Coast to Coast

Warm-up · A boy on the beach ⏱️ 8 min

Imagine this: It is late at night. You are walking along the beach in Darwin in the north of Australia. Suddenly you see a boy lying on the sand. He is wet, tired and scared. He doesn’t speak English – and he has no passport. 🌊

💬 Talk to your partner – 1 minute per question:

• How do you think the boy came to the beach? Where could he be from?
• What would you do? Would you help him – or call the police? Why?
• What is right and what is wrong in this situation? Is there an easy answer?

🔒 Across cultures and facts and numbers appear when you have talked about all the questions above.

➡️ In the story Coast to Coast, 17-year-old Cooper finds a half-drowned Afghan boy, Bashir, on the beach one night. What do Cooper and his friend Kate do? Let’s find out!

Reading · Book pages 16–17 ⏱️ 15 min

1. 📖 Before you read (Task 1a): Look at the picture on the book cover on page 16 and read the description. What could the conflict about right or wrong be about? What do you think Cooper does after he finds Bashir?
2. 📖 Read the story on pages 16 and 17 in your book – from line 1 to line 94 first (Task 1b), then up to line 140. (The end of the story on page 18 comes later!)
3. ✏️ While you read: Write down everything Cooper and Kate do for Bashir.

🎧 You can also listen to the story: track 1.7 / 1.8 of your audio.

Task 1 · What did Cooper and Kate do? (Task 1b)

Did Cooper and Kate do this for Bashir? Sort the sentences.

Task 2 · Did you understand the story?

Choose the right answer. The line numbers help you.

Task 3 · Words from the story

These words are from your vocabulary pages (152–153). Find them in the text and match them with their meaning.

Task 4 · What do you think?

💬 Talk to your partner – 1 minute per question:

• Was it right that Cooper and Kate hid Bashir? Give reasons.
• Why do you think they wanted to teach him English and Australian culture?
• Cooper’s dad wants to become Lord Mayor of Darwin. Why could Bashir be a problem for him?
• What do you think Cooper’s dad will do now?

Reading part 2 · Book page 18 ⏱️ 5 min

📖 Now read the rest of the story on page 18 (lines 140–157). Was your guess right?

Task 5 · Cooper’s dad finds out (Task 2)

a) How did Cooper’s dad find out about Bashir – and how did he react? Choose the right answers.

b) 💬 What do you think Cooper’s dad says to him outside? Exchange ideas with your partner – 1 minute per question:

• What does Cooper’s dad say to Cooper outside the hut? Act it out!
• What would your parents say in this situation?

Task 6 · What do the sentences mean? (Task 3)

Match the sentences from the story with the correct meaning. There are two extra meanings.

Task 7 · Use of English: Word families (Task 4)

Use the word in brackets to form a word of the same word family.

Task 8 · Bashir’s point of view (Task 5)

a) How do you think Bashir felt … ? Talk to your partner – 1 minute per situation:

• … before he left Afghanistan?
• … when he got to Australia?
• … when Cooper found him on the beach?
• … while he was living in the hut?

💬 Useful words: afraid · scared · hopeless · sad · worried · unhappy · excited · happy · hopeful · disappointed · helpless · alone · lonely