Level

Penguin Young Readers Factsheets

1 The Ghost House Teacher’s Notes

Summary of the story

One winter’s afternoon, Rick and Mia explore a big old house. Rick thinks there
is a ghost but Mia does not. She smiles because she finds the idea funny. The
old house is falling down and the stairs break when Mia climbs them. Rick is
trapped under a part of the broken stairs. Mia starts to rescue him but cannot
lift the wood herself. Strong hands come from behind her and help her lift it.
Rick gets better. He didn’t see any ghosts and so doesn’t believe there was one.
Mia hasn’t told him about the lifting up of the wood. She doesn’t smile any
more, because now she is not sure that there are no ghosts.

Background to the story

This is an original story by John Escott, who has written many other popular stories for the Penguin
Readers. He began by writing children’s stories and now writes for all ages and enjoys doing thriller
stories. He lives in the south of England but likes to travel, especially in North America and Canada.

Topics and themes

Buildings The story takes place in a big old boy does what his friend wants to do, even
house. Are there any old houses where the pupils though he doesn’t. So sometimes being friends
live? Which do pupils prefer – old or new means doing something you might not want to
buildings? How do some old buildings stay and do. Can the pupils think of examples in their own
others are knocked down or fall down. What lives. They may like to write their own story round
should we do with empty buildings? Who should this theme.
decide? A further topic is one of ghosts, and
might suggest a discussion of why ghosts are to
Magic Strong invisible hands help Mia. A
discussion or questionnaire can be set off on this
be found in old houses.
theme. Does anyone believe that we are
Friendships In the story the two children are sometimes helped in this way? Can anyone find
friends. What do they expect of their friends? The examples from other stories or real life?

Making use of the Reader

Building boxes Pupils can collect pictures and The second set of cards has a single preposition
photographs or do their own drawings of on each. Start with the 7 prepositions used in the
buildings they like. Brainstorm categories of story, each with seven duplicates (49 cards in all).
buildings, perhaps expanding work on opposites This set is shuffled and seven cards dealt out to
(see Activity 3) (e.g. old/new, modern/ period, all the players in the group. The sentence cards
large/small, business/housing, country/town, are laid face down and turned up one at a time.
The Ghost House

wood/brick/stone). Label a series of boxes and let Each player takes it in turns to fit the right
the pupils sort the collection. preposition in the sentence. If a player does not
have the right card he or she has to miss a turn. If
Fill the gap This is a card game for groups of a player tries to use the wrong card, he or she
2-6 players. It needs two different sets of cards.
must pick an extra preposition card from the spare
The first set contains between 20 and 40 cards,
cards left. Once the sentence is filled the next
each showing a simple sentence using a
sentence card is turned up. Play continues until
preposition but with a gap where the preposition
one player has used all the cards in the hand.
should be (e.g. The dog is ______ the table.) On
the same face it also has a drawing or photo This can be adapted in various ways: Extra
showing clearly which preposition is missing. (In prepositions and matching sentence cards can be
the example, the drawing would show the dog added; nouns, verbs or adjectives could be
under the table.) You might make the first 10 of matched instead.
these and the pupils could make the rest.
Level 1

© Pearson Education Limited 2001. Visit our website at www.penguinreaders.com

 Level
Penguin Young Readers Factsheets
1 The Ghost House Teacher’s Notes

Using the accompanying audio cassette

During listening – whole class prediction can find in the story about Rick and Mia’s feelings
If pupils have read or heard The Ghost House (smiling, going on, shouting out in a dare/happy,
already, play through the cassette. Stop just sure: not smiling, not calling out, wanting to go
before a dramatic event (e.g. before the stairs home, moving slowly/unhappy, not sure)? Draw a
collapse, p. 9 or the ghost helps p. 11) and ask simple graph on the board with unhappy at the
the class to predict what happens next. bottom of the vertical axis and happy at the top.
Write the page numbers 1-15 along the horizontal
While-listening activity Ask the pupils what axis. In pairs, the pupils can make their own
made Mia feel happy and what made her feel copy. Play the tape and pause at the end of each
unhappy. Did Rick feel the same at the same time? page to ask pupils to decide how Mia and Rick
Explain they are going to map how Rick and Mia each feel and to mark a cross on the graph. They
feel through the story. First ask what clues they could use different colors for the two.

Chants
Chants help pupils become Chant 1 "Ghost, ghost"
"There’s a ghost Mia shouts
familiar with the sounds and "Mia come back!
In that big, old house!"
rhythm of English, in a fun way. "There are no ghosts! Mia come back!"
The language in each chant I can’t see a ghost."
recycles language from the Chant 3
There’s a ghost
Who is helping her?
story. In that big old house
Who is it?
Pupils listen to the chant a few Come on, Rick
Rick’s eyes are shut
times, clapping in time with the Let’s go find the ghost!
Mia looks up and down
rhythm. Then they say the chant, "There’s a ghost
Who is helping her?
verse by verse, with the cassette, In that big, old house!"
Who is it?
"There are no ghosts!
beating out the rhythm as they I can’t see a ghost."
Mia looks up and down
say it, to become familiar with Who is helping her?
the words and rhythm. Chant 2 Some strong hands
A possible activity with the "Ghost, ghost" Help Mia
Mia shouts Who is helping her?
chants, is to split a class into Who is it?
"Where are you?
groups and they each say one Where are you?
verse.

Notes on the activities in the Factsheet Answers to the activities

In the back of the Reader
Activity 1 Wordsearch. Explain that all words are in
the book. You may want to brainstorm some of the Before you read
vocabulary from the story on the board before they Check: house, tree, boy, pants, girl, shoes
Level 1

start. After you read

Activity 2 Pupils play in groups of four. They will 1. No (already done), 2. Yes, 3. No.
need a dice or spinner. It will be useful to revise 4. No, 5. Yes, 6. No. 7. Yes, 8. No,
numbers 1-18 first and check they understand the 9. Yes, 10. The ghost/strong hands.
The Ghost House

captions. They roll the dice in turn and see who gets In the Factsheet F H A N D S
to the Ghost’s Secret first. If they land on 3, 5, 8, and Activity 1 H O M E R T
17 they should read out what it says and follow the The letters that are I U O E N A
instruction. left out spell ‘Friends T S O H G I
smile and help.’ D E R S S R
Activity 3 Pupils search for the missing words and
then pair opposites to get the final answer. If pupils Activity 3 M I L E A S
have not done this kind of exercise before, elicit some 1. down 2. quickly N D H E L P
opposite word pairs first e.g. happy/sad, come/go, 3. up 4. weak
sleeping/waking. 5. strong 6. slowly. 1 and 3, 2 and 6,
4 and 5.

© Pearson Education Limited 2001. Visit our website at www.penguinreaders.com

 Level
Penguin Young Readers Factsheets
1 PHOTOCOPIABLE
Pupils’ Activities
The Ghost House
Name.............................................................................................................
Activity 1 F H A N D S

H O M E R T
Find these words: ghost, house, home, stairs,
room, hands. (One word reads back to front I U O E N A
and one word reads from bottom to top.)
T S O H G I
Then, starting at the top left, write out the
letters that are left. What do they say? D E R S S R

M I L E A S

N D H E L P
Activity 2
In your group, take turns to
Step 17: The
throw the dice and play the stairs are
game. weak. You fall
back to 10.

18
17
16
Step 8: The 15
ghost helps
you climb two 14
steps. Go
forward to 12. 13
12
11
10
The Ghost House

9
8
6 7
5
4
3 Step 5: You fall.
Stop and get up.
2 Miss one turn.
1 Step 3: It’s dark,
but you are not
afraid. Go forward
Level 1

four steps to 7.

© Pearson Education Limited 2001. Visit our website at www.penguinreaders.com

 Penguin Young Readers Factsheets
Level
PHOTOCOPIABLE
1 Pupils’ Activities
The Ghost House
Name.............................................................................................................
Activity 3
Read the pages of the Reader carefully and fill in the missing words.
1. Mia jumps ______________.
down (page 8)
2. She turns ________________. (page 9)
3. She looks ____and down. (page 11)
4. The stairs are ____________. (page 8)
5. Some ____________ hands help Mia. (page 11)
6. Rick is walking __________. (page 6)
The missing words give three pairs of opposites. Pair the sentences that use
the words with opposite meaning.
_______
1 and 3* _______ _______

Activity 4
Draw a picture for each group of words.
Level 1
The Ghost House

Friends, smile, home, help Winter, cold, wind, trees, house

© Pearson Education Limited 2001. Visit our website at www.penguinreaders.com