Two Mothers

Once, a long time ago, there lived a man who had two wives, but only the younger one had given birth to a son. To protect her son from the older jealous wife, the younger wife gave the boy to the older one to raise as her own.
All went well until the father of the child died, and the two wives began to fight as to who owned the house and who owned the boy who was to inherit everything. After much arguing, the issue was finally taken to the king. Wanting to solve it as quickly as possible, the king called in both women and the boy.
The king said to the two wives, “As with all things, the stronger will win. The one who can hold onto the boy shall hold him forever.” The king then had each woman take hold of one of the boy’s arms and told them to pull. Instantly, the boy cried out in pain and then found himself in a heap on the floor with the older wife.
“We have our proof who the true mother is,” said the king. “He will live with the younger wife.”
“But I pulled harder, “ protested the older wife.
“Yes,” said the king, “and you lost.”

QUESTION FOR YOU.
How did the king know who the boy’s real mother was?

THE ANSWER.
The contest was not one of STRENGTH. It was a contest of LOVE. The boy’s real mother could not bear to hurt him, and so she let go. She wanted him to be safe even if she could not be with him.

VOCABULARY
1. to give birth to v. (The younger one had given birth to a son.) [give/s, gave, given]
(a) to have (to bear) a baby
(b) to give a gift to a baby
(c) to become pregnant
For example: I gave birth to my son in l973.
YOUR TURN: Please write a sentence (in any tense) using this phrasal verb –
give birth to.
2.to raise v. (The older wife raised the boy as her own.) (raise/s, raised, raised)
(a) to shave (b) to eat rice (c) to bring up
TO RAISE (verb needs an object) [This is NOT TO RISE.]
Examples: raise the flag, raise the window, raise your rent, raise your pay (salary),
raise your hand, raise your children
YOUR TURN: Please write a sentence (in any tense) using RAISE with an object.
________________________________________________________________________
3. the issue n. (The issue was finally taken to the king.) [issue/s, issued, issued]
(a) a newspaper
(b) an important question that must be solved or is in dispute
(c) a suit in court
4.in a heap n. (The boy found himself in a heap on the floor.)
(a) in a big pile (b) on the top (c) next to her
5.to protest v. (The older wife protested.)
(a) to prepare (b) to sing a song (c) to argue

5. to bear v. (She could not bear to hurt him.)
(a) to endure; to be able to tolerate something
(b) to be rude
(c) to see the bears at the zoo
Example: I can’t bear people who lie.
YOUR TURN: Please write your own sentence using bear in any tense.

____________________________________________________________________

GRAMMAR
WHO as a question word and
WHO as a subject of a clause, used as a relative pronoun
1. WHO as a question word.
(Use am, is, are, was, or were in your short answer)
a. Who is there? [at the door] It’s Sally. _______________
b. Who is going to Chinatown after school? ______________
c. Who was your teacher last semester? ________________
d. Who was eating in class? _________________
YOUR TURN: Use the verb to be to ask a WHO question? And answer it with two words.
e. ________________________________________________________ ___________
CAN or WILL as a modal ((Use can or will in your short answer)
f. Who can drive? ___________
g. Who will be here tomorrow?
YOUR TURN: Use the modals can and will to ask a WHO question? And answer it with two words.
h. ___________________________________________________ ________________
i. ___________________________________________________ _______________
PRESENT TENSE VERBS (Use do or does in your short answer)
j. Who has a dictionary? _____________
k. Who plays the piano? _____________
l. Who walks to school? ______________
m. Who works? _____________
YOUR TURN: Use a present-tense verb to ask a WHO question? And answer it with two words. n. _____________________________________________________ __________




PAST TENSE (Use did in your short answer)
o. Who walked to school today? ______________
o. Who ate breakfast this morning? _____________
YOUR TURN: Use a past-tense verb to ask a WHO question? And answer it with two words. p. _________________________________________________________ ____________
PRESENT PERFECT (Use have or has in your short answer)
Who has been to Las Vegas? _________________
YOUR TURN: Use a present-perfect verb to ask a WHO question? And answer it with two words. q. ____________________________________________________ ____________
2. WHO as a subject (or subject complement) of a clause .
Circle the verbs of WHO. Are these questions? ____________
1. Once there lived a man who had two wives.
2. The two wives began to fight as to who owned the house
3. and who owned the boy who was to inherit everything.
4. The one who can hold onto the boy shall hold him forever.

What are the subjects and verbs in the following sentences?
5. We have our proof who the true mother is.
Ask the WHO question for #5. ______________________________________
6. How did the king know who the boy’s real mother was?
Ask the WHO question for #6. ________________________________________
The grammar to learn for these embedded WHO “questions” is this:
DON’T make a WHO question in the middle of a statement.
a. I know who she is.
b. I always forget who works and who doesn’t.
c. I am sure she is the one who was here yesterday.
(whom is an object)
d. I am sure she is the one whom I saw in Chinatown.
e. I don’t know whom to ask.



3. Comparatives

Adjective Comparative
hard harder than But I pulled harder
old older than The older jealous wife was raising the son.
young younger than The younger one gave birth to a son.
strong stronger than The stronger will win.
YOUR TURN: Please write a sentence using safer.
safe safer than _______________________________________

3. CONVERSATION
Work with a partner and answer the questions.
Then write your answers in complete sentences.
a. What did the younger wife give to the older wife?
_________________________________________________________________
b. Who pulled harder? ________________
b. Who was physically stronger? ________________
c. Do you think the real mother (the younger mother) did the right thing by giving up her son? Please say why. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
d. Do you think the king was a wise person or was there another way to find out who the real mother was? Explain, please.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

©sgati2009

The Sticks of Truth

A long time ago in India, judges traveled from village to village. One day a judge stopped at an inn to rest, but the innkeeper was very upset. That day, someone had stolen his daughter’s gold ring.
The judge told the innkeeper not to worry and had all the guests come together so that he could question them. Each person told the judge, “I’m not the thief.” Since the judge could not figure out who the thief was, he decided to use some magic. He told them he was going to use the “sticks of truth”.
He explained, “These magic sticks will catch the thief.” He then gave each guest a stick to keep under their beds during the night. “The stick belonging to the thief will grow two inches during the night. At breakfast, we will all compare sticks. The longest stick will be the thief’s.”
The next morning, the judge had all the guests come over to his table and hold their sticks up next to his to see if they had grown. Each person held up his stick; but one after the other, they all were the same. None had grown any longer.
Then suddenly the judge called out, “This is the thief! Her stick is shorter than all the rest.”
Once caught, the woman confessed and she returned the ring; but all the guests were confused about the sticks. The judge had said that the longest stick would be the thief’s. Instead, it had been the shortest.
QUESTION: Why?
ANSWER: Not one of the sticks was magical. The only one who was worried about being caught had cut off two inches of her stick during the night so that she could hide its growth. Since the sticks were not magical, her stick ended up being the short one.
VOCABULARY Choose one answer.
1. an inn n. (A judge stopped at an inn to rest.)
(a) a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
(b) a truck stop
(c) a café
2. an innkeeper n. (The innkeeper was very upset.)
(a) a café owner
(b) a truck driver
(c) the person who owns or manages a hotel/inn.
3. guests n. (All the guests came together.)
(a) volunteers
(b) family members
(c) a paying customer in a hotel or restaurant
4. magic n. (He decided to use some magic.)
(a) music
(b) good food
(c) any art that makes you think impossible things are possible
5. confessed v. (The woman confessed and returned the ring.)
(a) to admit, under pressure, something inconvenient or damaging to oneself
(b) to be confused
(c) to fight with your fist

GRAMMAR
1. The judge told the innkeeper not to worry.
Report what you tell someone NOT to do. Use NOT + an infinitive
Examples:
I told my son NOT to play in the street. I told him TO PLAY on the sidewalk.
He told me NOT to call after 10 p.m.
YOUR TURN:


2. She had cut off two inches of her stick during the night so that she could hide its growth.
All the guests came together so that he could question them.
SO THAT clause (group of words) to show a result
Examples:
YOUR TURN:
a. I’m studying English so that ________________________________________
b. He went to the bank so that _________________________________________
c. I’m going to practice driving so that __________________________________
d. _______________________________________________________________





3. KNOW, DON’T KNOW + who, what, where, when, why, how
a. Do you know where India is? Where is India?
I know where India is.
I don’t know where India is.

YOUR TURN
b. Do you know what time it is? What ______________________ ?
I know what time it is.
I don’t know what time it is.

c. Do you know how much this book is? How much __________________?
I know ___________________________
I don’t know __________________________

Ask me a question like the ones above.
d. Do you know where______________________________________ ?
Where ___________________________________ ?
Tell me I know where _______________________________________________
I don’t know where __________________________________________

4. END UP + _ing
a. Her stick ended up being the short one.
b. She didn’t want the low-paying job;
but because she needed the money, she ended up taking the job.
YOUR TURN
c. _________________________________________________________

5. adjectives comparatives superlatives
Write the sentence from the story that uses the comparative and the superlatives.
short
comparative: __________________________________________________
superlative: __________________________________________________

long
comparative: __________________________________________________
superlative: __________________________________________________

YOUR TURN
tall
comparative: __________________________________________________
superlative: __________________________________________________





6. WORRIED ABOUT + noun or + gerund (two-word verbs)
a. The only one who was worried about being caught was the woman.
b. I’m worried about my test.
c. She’s worried about taking a plane.
d. He’s worried about being late.
YOUR TURN:


7. VERBS Find all the present, past, future, and past perfect verbs

subjects present past future past perfect
a. judges 1. 1. traveled 1. 1.
2. 2. 2. 2.
3. 3. 3.
4. 4. 4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
CONVERSATION
a. What do you think should be the punishment for the thief?


b. Do you think it was fair for the judge to use this method to catch the thief?




sgati©2009

The Wind and the Sun

The wind and the sun were arguing about who was stronger. Then they saw a man walking down a road.
The sun said, “I know how to settle this argument. Let’s see who can force this man to take his coat off. Let’s see which one of us can force this man to take his coat off. You can begin.”
The sun hid behind a cloud and the wind began to blow and blow; but the harder it blew, the more the man pulled his coat tighter. Finally, the wind gave up, saying, “OK, I give up. It’s your turn.”
Then the sun took its turn. It came from behind the clouds and smiled down upon the man. Within a few minutes, the man took off his coat because of the sun’s warmth.

VOCABULARY
What is the part of speech?
(noun, pronoun, verb, infinitive, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction)
a. to argue The wind and the sun were arguing. ________________
b. argument I know how to settle this argument. _________________
c. to settle I know how to settle this argument _________________
d. to force Who can force this man to take his coat off? _______________
e. to give up The wind gave up. I give up. ________________
f. to be one’s turn It’s your turn. _________________
g. to take one’s turn The sun took its turn. ________________
h. to turn When you get to the corner, turn right. ________________
i. to turn off Turn your cell phone (TV, CD. radio) off. ________________
j. to turn around Stand up. Now turn around and face the class. _____________
i. __________________________________________________________________

Two-word verbs
Look at the story and notice the two-word verbs. For example.
a. the wind and sun were arguing about . . .
b. a man was walking down . . .
c. I know how to . . .
d. to take off his . . .
e. The wind gave up (the contest, his seat
f. The sun smiled down upon . . .

YOUR TURN
Please write your own sentences using
1. argue about _______________________________________________________
2. walk down _______________________________________________________
3. know how to _____________________________________________________
4. take off _______________________________________________________
5. put on _______________________________________________________
6. listen to _______________________________________________________
7. buy (something) for (someone) _______________________________________________________________
8. take (something) back [return] _______________________________________________________________
9. write (a letter or email) to (someone)
_______________________________________________________________

GRAMMAR
1.
Please tell me, what are the subjects and what are the 14 past and past continuous verbs?
Subject past tense past continuous tense singular/plural
a. the wind and the sun were arguing √
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
m.

2.
POSSESSIVE NOUNS
When you have two nouns together and the second noun belongs to the first noun, then use an apostrophe to show possession,
For example:
a. the sun’s warmth [the warmth of the sun] I can feel the sun’s warmth.
b. Sally’s pen, [the pen that belongs to Sally] Sally’s pen is blue.
c. the doctor’s office, [the office of the doctor] I’m going to the doctor’s office.
d. the ladies’ room [the room where the ladies go to the bathroom]
Where’s the ladies’ room? PLEASE NOTE THE PLURAL then S’
e. Charles’s apartment [the apt. where Charles lives] PLEASE NOTE THE NAME,
then S’ Charles’s apartment is on Powell Street.
YOUR TURN:
Please write a sentence with each of these possessive nouns
1. the books that belongs to Bill
_______________________________________________________________
2. the room where men go to the bathroom _______________________________________________________________
3. the pen that belongs to Mr. Jones
_______________________________________________________________
4. the house where your parents live
_______________________________________________________________
5. something that belongs to your friend
_______________________________________________________________

3.
Let’s + base form means that you are asking someone else to join you in doing something.
For example, Let’s go out to lunch. Let’s watch some TV together. Let’s play mahjong.
YOUR TURN. Please write your own sentence using Let’s + base form

4.
BECAUSE OF + a noun because of the sun’s warmth
Notice the difference between
For example: I’m studying English because I want to get a better job.
I come to school because of my poor English.
YOUR TURN
Write two sentences
a. because ________________________________________________________
b. because of ________________________________________________________

5. Find the comparatives in this story
Single-syllable adjective comparative
a. strong stronger
b.
c.
YOUR TURN
Please use the three adjectives above and write your own sentences with the comparatives.
1.
2.
3.

THE HARDER….THE MORE
The harder the wind blew, the more the man pulled it tigher

THE comparative adjective + noun, THE MORE + subject and verb
For example The better the sale, the more I buy.
The sweeter the candy, the more I like it.
The harder the bed, the worse I can sleep. I like a soft bed.
The softer the bed, the better I can sleep.

YOUR TURN
Write one sentence using
THE comparative adjective + noun, THE MORE + subject and verb

________________________________________________________________________


CONVERSATION
Tell me about an argument you had with someone.

sgati©2009

The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

One day, a wolf found a sheepskin. He thought that this would be an
1
easy way of getting his prey, so he wrapped himself in it and crept into the
2
middle of a flock of sheep. The wolf could then walk around and not be
3
noticed and could carefully choose the finest young lamb for his lunch.
4 5

At the same time, the shepherd was preparing for his own lunch. The
6
shepherd moved into the middle of the flock and grabbed one of the sheep
7
and killed it on the spot. He was very surprised to find that underneath the
8 9
sheepskin was the wolf.


The moral of this story is this: The wicked often fall into their own traps. 10 11 12
VOCABULARY (words and idioms) Circle the meaning.

1. sheepskin n.
(a) a coat (b) a blanket
(c) the skin of a sheep with the wool still attached, used to make clothing and rugs

2. prey n.
(a) to say a prayer (b) before (c) an animal hunted or caught for food

3. creep crept v. past
(a) a cracker
(b) to run
(c) to move with the body close to the ground, as on hands and knees.

4. notice noticed v. past
(a) to observe through the senses
(b) to sing some notes
(c) not here

5. lamb n. (a) a young dog (b) a young cat (c) a young sheep

6. shepherd n.
(a) a person who keeps the sheep together in a flock
(b) a cowboy
(c) a big ship
(d)
7. grab grabbed v. past
(a) to eat
(b) to walk around
(c) to take hold of something quickly

8. on the spot an idiom (a) immediately (b) dirty (c) a stain
YOUR TURN: Write your own sentence using on the spot
______________________________________________________________________
9. underneath prep. (a) over (b) under (c) on top of

10. moral n. (a) a song (b) a poem (c) a lesson of ethical or practical value

11. wicked adj. (a) evil (b) angry (c) happy

12. trap n. pl.
(a) a machine or device that springs shut suddenly, used for catching game or
other animals (b) a vacation (c) to fall down

13. The title of this story is THE WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING
clothing and clothes are synonyms. They have the same or similar meanings
PRONOUNCE “CLOTHES” just like “CLOSE” (as in CLOSE THE DOOR.)
clothing is used in a more general way:
For example:
What is appropriate clothing for school? For a party? For a baseball game?
clothes is used more often. Dirty clothing is a sign of a poor person.
For example: She wears nice clothes. I bought some new clothes.
YOUR TURN: You write a sentence using CLOTHES.
_______________________________________________________________________

GRAMMAR
1. Work with your partner and find . . .
TENSE
SUBJECTS and VERBS; PRESENT/PAST SINGULAR/PLURAL INFINITIVE
a. a wolf found √ to find
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j
k.
l.
m.
n.
o.

2. YOUR TURN.
For each of the SIMPLE PAST TENSE VERBS in the story, write your own sentences.
a.
b.
d.
e.
j.
k.
l
m.

3. possibilities in the future use would or could with a base form
c. would be
f. could walk
g. could not be (past participle)
h. could choose
YOUR TURN.
Write your own sentences using would be, could walk, could not be (past participle) and could choose
1.
2.
3.
4.

PAST PARTICIPLES
examples
VERB Present past past participles
To find find/s found found
To go go/goes went gone
To eat eat/eats ate eaten
*To be am/is/are was/were been
To walk walk/walks walked walked
To choose choose/s chose chosen
To notice notice/s noticed noticed


*BE + a noun/nouns I’m a student. They are students.
*BE + adjective I’m happy.
*BE + ing (verb) We’re studying English.
*BE + prepositional phrase We’re in school now.
*[BE in the passive voice] The ball was thrown by the pitcher.


CONVERSATION
Please work with a partner AND talk about each answer. THEN write a complete sentence for your answer.

1. What animal found a sheepskin? _________________________________________________________________
2. What animals are the wolf’s prey?
_________________________________________________________________

3. What did the clever wolf do in order to catch his prey?
_________________________________________________________________
4. Who died in this story
_________________________________________________________________

5. Why did the shepherd kill the wolf?
_________________________________________________________________

6. What does the moral THE WICKED OFTEN FALL INTO THEIR OWN TRAPS mean? _____________________________________________________________________
7. What kind of person is “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”? (Do you know a person who is a wolf in sheep’s clothing?)

______________________________________________________________________

sgati©2009

I Have a Dream Speeech

Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I Have a Dream"
delivered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on
August 28, 1963

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. *We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only."* We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!³

We Shall Overcome

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Date of birth: January 15, 1929
Place of birth: Atlanta, Georgia
Date of death: April 4, 1968 (aged 39)
Place of death: Memphis, Tennessee, by assassination
Major organizations: Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Notable prizes: Nobel Peace Prize (awarded in1964)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977, awarded posthumously)
Congressional Gold Medal (2004, awarded posthumously)

The American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing racial discrimination of African-Americans. The "Southern Freedom Movement" was about the struggle for civil rights under law (freedom from White domination), but more importantly, it was about fundamental issues of freedom, respect, dignity, and economic and social equality.

This song, WE SHALL OVERCOME, was sung by all those who joined in this civil rights movement.

1. We shall overcome (2) We shall overcome some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome some day

2. The Lord will see us through (2)
The Lord will see us through some day.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
The Lord will see us through some day.

3. We’re on to victory (2) We’re on to victory some day.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We’re on to victory some day.


4. We’ll walk hand in hand; we’ll walk hand in hand
We’ll walk hand in hand some day.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We’ll walk hand in hand some day.

5. We are not afraid; we are not afraid.
We are not afraid today.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We are not afraid today.

6. The truth shall make us free; the truth shall make us free.
The truth shall make us free some day.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
The truth shall make us free some day.

7. We shall live in peace; we shall live in peace.
We shall live in peace some day.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall live in peace some day.


Will is a modal (helping verb). It tells us something about the future and is used with the base form of the verb.

to overcome is a verb, meaning to conquer obstacles or problems.

Write all the future verbs in this song:
1. We (will) shall overcome [shall can be used for
1st person singular (I) and first person plural (we), but we usually say, will .
2.
3.
4.
5.

We’re on to victory. = Soon we will be victorious/ we will win.

We are not afraid. = present tense of the verb “to be”

What’s the difference? I believe. I do believe.
Gati©2008

A Slip of the Tongue Rhyme

A RHYME TO REMEMBER
From a slip of the foot, you may soon recover,
But a slip of the tongue, you may never get over.

In good English, we probably would say the first line this way:
You may soon recover from a slip of the foot.

VOCABULARY
1. “to recover from” means
(a) to remember something (b) to get better (c) to read a book

2. “a slip of the foot” ,meams
(a) a mistake in playing football (b) a piece of paper under your shoe
(c) a fall

In good English, we probably would say the second line this way:
You may never get over a slip of the tongue.

3. “to get over” means
(a) to recover from something (b) to climb over a wall (c) to make money

4. “a slip of the tongue” means
(a) food from a cow (b) something you said you now wish you hadn’t said
(c a cover for your face

CONVERSATION Talk to your partner. Then write your answer.
5. How can you prevent a slip of the foot?
6.
_____________________________________________________________
7. How can you prevent a slip of the tongue?
8.

GRAMMAR
9. What is the subject of the first line? __________
10. What is the verb? __________
11. What is the subject of the second line? __________
12. What is the verb? __________
13. Your turn. What else can you recover from or not recover from?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Please write your own sentence using “can recover from” and

________________________________________________________________________
14. another sentence using “cannot recover from”.
_______________________________________________________________________
sgati©2009