Born to
Play
Dan Freedman
BASED ON THE NOVELS BY
STUDENT WORKBOOK
by Mark Bailey
Copyright ©2024 HATRIQA Limited.
All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law,
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission from the
Publisher or under license permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom
from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Further details of such licenses
(for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright
Licensing Agency Limited, www.cla.co.uk.
ISBN 978 1 915791 23 8 (Paperback)
Published by HATRIQA Limited
Lower Ground Floor
7 Coleherne Road
London SW10 9BS
PUBLISHER Tim Gentles
EDITOR Nicole Elliott
ILLUSTRATIONS © Gavin Reece 2022 and © Marcus Marritt 2022
DESIGN Lucy Allen
Gavin Reece and Marcus Marritt have asserted their rights under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988, to be identified as the authors of the illustrations.
Special thanks to UCL Institute of Education, UCL EDUCATE,
UCL Innovation and Enterprise and Kristin Thrower
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead,
events or locales is entirely coincidental.
IMAGES
By Freepik - p27 fall, run away; p47 country flags; p62 throw, tired, cry,
half an hour, one day, hate. By brgfx on Freepik - p27 break, egg, push, shout.
By macrovector on Freepik - p27 stand up. By rawpixel.com on Freepik -
p31 shaking hands.
As is the case with any sport involving speed, agility, balance, and environmental
factors, soccer poses some inherent risk. Specifically, the soccer skills described
in The Jamie Johnson Series can be dangerous if attempted. The author and
publisher advise readers to take full responsibility for their safety and they do not
recommend readers attempt the skills described in the series without the proper
supervision from an accredited coach or guardian. Additionally, the author and
publisher suggest readers not take risks beyond their personal level of experience,
aptitude, training, and comfort level. As such, the authors and publishers of the
series deny liability for any resulting injury, loss, or damage to either property or
person, whether direct or consequential and however arising.
Orders are available through our website at
www.hatriqa.com or by emailing orders@hatriqa.com.
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
Contents
Chapter 1: The Soccer Computer
Chapter 2: In Trouble Again
12
Chapter 3: More Trouble
23
Chapter 4: Saturday
32
Chapter 5: The Bicycle Kick
41
Chapter 6: The Pep Rally
51
Chapter 7: I Hate This Stupid Country
60
My Vocabulary
67
Answer Key
77
Hello, future soccer stars and writers!
Do you love being on the field with the ball at your feet, and the
goal in front of you? Ok, maybe scoring a goal or winning a soccer
game is better than this workbook. But this workbook will help
you become a champion in reading and writing!
In soccer, practice helps you score goals, and in this book, each
page will help your language skills. We hope you will use your love
for soccer to become a great reader and writer!
You might think, “I’m not good at reading,” or “Writing is boring!”
I was the same when I was younger. But the right book can make
you love reading, and we hope you will love the Jamie Johnson
books.
This workbook is your training field. You will learn new words,
new grammar, and understand more and more of the stories, all
through soccer.
Are you ready to Go For Your Goals? This workbook is your ticket
to better reading and writing.
Let’s start this amazing journey together!
Dan Freedman,
author of the Jamie Johnson series.
Welcome to your
Jamie Johnson workbook!
Chapter 1
The Soccer Computer
The Soccer Computer
1. Which boy is Jamie?
a boy A
b boy B
c boy C
2. What is a soccer computer?
a a computer
b Jamie thinking where to
kick a football
c a computer game
3. What is Chapter 1 about?
a Jamie’s soccer skills
b a school soccer game
c something else
b. Now read Chapter 1 and check your answers!
Before reading
Activity 1
a. Chapter 1 is called “The Soccer Computer”. Read the first 2 sentences of Chapter 1
below and look at the picture. Then draw a circle around the correct answers for
questions 1–3.
Jamie used the soccer computer in his head to get
the ball ready.
This was a free kick, and he had a lot of time to think.
A free kick
Chapter 1
The Soccer Computer
After reading
Activity 2
How do you feel about Chapter 1? Draw a circle around the best option for you.
1. I like the chapter.
I do not like the chapter.
2. I understand everything.
5 4 3 2 1
I do not understand anything.
Activity 3
Draw a circle around the correct answers.
Drake is a
_____________ boy.
a kind
b bad
c good
Jamie _____________ Drake.
a likes
b loves
c hates
Jamie _____________.
a kicked a ball at Drake
b talked to Drake
c played with Drake
Chapter 1
The Soccer Computer
Activity 4
a. Are these sentences true (
) or false ( )?
b. Change the false ( ) sentences. Make them true.
Talk about the story
Activity 5
You are Jamie, and you see Drake kicking and hitting the smaller boy. What do you do?
a run and tell a teacher
b kick a soccer ball at his head
c shout at him to stop
d walk away and do nothing
Jamie is
American. ____
Drake hits a tall
boy. ____
Jamie does not
kick the ball hard.
____
Drake is angry
with Jamie. ____
The ball hits
Drake on the
head. ____
Chapter 1
The Soccer Computer
Learn the words
Activity 6
Complete the crossword.
3. Jamie moved his foot
through the ball and kicked
it _____________.
4. The ball flew across the
playground and hit Drake
hard on the head. He was
_____________.
5. Jamie saw them kick and hit
the smaller boy. Then they
_____________.
Across
2. Drake and his friends liked to
hit smaller boys. It was easy,
because smaller boys did not
_____________ back.
6. Drake Staunton was with his
friends fifty meters away, in a
corner of the _____________.
Down
1. Jamie wanted his shot to
_____________ Drake Staunton’s
head.
Chapter 1
The Soccer Computer
Activity 7
Complete the sentences below. Use these words from the crossword in Exercise 1.
1. The bicycle went too fast and _____________ the tree.
2. That is so funny. You are making me _____________!
3. I do not like this homework. The questions are too _____________.
4. I love my sister, but sometimes we _____________. Especially when she takes my
things!
5. At lunchtime, we play soccer in the school _____________.
6. I did not do my homework, so the teacher was _____________.
Activity 8
a. Choose 3 words from activities 1 & 2. Write 3 sentences about yourself using the
words—2 things that are true, but 1 thing that is a lie!
Example: Yesterday, I found $50 in the school playground!
1. ___________________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________________
b. Can your partner guess which sentence is a lie?
angry fight laugh playground hit hard
10
Chapter 1
The Soccer Computer
Grammar check
Look again at the first 2 sentences of Chapter 1.
Jamie used the soccer computer in his head to get the ball ready.
This was a free kick, and he had a lot of time to think.
“Used”, “was”, and “had” are verbs in the simple past form. They tell us about actions
before now.
Some verbs are regular. We add “-ed”.
Verb
use
move
kick
want
like
laugh
look
Simple past
used
Some verbs are irregular. That means you cannot just add “-ed”.
Verb
be
have
see
fly
hit
think
Simple past
was / were
had
Activity 9
Complete the verb tables above. All of the verbs are from Chapter 1 of “Born to Play”.
Activity 10
Complete these sentences from Chapter 1. Use the simple past form of the verbs
from the verb tables above.
1. He _____________ his foot through the ball and _____________ it hard.
2. Jamie _____________ his shot to hit Drake Staunton’s head.
3. Jamie _____________ them kick and hit the smaller boy.
4. Drake and his friends _____________ to hit smaller boys.
5. “I’m ready for you, Drake,” _____________ Jamie.
Activity 11
Tell your partner 3 things you did this morning before you came to school.
Example: I woke up at 7 o’clock.
Spelling Regular Verbs
For most verbs, add “-ed” to make the simple past.
But when the verb already ends in “-e”, just add “-d”.
use
used agree
agreed