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High Elementary (A2 High) Academic CEFR A2

The Lion and the Ancient Sands

In a vast desert, there lived an old lion named Kito. He was the leader of his pride, and his mane was gray with age. The other lions respected him because he had guided them through many storms. But...

Duration

5 min read

Length

180 words

Story

4 paragraphs

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Story Excerpt

Sample preview reading passage

Paragraphs 1–2 of 4

Taji often complained, saying, "We need a new leader who can run faster and hunt better." He did not listen to Kito's advice about the dangerous machines that came from the sky. One day, the machines returned and started to drain all the water from the oasis. The pride panicked, but Kito remembered a hidden spring that he had seen long ago.

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Educational Objectives

Story Details

Grammar focus and learning objectives covered in this story.

Grammar Level

A2 · Past Simple, Past Continuous, relative clauses

Learning Outcomes

read and understand a short story about animals in the past tense.
recognise and use regular and irregular past simple verbs correctly.
identify past continuous forms to describe ongoing past actions.
use relative clauses with 'who' and 'that' to add details about people or things.
answer comprehension questions about the story's events and characters.

Grammar Focus

Past Simple: subject + verb-ed (regular) or irregular past form

Use the past simple to talk about completed actions or events in the past. Regular verbs add -ed, while irregular verbs have special forms.

“ In a vast desert, there lived an old lion named Kito.

Tip: Learn the past forms of common irregular verbs like 'live' (lived), 'be' (was/were), and 'have' (had) to use them correctly.

Past Continuous: was/were + verb-ing

Use the past continuous to describe actions that were happening at a specific time in the past, often interrupted by another action.

“ The pride panicked, but Kito remembered a hidden spring that he had seen long ago.

Tip: Use the past continuous for background actions and the past simple for the main events that interrupt them.

Relative Clauses with 'who' or 'that': noun + who/that + verb

Use relative clauses to give more information about a person or thing. 'Who' is for people, and 'that' can be for people or things.

“ Taji, who was too proud, ran ahead with some young lions to find water.

Tip: Place the relative clause immediately after the noun it describes to avoid confusion.

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