Exercise 1


Directed Reading and Thinking Activity
Look through the newspaper for a picture that interests you or a headline you can read. Talk about what you think the story will be about from the picture and/or headline. The instructor or tutor can add a short story to the computer while you are thinking about the story. If it's a longer story, it's probably necessary for you to choose a story in one lesson, and the instructor should add it to the SARAW program for the next lesson.

Read (or have SARAW read) the story. Pick out three words you don't know. Look them up in the dictionary or have the tutor explain them to you.

Note to the tutor/instructor: give the learner 10 questions to answer about the story, including the three vocabulary questions, fact and inference questions. (Please see chapter 1 for more information on the DRTA)

Exercise 2


  1. Choose a story from the newspaper. Read the story and look up any words you don't know (tutor can help with this). Rewrite the story in your own words using the SARAW WRITE program.

  2. Choose an opinion column that you disagree with. Write a column from the opposite point of view.

  3. Read some book, music and movie reviews. Notice the words the writers use. Notice how each review is organized. Write a review of a CD you liked (or hated), a book you liked (or hated) or a movie you liked (or hated). Remember to give reasons why you feel the way you do.

  4. Find a headline that you like. Don't look at the story. Write the story you think should go with the headline. Go back and compare.

  5. Write a new headline for a story.

  6. Choose a story. Find the five w's in the story (who, what, where, when and why). Write them down using SARAW's WRITE program.



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