free to be

GRADE 7; LESSON 2
Learning Objective: To define skimming.
To skim a text.
What is skimming?
Skimming is a quick survey of the text. It is hopping across the
surface of the text like a bird that skims on water. If after the initial
skim you can tell in a word what the content of the text is, you have
skimmed well. Skimming is for general information.
After this first skimming, one can skim again and try to find out the
most important point a writer is making. The main idea tells
readers what the whole passage is about.
How to skim a text?
Here are ways by which one can skim a text:
1. First & Last Paragraph: Reading the first & last paragraphs of a section will often
help readers understand the content of their reading. The first paragraph often (but not
always) introduces the main topic of the reading: the last paragraph may sum it up.
2. Main Text: Skim the entire section by reading the first sentence & last sentence in each
paragraph. As you skim, notice words in boldface or coloured type. Bold colours often
signal important information. That is why the title, heads, & subheads in a textbook are
often brightly coloured, or in a larger font.
3. Main Idea in the Topic Sentence: After you find the topic, look for the sentence that
gives the most general information about the topic. This will be the main idea. You will
know that you have chosen the correct sentence if it is supported by details & examples
in the passage. The topic sentence can be located anywhere in a paragraph, but very
often it will be placed first or last.
Example:
Main Idea: France during the time of King Louis XVI was very badly governed.
Details: The laws were not fair. People were taxed heavily. The King & his
noblemen were ingnorant of the people’s misery.

4. Finding Supporting Details: Supporting sentences often answer the questions Who?
What? Where? When? Why? How? about the topic sentence. Newspaper reporter, writers,
& editors scramble to answer these questions for us daily.

Example:
Topic Sentence: The market is flooded with plastic products.
Types of Supporting Details:
a.Facts: Facts gathered can be used to give details. Eg: Plastic is cheaper than
other materials.

b.Examples: Examples are used to illustrate a writer’s point. Eg. Shops are full of plastic shopping bags,
children’s stationery, & kitchen gadgets. Even the traditional water pots are made of plastic.

c.Statistics: Statistics are numbers used to give additional information. Statistics can be presented in
different ways, such as charts, graphs, tables, lists, percentages, & decimals. Eg. It is reported that 60% of
all goods sold are plastic.

d.Reasons: Reasons are explanations. Reasons may also explain the cause of someone’s beliefs or actions.
These are details to prove the main idea. Eg. Plastic is easy to use and clean.

e.Definitions: Definitions are statements that explain what something means. Definitions often come from
the dictionary. Eg. Plastic which means that ‘which can be shaped or moulded’, is shaping market
preferences.
f. Descriptions: Descriptions are words or phrases that tell us how something looks,
smells, tastes, sounds, or feels. Descriptions use sensory words to help readers
visualize or get a mental picture of what they are reading. Eg. Water bottles,
toys, bats and balls, pencil boxes and school bags in colourful array, line the shops
around the
railway stations of Mumbai. The vendors attract custom by hailing the customers to buy their
plastic wares. The smell of polythene raincoats and plastic gumboots come to mind as the
earliest childhood memory that marked the beginning of school in the hot month of June.
ACTIVITY

What are the

most noticeable
features of the
scenery?
Questions

Without looking at the passage, answer the following general

questions on Tenerife.

● What can tourists spend their time doing?

● What is the temperature like?
● What contributes the economy?
● What is there to see?
Assignment 2
Reading Comprehension Exercise:

Read the text and answer the questions