rizal,” he said.
http://ubdlibrary.wikidot.com/man-in-dapitan

LET US PRACTICE
Directions: Answer the following questions. Write your answers
on a separate sheet of paper.

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 1.What does the story imply about Dr. Jose Rizal?
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Did the man show sincerity in helping people? How?
_____________________________________________________________________
3. If you were Lope’s father, would you entrust your wife’s life to
someone you do not know? Why?
_____________________________________________________________________
4. Jose Rizal showed kindness in the story. If you were Lope, in what
way/s would you repay that?
_____________________________________________________________________
5. How does this story Man in Dapitan inspire you?
_____________________________________________________________________
B. Directions: Identify what factor influenced each passage. Write your
answers on a separate sheet of paper.
As they passed the house where he stayed,
they had a discussion in loud, angry voices, Lope
shouting loudest of all. “I tell you that I am right. My One day Lope took a bunch of ripe
answer is the right one!” Hugo and Felix grinned in mangosteens along with him. He pulled
mock disbelief. Lope with the curly heard, quick the other two with him and he shyly
with his fists, quickly rolled the sleeves of his
offered the fruit.
camisa de chino. Hugo and Felix also rolled up their
sleeves.

“Sir,” said Lope's father, “in all this

“Let us go to your mother, Lope.
Perhaps I can help her.” He went inside the
house and came out with a black bag. Lope
had no chance to refuse. The man was
fully prepared to go with him.
excitement my young son has forgotten to tell me the
name of the person we shall always be thankful and
grateful to. May we know the name of Mother's
doctor?”
The man smiled briefly. “Well, if you want to
remember my name—it is Jose Rizal,” he said.

LET US REMEMBER
There are factors that contribute to an author’s style of writing:
• History
•Culture
•Interest and Needs
•Values and Beliefs
 •Life experiences and knowledge

LET US APPRECIATE
Directions: In 2 to 3 sentences, write what factors might
influence you the most in writing and why. Write your answers on
a separate sheet of paper. Use the Rubric below as your guide.

Rubric Exemplary Fair Needs Improvement

Sentence Sentences were Only 1 sentence was Sentence was

Structure complete and well written properly. fragment/wrote
written. random words.
5 points 3-2 point/s 0-1point
Content The sentences are Only (1) sentence was The sentence written
narrowed and written and not so was off topic.
specific. specific. 0-1 point
5 points 3-2 point/s
Spelling and No Few Many
Grammar grammar/spelling grammar/spelling grammar/spelling
errors errors errors
5 points 3 points 0-1 point
Total

LET US PRACTICE MORE

Directions: Read the passage carefully then do the task that follows. Write
your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

Siestas
(an excerpt)
by Leopoldo Serrano
When I was a boy, one of the rules at home that I did not like at all
was to be made to lie on the bare floor of our sala after lunch. I usually lay
side by side with two other children in the family. We were forced to sleep by
my mother. She watched us as we darned old dresses, read an
awit, or hammed a cradle song in Tagalog. She always reminded
us that sleeping at noon enables children to grow fast like the
grass in our yard. In this way, in most Filipino homes many
years ago, children made to understand what the siesta was. Very
often I had to pretend to be asleep by closing my eyes.
Once while my mother was away, I try to sneak out of the house
during the siesta hour. I had not gone far when I felt something hit me hard
on the back. Looking behind, I saw my father. He was annoyed because I

7
had disturbed his siesta. I picked up a pillow at my feet, gave it to him, and
went back to our mat. The two other children were fast asleep. The sight of
the whip, symbol of parental authority, hanging on the posts, gave me no
other choice but to lie down.
During my childhood, whenever we had house guests, my mother
never failed to put mats and pillows on the floor of our living room after the
noonday meal. Then she would invite our guests to have their siesta.
Hospitality and good taste demanded that this be not overlooked.
The custom of having a siesta was introduced in our country by the
Spaniards. Indeed, during the Spanish times, the Philippines was the land
of the fiesta the novena, and the siesta.
Many foreigners have noted this custom among our people. Some
believe that even the guards at the gates of Intramuros had their siesta. It
was a commonly known fact that every afternoon the gates of the city were
closed for fear of a surprise attack.
The ayuntamiento of Manila or the commander of the regiment in
Intramuros did well in ordering the closing of the gates during the siesta
hour. Once, the Chinese living in Parian, just a short way from the Walled
City, timed the beginning of one of their revolts by attacking at two o’clock in
the afternoon. They were sure that the dons, including the guards and
sentinels, were having their siesta. They felt that they would be more
successful if the attack came at siesta time.
Even today visits to Filipino homes are not usually made between one
o’clock and two o’clock in the afternoon. It is presumed that the people in
the house are having their siesta. It is not polite to have them awakened
from their noonday nap to accommodate visitors. There is a well-known
saying believed by many of our people: “You may joke with a drunkard but
not one who has been disturbed during his siesta.”
Our custom of having our siesta has not been greatly affected by
American influence. We have not learned the Yankee’s bustle and eagerness
of endurance for continuous work throughout the day.
But if only for its health–giving effects, we should be grateful to the
Spaniards for the siesta, especially during the hot weather, for the siesta
serves to restore the energy lost while working under a hot climate.
Task Source: http://ubdlibrary.wikidot.com/siestas
Write the specific part of the essay inside each box that shows
the writer’s influence and identify what specific factor is applied.
Make the practice task as your guide.
Source: http://ubdlibrary.wikidot.com/siestas

EVALUATION
Directions: Identify the letter of the option that is described in
each statement. Write your answers on a sheet of paper.

1. These are the things that they want to do, or they must do that is
applied in their writings.
a. interests and needs.
b. culture
c. history
d. life experiences and knowledge

2. It shows the truth about the past.

a. interest and needs
b. culture
c. history
d. life experiences and knowledge

3. It is about what is good and just in a society.

a. values and beliefs
b. history
c. interest and needs
d. life experiences and knowledge

4. It is about the personal life happenings and learnings.

a. interest and needs
b. life experiences and knowledge
c. values and beliefs
d. history

5. It is about belief and knowledge passed over generations.

a. culture

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b. history
c. life experiences and knowledge
d. values and beliefs

All Rights Reserved

2020

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

CAROLINA S. VIOLETA, EdD

Schools Division Superintendent

JERRY D. CRUZ, PhD, CESE

Asst. Schools Division Superintendent

DOMINADOR M. CABRERA, PhD

Chief, Curriculum Implementation Division

EDWARD C. JIMENEZ, PhD

Education Program Supervisor- LR Manager

MARILOU J. DEL ROSARIO, PhD

Education Program Supervisor- ENGLISH

KLEAVHEL C. FAMISAN/
MARVIN Q. GOSIACO/
MA. CECILIA DJ. MULDONG /
VERONICA T. ESCABILLAS
Content /Language /Layout Evaluator

ABEGAIL L. BERBOSO
Developer/Writer