APPENDIX A

STRATEGY 1 -IDENTIFYING THE MAIN IDEA IN A PASSAGE

LESSON l
LEVEL: Grade 11 (ESL Class)
AIM: To train the learners to discriminate between general and specific
statements.
OBJECTIVES: Students should be able to find the main idea or the important
information.
AIDS: Text
TIME: 45 Minutes
INTRODUCTION
In order to read efficiently, one must be able to recognise the topic sentences of the
text, since they carry the main information. When the main idea of a paragraph is not
actually stated, that is to say when there is no such thing as a topic sentence, the
learners may find it more difficult to decide what the general meaning of that paragraph
is. It is therefore necessary to train learners to find out the main idea in passages of that
type.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TEACHING PROCEDURE
Learners first read the paragraph silently ("CHIEF SEKOTO HOLDS COURT BY
BESSIE HEAD). Then, as a group, learners summarize the paragraph by producing a
single phrase or sentence. They repeat the procedure for each paragraph. When all
paragraphs have been treated in this way they examine the phrases and decide
whether the final results have captured the meaning.
STRATEGY PRACTICE
The teacher and the learners revisit the learners' summaries, noting how they used the
clues in the text to track down the main idea. The following questions can help learners
track down the main idea: "Did I ask myself who. what, where and why?" Have I used
the clues to track down the main ideas?" "Did I get the Main Idea?"
EVALUATING STUDENTS' STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
The teacher gives the learners another text to identify the main ideas. "The woman who
changed education - Maria Montessori." The students are asked to state how they use
clues in the text to find the main idea. They also state how they classify sentences in
each paragraph so as to arrive at the most important sentence that carries the Main
Idea.
LESSON ll
LEVEL: Grade 11 (ESL Class)
AIM: To train the learners to find the main idea of a paragraph
OBJECTIVES: Learners should know where the main idea can be found in a text
AIDS: Text and transparency
TIME: 45 Minutes
INTRODUCTION
The main idea may be stated in a topic sentence and require literal translation. It
may be implied and require the reader to connect information and make inferences.
Sometimes text has no main idea, simply enumeration of detail. Efficient readers need
to be able to recognise facts and details that are important to achieve their purpose.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TEACHING PROCEDURE

The teacher and the learners read a paragraph. The teacher offers a selection of
statements about the text. The teacher asks the learners to select one statement that
summarizes or make generalization about the text. The teacher and the learners also
discuss why particular statements are more suitable than others.

STRATEGY PRACTICE (Adapted from Du Plooy: Reading strategies for effective

reading comprehension)

The teacher refers the learners to transparency I. The idea of this text is to practice to
find the main idea in different locations in the paragraphs. The teacher will put the
transparency on the overhead projector and cover all the paragraphs except paragraph
one. The teacher asks the learners to identify the main idea, e.g.

QUESTION: What is the main idea of this paragraph and where do you find it?

ANSWER: The scene from the bridge was beautiful. Can you see that the main
idea can be in the beginning of a paragraph? The teacher covers the main idea
with the coloured transparency so that the main idea is very clear.

QUESTION: Read paragraph 2, give the main idea and say where you find it?

ANSWER: Despite the fact that the number of television sets in the United
States has virtually reached a saturation point, the amount of time spent watching
television has declined since 1976. The main idea can also be in the middle of a
paragraph. The teacher covers the main idea with the coloured transparency so that the
main idea is very clear.

QUESTION: Read paragraph 3, give the main idea and say where you find it?
ANSWER: Dogs make warm friendly pets, but they can also be very troublesome.
The teacher covers the main idea with the coloured transparency so that the main idea
is very clear.
EVALUATING STUDENTS' STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
Students are asked to read a Newspaper article about Nelson Mandela's childhood.
They are further requested to identify the main idea in each paragraph. The teacher
also asks the learners to tell why they think such sentences are more important than the
others. "How do they differ from othersentences?"

TRANSPARENCY I: IDENTIFYING THE MAIN IDEA IN A PASSAGE"

As the sun went down, the scene from the bridge was beautiful. It had been a
perfect day. Up and down either side of New York the bright blue water lay gently
rippling, while to the south it merged into the great bay and disappeared toward the sea.
The vast cities spread away on both sides. Beyond rolled the hilly country until it was
lost in the mist of the sky. All up and down the harbour the shipping, piers, and buildings
were still gaily decorated. On the housetops of both Brooklyn and New York were
multitudes of people. There are 74.5 million television sets in the United States. At least
one set for 98% of all American homes. 48% of all U.S. homes have more than one set,
and some families even have a set for every person in the house. Yet, despite the fact
that the number of sets in the United States has virtually reached a saturation point, the
amount of time spent watching television has declined steadily since 1976. Explanations
vary from the increasingly poor quality of network shows to the rising popularity of home
video equipment, but the fact remains that we are owning more sets but enjoying them
less.
Although the buildings are tall, none of them blots out the sky. People rush about
as in New York. but someone always stops to answer a question about directions. A
person will listen when he or she is asked a question. Often a sudden smile will flash
from the crowds of strangers pushing down State Street. It is a smile of welcome and of
happiness at the same time. And the traffic; it is tough, noisy, active, but a person never
feels as if he takes his life in his hands when he crosses the street. Of course, there is
always the presence of the lake, the vast, shimmering lake that shines like an ocean of
silver. Something about that lake each time it spreads around and turns an Lakeshore
says, "Hello. It's good to see you again." Chicago is a fine, friendly city.

Dogs make warm, friendly pets. But they can also be very troublesome. No one
will deny the feeling of friendship when after a long day's work, a wet pink tongue of
greeting licks a master's hand at the door. And watching television or reading a book, a
man or woman can reach down over the side of the coach and feel a warm furry patch
of life, hear the quiet contending breathing of a good friend. However, try to plan a trip
without your faithful pet and your life 1s very difficult. Where will you leave him? Who
will feed him? Further, leaving a cosy house in the midst of winter and facing a howling
frozen wind so the dog may take his walk is no pleasure at all. I often wonder why
people put up with such demands upon their time and energy.

Adapted from Du Plooy (1995) "Reading strategies for effective reading

comprehension".