Make predictions based on the title, sub-titles, students’ knowledge of the topic, the linguistic context, non-linguistic context such as diagrams, graphs, pictures, maps etc.
Encourage to predict before reading, while reading, and after reading (a useful skill to increase students’ reading speed and enhance their comprehension of the text). Understanding complex sentences
Focus: practice in seeing how long sentences which have a complicated style, (e.g. a main clause and a number of subordinate clauses) can be simplified
Types of activities: – Look at the following sentences and punctuate them. Read them to another student, pausing in suitable places. Then answer the questions (wh-questions on each sentence) – Identify the clauses and phrases in a complex sentence.
2). Making inferences – understanding indirectly stated ideas and information (10/05hrs)
Students are required to interpret or ‘read between the lines’ in order to make inferences. It involves students combining their literal understanding of the text with their personal knowledge and intuitions.
Types of activities: what do you think? e.g. What kind of person wrote this article? Why do you think so? What evidence is there in the passage for the following statements?
3). Understanding the organization of the text (10/05 hrs)
Focus: practice in recognizing how sentences are joined together to make paragraphs, how paragraphs form the passage, and how this organization is signified.
Types of activities: – In the passage, a number of sentences are missing. Read it through and decide where the sentences given below should go. – The following sentences are taken from 4 brochures of exhibitions. Separate the 4 texts and match them with the brochure titles.
Discuss common organizational patterns providing sample texts. e.g. cause-effect, sequence of events, describing a process, analogy and contrast, classification, argument and logical organization etc.
Types of activities: – Identify textual connectors in different texts, e.g. cause (e.g. was caused by) effect (e.g. led to) – Sequencing expressions: at first, then, as soon as, when, an hour later
4). Homonyms: homographs and homophones (10/05hrs)
Homographs: words written in the same way, but have different meanings and may be pronounced differently. e.g. I live in Kandy. Your favourite star is performing live on TV tonight (write the two words in phonetic script and show the difference in pronunciation)
Homophones: words with the same pronunciation but with a different spelling and pronunciation e.g. Read this aloud. I allowed him to go out. Come here, I can’t hear you.
Activities:
write the homophones of these words and use them in sentences There, red, been, sail, by, etc. Write the words according to the vowel sound. e.g. / u: /. = two
Compound adjective has two parts. The second part is often a present or past participle
Focus: a large number describe personal appearance (broad-shouldered). Others describe person’s character. (good-natured, warm-hearted) There is another group which has a preposition in the second part. (worn-out shoes) There are other useful compound adjectives such as: air-conditioned, time consuming
Types of activities – Write as many first parts as possible for the following: – minded, – Describe yourself and your classmates using compound adjectives.
6). Foreign words in English (British & American words) (05/03 hrs)
Focus: to be familiar with different varieties of English, British, American, Indian, British English words ending in -our, -re and –ise, usually end in -or, -er and –ize in American English. Students find examples. Check answers in a dictionary.
Read a few American stories/poems/ magazines. List common American English words and their British English equivalents. e.g. sidewalk- pavement, elevator-lift, apartment- flat.
7). Words related to worldwide problems (05/02hrs)
Focus: becoming familiar with the words connected with disasters/tragedies, verbs connected with these words and words for people involved in disasters
Types of activities: – Brainstorm round the words, disasters/tragedies. List the words such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, explosions, volcanoes, epidemics. Finding the meaning and writing them – Look for the verbs associated with these words and make sentences. e.g. A volcano has erupted in Indonesia. Hundreds are feared dead. – Look for words for people involved in disasters/tragedies e.g. The explosion /typhoon/ flood resulted in 300 casualties (dead and injured)
