Tonyo was hesitant to share details about his strange family for a school assignment to bring a family photo and discuss three good things about them. His sister Osang could speak to birds and carried birdhouses on her head. His mother's words came out of her head and his father grew plants on his arms. Tonyo helped his family members with their unique traits. He realized his family accepted him for who he is, which gave him the courage to share about their never-ending adventures and how they support each other through challenges.

1. Father God,
As we start this new day for new
learning,
we ask for Your guidance. Lead us all
the way.
May You let us see through Your
eyes,
listen through Your ears, and speak
with Your Mouth.
Be with us as we explore the world.
Give us the heart to love and be
kind to one another. Please watch

3. Father Mother
Children
Family Tree

4. Let us have a Quick Recap!

6. She felt strange,
something is unusual and
not ordinary

7. His musicality is innate,
he wasn’t taught by
anyone.

8. The illustrations include some
spectacular or breath taking
examples of artworks from
non-biodegradable materials.

9. Many people are mysteriously
afflicted like suffering,
emotional distress and
anguish.

10. Let’s Build Your Vocabulary!
Arrange the jumbled letters to form
the words related our topic. Use the
clues provided to answer this activity.

11. She felt __________ and awkward.
Clue: unusual, not ordinary.
strange
T
S E R G A N E
G
N
A
S R
T

12. He had an __________ musicality.
Clue: existing as a natural part of something or
someone
innate
I N T E N A
E
T
A
N
N
I

13. The illustrations include some ______________ examples of
artworks from non-biodegradable materials.
Clue: very impressive or admirable
spectacular
E C C A R
U
L
A
T
P
S R
A
L
U
C
A
T
C
E
P
S

14. A parrot on the shoulder never goes ________
Clue: wrong, not proper
amiss
S
M
I
S
A S
I
M S
A

15. Many people are _____________ with anxiety and
depression.
Clue: suffering from something
afflicted
T
F
C
L
I
F
A E D
A F
F I
L T
C E D

17. What do you think is the
reason why Tonyo doesn’t
want to tell things about his
family?

18. About the Author
Kathleen Aton-Osas placed second
Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards
story “The Three Good Things”
Story for Children category in
her collection of poems entitled
Under my Bed” under the Poetry
Category in 2013.
Aside from these works, she
known for her story “The
Maria Dela Rosa and “The
Kathleen Aton-
Osas

19. TONYO ONYO’S FAMILY was afflicted by an
unusual strain of strange. Oh, it was nothing you
could get infected with, nothing serious or life-
threatening. It was, if Tonyo were completely
honest about it, merely embarrassing.
This had not been an issue until one day,
when Tonyo’s teacher announced the class’s
next assignment.

20. “Bring a picture of your
family,” the teacher said. “And
tell us three good things about
them”.
This was precisely what
Tonyo had been avoiding. How
could he tell anyone about his
family? They would make fun of
him, he was sure of it. With these
troubling thoughts in his mind,

21. His sister, Osang, immediately
saw that something was wrong.
“What’s up, Tonyo?” she asked from
within a whirlwind of feathers.
“I’m okay, Ate”, Tonyo replied.
“Do you think you’ll need another
birdhouse?”

22. Osang had been born with the
innate ability to speak to birds. She was
the one who taught Tonyo the basics of
the language, though occasionally she
still had to translate complicated patterns
of tweets and hoots and trills. But what
was that truly spectacular was Osang’s
ability to balance: perched on top of her
head were a dozen of birdhouses of
different sizes and colors. Osang carried
these birdhouses, with pride, and not
once did she complain about their
weight.

23. What she occasionally needed
help on, aside from an extra pair of
hands to help her comb her hair, was
building new birdhouses, as her
winged friends often had very high
standards.
“Not right now. But I’ll need
your talent for woodwork soon!”
Osang said, before she turned to
answer a question from a long-tailed
sparrow.

24. Tonyo went inside. His mother instantly
noted that something was amiss.
“Tonyo, is there anything bothering
you?” she asked, as she stirred a pot, while
‘hot and ‘school’ erupted fully formed
from the back of her head, before melting
into the background.
“I’m alright, Nanay,” Tonyo replied.
“Do you need help with the words?”.

25. Tonyo’s mother was afflicted by a condition
that brought words from her head out into the
open. Most of the time, she could control the
wordy emissions, such that they disappeared
harmlessly. Sometimes, though, the words
were more solid, more willful, refusing to
vanish quietly. Tonyo had been called upon
on more than one occasion to wrestle the
stubborn ones onto a page. This was
exceptionally important when Nanay was
cooking, as certain words just did not mix well
with soup.

26. “I think they’re under control
for now. I will call you if the
sinigang is in trouble,”
Nanay replied, smiling, even
as ‘pork’ and ‘soft’ fluttered
out of her head.

27. Tonyo went upstairs. He was
just about to enter his room
when his father came out.
“You seem sad, Tonyo.
Anything I can help you
with?”
“I’m good, Tatay.” Tonyo
looked at his father’s forearms.
“Do they need to be replanted
soon?”

28. Tonyo’s father was born with skin
like soil, and a heart filled with
love for all things botanical. Their
backyard was filled with the
lively colors and scents of plant
life. But his father took it a step
further. His Tatay also often grew
seedlings on this forearms,
particularly of plants that had
fragile constitutions. These
seedling would need to be
transplanted to a more traditional
pot after some time. Tonyo often
helped his father with the
transplanting.
“Not until next month, I
think.” Tatay ruffled his
hair. “Dinner is in half
an hour.”

29. Alone in his room, Tonyo began to
think in earnest. He was still thinking
at dinner, where Osang’s birds had
the entire family laughing. He was
still thinking when his Nanay came
and sang him a lullaby, the words
‘sleep’ and ‘love’ falling softly onto
him like rain. He was still thinking
when his father came in and read him
a story, the scent of leaves and earth
intertwining seamlessly with the tale
of the datu and diwata.

30. By the time he got to
school, Tonyo had two
good things to say about
his family. He was still
missing the third.
When it was his turn
to present, Tonyo stood
up, gathered his courage
and stepped forward, the
picture of his family in his
hand.

31. “The first good thing about
my family is”, he said, as he
turned over the picture,
“there’s never a dull
moment. With Osang’s birds,
Nanay’s words and Tatay’s
plants, there’s always something
to do, something interesting to
look or work on or wrestle
with.”

32. “The second good thing
about my family: we help
each other out. Whatever
the problem is, we’re there
for each other. No problem is
too big or too small. We are
all willing to lend a helping
hand.”

33. “And the third good thing – “ Tonyo
cleared his throat, looked down at the
picture he was holding.
“And the third good thing – “
Tonyo saw his strange family
staring at him from the picture. He
saw his father’s arms, with the
seedlings peeking out; he saw his
mother smiling, with the word
‘happy’ emerging from her ear; he
saw his sister sitting still, head in
perfect balance, with the birds caught
in mid-flight near their homes.

34. And he saw himself, the
most ‘normal’ person in
the group, staring
straight at the camera.
And he finally knew
what to say.

35. “And the third good thing is that we accept each
other. And all of them accept me, even though I can’t talk
to birds or make words come out of my head or even grow
plants on my arms. They’ve always made me feel special.”
He turned to face his classmates, his heart beaming
with pride. “They’ve always made me feel loved.”

36. What do you think is the
reason why Tonyo doesn’t
want to tell things about his
family?

37.  What are the three good things that Tonyo
mentioned about his family?
Questio
ns:
What was the assignment that bothered
Tonyo?
What were the abilities of Tonyo’s family
which made them strange?
Who are the characters in the story?

38. Time to
Reflect:
 Like Tonyo, would you be brave enough to tell in
front of the class your strange family? Why?
 Do you think Tonyo’s family exists in real life?

39. Sequencing information is an important skill
because it reflects how well a reader understands the
text he/ she has read. In rearranging details, it is
important to consider logical progression of
information. It is when the previous information
builds on the next information.
There are signal words that can be used as clues to
sequence details like first, second, third, or first, next, then,
finally. Nevertheless, these words may not be present
all the time in a text. In this case, the reader needs to
be more cautious in identifying which information
precedes of follows another.

40. Arrange the following events in the story “The Three
Good Things” according to the correct sequence. Use
numbers from 1 to 10.
____ Tonyo told his classmates that his family was always
happy and there was never a dull moment with them.
____ Tonyo’s teacher asked the class to bring their family
pictures and tell three good things about their family.
____Tonyo asked his Ate if she needed help in building a
new birdhouse.
____ Tonyo’s Nanay asked him if there was something
wrong.

41. ____ Tonyo told his classmates that his family always made
him feel loved.
____ Tonyo went home bothered about the task given to
them by their teacher.
____ Tonyo told his classmates that his family was always
willing to help one another.
____Tonyo asked his Tatay if he needed to help replanting
seedlings.
____When Tonyo got to school, he had two good things to
say about his family.
____Tonyo looked at his family picture and saw himself as
the most “normal” personin the group.

42. “And we know that for
those who love God all
things work together for
good, for those who are
called according to his
purpose.” – Romans
8:28

43. We have had a wonderful time,
and we want to thank You for
filling this place with joy and
peace.
As we close this meeting, we
ask you, Lord, to walk with us
everywhere we go. Help us to
keep your word in our hearts
that we may not sin against
you. Through Jesus' name, we