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Penguin Readers Factsheets
Teacher’s Notes

The Last Photo
by Bernard Smith
About Easystarts
Communicative activities

Easystarts are Penguin Readers written to the lowest level in the
Penguin Readers series.
There are more than twenty titles to choose from, across a range
of styles and subject matter. All titles are in full colour with carefully
selected photos and/or artwork which helps to guide early learners
of English. There is one page of activities at the back of each book.

The following activities on this page are whole-class,
teacher-led activities which may be done after those in the
Reader.

Penguin Readers Easystarts provide pleasurable reading for all
tastes at an appropriate level of difficulty.

1 Ask the students to look at the picture on the front of the
book. On the board write down any new words that they need
to describe the picture e.g. photos, newspaper. Ask them to
write a few sentences about who the two people are, where
they are (in a kitchen) and what they are doing. Students may
also like to write about what they think the story is about.
2 Ask students if they are interested in photography. How do
their photos look? When do they take photos? Do they like
having their photo taken?

Summary
In The Last Photo, Martin and his sister Pam are spending a day
in Cambridge, England. Pam likes taking photos, but sometimes
they are not very good. At the end of the day, she takes one last
photo.
The photo is one of Martin, and as she takes it, a strange man with
a rucksack walks in front of Martin. This makes Pam cross. Later,
they see the man get on a bus for Scotland.
Three days later, Pam looks at her photos from Cambridge with
Martin. The last photo shows the man with the rucksack. Martin,
has an idea. He thinks that this man looks like a man in the
newspaper. The policemen are looking for the man because he
has a lot of money (a hundred thousand pounds) with him. It is not
his money, but the bank’s where he works. He shows the
newspaper photo to Pam.
They take the photo and newspaper to the police station They tell
the police that they saw the man get on a bus to Scotland. The
police think it is the same man too. They find him and the money.
The people in the bank are very pleased to have the money back
and give Pam and Martin a thousands pounds. Pam has money to
buy a good camera.

Background and themes
Chance: Pam accidentally takes a photo of someone who is
wanted by the police. By chance they see which bus the man goes
on. Pam thinks that the last photo is a mistake, but in the end it
brings her luck.
Appearances: Martin is able to see the same face of a stranger
even when the stranger looks different.
Police: People who break the law often make mistakes which
helps the police catch them. In this story, Rook is caught because
he walks in front of a camera and his photois taken.
© Pearson Education Limited 2002

BEFORE YOU READ

AFTER YOU READ
1

2

3

Students who guessed what the story is about may like to read
aloud what they wrote. The other students point out what
is different about their story and the real story.
Ask the students to imagine they are policemen. Alan Rook,
has been found. Now they must write a report. It must be
factual and start with a time and date when Pam and
Martin first walked into the police station.
Put students in pairs. Each pair chooses a sentence from the
story. One student from each pair reads out the sentence that
they have chosen. The other pairs must say where in the story
the sentences come from, e.g. ‘It comes from the
beginning/middle/the end’.
As an extra task, the students could arrange the sentences
out in story order. Ask each pair to stand up and make a line
in order of their sentences. When done, they can read out the
sentences again in order. Record this.

Vocabulary
Here is a list of the words commonly used in the Reader.
beard camera camping bus and police station far film flowers idea
laugh minute rucksack sunglasses take photos tent tired university

Penguin Readers Factsheets
Student’s activities
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK

3

1 Point to the words which are in the cover photo. One word is
not in the picture, which is it?
photo newspaper window kitchen blue smile
2 What do you think the story is about? Read the back of the
book then choose one of the answers below.
(a) The boy and girl are looking for a friend.
(b) The boy and girl see that there is something special about
the last photo.
(c) The boy and girl are choosing a photo for a newspaper.
(d) The boy and girl are going to cook a meal.

Here are some answers. What are the questions? Use ‘why?’
‘who?’ ‘what?’and ‘where?’
(a) Because he wants to look at the photo in the newspaper.
(b) His name is Alan Rook.
(c) ‘I’m drawing on the newspaper.’
(d) He is in Scotland.

4

Practise the words for colours
(a) What colour is Pam’s sweater on page 1?
(b) What colour is the man’s rucksack? His tent? His hat?
(c) What colour is the wall in the police station?

ACTIVITIES WHILE READING THE BOOK
1

(d) What is the colour of the man from the bank’s hair on page
15?

Find the mistakes.
Pages 1-4
(a) Pam takes photos of trees.

5

Choose the correct word: on or in

(b) Pam and Martin go home at 3 o’clock.

(a) Martin draws a beard –– the face of the man –– the photo.

(c) Martin likes Pam to take his photo.

(b) Pam and Martin are –– Cambridge. They are –– a garden.

(d) Martin stands next to a man with a suitcase.

(c) Pam gets her photos from the shop –– Tuesday. –– the
last photo there is a strange man.

(e) Pam is happy because she has a photo of the man.
(f) The man wears blue sunglasses and a black hat.

(d) Alan Rook is –– the mountains –– Aberdeen. The money
is –– the rucksack.
(e) The rucksack is –– his back. There is a lot of money –– it.

Pages 5-9
(g) They see the man again at the police station.

(f) –– the next morning, Pam and Martin’s story is –– all the
newspapers.

(h) At home, they sit in the bedroom and look at the photos
(i) Pam looks at the last photo and says ’Wait a minute.’
(j) The newspaper says £10,000 is missing.

6 Make some headlines using A. Finish the sentences from (B)
(A)

(k) Martin draws on the photo.

(i) The bank says
(ii) Do you know
(iii) Police go to Aberdeen

Pages 10-15
(l) The man in the newspaper looks like Martin.

(a) to look for Rook

(m) The policeman’s name is Alan Rook.

(b) this man?

(n) Pam tells the policeman that she thinks the man is in
Cambridge.

(c) a lot of money

(o) The police find Alan Rook, but he does not have the
money..
(p) Now Pam and Martin are in the newspaper!
(q) The people in the bank give Pam a new camera.
2

(iv) Bank loses
(B)

Put these words into a sentence.
beard camping bus station rucksack sunglasses photo police
station

(d) thank you to Pam and Martin
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
1 Do you like the story? Find three things that are good,
and three that are bad about the story. Set a time limit of ten
minutes to make your answers.
2 Imagine you are Alan Rook. You are in a tent in Scotland.
Write a letter to the bank. In the letter tell them if you are
sorry, angry or happy for example.

The man has –– (a) on, and they hide his eyes. He has a ––
(b) on his face. He is walking to the –– (c) where he wants to
get a bus. He is carrying a –– (d) on his back. Is he –– (e) or
going to a hotel? He does not know that Pam and Martin
have a –– (f) of him. They take the photo to the –– (g).

© Pearson Education Limited 2002

Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by Rose Hill
Factsheet series developed by Louise James