Talking About the Past
Primary 4 · English
Talking About the Past
Lesson 2 of 4
45 min
Look around your kitchen at home. Is there a gas cooker? A charcoal stove? A plastic jerrycan? Now think about your grandparents' kitchen, long ago. It looked very different!
Today you will read about the old tools in a grandmother's house, and learn to talk about how people lived in the past.
During the holidays, Keza visited her grandmother in Nyanza. In a corner of the house, she found a tall wooden pot with a narrow neck and a lid.
“Grandma, what is this?” asked Keza.
“That is an igisabo,” said Grandma. “When I was a girl, we used to pour fresh milk into it. Then we shook it for a long time until the milk turned into butter.”
Next to the door was a big flat stone with a smaller round stone on top. “And this is urusyo, a grinding stone,” said Grandma. “Every morning, my mother used to grind sorghum on it to make flour. It was hard work! Today we take our maize to the grinding mill at the trading centre. The machine does it in five minutes.”
“Where did you cook?” asked Keza.
“We used to cook on three stones with firewood, in clay pots called inkono. The smoke hurt our eyes! Now your mother cooks on a gas cooker, in metal saucepans. It is faster and cleaner.”
“How did you carry water?”
“We carried water from the spring in clay pots on our heads. Today people use yellow plastic jerrycans. They are lighter, and they don't break.”
Keza picked up a beautiful little basket with a pointed lid. “I know this one! It's an agaseke.”
“Yes,” said Grandma with a smile. “People have woven agaseke baskets for hundreds of years, and we still make them today. Some old things are still useful and beautiful.”
What did people use an igisabo for?
To shake fresh milk until it turned into butter.
What do people use today instead of a grinding stone?
A grinding mill (a machine) at the trading centre.
Why are plastic jerrycans better than clay pots for carrying water?
They are lighter and they don't break.
Which old thing do people still make today?
The agaseke basket.
| Job | Long ago | Today |
|---|---|---|
| cooking | three stones, firewood, clay pots | gas cooker or charcoal stove, metal saucepans |
| making flour | grinding stone (urusyo) | grinding mill (a machine) |
| making butter | igisabo | factory, shop |
| carrying water | clay pot or gourd | plastic jerrycan, water tap |
| light at night | fire, oil lamp | electric bulb, solar lamp |
We use used to + verb for things people did many times in the past, but don't do now.
The igisabo is made of wood. The inkono is made of clay. The urusyo is made of stone. A saucepan is made of metal. A jerrycan is made of plastic.
Speak: Interview a grandparent or an older neighbour. Ask: What did you use to cook with? How did you use to carry water? What games did you use to play?
Write five sentences comparing long ago and today. Use used to and made of. Example: People used to carry water in clay pots. Today they use jerrycans made of plastic.
Tip
“Used to” is a time machine. It takes you back to things people did again and again, long ago. After did or didn't, drop the d: Did you use to …?
Write your answers in your exercise book, then check.
Complete: Long ago, people ___ cook on three stones. (use to / used to)
Answer: used to
What is an inkono made of?
Answer: clay
Complete: Did you ___ walk to school, Grandpa? (use to / used to)
Answer: use to (after did, drop the d)
Name a modern tool that does the job of the urusyo.
Answer: a grinding mill (a machine)
Write one sentence about light at night, long ago and today.
Answer: Example: People used to use oil lamps, but today many homes have electric bulbs.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
Quick check
Match each traditional thing to what it is.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
