The document provides an overview of a 7th grade English lesson on precolonial Philippine literature and legends. It begins with definitions of literature and different forms such as fiction, nonfiction, manuscripts, and poetry. It then discusses the differences between legends and myths. Several Philippine legends are summarized, including the legend of why the Philippines has over 7,000 islands. The document also covers the use of sensory details in writing and provides examples of descriptive words that appeal to the five senses.

1. English
VII
Jeri Mayah “Ayah” P. Asuncion
Teacher
Week 1

2. Unit 1
Precolonial
Times:
Bridges to the
Past
2

3. 3
Literature
written works, especially
those considered of
superior or lasting artistic
merit.
Examples:
Fiction
Nonfiction
Manuscripts
Poetry
Theses
textbooks

4. Lesson 1
Timeless Stories:
Mankind’s Quest
for Understanding

5. Legend
One of the earliest forms of folklore
of most, if not all, cultures.
A narrative that is partly true and
partly imaginary about particular
person, event, place or natural
feature.
5

7. COMPARISON CHART
LEGEND MYTH
Evidence that
events occurred /
people existed?
Yes No
When and where
did it happen?
Typically in more recent
historical past.
Usually the ancient past
from a specific ancient
culture.
Is it fact or fiction? Facts are distorted or
exaggerated. Some fiction.
No evidence to prove it as
fact. Fictional stories
explaining how "the world
was created" or some type
of natural situation that
occurred on Earth.
7

8. COMPARISON CHART
LEGEND MYTH
Who are they
about?
Notable people from
history.
Gods, supernatural
realm, supernatural
creatures.
What are they
about?
Often about heroic
deeds, overcoming
obstacles, but may also
be about evil doing.
Traditional narrative
that explains natural
phenomena through
symbolism and
metaphor — often
involves the gods of
ancient cultures.
8

9. Philippine
Legends

10. Philippine
Legends

11. Philippine
Legends

12. Philippine
Legends
The Man with the Coconuts

13. Context Clues
 the scheming bird
 decided to don a blue color
 became indignant upon hearing this
 heaved a deep breath
 intentionally pelting the sky 1

14. Why Does the Philippines Have 7000 Islands?
At a time when there was only a single
great mass of land between the great sky and
an equally great water, a large prehistoric
bird got bored of circling around the same
area for millions of years. It had made several
attempts to fly as far as it could, to discover
what lay beyond the far horizons. However,
the big bird was always forced to go back,
because there was no other land on where he
could rest his tired wings.

15. One day, the bird came up with a
clever idea. The scheming bird told the water
that the sky was irritated by the way the
water kept on copying the sky’s hue. If it
decided to don a blue color, then water also
became blue; if the sky was clear and white,
the water became clear and neutral too.

16. The sky hated it the most that the water
imitated even the former’s dark mood, because the
water also turned gray and somewhat murky. Water
of course became indignant upon hearing this; and
it heaved a deep breath to which great amounts of
water rose up in the form of gigantic waves, high
enough to reach the sky and fill its clouds with
water.

17. They sky was puzzled at the water’s behavior
because it seemed that it was intentionally pelting the
sky. The scheming bird approached the sky and told
the latter that the water was resenting the fact that
the sky often made the decisions on what color they
had to have. Even if water wanted to try other colors,
the sky kept on reflecting itself on the water’s surface.

18. Sky, of course, was furious upon hearing this
that it let out loud roars of thunder and flashes of
lightning that hit not only water but also the
large mass of land. It drained out all the waters
carried in its clouds while water continued to pelt
huge waves against the sky. All these affected the
great mass of land because it slowly softened
and weakened as sky and water fought against
each other’s might.

19. Soon enough, the great mass of land started to
break into little pieces much to the delight of the bird.
Sky and water saw what had happened, and as a result,
stopped fighting and tried with all their might to bring
back the pieces of land together. It was too late because
there were about 7000 pieces of land that were too far
away from the main land. The bird of course finally
fulfilled his wash of travelling far and wide beyond the
horizons.

20. Context Clues
 the scheming bird
 decided to don a blue color
 became indignant upon hearing this
 heaved a deep breath
 intentionally pelting the sky

21. Answer the following:
1. How does the story explain the changing colors of the ocean?
2. What is the prehistoric bird’s motive in getting the sky and the
water into a quarrel?
3. What realization do the sky and the water have at the end of the
story?
4. What human traits do the bird, the sky and the water exhibit?
5. Is there a way the scheming bird could have foreseen the
outcome of its action? Explain your answer.

22. Copy and answer the following questions:
1. Who are the characters?
2. Where is the setting of the story?
3. What is the moral lesson that you learn
from reading it?

24. COMPARISON CHART
LEGEND MYTH
Evidence that
events occurred /
people existed?
Yes, but evidence may be
incorrect or insubstantial
No
When and where
did it happen?
Typically in more recent
historical past. Usually from
a specific culture.
Usually the ancient past
from a specific ancient
culture.
Is it fact or fiction? Facts are distorted or
exaggerated. Some fiction.
No evidence to prove it as
fact. Fictional stories
explaining how "the world
was created" or some type
of natural situation that
occurred on Earth.

25. COMPARISON CHART
LEGEND MYTH
Who are they
about?
Notable people from
history.
Gods, supernatural
realm, supernatural
creatures.
What are they
about?
Often about heroic
deeds, overcoming
obstacles, but may also
be about evildoing.
Traditional narrative
that explains natural
phenomena through
symbolism and
metaphor — often
involves the gods of
ancient cultures.

26. Understanding
Sensory Details

27. Sensory Details
It makes the
description more vivid
in the minds of the
readers. By forming
mental images of

28. Sensory Details Example
Visual
(appealing to the
sense of sight)
• patches of green in the
dry field
• flickers of light on a
moonless night

29. Sensory Details Example
Auditory (appealing
to the sense of
hearing)
• hearts pounds loudly in
the quiet room
• beating of drums
echoing faintly from the
distant hills

30. Sensory Details Example
Olfactory
(appealing to the
sense of smell)
• Scents of cheap perfume
from a nearby local store
• Rising smoke from
burning leaves

31. Sensory Details Example
Gustatory
(appealing to
the sense of
taste)
• spicy leaves and
herbs
• tasty servings of
organic fibers

32. Sensory Details Example
Tactile
(appealing to
the sense of
touch)
• rough edges of the
ancient cliffs
• the farmer’s coarse
and withered hands

33. Sensory Words
Visual
messy
crowded
deserted
healthy
heavy
clean
ancient
peaceful
tidy
Auditory
whizzing
rustling
pounding
rumbling
bubling
gurgling
muffled
scraping
whining

34. Sensory Words
Olfactory
State
Fresh
Mouldy
Burnt
Rotten
Salty
Spicy
Sweaty
slimy
Gustatory
Bitter
Sweet
Sour
Spicy
Salty
Bland
Tangy
Tart
nutty

35. Sensory Words
Tactile
Silky
Rusty
Spongy
Sticky
Delicate
Prikly
Greasy
Slippery
slimy

36. Sensory Words
Motion
Sparks of flame leap from the burning bushes, rising
toward the sky and swaying fleetingly before
disappearing into space.
crawl
skip
tiptoe
scramble
waddle
run

37. What to Avoid
Toomanyadjectives
Adjectives arewords thatdescribeormodifynouns.
Example:
Thetiny, fluffy, soft, furrycatmadeacute, weird, funnysound.
Modified example:
Thetiny,fluffy catmadeacutesound.

38. 1. The woo jacket felt prickly against her fingers.
CA: Tactile / Touch
2. For a brief of second, a spike lightning illuminated the dark purple
clouds.
CA: Visual / Sight
3. A faint buzz of voices came from behind the closed door
CA: Auditory / Hearing
4. The sweet yet tart taste of the apple juice flooded his mouth.
CA: Gustatory / Taste
5. The sharp aroma of pine needles filled the air.
CA: Olfactory / Smell

39. 1. This desk has a hard smooth surface.
2. The light, flowery scent of my sister’s perfume invaded my nostrils.
3. As I carefully swallowed each delicious morsel, I savored the rich and
creamy chocolate bar.
4. Brightly colored hot air balloons filled the clear sky.
5. The campfire crackled quietly in the night.

40. 1. This desk has a hard smooth surface.
CA: Tactile / Touch
2. The light, flowery scent of my sister’s perfume invaded my nostrils.
CA: Olfactory / Smell
3. As I carefully swallowed each delicious morsel, I savored the rich and
creamy chocolate bar.
CA: Gustatory / Taste
4. Brightly colored hot air balloons filled the clear sky.
CA: Visual / Sight
5. The campfire crackled quietly in the night.
CA: Auditory / Hearing