4th Grade • Secondary School Giving and receiving Secondary School • 4th Grade

instructions
Giving and Receiving Instructions (Dar y
pedir instrucciones)

Posible situación en la que se puede utilizar lo aprendido:

Estás participando en un intercambio académico en un país de habla inglesa. La familia donde te estás hospedando
va a tener que viajar a otra ciudad durante el fin de semana, y te pide cuidar a su mascota. Para poder hacerlo, es
necesario comprender y saber seguir instrucciones.

Introduction to the Unit

Welcome to this new unit! This time, you will work with vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension and writing
related to giving and receiving instructions. In this sense, the focus will be on ordering and sequencing ideas. You will
have an opportunity to assess your knowledge before and after you complete this unit. Before starting with the
exercises, use the flashcards on page 12 to learn this unit’s vocabulary. You can also access
www.bit.ly/SEC4_CARDS_1 to study this unit’s vocabulary. We hope you enjoy this learning experience!

Introducción a la Unidad
¡Bienvenido/a a esta nueva unidad! Esta vez, aprenderás sobre vocabulario, gramática, lectura y escritura relativas a
dar y pedir instrucciones. En ese sentido, se hará énfasis en el tema de ordenar y secuenciar ideas. Además, podrás
evaluar tus conocimientos antes y después de completar la unidad. Antes de hacer los ejercicios, utiliza las tarjetas
que se incluyen en la página 12, para aprender el vocabulario de esta unidad. También puedes ingresar al sitio
www.bit.ly/SEC4_CARDS_1 para practicar el vocabulario y expresiones de esta unidad.
¡Esperamos que disfrutes esta experiencia de aprendizaje!

Initial Self-Assessment
Complete the following table with an emoji based on your current
knowledge. (Completa la siguiente tabla con un emoticón, de acuerdo con tus conocimientos
actuales.)
STATEMENT
YES! SO-SO… NO

I can describe the personalities and actions of friends and family yes
using new adjectives and adverbs.
(Puedo describir la personalidad y acciones de amigos y miembros de mi familia
usando adjetivos y adverbios.)

I can use at least 3 linking words and commas to write with a so.so
clear structure and sequence.
(Puedo usar al menos 3 conectores y comas para escribir con una estructura y
secuencia claras.)

I can answer questions to demonstrate specific understanding yes

of a written letter of pet-care instructions.
(Puedo responder preguntas para demostrar comprensió n de instrucciones escritas
para el cuidado de una mascota.)

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4th Grade • Secondary School
Giving and receiving
instructions

Learning New Vocabulary!

Exercise #1
Look at the following words. Underline the words that are new for you.
(Observa las siguientes palabras y subraya las que son nuevas para ti.)

loving – aggressive – careful – reckless – quick – slow – quiet – loud

Each of these words describe something orsomeone. The flashcards for this unit all have pictures of an animal
with one of these words that is associated with the animal. Look at the flash cards and think of 1-2 more
examples.

Exercise #2
Fill in the blanks in each sentence with the two words provided.
(Completa las líneas en blanco de cada oració n con las dos palabras provistas.)

Be careful: The FIRST word in each sentence is the word that does NOT describe the
animal. The SECOND word in each sentence is the word that does describe the
animal.

loving
A shark is not __loving_______it’s aggressive . aggressive

A cat is not reckless__ it’s careful ____ careful

reckless

A rabbit is not slow __, it’s quick ___ A quick

slow
rooster is not loud it’s quiet
_________________________________. Exercise #3 quiet
loud

Think of a person you know who you could describe with the following words. What are some
specific things they do that lead you to describe them like that?
(Piensa en una persona que conoces a quien puedas describir con las siguientes palabras. ¿Cuá les son algunas cosas
específicas que ellos hacen para que tú los puedas describir de esa forma?)

_____________paulina_________________ is loving because _____she's my mother______________________________.

_____________melvin_______________ is aggressive because ___gets angry_______________________________________.

__________henry______________________ is careful because _______works with electricity__________________________.

____________enmanuel___________________ is reckless because ____does things without

thinking____________________. _________cristian___________ is quick because ____________play

basketball___________________________________. ____________argenis_______________ is slow because

_______________________has a broken foot________________________. ______________angie_______________ is quiet

because ________she is asthmatic______________________________________. ____________daya_________________ is loud

because ____________he likes to talk loud__________________________________.

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4th Grade • Secondary School
Giving and receiving instructions
We use the word because to give a reason why or an explanation.
Example: My mom is loving because she made me feel special on my birthday.

Exercise #4
Look at the following words. Underline the words that are new for you.
(Observa las siguientes palabras y subraya las que son nuevas para ti.)

lovingly – aggressively – carefully – recklessly – quickly – slowly – quietly – loudly

Exercise #5
The following two paragraphs are a mom’s description of how her two young children get ready
for school in the morning.
(En los dos pá rrafos siguientes una madre describe có mo sus dos hijos se preparan para ir a la escuela en la mañ ana.)

Brian is my older son, and he is 9 years old. In the morning, he walks quietly comes
into the kitchen, eats his breakfast slowly, carefully washes his dishes, lovingly kisses
me on the cheek, and then goes to get his backpack.

Devon is my younger son, and he is 3 years old. In the morning, he runs loudly into the
kitchen, eats his breakfast quickly, recklessly throws his dishes in the sink, aggressively
hugs me as tells me he loves me more than anyone in the world, then runs to his room
to play with his dinosaurs.

a) Read each paragraph, and think about how you would describe each child’s personality (Lee los
pá rrafos y completa las líneas en blanco con una palabra que tú crees describe la personalidad de cada niñ o.)

Brian is _____lovingly____________ Devon is _____aggressively____________

b) Go back to the two paragraphs and circle each of the words below:
(Vuelve a leer los dos pá rrafos y encierra en un círculo cada una de las siguientes palabras:) quietly slowly

carefully lovingly loudly quickly recklessly aggressively

c) Re-read each sentence with a circled word. What information does the word in the circle give
us? What do those words describe?
(Vuelve a leer cada oració n que tenga una palabra encerrada en un círculo. ¿Qué informació n nos dan las palabras
encerradas en círculos? ¿Qué describen esas palabras?)ñ

________________describe a calm patient and loving

person_________________________________ _______________describes a noisy, annoying but

also loving person_____________________________

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4th Grade • Secondary School
Giving and receiving
instructions

Keep in Mind!
The words in the box of Exercise #4 (lovingly, aggressively, carefully, etc.) are
adverbs. Adverbs are descriptive words that describe how actions are done.
Adverbs and are formed by adding -ly to the end of description words.

Exercise #6
Think of a person you know who does an action in one of the following ways. What are some
specific things they do that lead you to describe them like that?
(Piensa en personas que conozcas que lleven a cabo acciones de alguna de las formas siguientes.
¿Cuá les son algunas cosas específicas que esas personas hacen de esa forma?)
lovingly – aggressively – carefully – recklessly – quickly – slowly – quietly – loudly

Reading Practice: Pet-care Instructions

Exercise #1
Do you know the word “picky”? Are there any things a that you are picky about related to
eating? (¿Conoces el significado de la palabra“picky”? ¿Hay algunas cosas para las que tú eres picky , en cuanto a la
comida?)

___________________________________________________________________________________
Picky - adjective - Very careful or TOO careful about choosing things.
Defined by: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/picky
Exercise #2
Do you have a pet? What responsibilities are included in taking care of a pet? Write 3-6 ideas
below: (¿Tienes una mascota? ¿Qué responsabilidades se tienen al cuidar a una mascota? Escribe 3-6 ideas al
respecto: )

______I don't have but I know what the responsibilities are, you have to be loving careful attentive

playful_________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

___

________________________________________________________________________________

___

Read the following text and complete the exercise below.

(Lee el siguiente texto y completa los ejercicios que siguen a continuació n.)

(You can find the audio file for this reading here: www.bit.ly/SEC4_AUDIO_1)

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4th Grade • Secondary School
Giving and receiving
instructions

Thanks for Watching Mr. Snuggles While I’m Away!

Hi Monica!

Thank you so much for taking care of my cat, Mr. Snuggles, while I’m on vacation this weekend. You
are such a great friend, and I know you will watch him very lovingly. Please read these instructions very
carefully. Mr. Snuggles is VERY picky, and if he doesn’t have things exactly the way he prefers, he acts...
aggressively.

The three things Mr. Snuggles needs are food, water, and love! First, to feed him, take his food out
of the fridge very quickly. Mr. Snuggles likes to eat his food while it’s cold. Also, don’t put the food in his red
bowl recklessly because he hates a mess! He eats very cleanly, so if there is food on the floor he won’t eat.
Next, clean his blue bowl carefully, then fill it with water. After that, sing to him quietly! Mr. Snuggles will
start to meow quietly. Keep singing, but slowly, sing more and more loudly. Finally, he will start to meow
loudly. Give him his water, and then say, “For Mr. Snuggles, prince of the house, most beautiful cat in the
world!” before you leave the house.

What can I say? Mr. Snuggles is a crazy cat. Thank you again for taking care of him this week! When
I’m back, on Monday, you can come over and hear about my trip.

Big hugs,

Exercise #3 care_____ to __________________________ . B)

Read the text and answer the following questions:
(Lee el texto y responde las siguientes preguntas:) This letter is a set of instructions explaining

A) This is a letter from _how to take care of

a) how a man feeds his dog b) how to take care of a cat c) how to buy your first pet

Exercise #4
Read the text again, and write the word “before” or “after”in the blanks below to show the order of
the instructions:
(Lee el texto de nuevo y escribe la palabra “before” o “after” en los espacios en blanco para mostrar el
orden de las instrucciones:)

A) Take the food out of the fridge ______before______ you put the food in the bowl carefully.

B) Fill the blue bowl with water ______after__________ you clean the blue bowl. C) Sing loudly

________before__________ you sing quietly.

D) tell the cat he is beautiful __________before_________ you feed him.

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4th Grade • Secondary School
Giving and receiving
instructions

Exercise #5
Read the text again and complete the following exercise. Circle true or false.Ifthe answer is false,
write the correct information.
(Lee el texto de nuevo y completa el siguiente ejercicio. Encierra en un círculo true o false. Si la
respuesta es false, escribe la informació n correcta en la línea en blanco.)

True or False? Carol is going on vacation for two weeks.

________while I’m on vacation this weekend.

_________________________________. True or False? Mr. Snuggles is a very picky cat.

______________________________________________________________________

__. True or False? Mr. Snuggles likes to eat his food if it is hot.

First, to feed him, you take his food out of the fridge very quickly. Mister

True or False? Mr. Snuggles doesn’t make a mess.

______________________________________________________________________

__. True or False? Sing to Mr. Snuggles quietly first, then more loudly after.

______________________________________________________________________

__. True or False? Mr. Snuggles is the “king” of the house.

________________________________________________________________________.

Exercise #6
Read the following scenario, then complete the task explained.
(Lee la siguiente situació n, luego haz el ejercicio.)

Imagine that you live in the United States and are going on a trip to Europe for two weeks. Think of a close
friend who you can ask to help take care of your responsibilities while you are away. Write 3-4
instructions telling them what to do while you are away. Remember, this is a letter asking for help, so try
to write with a nice and thankful tone.

Hi Carlos, thank you for taking care of my house while I'm traveling, read the instructions carefully,

remember that my nephew lives at home, supervises that he doesn't have parties and wakes him up

in the morning so that he can go to school. In the afternoon remember to turn off the heater so that

it does not bother the neighbor. Thank you for staying to take care of my house when I return I will

bring you some memories.

atte.jean luis

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4th Grade • Secondary School
Giving and receiving
instructions

__________________________________________________________________________________

___

__________________________________________________________________________________

___

__________________________________________________________________________________

___

__________________________________________________________________________________

___

Practicing Grammar!
Exercise #1

One reason we use commas in a sentence is to separate extra information, like adding a name
or a specific date. A comma is added before and after the extra information. For example:
Thank you so much for taking care of my cat, Mr. Snuggles, while I’m on vacation this
weekend. When I’m back, on Monday, you can come over and hear about my trip.

Add two commas to each of the following two examples to separate the extra information: Tip:
Try covering the words you want to put in commas and reading the sentence. If it sounds good without
those words, they are the extra information.
(Agrega dos comas a cada una de las siguientes oraciones para separar la informació n adicional:
Sugerencia: Intenta cubrir las palabras que quieres encerrar entre dos comas y lee la oració n. Si suena bien
sin esas palabras, entonces son informació n adicional).

a) My mother ,Julie, is the most loving person I know.

 b) This Friday on his birthday, Jim, won’t be coming in to work.

Exercise #2
Another reason we use commas in a sentence is to connect two separate sentences
that are connected in topic. Consider these 2 ideas:
You are such a great friend. I know you will watch him very lovingly.

Each of these sentences has a different subject, “You” and “I”, but the second sentence gives a reason for
the statement in the first sentence. So, they can be connected by adding a comma and the word “and”:
You are such a great friend, and I know you will watch him very lovingly.
Mr. Snuggles is very picky, and if he doesn’t have things exactly the way he prefers, he acts aggressively.

Add a comma to each of the following examples to show the division of two sentences: Tip:
Try reading just one part of the sentence before OR after the comma you add. It should be a full
sentence.
(Agrega una coma a las siguientes oraciones para mostrar la separació n de las dos partes que las
conforman. Sugerencia: Intenta leer só lo una parte de la oració n antes O después de la coma que
agregues. Lo que lees debería una oració n completa.)

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4th Grade • Secondary School
Giving and receiving
instructions

a) Daniela, is an amazing woman and ,Eric, needs to treat her the way she

deserves. b) Jorge is my cousin and on, Friday, we’re going to watch a movie

together.

Exercise #3

Commas are also used for lists of three or more people, animals, places, things, or
actions. To write a list of three or more, separate each object with a comma and add the
word “and”:
The three things Mr. Snuggles needs are food, water, and love!
Next, clean his blue bowl carefully, then fill it with water, and after that sing to him quietly!

Add commas to each of the following examples to separate each object in a list of three: (Agrega
comas a las siguientes oraciones para separar los tres elementos de la lista que se incluye en cada una:)

a) I have dance practice on Monday ,Wednesday ,Thursday and Friday this week.

b) They are planning to go to Aruba, Barbados, St. Vincent and Haiti on their
 vacation.

Exercise #4
Word Search
Look up the following bold words in a translator app on your phone or on the free translator located at
https://translate.google.com .
(Busca las siguientes palabras en una aplicació n de traducir en tu mó vil o en el
traductor https://translate.google.com
first – also – next – then – after that – before – finally

Exercise #5
(The following paragraph is from the letter you just read in the reading section of this
unit.) (El siguiente pá rrafo es de la carta que leíste en la secció n de lectura de esta
Unidad.)

Read the paragraph again and underline the linking words in the box above. Where are those
words in each sentence? What punctuation marks do they use?
(Lee el pá rrafo de nuevo y subraya los conectores del Ejercicio #4 que aparecen en dicho pá rrafo.
¿Dó nde está n esos conectores en cada oració n? ¿Qué signo de puntuació n tienen?)

The three things Mr. Snuggles needs are food, water, and love! First, take his food out of the fridge very
quickly. Mr. Snuggles likes to eat his food while it’s cold. Also, don’t put the food in his red bowl recklessly
because he hates a mess! He eats very cleanly, so if there is food on the floor he won’t eat. Next, clean his
blue bowl carefully, then fill it with water. After that, sing to him quietly! Mr. Snuggles will start to meow
quietly. Keep singing, buy slowly, sing more and more loudly. Finally, he will start to meow loudly. Give him his
water, and then say, “For Mr. Snuggles, prince of the house, most beautiful cat in the world!” before you
leave the house.

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4th Grade • Secondary School
Giving and receiving instructions
When adding one of these linking words at the beginning of a sentence, separate it with a
comma: First, take his food out of the fridge very quickly.
Also, don’t put the food in his red bowl recklessly because he hates a mess.

Exercise #6
Think about what you do in the morning to get ready. How could you use these linking words to
establish a clear order? Write your morning routine below, using 3-5 of the bold linking words
below.
 first – also – next – then – after that – before – finally

first I get up then I change before that I brush my teeth I look for the clothes that I am going to wear I

also check my homework before going to school and finally I go to school

Final Self-Assessment

Complete the following table with an emoji based on your current

knowledge. (Completa la siguiente tabla con un emoticón, de acuerdo a lo que ahora sabes.)
STATEMENT
YES! SO-SO… NO

I can describe the personalities and actions of friends and family ??👍
using new adjectives and adverbs.
(Puedo describir la personalidad y acciones de amigos y miembros de mi familia
usando adjetivos y adverbios.)

I can use at least 3 linking words and commas to write with a ??‍♂️
clear structure and sequence.
(Puedo usar al menos 3 conectores y comas para escribir con una estructura y
secuencia claras.)

I can answer questions to demonstrate specific understanding ??

of a written letter of pet-care instructions.
(Puedo responder preguntas para demostrar comprensió n de instrucciones escritas
para el cuidado de una mascota.)

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4th Grade • Secondary School
Giving and receiving
instructions

Learning Portfolio

Think of something you are an expert at: a food you know how to cook well, a talent or special skill
you have, something you do better than everyone you know. Write out detailed instructions about
how you do that so amazingly. Be very specific and precise, telling people just how slowly to stir the
pot or how loudly to sing the song. You can also include a visual or a link to a website with more
information.
(Piensa en algo en lo que eres experto: una comida que sepas preparar, un talento o habilidad especial que
tengas o algo que hagas mejor que las personas que conoces. Escribe instrucciones detalladas sobre cómo
haces eso. Se muy específico y preciso. Puedes incluir además ilustraciones o un enlace a un sitio web con más
información.)

___________

10 I am good at cooking, I will explain it to you in a

recipe that is the best that I have left are the stewed
vegetables, the first thing is to peel the vegetables
then chop it into long, not very long strips more or
less so that you get the flavor well before you have
to wash and remove the seeds then we chop a little
salami we put it to fry with a little oil then we throw
the seasoning to the salami then we throw two chop
soups and one tomato we add an envelope of sauce
we stir it then we enter the verengenas we add a
little of water then cover and leave 15 or 20 minutes
over normal heat then move and throw a bit of

cheese and we can serve ourselves

4th Grade • Secondary School
Giving and receiving
instructions

Unit Flashcards

You can use the following flashcards in different ways:

(Puedes utilizar las siguientes tarjetas de vocabulario de diferentes formas:)

⇨ To test your memory: cut the cards and fold the words. Then, check if you remember them.
(Para poner a prueba tu memoria: Recorta las tarjetas y dobla hacia atrá s las palabras. Entonces, verifica si las
recuerdas.)

⇨ To play a matching game: cut the cards and the names. Then, match the correct ones. (Para un
juego de correspondencia: Recorta cada tarjeta por la línea punteada. Luego, empareja cada figura con su nombre)

⇨ To play a memory game: cut the cards with pictures and the cards with the names. Put them face
down, and turn around 1 picture card and 1 name card at a time. If they match, you get a point! (Para
un juego de memoria: Recorta cada tarjeta. Coloca boca abajo, en dos grupos separados, las ilustraciones y los
nombres, y voltea una de cada grupo al mismo tiempo. Si hay correspondencia entre la ilustració n y el nombre, ganas
un punto.)

⇨ To practice online: go to the Internet and access www.bit.ly/SEC4_CARDS_1 to study

this vocabulary.
(Para practicar en línea: En el Internet, entra al enlace www.bit.ly/SEC4_CARDS_1 para estudiar este
vocabulario.)

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4th Grade • Secondary School
Giving and receiving instructions

LOVING AGGRESSIVE

CAREFUL RECKLESS

QUICK SLOW
QUIET LOUD

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