A0 · Narrative
Following a short first-person story
Read for meaning first. Then return to the text for vocabulary, language choices, and evidence.
Before you read
Build the context out loud.
- How do people feel on the first day at a new job?
- What is important on a first day at work?
First pass: keep moving when one word is unfamiliar. Dotted words open optional help; every word also appears in the vocabulary bank below.
My name is Kofi. I am 38 years old. I am from Ghana. Now I live in Denver with my wife and two sons.
Today is Monday. It is my first day at work. I am a cookA person whose job is to make food, for example in a restaurant or hotel.Useful chunks: a cook at a hotel · I am a cook at the Pine Hotel. The kitchenThe room where people make food.Useful chunks: in the kitchen · a big kitchen is big and clean. My bossThe person at work who tells you what to do.Useful chunks: my boss · my new boss is Ms. Grant. She is kind.
I have a white jacket. My coworkersA person who works at the same place as you.Useful chunks: my coworkers · a new coworker are Ben and Mai. Ben is from Texas. Mai is from Vietnam. We have lunch at two o’clock. I like the soup.
At six o’clock, I am tiredNeeding rest after work or a long day.Useful chunks: I am tired · tired but happy. But I am happy.
Original text written for Thomas’s Classroom Reading Lab.
Words in context
Useful vocabulary and chunks
Learn the word with the partners it naturally keeps.
cook
A person whose job is to make food, for example in a restaurant or hotel.
a cook at a hotel · I am a cookkitchen
The room where people make food.
in the kitchen · a big kitchenboss
The person at work who tells you what to do.
my boss · my new bosscoworker
A person who works at the same place as you.
my coworkers · a new coworkertired
Needing rest after work or a long day.
I am tired · tired but happyCheck your reading
Comprehension check
Choose the answer best supported by the text. Check your choices when you finish the whole set.
01Where is Kofi from?
02What is Kofi’s job?
03Who is Ms. Grant?
04Who is in Kofi’s family in Denver?
05How is Kofi at six o’clock?
Language in the text
Choose be or have
Use be for who you are, your age, your country, and how you feel. Use have for things, family, and meals.
Age uses be in English, not have.
Use be with from for your country.
Use have for things you own or use.
Use have with meals: have lunch, have dinner.
Use be for a feeling now.
Check your reading
Language focus check
Use the surrounding meaning, not only the shape of one sentence.
01Choose the correct sentence about age.
02Choose the correct sentence about family.
03Choose the correct sentence about a feeling.
Read like a writer
How a very short story is built
This story is short, but it has a clear order. It introduces the writer, tells us the day, shows the new place and people, and ends with a feeling.
Start with the person
The reader knows who is telling the story before the story starts.
My name is Kofi. I am 38 years old.
Give the day
These two short sentences tell us why this day is special.
Today is Monday. It is my first day at work.
One fact in each sentence
Short sentences make the new people easy to remember.
Ben is from Texas. Mai is from Vietnam.
End with a feeling
The last lines tell us how the day ends for Kofi.
At six o’clock, I am tired. But I am happy.
From reading to speaking
Build your response
Work through the stages in order. Answer before opening the model.
01GistWho is Kofi, and what is special about today?
Useful ways to begin
Compare with a model response
Kofi is a cook from Ghana. Today is his first day at the Pine Hotel.
02Main pointsWho are the people at Kofi’s new job?
Useful ways to begin
Compare with a model response
His boss is Ms. Grant. His coworkers are Ben and Mai. Ben is from Texas, and Mai is from Vietnam.
03ReactIs it a good first day for Kofi? Why?
Useful ways to begin
Compare with a model response
I think it is a good day because his boss is kind and he is happy.
Speak
Take a position
Tell your tutor about a first day at a job, a class, or a new home. Say your name, the day, the place, and one or two people. End with how you feel.
Write
Make the reading useful
Write six to eight short sentences about a first day. Use I am two times and I have one time.