Teaching written as a type of communication

 

When we write a check that we know is going to "bounce," we are in fact performing a criminal act.

 

It is a crime to knowingly write a "hot" check, one we know we don't have sufficient funds to cover.

 

What does the second statement do? 

A) It provides supporting evidence for the first statement. 

B) It restates the central idea of the first sentence. 

C ) It draws a conclusion from the first sentence. 

D) It provides a contradictory point of view.  

7. Read the statements below and then choose the best answer to the question from the list of lettered choices that follows.

 

The new Dance Tunes CD has proved to be very popular.It has sold 80,000 copies over the last year.

 

How are these two sentences related? 

A) The first sentence explains the meaning of the second  

B) The second sentence provides evidence of the first. 

C) The second sentence explains why the CD is popular. 

D) The first sentence contradicts the second.  

8. Read the passage below and then choose the best answer to the question from the list of lettered choices that follows.

 

Before the invention of automobiles and airplanes travel was a slow process. When traveling long distances families would be out of communication until the travelers reached their destination. Sometimes people lost touch with each other permanently.

 

The author would most likely continue the passage with which of the following sentences? 

A) Airplanes make travel more fun. 

B) Driving a car helps families stay in touch. 

C) Cars can be used to travel comfortably.  

D) Advances in communication have helped travelers stay in communication.  

9. Read the passage below and then choose the best answer to the question from the list of lettered choices that follows.

 

Scuba diving is the most exhilarating experience I have ever had. The first time I went, the dark mirror of the water beckoned me to drop from the side of the boat. I jumped feet first and entered a brightly colored world populated with fish, plants, and objects I had never dreamed of.

 

Which of the following best describes the mood of the author after having this experience? 

A) bored 

B) excited 

C) anxious 

D)serene 

10. Read the passage below and then choose the best answer to the question from the list of lettered choices that follows.

 

Did you know that a half-gallon milk container holds about $50.00 in pennies? While all investment counselors realize that we must accumulate money in order to save, most recommend different kinds of investments for people who are in different stages of life. Older investors, those with limited funds to invest, or people with greater financial and family commitments, should take fewer risks. Younger, wealthier, and unmarried investors can affford to venture into the unknown.

 

Which of the following best describes the main idea of this passage? 

A) A penny saved is a penny earned 

B) Old people have the most money. 

C) Our ages and stage of life are part of what determines the investments that are best for us. 

D) Young people should concentrate on collecting pennies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 2

Reading

 

Angels of Mercy

 

The child in the hospital bed was just waking up after having his tonsils taken out. His throat hurt, and he was scared. However, the young nurse standing by his bed smiled so cheerfully that the little boy smiled back. He forgot to be afraid. The young nurse was May Paxton and she was deaf.

 

May Paxton graduated from the Missouri School for the Deaf at Fulton near the year 1909. Three years later she went to see Dr. Katherine B. Richardson about becoming a nurse. Dr. Richardson was one of the founders of Mercy Hospital of Kansas City, Missouri. She had never heard of a deaf nurse. Dr. Richardson told May that her salary would be very small and that the work would be arduous. However, May said that hard work did not frighten her. Dr. Richardson was impressed with her, and accepted May as a student nurse.

 

Dr. Richardson never regretted her decision. In fact, she was so pleased with May's work that she later accepted two other deaf women as student nurses. The first was Miss Marian Finch of Aberdeen, South Dakota, who was hard of hearing. The second was Miss Lillie "Bessie" Speaker of St. Joseph, Missouri. These three were called "the silent angels of Mercy Hospital" during the time they worked there.

 

May and Marian did not know each other before Marian was hired by the hospital. When Marian first came to the hospital, Dr. Richardson introduced May to Marian. She showed them to the room they were to share. During the next two days, the two girls wrote notes to each other. Finally, other nurses asked Marian if she knew that May was deaf. Marian ran to the bedroom and asked May in sign if she really was deaf. May answered in sign. Then, as the joke sunk in, the two girls burst into laughter.

 

May was always conscientious about following orders. Only once did she disobey Dr. Richardson. It took a lot of time to care for all the sick children, as a result, Dr. Richardson asked the nurses not to take the time to hold the new babies when they were crying. However, May hated to see the babies cry. When Dr. Richardson was not around, she found time to hold them. This small change helped the nursery to run much more smoothly. When Dr. Richardson discovered what May was doing, she recognized that May's actions had improved the nursery, and decided to overlook May's disobedience.

 

In spite of their success, none of the girls finished the nursing program. Marian had to go back to South Dakota because of a family problem. Illness forced Bessie to give up her nursing career. May decided to give up nursing for marriage, and married Alexander Benoit.

 

Dr. Richardson often spoke of her faith in the girls' ability to learn nursing. She wrote to May, "For three years, you have been with us ... It is wonderful to me that no man, woman or child ever, to my knowledge, made a complaint against you ... "

 

 

Content Questions

 

1. May Paxton started working at Mercy Hospital:

a. in 1909.

b. before she graduated from the Missouri School.

c. three years after she graduated from the Missouri School.

d. three years after she went to see Dr. Richardson.

 

2. When May disobeyed Dr. Richardson's orders about holding babies:

a. Dr. Richardson was very angry.

b. Dr. Richardson didn't know because she wasn't there.

c. May was fired.

d. Dr. Richardson didn't say anything about it.

 

3. May and Marian communicated by writing at first because:

a. they didn't know each other and were shy.

b. they were playing a joke on each other.

c. neither one of them knew that the other was deaf.

d. Marian was a hearing person.

 

4. We can guess from this passage that:

a. May was fond of children and babies.

b. May hated her job and left as soon as she could.

c. May enjoyed working in the Emergency Room.

d. May preferred to work with deaf people.

 

 

 

Vocabulary

Click on the word or phrase that means the same as the underlined word or phrase.

1. The young nurse smiled so cheerfully that the little boy smiled back.

a. quickly

b. happily

c. sweetly

d. loudly

 

2. Dr. Richardson told May that the work would be arduous.

a. interesting

b. loving

c. hard

d. dangerous

 

3. Dr. Richardson told May that her salary would be very small.

a. work

b. room

c. uniform

d. pay

 

4. Only once did she disobey Dr. Richardson's orders.

a. follow

b. listen to

c. not follow

d. disagree with

 

5. Dr. Richardson decided to overlook May's disobedience.

a. not pay attention to

b. punish

c. watch

d. look over

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 3

 

Plan of Lesson

 

VISUAL AIDS:

 

1. A diagram summarising stages of the lesson based on the story “The Tower of London”

2. A picture of the Tower of London.

 

I. Pre-reading Activities:

1. Discussion of the picture.

2. Listening to the text on historical background.

3. Completing a diagram with words from the text.

4. Reading the last sentence of the story.

5. Poster presentation of the main characters of the story.

6. Guessing the meaning of the unfamiliar words from the context.

 

II. Reading Activities:

Reading the story “The Tower of London”.

 

III. Post-reading Activities:

1. Reading comprehension.

2. Giving the reason why the two boys were never seen again.

3. Writing a short essay to summarise the story of the princes in the Tower.

4. Discussion.

5. Post-reading research.

 

LESSON NOTES

I. Pre-reading Activities:

Purpose:

a) Preparing pupils to comprehend the story by activating their background knowledge.

b) Stimulating interest in the story and motivating pupils to read.

c) Previewing the text before reading it in order to have a general understanding of its theme.

Procedure:

1. Discussion of the picture “The Tower of London”.

a) What can you see in the picture?

b) Where is it located?

c) What do you know about the Tower of London?

 

2. Listening to the text on historical background.

 

3. Completing a diagram with the words from the text.

 

 

 

II. Reading Activities

 

Pupils read the story “The Tower of London”.

 

THE TOWER OF LONDON

 

The Tower of London bears the official title of “Her Majesty’s Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London.” The name “Tower of London” has long been used for the whole of the great fortress and palace founded by William the Conqueror. William raised the Tower to defend the city, placing it at the south-east corner of the city. The strategic position gives the Tower control of the River Thames and London Bridge as well as the city itself. Since then it has, in turn, been used as a fortress, palace and prison – it witnessed murders, executions, and years of solitary imprisonment. It is one of England’s finest castles and as one of the strongest and most impregnate fortresses in the land, is the guardian of the Crown Jewels. It also houses Britain’s finest collection of arms and armour and many other displays depicting nine colourful centuries of British history.

The two young princes Edward and Richard were the sons of King Edward IV. When the King died in 1483 the elder of two brothers, Edward, became King Edward V. But two months later Gloucester, who was the princes’ uncle and “protector”, sent the boys to the Tower of London. This was in July. No one saw the two princes alive again. The same month Gloucester became King Richard III.

In 1674 some workmen found a chest containing the skeletons of two children under a staircase in the Tower of London. The remains were reinterred in the “Innocents’ Corner” at Westminster Abbey by the command of Charles II. Most historians think that they were the bones of the two young princes, Edward and Richard. Historians also believe that the boys died of suffocation and that their uncle Richard gave an order to murder them because he wanted to be King. That’s why some people call the Tower “the Bloody Tower”, a name possibly bestowed based on this incident.

 

4. Reading the last sentence of the story “That’s why some people call the Tower the ‘Bloody Tower’”. Discuss in pairs what you think is meant by this sentence.

 

5. Poster presentation of the main characters of the story.

Look at the poster “The United Kingdom – Ten Centuries in the Making” and find the period of time when King Edward V reigned (1483). He reigned for a short period of time. Say what you think happened to King Edward V.

 

6. Find in the story the word that means “a kind of death” (suffocation). Translate it. Guess the meaning of the unfamiliar words from context.

III. Post-reading Activities

 

A. Reading Comprehension

 

1. Answer the questions:

 

1. Who was the princes’ father?

2. How old was Edward when he became King?

3. Who was the princes’ “protector”?

4. When did the princes disappear?

5. What did some workmen find in 1674?

6. Where did the workmen find them?

7. How do historians think the princes died?

 

2. Correct the statements:

 

1. Richard III was a good king.

2. He sent the princes to Westminster Abbey.

3. Richard III was the princes’ father.

4. Workmen found the skeletons in a garden.

5. Historians believe the two princes died naturally.

 

B. Give reasons why the two boys were never seen again.

 

C. Write a summary of the story of the princes in the Tower.

 

Write:

 

– who they were;

– when they lived;

– what happened to their father;

– what their uncle did;

– what historians think happened to them.

 

D. Discussion

 

1. Give personal reactions to the story.

2. Share your opinion about…

 

E. Post-reading Research

 

1. Why is royal power so attractive to people?

2. Collect as much information as you can about similar historical events from books, newspapers and magazines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 4

 

Top 10 Ways to Improve Reading Skills

 

 

 

Nothing is more important to academic achievement than being a good reader. Parents know their children best and can provide the one-on-one time and attention that will lead them to success in reading. Here is a list of ways to help your children become more effective readers.

 

1. Set aside a regular time to read to your children every day.

Studies show that regularly reading out loud to children will produce significant gains in reading comprehension, vocabulary, and the decoding of words. Whether your children are preschoolers or preteens, it will increase their desire to read independently.

 

2. Surround your children with reading material.

Children with a large array of reading materials in their homes score higher on standardized tests. Tempt your kids to read by having a large supply of appealing books and magazines at their reading level. Put the reading materials in cars, bathrooms, bedrooms, family rooms, and even by the TV.

 

3. Have a family reading time.

Establish a daily 15 to 30 minute time when everyone in the family reads together silently. Seeing you read will inspire your children to read. Just 15 minutes of daily practice is sufficient to increase their reading fluency.

 

4. Encourage a wide variety of reading activities.

Make reading an integral part of your children's lives. Have them read menus, roadside signs, game directions, weather reports, movie time listings, and other practical everyday information. Also, make sure they always have something to read in their spare time when they could be waiting for appointments or riding in a car.

 

5. Develop the library habit.

Entice your children to read more by taking them to the library every few weeks to get new reading materials. The library also offers reading programs for children of all ages that may appeal to your children and further increase their interest in reading.

 

6. Be knowledgeable about your children's progress.

Find out what reading skills they are expected to have at each grade level. The school's curriculum will give you this information. Track their progress in acquiring basic reading skills on report cards and standardized tests.

 

7. Look for reading problems.

Teachers do not always detect children's reading problems until they've become serious. Find out if your children can sound out words, know sight words, use context to identify unknown words, and clearly understand what they read.

 

8. Get help promptly for reading problems.

Reading problems do not magically disappear with time. The earlier children receive help, the more likely they will become good readers. Make sure your children receive necessary help from teachers, tutors, or learning centers as soon as you discover a problem.

 

9. Use a variety of aids to help your children.

To help your children improve their reading, use textbooks, computer programs, books-on-tape, and other materials available in stores. Games are especially good choices because they let children have fun as they work on their skills.

 

10. Show enthusiasm for your children's reading.

Your reaction has a great influence on how hard they will try to become good readers. Be sure to give them genuine praise for their efforts.