You may have noticed that every week, we practice one reading strategy to go along with the questions in Timed Readings Plus. A lot of people have been struggling with finding the main idea of these passages, so today we're going to practice that. Here's a video:
Want to see more like this? McGraw-Hill education has a whole series of videos on YouTube to help students with reading skills - check it out! -Jenny
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Hey - remember way back on the first day of class when I said we'd have a group project? No, I didn't forget. Yes, that's still happening. Today we're going to learn how to use Google Slides, which your group will use to give a presentation to the class. Next week, we'll talk a little more about the project and choose your groups.
For today, let's stick with learning more about Google Slides. Look, I made a presentation for you:
Another important reading skill - one that shows up both on the TABE and in life - is being able to draw conclusions and make inferences from the information given in a reading. Here's a short video about drawing conclusions:
Would you draw the same conclusion as the hero in the video? The director points out that it may be a faulty conclusion, so it's important to consider the facts carefully. We don't want to jump to any incorrect conclusions on a test or in real life! -Jenny
Now that we're a few chapters into Of Beetles and Angels, do you find yourself curious about the author, Mawi Asgedom, and what he's like? Sometimes having a more personal connection to an author can help us appreciate his work more.
I found a TED Talks video by Mawi in support of immigrants. You don't have to watch the whole thing, but take a look. He is considered to be an excellent public speaker, so even if you disagree with his views, you can still learn a lot by watching and listening to him: This video is from an organization called TED, which is a non-profit group that exists to share ideas and foster communication. They are famous for their TED Talk videos. Most TED Talks are between 5-15 minutes long and focus on a variety of issues and interests, such as politics, language, technology, entertainment, and business. A lot of people like to watch them because we can learn a lot of useful stuff, and it's all free! Visit TED here and watch any video that interests you: https://www.ted.com/talks. Finally, come back here and leave a comment (there's a link at the top or the bottom of this post) and tell us what you watched. What did you find interesting? What did you learn? -Jenny
When we read, one way to check our comprehension is by asking ourselves, "What happened first? Next? Last?" Writers don't always present ideas in the order in which they happened, so it's up to us to make sure we understand.
Here's a quick introduction to sequence words: Two critical components of being a good reader are fluency and comprehension. Fluency means being able to read quickly; comprehension, of course, means understanding what you read.
One website that can help you practice both is Marshall Adult Education: resources.marshalladulteducation.org/reading_skills_home.html. You can choose a reading passage based on your TABE score or your comfort level. Once you choose your passage, look at the pre-reading questions. Next, you'll try a timed reading: set a timer on your phone for one minute. Read as much as you can in one minute! Then you can read the passage a few more times while listening to the story at the same time. Finally, you'll try another timed reading - did you get farther this time? Once you've read the passage several times, there will be a worksheet with comprehension questions and a writing activity. Give it a try! -Teacher Jenny
Can you tell the difference between fact and opinion? Here's a short video to test your skills:
We'll practice more in class. If you're struggling and want more practice, leave me a comment below. -Teacher Jenny
Context clues are clues we can use to figure out unfamiliar vocabulary without using a dictionary. Good readers use context clues so they don't have to stop reading for every unfamiliar word.
Watch the video to learn more: |
Important Dates:8/29: Vocab Quiz 1 ArchivesCategories |