Republic of the Philippines

8
Department of Education
LESSON Region III- CENTRAL LUZON
2 Skimming for Key
LUZON ideas
Division of Tarlac Province
POLYTECHNIC
COLLEGE INC.,
Paniqui, Tarlac

ENGLISH
Quarter 1 - Module 1
Reading Comprehension

Week 2

What I Need to Know

NAME:
Skim to determine the key ideas.
 What is skimming?
SECTION:
 How do I skim?
ADDRESS:
 What is skimming for?
RECEIVED DATE: SUBMISSION DATE:

What’s In
Review on Scanning
In Lesson 1, you have learned about scanning. Let us review what scanning is.
Scanning is reading a text quickly in order to find specific information, e.g. figures or names.

Study the figure

PREPARED BY:below. Which of the examples have you done as aNOTED:
student?

MONALIZA M. SEQUIG ALBERTO P. GAMBOA. Ed.D.

SUBJECT TEACHER list of TECHNICAL
flight ADVISER
movies schedule
now
showing

scanning exam
 number of
assigned a/an...
topic
word
phone meaning in
number in a dictionary
a directory

What’s New

Skimming
This reading technique enables the reader to move quickly over the material in order to
get an idea of its subject matter without having to pay close attention to details. By skimming or quickly running
thru the selection or parts of it, you can preview or survey the text, select what is relevant and set these aside
for further study.

Skimming: Steps to Follow

1. Read the title, subtitles, subheading to find out what the text is about.
2. Look at the illustrations to give you further information about the story.
3. Read the first and last sentence of every paragraph.
4. Don’t read every word or every sentence. Let your eyes skim over the text, taking in keywords.
5. Continue to think about the meaning of the text.
Example:

Ismail Khan is a Malaysian youth whose family migrated to Canada two years ago. After undergoing 6
years in the Malaysian school system, he entered a Canadian High School. He worked very hard and at
the end of the term, he was one of the best students in his grade. He said that he had the best possible
education. In Malaysian school, he was trained to memorized basic information and self-discipline. Then,
in the Canadian school, he learned to form his own ideas and opinions. The merger of the Eastern and
Western system is the best possible kind of education.

Topic Sentence: ________________________________________________________________________

Main Idea:_____________________________________________________________________________

Activity 1. Skim Through

Directions: Skim through the paragraph and answer the given questions below:

Passage 1

Despite the hatred that most people feel toward cockroaches, they do help humans in several ways. For
example, they are perfect experimental animals and are used for scientific research in the laboratory.
Breeding them is easy, for they thrive under almost any conditions. In studies on nutrition and food,
cockroaches are good subjects because they will eat any kind of food. They can be used to study heart
disease, and cancer researchers work with roaches because they grow cancerous tumors like those that
are found in humans.

What is being talked about in the passage? ________________________________________________

What particular aspect about cockroaches is discussed in the passage?
___________________________________________________________________________________
 Passage 2

Logging is one of the country’s top dollar earners. Millions of board feet of hard wood are exported
yearly to Japan, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. As a result, millions of dollars pour into
the national treasury. Many Filipino logging businessmen also get rich. However, in the process of
logging, forests are denuded. Life, property and crops are lost due to flash floods.

What is being talked about in the passage? ________________________________________________

What specific aspect of the subject is discussed in the passage?
___________________________________________________________________________________

Passage 3

Digestion begins as soon as food is taken into the mouth. The food is masticated by the teeth and
moistened with saliva which contains a substance called ptyalin. While food is still in the mouth, ptyalin
acts upon complex molecules of starches, breaking them into simple sugars. The effect of ptyalin may
continue inside a ball of food for some time after the food is swallowed. Then, the food reaches the
stomach. It passes through the pharynx and down the esophagus. Peristalsis, the wavelike movements
of the esophagus muscles, forces food into the stomach.

What is the passage about? ____________________________________________________________

What specific aspect of the subject is discussed in the passage?
___________________________________________________________________________________

What Is It

Main Idea- is the most important point of an author is making when writing.

1st Example:

My dog, Hope, is the best

dog in the world. She always comes
when I call her. She loves to swim
and go hiking with me. Best of all,
Hope is there for me if I’m having a
bad day or feeling sad.

Note: The main idea is often found in

the first sentence, but not always.

2nd Example:

Ross was dirty, wet, and cold! The rain

continued to pour down from the dreary, gray
sky. Ross was having a terrible day! Ross woke
up late because his alarm clock didn't ring.
Then, he missed the bus! He tried to ride his
bike to school, but he hit a bump, lost control,
and fell in a mud puddle. Ross began to cry!
 Note: So, when you write, every sentence should be a supporting detail for the main idea.

What’s More
Activity 2: More Main Idea

Read the story below. Circle the sentence that tells the main idea. Underline details that
support the main idea.

Sasha twirled and spun on her toes as she counted, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
eight” over and over to herself. She smiled in the mirror as she went over her dance steps again
and again. Today was the day of Sasha's ballet recital!

Earlier that morning, Sasha woke up and ate a healthy breakfast so she would have energy
for dancing. She put on her stretchy leotard, her pink stockings, and her ballet slippers. Her mom
fixed her hair in a special pony tail. Then, Sasha got into the car to go to the dance school.

Now, Sasha waited for the program to begin. She would hear the special music, and it would
be her time to dance on the stage. This was a special day!

The main idea of this story is:

_____________________________________________________________
I know that this is the main idea because
____________________________________________________

What I Have Learned

Activity 3: Generalization
Directions: Answer the following questions below.
1. In your own words, what is skimming?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

2. What is the aim of skimming?

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

3. What is the main idea? How do you find it?

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

What I Can Do
Activity 5: Skim for the Main Idea
 Directions: Each paragraph is followed by four statements. Skim through the sentences and
find the statement that best expresses the main idea. Circle the letter of that statement.

1. The food guide pyramid shows the five basic food groups. When choosing what to eat, you should
think about these food groups. The food groups are Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta; Vegetable; Fruit;
Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese; and Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts. The best way to plan
a balanced diet is to choose a variety of foods from each of the five food groups.

A. The food guide pyramid shows the five basic food groups.
B. When choosing what to eat, you should think about these food groups.
C. The best way to plan a balanced diet is to choose a variety of foods from each of the five food
groups.

2. The fact that electronic computers are now used for data processing has led the general public to
believe that it is a mysterious, complicated science and that the computers are giant brains. Both of
these ideas are false. A computer is basically just a high-speed adding machine that performs the
functions it is told to. If the input data are varied even a little, the computer is unable to operate until it
is programmed to accept the variations. The business operations it performs are impressive only
because of the extremely high speed of manipulation, but most of these operations have been used
for decades. Unlike man, the computer performs repetitive calculations without getting tired or bored.

A. A computer is a high-speed adding machine.

B. A computer is a mysterious giant brain.
C. A computer is impressive because of its high speed.
D. A computer is superior to man in many ways.

3. The Louisiana Purchase proved to be one of the shrewdest business pacts in the entire history of
the United States. The purchase doubled in the area of the country and provided territory from which
fourteen new states were created either wholly or in part. It also gave us control over the mouth of the
Mississippi River and opened up the way to foreign trade. Prior to the purchase, the waterway had
been blocked by the Spanish, probably with the approval of Napoleon. The land that was bought was
rich in timber, minerals, and natural resources of many kinds. Finally, the cost of the transaction was
unbelievably low; the total of $15 million amounted to about four cents an acre.

A. The Louisiana Purchase was a very good business deal for the U.S.
B. The land bought by the Louisiana Purchase was rich in minerals.
C. The land bought by the Louisiana Purchase was very cheap.
D. Most Americans was pleased with the purchase.

4. There is a common belief that while the dog is man’s best friend, the coyote is his worst enemy.
The bad reputation of the coyote traces back to his fondness for small animals; he hunts at night and
is particularly destructive to sheep, young pigs, and poultry. Yet it is sometimes wise to encourage
coyotes. Provided valuable farm animals are protected, the coyote will often free the property of other
animals, like rabbit, which are ruinous to crops and certain trees. He is especially beneficial in keeping
down the rodent population. Where coyotes have been allowed to do their work without molestation,
ranchers and fruit growers have found them so valuable that they would no more shoot them than
would shoot their dogs.

A. Under certain conditions the coyote is helpful to man.

B. The coyote is feared because of his fondness for small animals.
C. Modern ranchers would no sooner shoot coyotes than they would shoot dogs.
D. The coyote usually prefers rabbits and other rodents to sheep and poultry.
5. In earlier days those who had overseas business which they believed should be discussed
personally, took ship and set out across the briny deep. Once aboard they transacted their affairs,
engaging in commercial and social matters or conducting government business. Today ships and
passengers continue to sail the seven seas, and airplanes soar overhead. But above them all, words
speed through the sky – telephone conversations quickly bring together in most personal fashion
people who are separated by thousands of miles.

A. Overseas telephone service today is ruling out all need for overseas travel.
B. Nothing can take the place of person-to-person conversation in settling business,
social, and government problems.
C. Many conversations which once required overseas travel can now be conducted by
telephone.
D. Even with modern overseas telephone service people continue to travel abroad by
ship or by plane.