Reading comprehension success - LearningExpress 2005

Lesson 5 Putting It All Together
Building a Strong Foundation

Lesson summary

This lesson reviews what you learned in Lessons 1-4: getting the facts, finding the main idea, determining what words mean in context, and distinguishing between fact and opinion. In this lesson, you’ll get vital practice in using all four skills at once.

In order to solve a crime, a detective cannot just get the facts of the case, just discover the motive, just decipher difficult clues, or just distinguish between fact and opinion. To be successful, a detective must do all these things at the same time. Similarly, reading really can’t be broken down into these separate tasks. Reading comprehension comes from employing all these strategies simultaneously. This lesson gives you the opportunity to combine these strategies and take your reading comprehension skills to the next level.

► Review: What You’ve Learned so Far

These are the strategies you studied in the past four lessons:

■ Lesson 1: Find the facts in what you read. You practiced looking for the basic information that was being conveyed in the paragraphs: the who, what, when, where, and how.

■ Lesson 2: Find the main idea. You learned about topic sentences and how they express an assertion about the subject of the paragraph. You saw how the main idea must be general enough to encompass all other sentences in the paragraph; it is the thought that controls the paragraph, and the other sentences work to support that main idea.

■ Lesson 3: Determine the meaning of words from context. You practiced looking for clues to determine meaning in the words and sentences surrounding the unfamiliar word or phrase.

■ Lesson 4: Distinguish between fact and opinion.

You learned that a fact is something known to be true, whereas an opinion is something believed to be true. You practiced distinguishing between the two and saw how good paragraphs use facts to support opinions.

If any of these terms or strategies sound unfamiliar to you, STOP. Take a few minutes to review whatever lesson is unclear.

► Practice

In this lesson, you will sharpen your reading comprehension skills by using all of these strategies at once. This will become more natural to you as your reading skills develop.

Practice Passage 1

Begin by looking at the following paragraph. Remember to read actively; mark up the text as you go. Then answer the questions on the next page. An example of how to mark up the passage, as well as the answers to the questions, follow.

It is clear that the United States is a nation that needs to eat healthier and slim down. One of the most important steps in the right direction would be for school cafeterias to provide healthy, low-fat options for students. In every town and city, an abundance of fast-food restaurants lure teenage customers with fast, inexpensive, and tasty food, but these foods are typically unhealthy. Unfortunately, school cafeterias—in an effort to provide food that is appetizing to young people—mimic fast food menus, often serving items such as burgers and fries, pizza, hot dogs, and fried chicken. While these foods do provide some nutritional value, they are relatively high in fat. Many of the lunch selections school cafeterias currently offer could be made healthier with a few simple and inexpensive substitutions. Veggie burgers, for example, offered alongside beef burgers, would be a positive addition. A salad bar would also serve the purpose of providing a healthy and satisfying meal. And tasty grilled chicken sandwiches would be a far better option than fried chicken. Additionally, the beverage case should be stocked with containers of low-fat milk.

1. What is the subject of this passage?

2. According to the passage, which of the following options would make healthy, low-fat additions to a school cafeteria’s offerings? (Circle all correct answers.)

a. tofu

b. veggie burgers

c. low-fat milk

d. fries

e. salad bar

f. grilled chicken sandwiches

g. stir-fried vegetables

3. The meaning of mimic is

a. reject.

b. copy.

c. ignore.

d. disregard.

4. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

a. Teenagers love to eat fast food more than anything else.

b. School cafeterias should serve veggie burgers.

c. School cafeterias should be providing healthy, low-fat options for students.

5. True or False: “One of the most important steps in the right direction would be for school cafeterias to provide healthy, low-fat options for students” is a topic sentence.

6. True or False: “One of the most important steps in the right direction would be for school cafeterias to provide healthy, low-fat options for students” is an opinion.

Marking Practice Passage 1

Before you check the answers, look again at the paragraph. Did you mark it up? If so, it may look something like this:

Answers

1. The subject of the passage is healthier, low-fat lunch options in school cafeterias. Remember, the subject of a passage is who or what the passage is about.

2. b, c, e, f. These results are all mentioned in the passage. Tofu (a) and stir-fried vegetables (g) are both healthy, low-fat lunch options, but they are not mentioned in the passage. Fries (d) are mentioned, but they are not low-fat and are mentioned as one of the unhealthy items that should be replaced.

Remember, you’re looking for the facts that the author has provided. It is extremely important, especially in test situations, not to put in an answer that isn’t in the text. Logic may tell you that tofu and stir-fried vegetables are healthy, low-fat lunch options, but the paragraph doesn’t tell you this. You need to stick to the facts. Any assumption that you make about a passage must be grounded in evidence found in that passage itself.

3. b. Mimic means to copy. The most obvious clue is the way the word is used in the sentence. “Unfortunately, school cafeterias—in an effort to provide food that is appetizing to young people—mimic fast food menus, often serving items such as burgers and fries, pizza, hot dogs, and fried chicken.” Burgers and fries, pizza, hot dogs, and fried chicken are all foods served by fast-food restaurants, and if school cafeterias are also serving those foods, they are clearly copying fast-food menus, not rejecting, ignoring, or disregarding them.

4. c. Answer a is an assumption not based on anything written in the passage. Answer b is too specific—it is only one example of a healthy, low- fat lunch option that a school cafeteria can serve. Only c is general and factual enough to encompass the whole paragraph.

5. True. This sentence expresses the main idea.

6. True. This sentence is an opinion. It is debatable. Someone else might think that altering the menu in school cafeterias isn’t one of the most important steps to be taken in order to make the United States a healthier, slimmer nation. They might think that launching a public service ad campaign about the dangers of fast food or implementing more rigorous classroom education about eating healthy is more important than changing the menus of school cafeterias.

How did you do? If you got all six answers correct, congratulations! If you missed one or more questions, check the following table to see which lessons to review.

Practice Passage 2

Try one more paragraph to conclude this first section. Once again, mark up the paragraph carefully and then answer the questions that follow.

Robert Johnson is the best blues guitarist of all time. There is little information available about this legendary blues guitarist, and the information is as much rumor as fact. What is indisputable, however, is Johnson’s tremendous impact on the world of rock and roll. Some consider Johnson the father of modern rock: His influence extends to artists from Muddy Waters to Led Zeppelin, from the Rolling Stones to the Allman Brothers Band. Eric Clapton has called Johnson the most important blues musician who ever lived. Considering his reputation, it is hard to believe that Johnson recorded only 29 songs before his death in 1938, purportedly at the hands of a jealous husband. He was only 27 years old, yet he left an indelible mark on the music world. Again and again, contemporary rock artists return to Johnson, whose songs capture the very essence of the blues, transforming our pain and suffering with the healing magic of his guitar. Rock music wouldn’t be what it is today without Robert Johnson.

7. According to the passage, from what musical tradition did Robert Johnson emerge?

a. rock and roll

b. jazz

c. blues

8. Johnson died in

a. 1927.

b. 1938.

c. 1929.

9. True or False: Johnson influenced many rock artists, including Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.

10. Johnson’s cause of death was

a. heart attack.

b. old age.

c. murder.

11. Indelible means

a. permanent, impossible to remove.

b. fleeting, brief.

c. troubling, disturbing.

12. The main idea of this paragraph is best expressed in which sentence in the paragraph?

13. Indicate whether the following sentences are fact or opinion:

a. “Robert Johnson is the best blues guitarist of all time.”

b. “Eric Clapton has called Johnson the most important blues musician who ever lived.”

c. “Rock music wouldn’t be what it is today without Robert Johnson.”

Answers

7. c. See the first and second sentences. The next-to- last sentence also provides this information.

8. b. See the sixth sentence.

9. True. See the fourth sentence.

10. c. See the sixth sentence.

11. a. permanent, impossible to remove. There are several context clues. The third, fourth, and fifth sentences discuss Johnson’s major impact on musicians who have followed him. The next-to- last sentence also discusses the fact that contemporary artists return to Johnson again and again. Also, the sentence that uses the word indelible states, “He was only 27 years old, yet he left an indelible mark on the music world,” implying that he left a lasting mark in spite of his young age. These clues make it obvious that (b) fleeting, brief and (c) troubling, disturbing are not the correct answers.

12. The third sentence. The point of the whole passage, which is Johnson’s impact on rock and roll, is very clearly stated in the third sentence, “What is indisputable, however, is Johnson’s tremendous impact on the world of rock and roll.”

13. Choice a is opinion. It is debatable whether Johnson is the best blues guitarist of all time.

Choice b is fact. This is verifiable information.

Choice c is opinion because this is a debatable proposition.

How did you do this time? Better? If you missed any questions, this time, you figure out which questions correspond with which lessons. This will help you see with what categories you most need help.

Skill Building until Next Time

■ Review the Skill Building sections from each lesson this week. Try any Skill Builders you haven’t attempted.

■ Write a paragraph about what you’ve learned in this section. Begin your paragraph with a clear topic sentence, like: “I’ve learned several reading strategies since Lesson 1” or “I’ve learned that reading comprehension isn’t as difficult as I thought.” Then, write several sentences that support or explain your assertion. Try to use at least one vocabulary word that you’ve learned in this section.