Kubi was not good at his schoolwork, nor was he well-mannered or kind. He was a worry to his family and friends. Then he was chosen to play a part in the school play. His excited mother looked at him in a new light. Kubi’s attitude towards other people and his schoolwork changed because he began to feel better about himself.

1. Before you read

Spend time looking at the cover, discuss the boy in the picture, how does he look, why is he a “star”? Read the title. What does
the word “star” mean? Ask children to name the different contexts, for example, an object in the night sky, a shape, someone who has done well or a famous person. Chat to the children about what makes them feel like a “star”.

2. Let’s read

Read through the text page by page. Stop regularly to discuss new concepts and vocabulary. Discuss the illustrations on each
page and how they relate to the text in the story. Read with expression and fluency, to provide a good example.

3. After you read

After reading spend some time discussing the story. Was it enjoyable? What were the best parts? Discuss changed attitudes – Kubi’s, his teacher’s and his mother. What made each one change their attitude?

Encourage learners to retell the story in their own words.

4. Curriculum connections

Magazine stars
Get children to search through magazines and find pictures of celebrities or “stars”. They can paste these into their books and then think of attributes or descriptions for each person.

• Name of the play or assembly
• Name of the characters
• Date and time.

They should also include aspects that will make the poster more appealing and eye-catching, for example, bright colours, illustrations and catchy phrases.

5. Assessment

Is the learner able to:

• Read aloud to a group, South African and international fiction texts, for example, short stories, poetry and short plays, adjusting the way in which a text is read to suit the listener.
• Use different reading strategies to read with understanding, for example, skimming, scanning and prediction.

Use the Assessment Tasks above as a suggestion for an activity.