Robin Hood

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Many people have enjoyed the stories about Robin Hood because they contain adventure, romance, humor, and good deeds.

• Are you ready to read a story about Robin Hood while working on recognizing relative pronouns and adverbs?

First, review relative pronouns and adjectives.

Relative Pronouns

You know that a personal pronoun takes the place of a noun in a sentence.

Instead of writing "Robin Hood" every time the author tells us something about the character, he can use the word "he" instead.

Relative pronouns are words that can also be used as pronouns. They are used in clauses that tell more about the person.

Example: Robin Hood, who lived like an outlaw in the forest, gathered a band of loyal men around him.

In this sentence, the clause is: who lived like an outlaw in the forest.

The who in the sentence acts like a pronoun because it stands for Robin Hood. So, in this case, who is a relative pronoun.

Relative pronouns are: who, whose, whom, which, that, where, when, and why.

Examples

The parents, whose children go to Dixon Elementary, say it's a great school.

The lawyer to whom we wrote the letter has agreed to meet with us.

The book which I was reading yesterday is not my favorite.

The date that you chose for the party is perfect for my schedule.

Relative Adverbs

Like relative pronouns, relative adverbs add more information about the noun related to location, time, or reason.

They are where, when, and why

The relative adverb where is used after nouns that refer to places.

The restaurant where I ate dinner last night is very expensive.

Marianne visited Germany, where she met some of her father's family.

The relative adverb when is used after nouns that refer to a time or day.

The time when I lived in Spain was very peaceful and happy.

I always love Sundays, when I have much more free time than other days.

The relative adverb why is only used after the word reason.

Our dog is very protective of us, and that's the reason why she always barks at the mailman.

I overslept this morning, and that's the reason why I'm so late.

Now, it's time to read about Robin Hood. Read the first part of the story below.

When you see a word in bold, write it down and note if it's a relative pronoun or relative adverb. Remember, a relative pronoun takes the place of a noun, and a relative adverb is used after a noun, referring to a location, time, or reason.

"A Story of Robin Hood" by James Baldwin

In the rude days of King Richard and King John, there were many great woods in England. The most famous of these was Sherwood Forest, where the king often went to hunt deer. In this forest there lived a band of daring men called outlaws.

They had done something that was against the laws of the land, and had been forced to hide themselves in the woods to save their lives. There they spent their time in roaming about among the trees, in hunting the king's deer, and in robbing rich travelers who came that way.

There were nearly a hundred of these outlaws, whose leader was a bold fellow called Robin Hood. They were dressed in suits of green, and armed with bows and arrows; and sometimes they carried long wooden lances and broadswords, which they knew how to handle well. Whenever they had taken anything, it was brought and laid at the feet of Robin Hood, whom they called their king. He then divided it fairly among them, giving to each man his just share.

Robin never allowed his men to harm anybody but the rich men who lived in great houses and did no work. He was always kind to the poor, and he often sent help to them; that's the reason why the common people looked upon him as their friend.

Long after he was dead, men liked to talk about his deeds. Some praised him, and some blamed him. He was, indeed, a rude, lawless fellow; but at that time, people did not think of right and wrong as they do now.

Robin Hood inspired a great many songs, which were sung in the cottages and huts all over the land for hundreds of years afterward. There is a little story that is told in one of those songs.

• Did you write down those five words and whether they were relative pronouns or adverbs?

If so, head to the Got It? section, where you'll finish reading the story and practice some more!