Pablo opened the door, and standing in front of him was Sylvia.

 

Sylvia held a small handful of things, including a small bunch of bright-green leaves. 

I thought you could do with some of these? She winked. 

I heard you were making a pizza. 

What is it? Pablo asked. 

Arugula, she said. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ugula, she said again in her heavy accent and laughed. 

But where I come from, boy, we call it Rocket, and it grows like a rocket it does too. 

Very good for you, lad, packed with vitamin C and K, improves ye bones and keeps you healthy, boy 

And what does it taste like? Pablo asked 

Like a spicy bite, peppery hot wakes you up; it does and is great on a pizza. 

In the oven? Pablo asked 

Ha, Sylvia laughed. Rip it after a quick wash under the tap. 

Throw it on your pizza after it's just out of the oven and you are about to put it on the plate, lad. 

Try it, she said, holding out a piece. Pablo grabbed it and bit into it. 

He said he thought it was peppery and almost nutty; it tastes excellent, he said 

 

Sylvia smiled and gave Pablo a small box with garlic and onions. 

 

Where did you get it? He asked 

 

Time will soon tell, Sylvia said and waved goodbye.

 

Pablo placed the box, and the Arugula, or Rocket as Sylvia had said it was also called, onto the kitchen table and looked out the open window. 

 

There he could see the faint drops of rain, and then he could smell a strange and familiar smell; he knew that smell it was the smell of …

 

English lesson Objectives:

Learn to recognize new vocabulary related to food and cooking.

Understand the use of different accents in the English language.

 

Exercises:  

Define and describe any new words you may have learned in the story. 

 

Answer the questions below 

"What did Sylvia bring to Pablo?" 

 

 "What did Sylvia tell Pablo about Arugula?"

 

"What is another name for Arugula?

 

Discussion 

"What accents do you find easy to understand"?  

 

"What kind of accent do you think Sylvia has"?

 

Describe each of the words below and add them to your vocabulary list 

 

1. Arugula
2. Handful
3. Leaves
4. Wink
5. Pizza
6. Accent
7. Rocket
8. Vitamin C and K
9. Peppery
10. Smell