Excerpt 1
"The statue of the Happy Prince stood high above the city. It was covered with
gold, its eyes were bright blue jewels, and a red jewel hung from its waist.
Everyone thought that it was very beautiful. 'Why aren't you like the Happy
Prince?' their mothers said to their little boys when they cried. Sad men looked at
the statue and said, 'I am glad that someone in the world is happy.' One night, a
little bird flew alone over the city. The other birds were all in Egypt now. 'Where
can I stay tonight?' he thought. Then he saw the statue. 'I will stay there,' he
thought. 'It is high up, so there is plenty of fresh air.'"
● Punctuation and Sentence Type: "Why aren't you like the Happy Prince?
mothers said to their little boys when they cried." What type of sentence is
this, and what is the effect of the question mark being inside the quotation
marks?
● Conjunctions and Sentence Structure: In the sentence, "It is high up, so
there is plenty of fresh air," what is the function of the word "so"? What type
of sentence is this (simple, compound, or complex)?
● Figurative Language: When the bird thinks, "I have a golden bedroom!",
what figure of speech is being used to describe the space between the
statue's feet?
Excerpt 2
"Then another drop fell. 'I cannot stay on a statue that does not keep me dry,' he
thought. 'I must find another place.' And he decided to fly away. But as he opened
his wings, a third drop fell. He looked up and saw Ah! What did he see? The eyes
of the Happy Prince were full of tears. Tears ran down his golden face. The face
was very beautiful in the moonlight, and the bird felt sorry for him."
● Punctuation and Effect: The excerpt uses a mix of single and double
quotation marks. What is the difference in their usage?
● Sentence Structure and Clauses: "I cannot stay on a statue that does not
keep me dry," contains two clauses. Identify the main clause and the
subordinate clause.
● Figurative Language: What is the figure of speech used in "Tears ran down
his golden face"?
Excerpt 3
"He is sitting at a table that is covered with papers. At his side, there are some
dead flowers. He is trying to finish a story. But he is very cold and he cannot
write. There is no fire in the room, and he is weak and hungry. 'I will wait with you
for one more night,' said the bird kindly. 'What shall I take to him?' "
● Sentence Type and Parallelism: The sentences, "He is trying to finish a
story," "But he is very cold and he cannot write," and "There is no fire in the
room, and he is weak and hungry," all describe the writer's situation. How
does the use of conjunctions like "and" connect these simple sentences to
create a compound sentence?
● Direct and Indirect Speech: The last two sentences are in direct speech. If
you were to rewrite the sentence, "'I will wait with you for one more night,'
said the bird kindly," in indirect speech, how would it change?
● Word Choice and Tone: What is the effect of using the word "kindly" to
describe the bird's action?
Excerpt 4
"The little bird did not want to stay in a city without a prince to help. He flew away,
and the wind carried his little body. He was very weak and cold now. He thought
of all the kind things the prince had done. 'I will stay,' he thought. 'I will stay with
my prince forever.'"
● Punctuation and its Effect: The author uses a comma after "He flew away,"
and again after "He was very weak and cold now." What is the purpose of
these commas?
● Sentence Structure and Repetition: The sentence "I will stay" is repeated.
What is the effect of this repetition on the reader?
● Figurative Language: What is the figure of speech used in the phrase "the
wind carried his little body"?
Excerpt 5
"Then God said to his servants, 'Bring me the two best things in the city.' They
brought Him the broken heart and the dead bird. 'Yes, you have brought the right
things,' God said. 'This little bird will sing forever in my garden, and the Happy
Prince will stand in my city of gold.'"
● Punctuation and Direct Speech: How does the author use quotation marks
and commas to show who is speaking?
● Capitalisation: Explain the capitalisation of the words "Him" and "God."
● Grammar: Identify the conjunctions in the last sentence. What is their role
in the sentence?
Excerpt 6
"Early next morning, an important man in the city was walking below with two of
his friends. He looked up at the statue. 'The Happy Prince does not look very
bright!' he said. 'The red stone has disappeared, his eyes are not there, and he is
not golden. He looks like a beggar.' 'Yes, he does!' said the man's friends. 'Here is
a dead bird at his feet!' said the officer. 'We must make an order that birds cannot
die here.'"
● Punctuation and Tone: How does the use of an exclamation mark in "'The
Happy Prince does not look very bright!'" reflect the speaker's tone or
emotion?
● Figurative Language: What figure of speech is used when the man says,
"He looks like a beggar"?
● Sentence Type: What kind of sentence is "We must make an order that
birds cannot die here," and what is its purpose?
Language from the Story
Part 1: Identifying Parts of Speech
Instructions: In the sentences below, identify the part of speech for the bolded
word. Choose from the following options: noun, verb, adjective, adverb,
conjunction, or preposition.
1. The statue of the Happy Prince stood high above the city.
2. The face was very beautiful in the moonlight, and the bird felt sorry for
him.
3. "I am glad that someone in the world is happy."
4. He landed between the feet of the Happy Prince.
5. They brought Him the broken heart and the dead bird.
Part 2: Punctuation
Read the sentences and answer the questions about the punctuation used.
1. "Why aren't you like the Happy Prince?" mothers said to their little boys
when they cried.
○ What is the purpose of the question mark at the end of the quote?
○ Why is the question mark inside the quotation marks?
2. 'I cannot stay on a statue that does not keep me dry,' he thought.
○ What is the name of the punctuation mark used at the beginning and
end of the quote?
3. "Bring me the two best things in the city."
○ What is the name of the punctuation mark at the end of this
sentence? What does it signal?
Part 3: Sentence Types
Identify the type of sentence for each example: simple, compound, or complex.
1. He is very cold and he cannot write.
2. The statue of the Happy Prince stood high above the city.
3. The little bird did not want to stay in a city without a prince to help.
4. When I was alive, I had a heart.