INSTITUTO SUPERIOR PUBLIES EDUCA

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH TECHNICAL COURSE

MODULE 5

Reading and Comprehension I

 INTRODUCTION

One of the main pillars of reading, comprehension represents the ability to

understand, process, and interpret written text with ease. Although it sounds easy
enough, the act of comprehension actually involves complex cognitive processes,
going well beyond decoding words from a page.

It involves analyzing, synthetizing, understanding, and interpreting written pieces of

text, either from a book, an article, an essay, and so on. Reading comprehension is
an active process, not a passive one, and it requires a deep level of engagement
with the text, as well as a deeper level of understanding.

To be able to understand the meaning behind a text, the reader must also be able
to comprehend and decode the vocabulary used in that text. This means the reader
must be able to easily decode the letters and words on the page, and immediately
recognize the words and their meaning.
READING AND COMPREHENSION I

What is reading comprehension?

Reading comprehension is the ability to read text, process it and understand its
meaning. It relies on two, interconnected abilities: word reading (being able to
decode the symbols on the page) and language comprehension (being able to
understand the meaning of the words and sentences).

Reading comprehension is essential for language and literature, as well as

developing a reader´s critical thinking and memory skills, focus and their ability to
solve problems — all necessary for every kind of person.
The National Reading Panel identified five key concepts at the core of every
effective reading instruction program: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency,
Vocabulary, and Comprehension.

There are some steps to follow when reading.

Before reading

• Discuss the text, picture or image.

• Answer some questions.

• Vocabulary preview (prefixes and sufixes)

• Nouns

• Verbs

• Adjectives

• Adverb

• Phrases

Answer these questions before you read a text.

While reading

• Read quickly

• Ask questions
After reading
• Recognize the reading structure of the paragraph. •

Understand the main idea.

• Find definition in context.

• Answer paragraph questions with details.

• Disccuss the reading.

 READING SKILL AND STRATEGIES

DETERMING AUTHOR´S POINT OF VIEW

How fair the autor´s conclusions are

DETERMINING AUTHOR´S PURPOSE

Get more meaning from the text

ANALYSING CAUSE-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS

A cause makes something happen.

An effect is what happens as a result of that cause.

USING CLUE WORDS

transitional words
Assignment

Complete the chart with two transitional words according to where they belong.

TRANSITIONAL WORDS

Cause and effect (because, so, therefore,

consequently)

Chronological order (then, next, after, finally)

Comparison/contrast (similarly, however, on the other

hand, conversely)

Listing (first, second, third, in addition)

Problem/solution for example, the problem is, one

solution is)

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS

A judgment make by combining information in a text with already known

information

DISTINGUISHING FACTS AND OPINIONS

A fact is information that can be proved true or false. An opinion expresses a

personal belief or attitude, so it cannot be proved true or false.

FORMING GENERALIZATIONS

Forms a generalization by combining information in a text with personal

experience to make a judgment about the world in general.
IDENTIFYING IMPLIED MAIN IDEA
Analyze the details the writer provides and decide the overall meaning of the
details (outline)

MAKING INFERENCES

Prior knowledge and experience. Conclusions, generalizations, and predictions are

three types of inferences.

PARAPHRASING

Restate someone else's ideas with your own words. A summary, on the other
hand, is much shorter than a paraphrase.
You cannot comprehend the subject matter if you have not identified
the topic, the main idea, and the supporting details.
ASSIGNMENT

Choose a text of your preference (fiction, drama, procedural, cartoon,

argumentative, advertising, personal story or any other). The text should be no
more than five pages. Take a picture or capture and send it.

Then, read the text and apply all the strategies suggested to make an outline.
There are many examples of outlines you can find on internet. There is one
example shown, but you can choose the one of your preference. Send the outline
done by yourself and the original text.
OUTLINE

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the importance of bees for humanity. Central idea:
The existence of bees has a lot of benefits for the world.

Introduction
I. Attention Getter: Bees are part of the biodiversity on which we all depend for our survival.
II. Reveal Topic: Bees are awesome! They are important and beneficial for humanity and the environment.
III. Relate to Audience: There are around 20,000 known bees species worldwide, and over 4,000 are
native to the United States. Humans only manage a few of these, and most species are wild.
IV. Establish Credibility: When I was in Highschool, I heard a lecture about bees, and since then, I have
been interested in learning about them.
V. Preview Main Points: Today I would like to inform you about four benefits of bees such as: Balancing
the ecology, producing honey products, contribute to crops pollonization, and create anti-bacterial
components.

Body
I. Main Point: Bees are beneficial for balancing the ecology.
A. One of them is to maintain the stability of flora and fauna.
1) They preserve the biodiversity of natural areas.
2) They contain hormones that help the growth of some insects.

B. Bees provide us with a healthy environmental that supports human needs. 1) Spending
time in a natural environment help us to reduce stress.

2) They provide us with the oxygen that allows us to live.

(Transition Statement: Let's move on to the second reason why bees are beneficial.)

II. Main Point: Bees produce honey products.

A. They generate a lot of money for agriculture.
1) Honey, which is the best known and most economically important product.
a. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the Department of Agriculture, one
bee colony produces about 20 to 50kg of honey in a year. b. The price of this honey is $2.00 per
 pound, which would have a value of $220.
2) Beeswax, which, like honey, is well known and economically important.
a. Its trade dates to ancient Greece.
b. Its substance was a unit of trade for tax and other purposes.

B. It adds nutritional diversity, which occupies an important place in the preparation of traditional foods.
1) It’s a natural and nutritious food.
a. It sweetens, flavors, and adds flavor to diverse culinary preparations. b. Its preservation
is produced in a natural way through its own enzymes.
2) It’s used as a nutritional supplement.
a. It improves our nutrition.
b. It improves our health.

(Transition Statement: We all know that honey is so indispensable and delicious.)

III. Main Point: Bees contribute to crops pollonization.

A. They contribute to the growth of plants.
1) Bees transfer pollen from the anthers, or male parts of a flower, to the stigmas, or its female
parts.
a. Their bodies are covered with hairs that easily collect thousands of pollen granules as they
move inside flowers.
b. Bees visit only one species of flower during each of their journeys. 2) They transport
pollen from one plant to another.

a. It’s necessary when the male and female sexes are not on the same plant. b. The exchange of
pollen between flowers is for the purpose of plant reproduction.

B. Bees contribute to food crops.

1) They pollinate most of the food we eat every day.
a. They improve their flavor.
b. They improve their quality.
2) They increase food production and food safety.
a. They improve food production for 2 billion smallholder farmers worldwide. b. b. They help to
ensure food security for the world's population.
(Transition Statement: Did you know that bees provide us with medicinal components?)
IV. Main Point: Bees create anti-bacterial components.
A. Bees compose derivates.
1) What are bee derivatives?
a. They are antiviral, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and highly nutritious products.
b. These products come from the natural activity of bees and many of them have been collected
and used by humans as medicinal therapies.

2) The bees derivates has certain benefits.

a. They are beneficial for our organism.
b. They produce a good number of products, which are desired by the market.

B. Bees compose propolis.

1) What is propolis?
a. It’s a substance that comes from the sap of trees and is collected by bees to protect their hives.
b. Propolis is collected mainly in autumn and the work of the bees.
2) How is propolis used?
a. It’s effective for the treatment of warts, cracks, infections with pus and inflammations and
intradermal infections such as chilblains.
b. It’s used for the treatment and prevention of respiratory tract infections.

Conclusion
I. Signal Closing: This makes it more than clear that bees are valuable members of our natural world.
II. Review main ideas: Bees are extremely important because they provide us with a number of ecological
benefits, they provide us with products rich in vitamins, they pollinate most plants and provide us with
medical products.
III. Final statement: So, take care of them and appreciate them! It's for your own benefit!
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/general-education/improve
reading-comprehension-college/

https://www.readingrockets.org/classroom/choosing-and-using
classroom-texts/understanding-text-types

https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/ outlining