Instructions
- Do the preparation activity to help you with words from the text.
- Read the text, then play the game.
- You can also print the worksheet for more practice.
- Read the discussion question and write a comment!
Last summer, my brother, Juan, and I were staying at our grandfather's house in Mexico. When he was young, our grandfather was an explorer. One day, we were looking at his old books and we found a crumpled map hidden between the pages of a book called Animals of Mexico. On the map there were directions to a secret place, deep in the forest.
Juan wanted to follow the map. 'Perhaps we'll find some treasure!' he said excitedly.
We set off early the next morning. The twisting path marked on the map took us deeper and deeper into the forest. The tall trees blocked the sunlight, so it was very dark. The forest was surprisingly noisy – birds screeched and screamed, insects hummed, twigs and branches snapped under our feet. Suddenly, we heard a fierce growl.
Out of the shadows crept a huge, wild, spotted cat.
'It's a jaguar,' I whispered as quietly as I could.
Juan froze with fear. My heart was beating really fast, but I calmly looked the jaguar straight in the eyes and tried not to show how terrified I was.
'Back away, slowly,' I whispered to Juan.
We walked backwards, very, very slowly. The jaguar took one last look at us, then turned and disappeared back into the darkness.
Juan's hands were shaking as he looked again at the map.
'We're here!' he said. 'This is Grandpa's secret place.'
As we turned around, we saw a small, wooden cabin.
We nervously opened the door and went inside. On the walls, there were photos of beautiful jaguars, like the one we had seen.
Still trembling with fear after our adventure, we began to realise that we had in fact found a treasure – a place where jaguars live in the wild.
Top tips for writing an adventure story
- Give your characters a reason to set out on an adventure: We found an old map; We wanted to look for treasure.
- Describe the scene for the story. Say what you hear, as well as what you see: birds screeched; twigs snapped.
- Include danger and excitement for your characters: Suddenly we heard a fierce growl.
- Use interesting words to describe how the characters feel: Juan froze with fear; my heart was beating fast.
- Use adjectives and adverbs: a twisting path; a fierce growl; excitedly; nervously.
Invent your own adventure story! Who are the characters? Why do they set off on an adventure? What happens?
Once upon a time, my cousin and I were staying in a hotel in San Juan. Someone came and said: ‘I went to the Snap island and found a fossil of a dinosaur’. They thought: ‘how can we go there and discover the dinosaur?... We can go in a boat to the island!’
The next morning they set off in a boat to the Snap island. They looked whales swimming and jumping. They heard the chants of the whales and the dolphins screech. They had an accident! The boat lost control and crashed with the beach. They felt a little fear but they were brave and decided to continue the adventure.
They walked in the forest by a twisting path, they were very excited. Suddenly, a fierce bear appeared and they ran fastly. A nice wolf saw the boys escaping and the wolf barked noisily to the bear and saved them. Luis fell on with a bone and they realized that there was the fossil. They digged out the fossil and found out it was a dregnotus that lived there millions of years ago. Snip, snap, snout, this tale's told out
Once upon a time, my cousin and I were staying in a hotel in San Juan. Someone came and said: ‘I went to the Snap island and found a fossil of a dinosaur’. They thought: ‘how can we go there and discover the dinosaur?... We can go in a boat to the island!’
The next morning they set off in a boat to the Snap island. They looked whales swimming and jumping. They heard the chants of the whales and the dolphins screech. They had an accident! The boat lost control and crashed with the beach. They felt a little fear but they were brave and decided to continue the adventure.
They walked in the forest by a twisting path, they were very excited. Suddenly, a fierce bear appeared and they ran fastly. A nice wolf saw the boys escaping and the wolf barked noisily to the bear and saved them. Luis fell on with a bone and they realized that there was the fossil. They digged out the fossil and found out it was a dregnotus that lived there millions of years ago. Snip, snap, snout, this tale's told out
Okay so this is my favorite adventure. So one day I went to the beach and because the water was low I walked past the water and ended up in an island. So I saw cave I was excited to get inside. Does people get excited when they're going in a cave right? Okay then I went in I don't remember that much but I think it was a bit dark. Then I saw a crab and it didn't even touch me. And then I went back happy . Okay bye-bye.
scene 1
They were in a house and saw a scarecrow alive.
the scarecrow kidnapped Javier
Once upon a time there was, in a city in the northern US, a boy called Xavier. One day he was playing in the backyard when suddenly he saw a scarecrow moving. He was very scared and tried to get back to his house but the monster was more rapid (faster) and took Xavier.
After a moment, the father saw the monster flying, taking the boy. The mother went very fast to the backyard but she couldn’t save Xavier. They got into the car very worried and followed the scarecrow to the forest.
scene 2
The parents have to go to a forest.
A bear attacked them with its claws
When they arrived at the forest, they saw the scarecrow and followed him to a cabin in the center of the forest. The child was screaming loudly, his parents took a stick and hit the monster.
Next, they were attacked by a ferocious bear, but they could scape. They didn’t remember the right path outside the forest but they were very happy because they found Xavier. Then, Xavier saw a light, and it was the car. They ran to the car still confused about the monster and the dark forest.
The scarecrow comes back to the house and they fight and beat him.
When they came back home, they heard a sharp noise in the house and suddenly the scarecrow appeared again in the house. The family got into the house and faced the monster.