1. Skills
1.1. Sentence structure as a key to meanin
1.1.1. The basic sentence
1.1.1.1. Subject
1.1.1.1.1. This tells us who or what the sentence is about, comes before the verb and can be one word or many words.
1.1.1.2. Verb
1.1.1.2.1. This tells us what the subject does, the action or the situation and can be one word or a few words.
1.1.1.3. Rest of the sentence (can be)
1.1.1.3.1. Something that answers the question "what?" or "who?" after the verb
1.1.1.3.2. Something that refers to or describes the subject
1.1.1.3.3. Something that answers "when?", "where?", "how?", "why?" about the verb
1.1.2. Compounding – putting equal parts together
1.1.2.1. Putting two sentences together
1.1.2.1.1. United by connecting words such as and, or, but, yet, while, whereas or so
1.1.2.2. Putting together any parallel elements
1.1.2.2.1. We sometimes leave out parts that are repeated and use a substitute word instead of the original word.
1.1.3. Noun Groups
1.1.3.1. Noun group
1.1.3.1.1. A noun group is anything that functions as a noun ( it can be)
1.1.3.2. Core noun and additions
1.1.3.2.1. Additions to a core noun add information about it. They function as adjectives. (They can be)
1.1.3.3. Adjective clauses
1.1.3.3.1. When the addition to a noun is a clause, it comes after the noun and begins with a connective such as who, whom, which, that or whose. (Adjectives or relative Clauses.)
1.1.4. Additions to the verb
1.1.4.1. Additions
1.1.4.1.1. Add information about the verb and tell us more about the action or the situation, answering questions: when? where? how? why? for what purpose? Additions can be...
1.1.4.2. Connectives
1.1.4.2.1. Additions to the verb often begin with connectives that act as signals, telling us what kind of information follows
1.1.4.3. Finding the main clause
1.1.4.3.1. Sentences contain a main independent clause and plus one or more clauses that give additional information about the verb
1.1.5. Special sentence structures
1.1.5.1. Preparatory IT
1.1.5.1.1. Sometimes a sentence begins with the word "it" that not refer to a noun in a previous sentence.
1.1.5.1.2. It refers to a phrase or a clause that appears later on in the same sentence and acts as a 'dummy subject', preparing us for the real subject that follows.
1.1.5.2. There is
1.1.5.2.1. Sometimes a sentence begins with "there" and a form of the verb "be". This is another way of preparing us for the real subject, which appears later in the sentence.
2. Guided reading
2.1. Guided Reading Section
2.1.1. Before
2.1.1.1. Tasks to predict content
2.1.1.2. Vocabulary list (key words) about the content
2.1.2. While
2.1.2.1. Questions to think about the reading text
2.1.3. After
2.1.3.1. Reading comprehension questions
2.1.3.1.1. To ensure that students have a basic understanding of content before going on to text analysis
2.1.3.2. Text analysis questions
2.1.3.2.1. To look for what is important in a text (the ideas, the points of view and the way the writer supports these in the text).
2.2. What to look for in a text
2.2.1. Topic
2.2.1.1. (General topic and specific aspect of the general topic). The topic of a text is usually announced in the title or subtitle.
2.2.2. The main idea
2.2.2.1. What does the writer say/claim/argue/believe about the topic? What is the writer's opinion/point of view about the topic? Usually the main argument is in one or more sentences.
2.2.3. How the text is organized
2.2.3.1. The main sections of the text. How the writer present/give us the information in each section.
2.2.4. How the writer supports the main idea
2.2.4.1. The text contain arguments, points of view, explanations, examples, factual information or research reports . How the text persuade/convince us to believe.
2.2.5. Writer's purpose
2.2.5.1. What is the message, reasons for writing: to provide information, to convince the reader about something, to suggest solutions to a problem, to motivate readers to change something, etc
2.3. Tips on how to read a text
2.3.1. Before you actually read it
2.3.1.1. Look at the title and try to predict the general topic
2.3.1.2. Explore information outside the text (photos, captions, subheadings)
2.3.1.3. Think about the subject
2.3.1.4. Skim the article to get a global picture of the organization of the article, to find main ideas, etc
2.3.2. While you read it
2.3.2.1. If you have trouble with the meaning of words or phrases
2.3.2.1.1. Read 'around' the word
2.3.2.1.2. Try to guess the general meaning of the word/phrase, from its context
2.3.2.1.3. Use a dictionary only if these steps don't work
2.3.2.1.4. Explain the ideas to yourself, using other words.
2.3.2.2. If you have trouble with the meaning of sentences
2.3.2.2.1. Read the sentences around it
2.3.2.2.2. Pay attention to how parts of a sentence are connected (and, but, or, so, although, because, in order to)
2.3.2.2.3. Find the main clause and its subject and verb