Reading B1 Lesson 1

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 2

Why are you doing this?

During the following three lessons, you will do exercises that help you teach/practice reading strategies to improve your reading skill!

Goals

1. You are able to express everything you already know about a strategy.
2. You are to predict about a topic of the text.
3. You are able to read selectively for short bits of information
4. You are able to guess the meaning of a word by looking at the context.
5. You are able to answer specific questions about a text.
6. You are able to state if a statement is true or false.

Everyday Life

All these strategies are applied in every day life. You come across so many texts that it would be impossible to read all of them intensively. Instead you filter the texts for the information that you need.

Ex. 1. Name everyting you already know about reading for specific items.

Specific items

ex. 2. What do you expect to read about when reading "World's oldest person turns 128"

ex. 3. Selective reading

In the following exercise, you are going to read for specific details and information to answers the questions.

• First you scan the text for everything that stands out.
• Then zoom in on a detailed item.
• Read the entire paragraph where it is mentioned.

1. The text is about someone who

1. was the world’s oldest person.
2. will be the world’s oldest person.
3. may have been the world’s oldest person.

2. Who says Ma Pampo is the oldest person on earth?

1. The church.
2. People in her country.
3. The Guinness Book of Records.

3. What is the position of the Guinness Book of Records?

1. They refuse to give Ma Pampo the title.
2. They want to check the facts.
3. They will give Ma Pampo the title.

4. What is Ma Pampo’s explanation for her long life?

1. She worked hard all her life.
2. She ate lots of cooked food.
3. She ate the right kind of food.

5. Ma Pampo’s husband is

1. still alive
2. younger than her.
3. dead.

6. Why do people in Dominica live a long time? Because

1. of the clean atmosphere.
2. the country has a small population.
3. the people live in a happy society.

ex. 4. Guessing the meaning(context)

In the following exercise, you'll see some words that are in italic and underlined. Above the text you'll see some some words as well. Match the words that are above with the one in the text that has a similar meaning.

There is one option you don't need.

Ability

1. skills
2. behaviour
3. success
4. purpose

aim

1. behaviour
2. skills
3. success
4. purpose

Picture

1. success
2. idea
3. purpose
4. behaviour

Weaknesses

1. poor performance
2. skills
3. behaviour
4. success

discipline

1. idea
2. behaviour
3. skills
4. purpose

The option that remains is....

ex. 5. Read intensively

For the following exercise, you are going to read through the entire text and you try to understand everything in it to answer the questions.

Tip: an online dictionary is added to look up words that you do not understand.

Dictionary

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

1. The text was probably written to.....

2. Why do scientist change the genetic structure of food?

3. GM food is made by....

4. What is one disadvantage of GM products?

Ex. 5. True or false

Read the following text  and state if the following statements are A) true, B) false or C) not stated.

Answer the questions as follows:

21. A

22. B

etc

Skimming and scanning

First have a look at the text and notice everything that stands out. Then read the question and answers and scan the text for the specific information.

Answers:

Exercise 6, Symbols.

• At the handout you were given at the beginning of the very first lesson, you'll find exercise 7.
  
• Read the instructions carefully.
  
• This exercise is only meant for the B1 group!!!!!

Evaluate this lesson on it's difficulty.
Was it too hard or easy and why?