|
Lesson 2: Reading WellPurposeThis unit will help you use the prediction skills you learned in lesson 1 to make inferences about what you are reading.
What You Will LearnAfter completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following:
Reading AssignmentThe discussion will instruct you when to complete each reading assignment. Daybook of Critical Reading and Writing
Writers Express
DiscussionReflection is thinking about what you have read and making important connections that will help you get the most out of your reading. As you reflect about your reading, you will become a stronger active reader. You will be able to progress through more difficult texts and understand what you read. In this lesson, you will use literature selections and writing assignments to practice these important skills. You will read three different types of passages to develop skills and strategies to help you become an active reader. In lesson 1, you learned about making predictions—telling what you think will happen. In this lesson, you will practice making predictions and inferences. An inference is a guess that is based on information you have found in the text. You will look for clues so that you can connect to your reading. You will use highlighting, underlining, and responding to help you pick out the important information. (If you prefer, you can write your responses in your notebook and use sticky notes rather than writing directly in the book.) A journal is a place to keep all of your documented thinking. It is a great way to stay organized and can provide you with a helpful study guide. All in one place, you can keep notes, vocabulary words, and extra writings you do. If you are not writing directly in your Daybook, you can use a journal for all of your assignments. If you are reading another book, you can also keep ideas and responses about that book in your journal. It’s a great way to share your learning with your parent/teacher and a good way to help you remember and practice what you are learning.
Read and PracticeExpanding your vocabulary is an important part of becoming a better reader and writer. You will find that many of your Daybook lessons include a section on vocabulary. At first, it might seem hard to notice vocabulary words while you are reading, but as you practice more and more, it will start to become a strategy that you use to get the most from what you read. It will also help you build your vocabulary and notice patterns in language. In this online course, I will give you short lists of words that might be new to you or might be used in a new way. There are several ways to tackle these vocabulary words. Here are some suggestions:
You will notice that a word might be defined in a variety of ways. As long as you understand what the word means in the context of the sentence (how it is being used), you should be able to recognize the correct definition on the progress evaluations, even if it is a little different from the way you defined it for yourself or how you found it written in a dictionary. Predictions: Thinking Ahead
Self-Check: Vocabulary
There are several words in this section (pages 18–22) that may be new to you:
As you read “Little Hare and the Pine Tree,” find these words in the context of a sentence (how the word appears in the sentence) and try to predict their meanings. Use the other words in the sentence to help you figure out the meaning of the new word. Check your predictions with a dictionary, if you are uncertain, then check your answers.
Self-Check: Ask yourself the questions below as you read pages 18–22 and complete the Daybook activities. Once you have completed your responses, check your answers.
Write: On page 22 of the Daybook, you are asked to write a new ending to the story. You can be thinking of this assignment as you read. When you write your new ending, you can start with the sentence “Little Hare grabbed hold of the great pine.” Use information about important characters (the people or animals in the story) and events (what happens in the story) to write an ending that you might have predicted earlier in the story.
Writing Reminders:
When you write your ending, it is fun to try to stay in the same style the folktale uses. Think about using short sentences and not using contractions like “don’t.” (Instead, use “do not.”) Using the same style will make your writing seem like it is a continuation of the story. Because this folktale includes many magical happenings, your predictions may have been very different from what actually happened. Inference: Reading Between the LinesIn this section (pages 23–26), you will be making inferences. As you have read, inferences are reasonable guesses based on information in the story. Sometimes making inferences is called “reading between the lines.” This means that you pick out clues while you read and make the types of guesses that will help you understand the main ideas. While you are reading, you can highlight or jot down clues and then decide on your four strongest clues to help you make your final inferences.
Self-Check: Vocabulary
In Princess and the Pigpen, there are several words that may be new to you:
As you read, find these words in the context of the sentence and try to predict their meanings. Check your predictions with a dictionary if you are uncertain, then check your answers.
Self-Check: As you read and complete the various activities included in the Daybook, ask yourself the questions below.
To answer the questions above, you will be making inferences. The story does not tell you this information, but you will use clues provided by how the characters act and what the author tells you to “read between the lines.” This is what happens as you become a thinking reader! Once you have answered the questions, check your answers. 
Activity: Complete the activity on page 26. If you have difficulty making the inferences, you can do the activities in reverse: find your strongest clues first and then go back and write your inferences. Different readers will infer different things, but you should check with your parent/teacher to be sure that your inferences are based on information from the story. Main Idea: What’s the Point?Your Daybook states that the main idea is the central point that the author makes. The main idea consists of the subject and what the author has to say about it. Being able to pick out the main idea is important, because it will help you understand what the author is telling you and help you make accurate predictions and inferences. Supporting details are important, because they give specific information about the main idea. In this section, you will be studying strategies to help you identify the main idea and supporting details, and then you will try an activity to do this on your own.
Self-Check: Vocabulary
In Mistakes that Worked on pages 27–29, there are several words that may be new to you:
As you read, find these words in the context of the sentence and try to predict their meanings. Check your predictions with a dictionary if you are uncertain and then check your answers.
Self-Check: As you read pages 27–29 and complete the activities, think about the questions below. Once you have answered the questions, check your answers.
Authors use different types of information when they are supporting their main idea. They may use facts, stories, quotes, or descriptions. These details answer the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how” questions readers ask themselves as they read. These are the supporting details that good writers use to help their readers understand. Main ideas are sometimes difficult for students to recognize. Finding main ideas is something you just have to practice, but it’s an important skill to know. It helps you as a reader, because you can understand how the author is using details to support the main idea. As a writer, you will use main ideas to structure your paragraphs and support your statements. In a nonfiction book in which the author is giving information, you can often find the main idea in the heading at the top of the page that introduces the subject. Usually, the first one or two sentences on the page introduce you to the main idea, and the rest of the paragraphs give you the supporting details. Often each paragraph will discuss a different supporting detail. One way to practice while you read is to use a “tabletop organizer.” This type of an organizer looks like a table. The top of the table is the main idea. The legs of the table are the supporting details. If you visualize the “table,” you will not be as likely to write down too much information. You will have to decide what things will be important to hold up the table.  Have you ever heard of a topic sentence? This is usually the first sentence in a paragraph, and it often gives you a clue to the main idea of that paragraph. The remainder of the paragraph provides you with the supporting details. It is sometimes more difficult to identify the main idea in a piece of fiction writing, because the author’s purpose is not just to provide information. For example, read the paragraph below: Justin just couldn’t understand why he hadn’t made the team. He had come to all of the practices. Even though he had been late a couple of times, it was only by a few minutes. He was the best passer during practice and even made a couple of goals. Even though he was the youngest player trying out, his skills were almost as good as the older players. Can you see that the paragraph’s main idea (in bold) is about why Justin did not make the team? The supporting details in this paragraph (underlined) answer those “how” and “why” questions. Other supporting details in a piece of writing might explain more about something or give specific information. If you and your parent/teacher would like to have more practice with main ideas, you can use a page out of one of your own books. Find the main idea and supporting details in some of the passages.
Activity: On page 29, you will practice understanding the difference between the main idea and supporting details. If you are having trouble, think about a book. The title would be like a main idea, and the chapters would be like supporting details. If you have difficulty finding the main idea, write down details from the story first and then use them to help you decide what most of them are about. Reflection: What Does it Mean to Me?When you read, it is important to connect the text to your own experiences, ideas, and feelings. This is called reflection. It helps you to remember what you have read and to understand the author’s meaning. It is also a way to learn from others’ experiences and ideas. When you look back at what an author has written and think about how it relates to your own life, you are reflecting on the text.
Self-Check: As you read “About Loving” on pages 30–32 and complete the activities, ask yourself the questions below, then check your answers.
Write: On page 32, you are asked to write a journal entry. In a journal entry, you respond to a passage, describing how it relates to your own experiences. Think about what the reading selection means to you. Remember that in a reflection journal entry, you look back on what you have read and connect it to your own life. Find something the author said in the passage and then tell what you think about it. 
You can use quotes from the story in your response, if you wish. However, this should not be just a summary of what the passage was about. If you are having trouble getting started, you might want to start with a list of words. Then you can use each word to start a section of your journal entry. You can also start by brainstorming. That means jotting down words that pop into your head. Then use those words to help you develop a focus for your entry. You will write this journal entry from the first-person point of view. Writing in first-person means that you are the person telling the story. You will use words like “I,” “we,” “me,” and “us” when you write in first person. Share your writing with your parent/teacher. Check the writing reminders to guide your writing. You can use this link any time you are doing a writing to help you remember what you need to do.
Self-Check AnswersPredictions: Thinking Ahead
Inference: Reading between the Lines
Main Idea: What’s the Point?
Reflection: What Does It Mean to Me?
Skill LessonsSubjects and PredicatesSentences that are complete are made up of two major parts: a subject and a predicate. When you read a sentence, try to pick out the person or thing that the sentence is mainly about. You have just found the subject. After you have found the person or thing the sentence is about, try to pick out the part of the sentence that describes what happened to that person or thing. You have just found the predicate. Most of the time, the subject is the first part of the sentence, and the predicate is the last part. This is the most common sentence pattern found in English. Look at the sentence below: The Arabian horse galloped across the pasture as the storm approached. “Horse” is the simple subject. The simple subject is just the someone or something, without all the words that describe or tell more about it. The verb is the word that shows action in the predicate. In the sentence above, the simple verb is “galloped.” It shows the action that the horse is doing. You will learn more about verbs in a later lesson. The complete subject is all of the words in the subject part of the sentence. The complete predicate is all of the words in the predicate part of a sentence. No word in the sentence should be left out if you are finding the complete subject and the complete predicate. In the sentence above, “The Arabian horse” is the complete subject, and “galloped across the pasture as the storm approached” is the complete predicate. Sometimes you may be able to find the predicate (action) but you may not be able to find the subject. Look at the sentence below. Jump over the stream. In this sentence, the verb is “jump.” Ask yourself “Who jumps?” In this case, the subject is what we call the understood subject (“you”). In an imperative sentence, one that gives directions, the subject is often understood rather than stated.
Self-Check: Copy the following sentences in your journal or onto a piece of notebook paper. In each sentence, draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. Then underline the simple subject once and underline the simple verb twice. When you are finished, check your answers.
Now try writing five sentences of your own, then identify the complete subject and complete predicate in each. If you have both of these parts, you will probably not have a sentence fragment. Share your work with your parent/teacher. Using an IndexWhen you are working on a skill lesson, you might need to refer to Writers Express for an explanation. To keep from having to flip through the whole book to find what you need, you can use a handy part of the book called the index. An index is found at the end of a resource book and will keep you from having to search through a book to find exactly the information you are looking for. An index is arranged alphabetically by topic. It is different from a table of contents, which is arranged according to the sequence of major topics in the book. Many times, a topic you’re looking for will not have a chapter all to itself and will be hard to find using the table of contents. If you are not already familiar with using an index, take a moment to look at all the different information Writers Express lists in the index. You can even find information on using an index in the index! Find the entry for “index” on page 495 of Writers Express. It will refer you to page 262. When you finish this lesson, you are ready to take the progress evaluation. Follow the Center’s directions for completion of progress evaluations. This progress evaluation is computer-scored and covers lesson 1 and lesson 2.
Self-Check AnswersSubjects and Predicates
Progress EvaluationYou should now complete the lesson 2 progress evaluation. This progress evaluation will also cover topics from lesson 1. Be sure to reread the general requirements for progress evaluations from the overview. This progress evaluation consists of 25 multiple-choice questions worth 1 point each for a total possible of 25 points. Remember to mark your answers on a printed copy of the progress evaluation preview so you have a record of them. (Select “Lesson 2” to preview this progress evaluation.) When you finish filling in and checking your answers on a copy of the progress evaluation preview, click on “Submit a Lesson” in the Utilities box below for the actual lesson submission page.
Note: Progress evaluations must be submitted in sequence, and you cannot submit more than three progress evaluations in a seven-day period.
|