CSLI - Uni. Prep. 1.

3 - Reading - July 15th ʼ09 - 9:55 AM - Dan Savage

! Materials:
!
S. will need their Reading Power books
R.P. answer booklet
blank overhead

! Objectives:

Main: !! - S.W.B.A.T. read paragraphs effectively by picking out the topic, main
! ! ideas, and connecting words and phrases.
! !

! Activities:
- Give overview for the class: Understanding Paragraphs. First weʼll review paragraph
organization and check the homework from yesterday, then weʼll work on Unit 3:
Understanding Paragraphs.

! 1. Review Paragraph Organization, Unit 4.

- Why is it good to be able to figure out the patterns of organization in a paragraph?
- What are the 6 patterns we talked about yesterday morning?
- listing, sequence, comparison/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution,
extended definition.
- What do these mean? What kinds of things might be discussed in each? Common
words / phrases?

! 2. Go over homework from yesterday.

- Use the board or blank overhead.
- Exercises 1 and 3.

! 3. Understanding Paragraphs. Unit 3, p. 105

- This might go pretty quickly, because weʼve done some of these things already, e.g.
Unit 4.
- We wonʼt do every exercise. You may want to go back and do the ones we skip later if
you have time.

! ! a. Identifying the Topic of a Paragraph.

! ! ! - use of repeated words. see e.g. about water.
! ! ! - Exercise 1, Q 1 and 2. (3-5 min)
! ! ! - s. will work individually, then compare with partner / table.
! ! ! - then review as a class.

! ! b. Topic Sentences
! ! ! - topic sentences not always among the first few sentences in a
! ! ! paragraph.
! ! ! - Exercise 2, Q 1-5: Match the topic sentences

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CSLI - Uni. Prep. 1.3 - Reading - July 15th ʼ09 - 9:55 AM - Dan Savage

! ! c. Main Ideas of Paragraph

! ! ! - topic sentences usually have topic + main idea (what the writer
! ! ! wants to say about a topic)
! ! ! - read example on p. 109 to s. “Which do you think is the main
! ! ! idea?”

! ! d. Inferring the Main Idea

! ! ! - main idea not always included in topic sentence. Might be in other
! ! ! sentences, and reader may have to piece it together.
! ! ! - Skip to exercise 5, Q 1 and 2. (pp. 112-113)
! ! ! - Youʼll need to underline the supporting facts and ideas.

! ! e. Connecting Ideas in Paragraphs

! ! ! -ask s. “How can writers connect ideas in paragraphs?”
! ! ! - transition words / phrases, and pronouns.

! ! ! ! i. Pronouns - we need to know what a pronoun is refering to.

! ! ! ! - read paragraph on p. 115 to s.
! ! ! ! - go through pronouns and referents at the bottom.

! ! ! ! ii. Transition words and phrases - have talked about a lot in

! ! ! ! class. see e.g. on pg. 17.

! ! Assign Exercise 7, Q 1-3. May need to be done for homework.

Assessment:

! - Partially students self assess, by comparing answers in the small groups.

! Developing self-monitoring / self-assessment is very important for learners at
! this stage.

! - Also, as we go over the answers as a class and as I wander around monitoring

! and helping I should be able determine how well students are able to reach the
! main objectives.

! - Finally, Iʼll ask students what strategies they can use to help them understand
! paragraphs that we covered today.
! !