Portuguese Year 4: Reacting to what you read and hear
Portuguese, Year 4 (Portugal): Say what you feel and think about a story or a poem, explain why and show it in a creative way.
A reaction has a reason
When you hear or read a story or a poem, you have ideas and feelings: you laughed, you felt sad, you found something unfair. To react is to say so, with the reason: «Gostei porque…» (I liked it because…), «Na minha opinião…» (In my opinion…). Listen carefully, imagine what you hear, then answer. You can also react creatively: draw a scene, change the ending, write a letter to a character or act it out with gestures.
Everyone reads a little differently
Nobody reads exactly like you: each reader brings their own life to the text. That is why reactions differ, and they all count, if you explain them with what the text says. Explaining why helps you understand the story better and hear other people's points of view. And creative reactions keep the text with you long after you close the book.
From a feeling to a reason
The teacher reads the fable «A Lebre e a Tartaruga» (The Hare and the Tortoise): the proud hare falls asleep and the tortoise, never stopping, wins the race. Step 1: what did I feel? It seemed fair, and I laughed when the hare fell asleep. Step 2: why? Because the tortoise did not give up. Step 3: I lean on the text: she went slowly but never stopped. Step 4: creative reaction: I draw the hare waking up, or write a new ending. Step 5: I listen to a classmate and say if I agree, and why.
Only «I liked it»
The commonest mistake is to stop at «gostei» (I liked it) or «não gostei», with no reason. A reaction has three parts: what you feel, the reason, and a place in the text that supports it. The other mistake is to think there is only one right answer. Feeling differently is not wrong, but saying something the text does not say does not count. If a classmate thinks differently, listen and explain: it is not an argument to win.
Book clubs, films and friends
You react like this when you tell your family about a film you saw, when you recommend a book to a friend, when you write in a reading diary, when you make a poster about a story or when you talk in a book club. Saying «I liked it because…» also works for opinions about a game, a song or a piece of news, while respecting those who think differently.
Test what you learned
What does it mean to react to a story you heard?
- a) To repeat it word for word
- b) To say what you thought and felt, and why
- c) To say if the teacher reads well
Correct answer: b) To say what you thought and felt, and why — Yes: a reaction is what you feel and think, with the reason.
After the fable «A Lebre e a Tartaruga» (The Hare and the Tortoise), which reaction is the best?
- a) «Gostei porque a tartaruga não desistiu, mesmo indo devagar.»
- b) «Gostei.»
- c) «A tartaruga é um animal com casco.»
Correct answer: a) «Gostei porque a tartaruga não desistiu, mesmo indo devagar.» — Yes: it says what she felt, gives the reason and uses something from the story.
Tomás thinks the hare was proud. Inês thinks it was only tired. What is a good way to go on talking?
- a) Say Tomás is wrong and stop listening to him
- b) Change opinion at once so as not to argue
- c) Listen, explain your reason and go back to the text to check
Correct answer: c) Listen, explain your reason and go back to the text to check — Yes: you respect the other opinion and look at what the text really says.
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