CHAPTER 17

When the students have discussed their answers to the general questions in tne reading KIT
they can go back to the text to answer more detailed questions (e.g. Who went for a picnic?
Who has to pay 600 rupees? etc.). The teacher may want to draw their attention to certain
items of vocabulary with a task such as:

Match the words from the text with their definitions.

a gesturing i move eyes in order to see something
b glance ii give a short quick look
c grins iii looking at something for a period of time, often
d Look when it is moving/doing something
e smile iv look for a long time with eyes wide open because of
f stare interest, surprise, etc. Can be rude.
g watching v moving hands, arms, head, etc. to express an idea or
feeling I
vi smile widely
vii use the position of the mouth to show pleasure

The students can now make sentences with these words using the pronouns I or we, e.g.
/ like it when people smile at me. They could discuss why Paula has written her story m t e
present tense, and they could then go on to talk about journeys they have made, or discuss
how they feel if they spend a long time away from home. Or perhaps they could work on an
exercise like the following:

You are going home after six months in the jungle or on a desert
island. Copy and complete the chart with things you are looking
forward to most when you get home.
food
drink
object(s)
activity

In whatever ways the text is exploited, the use of the general questions ensures that stu e
will approach it - for the first read anyway - in a general way. Of course, many texts ca
used in this way, whether for beginners or advanced students.

Example 3: Village of Activity: modified cloze text

snakes Skills: reading for gist; reading for detailed comprehension
Age:
Level: elementary

A popular test of comprehension is the'modified' cloze procedure (see Chapter 22, B2) w
every nth word is replaced by a blank. Although there may be some doubts about tnis
testing technique, when used with students for fun, it can be a good way to help them arn
at a general understanding of a piece of text and a detailed understanding of the sentenc
in it. It may be necessary, however, for the teacher to choose some of the words that wi
replaced by blanks - because some of them which happen, say, every seventh word, may caus