Portuguese Year 3: Understanding a story and reacting to it
Portuguese, Year 3 (Portugal): Ask who, where, when and what happened; work out what is not said; then say what you felt and think, with a reason from the text.
Five questions and a reaction
To understand a story you heard or read, ask: Who is in it? Where does it happen? When? What happens? How does it end? Sometimes the text does not say everything, so you work out the rest from the clues: why did someone do that? Then comes your reaction. You can say what you felt («Fiquei aflito», “I felt worried”), what you think («Acho que…», “I think that…”) and what you would do. Others may think differently, and that is fine.
Stories talk to what you feel
Stories are written to be understood, but also to be felt. When you say how a story made you feel and why, you show that you understood it, and you also learn about yourself and about others. Other readers may notice what you missed. Comparing what each person thought is one of the best parts of reading together. And, when you can say why a character did something, you understand people better.
Inês and the dog Bolota
Text (a short story made up as an example): «A Inês tinha um cão chamado Bolota. Um dia, o Bolota fugiu do jardim. A Inês procurou-o pelo bairro todo e encontrou-o a dormir debaixo de um banco. Abraçou-o e levou-o para casa.» (Inês had a dog called Bolota. One day he ran out of the garden. She searched the whole neighbourhood and found him asleep under a bench. She hugged him and took him home.) Who: Inês and Bolota. Where: garden, neighbourhood. What: he ran away, she looked for him and found him. Why the hug? She searched everywhere, so she was glad. Reaction: «Gostei da Inês, porque não desistiu.» (“I liked Inês because she did not give up.”)
Only «I liked it», or only one right answer
Two mistakes are common. The first is to say only «Gostei» (“I liked it”) or «Não gostei» (“I did not like it”) without a reason: a reason shows what you noticed. The second is to think there is a single right answer. About the same story, one friend may say Inês should have asked her mother for help, and another that she was right to search alone. Both can be right, if each says why and points to something in the story. What you cannot do is invent facts that the text does not have.
Where you react to stories
You do this when you talk about a film with your friends, when you tell your family about a book from school, or when you write in a reading diary «Gostei de… porque…» (“I liked … because …”). You can also do it after a tale told by a grandparent: what did you feel, and what would you have done? Giving a reason is useful anywhere you have to explain what you think, and it makes others want to listen.
Test what you learned
Which questions help you understand a story?
- a) Who? Where? When? What happens? How does it end?
- b) Only: who wrote it and in what year?
- c) Only: did I like it or not?
Correct answer: a) Who? Where? When? What happens? How does it end? — Yes: these questions take you through the characters, the place, the time and the events.
In the story of Inês and Bolota (Inês searched the whole neighbourhood, found him asleep under a bench and hugged him), why did she hug the dog?
- a) Because she was angry and wanted to punish him
- b) Because Bolota was asleep under a bench
- c) Because she was glad to have found him
Correct answer: c) Because she was glad to have found him — Yes: she searched everywhere, so finding him made her happy. The clue is in what she did.
Two friends read the story. One says: «Acho que a Inês devia ter chamado a mãe.» (I think Inês should have called her mother.) The other says: «Acho que fez bem em procurar sozinha.» (I think she was right to search alone.) Who is right?
- a) Only the first, because asking for help is always better
- b) Both can be right, if each one says why and points to something in the story
- c) Neither: only what is written counts, and the text does not mention her mother
Correct answer: b) Both can be right, if each one says why and points to something in the story — Yes: they are points of view. What makes them good is the reason, based on the text.
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