ANTOLOGÍA

Lengua Extranjera
(10º 11º Grados)

Serie Educativa:
“Educación Gratuita y de Calidad,
Derecho Humano Fundamental de los y las Nicaragüenses”

Departamento de Currículo
Año 2011
 MINISTERIO DE EDUCACIÓN

AUTORIDADES

Ministra de Educación Miriam Soledad Raudez Rodríguez

Viceministro de Educación Marlon Siú Bermúdez
Viceministro de Educación Francisco Bonilla Olivas
Viceministro de Educación José Treminio Zeledón

COORDINACIÓN GENERAL

Profesora María Elsa Guillén Lezama

AUTOR

Profesor Julio César Canelo Castillo

DIAGRAMADO Y LEVANTADO DE TEXTO IMPRESIÓN

Javier Antonio González Manzanarez Proyecto PASEN

INDEX PAGE

TENTH GRADE ………………………………......……………………………………….. 1

RELATIONSHIPS .............................................……………………………………………… 2
CULTURE …………...………………..……………………………………………………… 7
PEOPLE ……….................………………………..………………………………………….. 10
TOURISM ……………………………………............................……………………………. 14
ENVIRONMENT ........................................………………………………………..………… 16
NATURAL DISASTERS ……………………………………………………………….......... 19

ELEVENTH GRADE ……………………………......……………………………………… 22

BIOGRAPHIES ………………..……………………………………………………………... 23
LIFE PLANS ……………………..…………………………………………………………... 24
HUMAN RIGHTS ……………………………………..……………………………………... 26
COMMUNITY …………………………………………………………...…………………… 28
COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY ………………………………………………... 30
PARENTS AND CHILDREN ……………………………………………………………….. 36
RESOURCES …………………………………………………………………………………. 38
PARTS OF A BOOK …………………………………………………………………………. 42
BIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………………………. 43
NOUN CLOWN ………………………………………………………………………………. 43
ALPHABETICAL ORDER …………………………………………………………………... 45
PRONOUNS ………………………………………………………………………………... 46
COMPOUND WORDS ……………………………………………………………………….. 47
CONTRACTIONS ……………………………………………………………………………. 49
QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS …………………………………………………………. 50
MIXED UP FRUIT …………………………………………………………………………… 51
MY FAVORITE THINGS ……………………………………………………………………. 52
FAMOUS ARTISTS ………………………………………………………………………….. 54
READING TECHNIQUES …………………………………………………………………… 57
PRACTICE ……………………………………………………………………………………. 62
HOW TO READ A FOREIGN LANGUAGE ………………………………………………... 71
ENGINEERING ………………………………………………………………………………. 73
TEACHING PRONUNCIATION …………………………………………………………….. 76
ENTONACION Y ACENTO …………………………………………………………………. 78
1
Relationships
Friendship.
Healthy Relationships.
Family.

Competence:

- The student analyzes critically different kind of texts.

Duration Aim Requirements

15–20 min Oral fluency practice Lots of space
Matchmaking
Each student is given a "child", and tries to pair him/her up with a
Roleplay
suitable partner.
25–35 min Oral fluency practice
Matchmaking
Students discuss how best to pair up the profiles of eight single
Discussion
people.
15–20 min Oral fluency practice
Each pair of students is given two incorrect versions of a text and,
Combining
looking at only one version each, must discuss the differences and
Versions
reconstruct the original text.
Relevant content: Love Story

Love Story (version 1).

This romantic story is about two college students, Jenny and Oliver, who meet
when Oliver visits the library to buy a book. Although Oliver’s family is poor and
Jenny’s is rich, the two young people fall in love. When Oliver’s teacher hears
about this, he is very angry, and says he will increase Oliver's school fees if they
don’t marry. But Oliver decides that love is more important than Jenny’s money.
After they have children, Jenny has to work to support Oliver while he continues
studying law. Finally Oliver graduates, finds a job as a manager, and for a while
they live very happily. Jenny quits her job, hoping to get pregnant and start a
family. But they have no success, and hospital tests show that Jenny has a
broken arm. Oliver has not spoken to his father since the marriage, but now his
father offers to send money to help Jenny. However, the disease is quickly cured,
and she eventually dies, leaving Oliver heart-broken.

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Love Story (version 2).

This romantic story is about two college teachers, Jenny and Oliver, who meet
when Oliver visits the bank to borrow a book. Although Oliver’s family is rich and
Jenny’s is poor, the two young people fall in love. When Oliver’s father hears
about this, he is very happy, and says he will stop paying Oliver's school fees if
they marry. But Oliver decides that study is more important than his father’s
money. After they marry, Jenny has to work to support Oliver while he continues
studying music. Finally Oliver graduates, finds a job as a lawyer, and for a while
they live very happily. Jenny quits her job, hoping to start writing a book. But
they have no success, and hospital tests show that Jenny has cancer. Oliver has
not spoken to his father since his fifteenth birthday, but now his father offers to
send a lawyer to help Jenny. However, the disease cannot be cured, and she
eventually recovers, leaving Oliver’s father heart-broken.

Love Story (correct version).

This romantic story is about two college students, Jenny and Oliver, who meet
when Oliver visits the library to borrow a book. Although Oliver’s family is rich
and Jenny’s is poor, the two young people fall in love. When Oliver’s father hears
about this, he is very angry, and says he will stop paying Oliver's school fees if
they marry. But Oliver decides that love is more important than his father’s
money. After they marry, Jenny has to work to support Oliver while he continues
studying law. Finally Oliver graduates, finds a job as a lawyer, and for a while
they live very happily. Jenny quits her job, hoping to get pregnant and start a
family. But they have no success, and hospital tests show that Jenny has cancer.
Oliver has not spoken to his father since the marriage, but now his father offers
to send money to help Jenny. However, the disease cannot be cured, and she
eventually dies, leaving Oliver heart-broken.

Talking about Sexuality and Values.

Complete this form by writing in the appropriate column the age at which you
would feel comfortable engaging in the behavior. Later, ask your parents to fill in
the parent column, and discuss the responses.

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 When is it okay to …

Preteen/Teen Parent

Hold hands

Kiss on the lips

Participate in petting

Go out in a group of
friends

Date

Undress in front of a
boyfriend/girlfriend

Enter a committed
relationship with
someone

HOW TO BE
A GOOD FRIEND

To have good friends you must be a good friend. Here are some of the ways good
friends treat each other:

• Good friends listen to each other.

• Good friends don't put each other down or hurt each other's feelings.
• Good friends try to understand each other's feelings and moods.
• Good friends help each other solve problems.
• Good friends give each other compliments.
• Good friends can disagree without hurting each other.
• Good friends are dependable.
• Good friends respect each other.
• Good friends are trustworthy.
• Good friends give each other room to change.
• Good friends care about each other.

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 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What qualities do you look for in a friend?

2. Are friends more important to you now than they were in elementary school?
Why?

3. There's an old saying that goes "in order to have good friends you have to be a
good friend." What does that mean? Do you think it's true?

4. What's the difference between a friend and an acquaintance?

5. One boy in the video said that a true friend is somebody who knows
everything about you and still likes you. What do you think that means?

6. How do you tell the difference between true friends and false friends?

7. What is a "best friend?" Is it possible to have more than one "best friend" at
the same time?

8. In what ways does friendship change as you get older?

9. The kids in the video talked about making space for their friends to go through
changes. How do you do that? Is it always possible, or are some friendships
destined to end?

10. Is there a difference between popularity and friendship? Can you be popular
and not be a good friend? What is more important, being popular, or being a
good friend?

11. When you see someone you think you'd like to become friends with, what are
some good ways to initiate things? Brainstorm this and make a list.

12. Brainstorm ways to be a good friend. (See "How To Be A Good Friend," at the
top of this column).

13. Let's see how you would handle some sticky situations that can happen in
friendships. For each situation given below, answer these questions:

How would this make you feel?

What is a positive way to deal with it?
What is a harmful way to deal with it?

a. Your friend starts acting in ways that you think are wrong (drugs, stealing,
being rude, etc.).

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b. You find out your friend has been telling stories about you that aren't true.

c. Your friend keeps saying or doing something that hurts your feelings.

d. Your friend invites you to go swimming, but calls back an hour later to cancel.
You find out your friend went swimming with someone else.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

1. Write about the best friendship you've ever had. What made (or makes) it so
special? Describe your friend. What are the qualities that you appreciate most
about this person?

2. Imagine that some day you will have a child. Write letters for that child to read
when he or she reaches the age you are right now. Tell the child about the
different kinds of friendships (good and bad) you had at this age, and the
important things you've learned about friendship. Offer advice on how he/she
can have good friendships at this age.

3. Write about a time when you really felt hurt by a friend. What happened? How
did you handle it? Did you tell him or her how you felt? What could you have
done differently? What have you learned from this experience?

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Culture
Music
Folklore

Competence:

- The student interprets the main idea in an oral or written text.

- Landmarks are famous places. Research the towns in Nicaragua, and
find out information about its landmarks.

Name of Town _____________________________________________________

List the famous landmarks.

Read about one famous landmark in Nicaragua and make the activities.

Momotombo is a young volcano that rises prominently above the Northwest shore
of Lake Managua, forming one of Nicaragua's most familiar landmarks.
Momotombo began growing about 4,500 years ago at the Southeast end of the
Marrabios Range. Young lava flows from Momotombo. The youthful cone of
Momotombito forms a 391-m-high island offshore in Lake Managua. Momotombo
has a long record of eruptions, punctuated by occasional explosive activity.
Momotombo has had 14 reported eruptions since the 16th century (1524). The
latest eruption, in 1905, produced a lava flow that traveled from the summit to
the lower base of the volcano.

Synonym match

a. Rise 1. Start
b. Shore 2. Move
c. Begin 3. Final
d. Travel 4. Edge
e. End 5. Go up

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What are the errors in these sentences?

1. Momotombo are an young volcano.

2. Young lava flow of Momotombo.
3. Momotombo have along record of eruption.
4. Momotombo its one of Nicaraguas most familiar landmarks.
5. It has have 14 report eruptions.

Here you can use this information to make different activities to work
about traditions and customs. In this part we refer to a very famous
festival in Nicaragua. Try to encourage the student to get the main ideas
of each paragraph and the whole reading.

Nicaraguans take their holidays, vacations, and parties seriously. Holy Week, or
Semana Santa as it is called locally, is celebrated the week leading up to Easter
Sunday. Every year most of the population heads to the nation’s beaches, and all
business is put on hold throughout the week. The cities, especially Managua,
become virtual ghost towns from the Wednesday through Sunday of this week.

Other large celebrations involve the patron saints of each community. These are
celebrated at different times in each of the towns or cities, and in Managua most
businesses are closed for the Santo Domingo celebrations on the 1st and 10th of
each August. These include large horse parades, where wealthy landowners
display their best horses through the streets, and religious processions through
the cities.

Masaya is known for having the longest and most popular of festivals in
Nicaragua honoring the patron saint, San Jerónimo or Saint Jerome.

These festivities last up to eighty days beginning on September 20th with “el Día
de la Bajada,” day when the image of the saint is “brought down” into town, and
ending the first week of December. The celebration reflects the popular religious
and indigenous influences in the region. The celebrations honoring San Jerónimo
are popular parties, and at the same time like traditional festivities, because
religion, village life and ancient customs all constitute some of the most vigorous
sources of traditions.

The tremulous sound of the marimba, the rhythmic bands known as “chicheros,”
the pedestals decorated with flowers, the devotees, the typical traditional foods,
the folkloric dances, like “El Toro-venado”, and the “Noche de Ahuizotes” , “La
Indita” “are all part of the festivities honoring San Jerónimo in Masaya. The
“cofrades,” or confriers, are the principal characters in the festivities, as they
organize all the different celebrations marking the event. This festival is rich in
tradition and folklore.

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There are other places in Nicaragua where San Jerónimo is venerated, but with
less pomp and circumstance, such as in the towns of Bonanza and Rosita, in the
Northern Atlantic coast of the country, in Nueva Segovia.

The blending of different cultures that took place in Nicaragua resulted in the
birth of a creative, varied, happy, and humorous culture. Even though this culture
is barely known worldwide it assures its audience an interesting experience.

In the same way, the hospitality, goodness, and friendliness of the Nicaraguan
people are recognized by visitors that have the opportunity to get to know this
nation. Here is an overview of the Nicaraguan culture.

In their speech, the so called Nicas (short for Nicaraguans) can be either
communicative or reserved, depending on the circumstances. Local language is
often used, which is why Nicaraguans like to say that their language is the
‘Nicañol’ or Nicaraguan Spanish.

Nicaragua is one of the Latin American countries where the word ‘vos’ is used
instead of ‘tu’ as the second-person singular pronoun (you in English). In regular
elementary classes Nicaraguans learn to use the ‘tu’, but daily life teaches to use
‘vos’.

A term used as sign of respect is the word ‘usted’ (Latin American term derived
from the Castilian colony terminology ‘Vuestra Merced’). Older people are called
‘usted’ and instead of using Mr. or Mrs. Nicaraguans are likely to use ‘don’ or
‘doña’ before the person’s name, for example: don Rafael, doña Sofía, or don
Mario.

The Nicaraguan accent has certain characteristics that are easy to identify. An
example is that Nicaraguans do not pronounce the ‘s’ at the end of a word and its
sound is substituted by a type of short and soft ‘h’ (as in horse). The tone of
voice used while talking is different in urban and rural areas: in urban areas the
tone is a lot more lineal, while in rural areas people tend to pronounce with more
intonation accentuated syllables

Ask the students to make a poster of a Nicaraguan landmark with

newspaper or magazine pictures and write some vocabulary that
describe the landmark on the poster.

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People
Life events.
Personality.
Diversity.

Competence:

- The student interprets different kind of texts confidently.

- You can make many reading comprehension activities about historical
event in our country. We add some useful information here.

Independence of Nicaragua.

It took place in the month of

September of the year 1821. The
inhabitants of the Spanish province of
Nicaragua, as well as others from this
region, considered it time for
complete independence. The bloody
independence wars in other regions of
the continent and other factors
evoked the following dream: the birth
of their new, small nation, free and
sovereign.

The independence ideas reached the region and the leaders started a negotiation
process that ended in September 1821, when they wrote an Act of Independence
which was recognized by the representative of the crown. Among the people who
were the driving force behind the Central American Independence was the
Nicaraguan Miguel Larreynaga, who is still remembered on the ten Córdoba bills.

The battle of San Jacinto.

It is the year 1856. A small group of

Nicaraguan army men was in charge of
slowing down the troops of the filibuster.
They were located at a small cattle ranch
located a couple kilometers north of
Managua, waiting to repulse a North
American army greater in number and
arms.

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The battle started at dawn and the patriots took some hits but maintained their
positions. Their arms were old and they frequently got stuck. An ingenious action,
however, brought them a surprising victory. When the battle became more
violent and the Nicaraguans lost their positions, the horses that were located at
an enclosure on a hill within the farm were set free. Upon hearing this sound, the
mercenaries thought cavalry reinforcements of the enemy had arrived and all the
troops fled the scene.

Another outstanding heroic achievement was the action of the Nicaraguan

sergeant Andrés Castro. He experienced difficulties maintaining his position and
his arms were jammed. When he saw a mercenary soldier cross a trench, he took
a rock and threw it so violently at the head of the enemy that the soldier was
killed by the blow.

The famous patriotic battle at San Jacinto signified the start of the filibuster’s
defeat throughout the country. It took place on September 14, coincidentally one
day before the independence celebrations.

Collecting Family Stories.

Family Stories.

Family stories are tales about people, places, and events related to the members
of our immediate family or their ancestors. Family stories casually chatted about
at the dinner table, or regaled again and again at family gatherings can parallel
great epics or notable short stories. The memorable stories of our lives and of
others in our family take on special importance because they are true, even if
everyone tells different versions of the same event. These tales are family
heirlooms held in the heart not the hand. They are a gift to each generation that
preserves them by remembering them and passing them on.

An effective way to hear family stories is to ask questions. Family stories can be
collected by interviewing a family elder. Make a mental or written list of topics
that might generate some questions to ask the elder.

Questions about:

People, places, events, objects, important transitions, work, or travel can be story
starters. Although short-term memory may sometimes be limited in the oldest of
relatives, long-term memory may be very much intact. We need to help the teller
journey back in time to retrieve these treasures.

Make groups and ask them to write a family story. Use these questions to
create it, imagine that one or two in the group are old people and give
some ideas to make the composition.

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Interview questions about Places to Remember:

• Can you describe the house in which you lived when you were a child?
• Do you remember the room in which you slept as a child?
• Can you describe the houses in your neighborhood?
• Where was your favorite place to visit when you were a child?
• Where did you go to school? What was in the classrooms?
• Where did you go to worship?
• Where did you go to shop for food or clothes?
• Where did you go for fun and recreation?
• Where did you go when you wanted to hide?
• Did your family ever move?
• Describe the house you lived in when you were first married.
• What kind of utensils did you have in the kitchen?

Here you have some ideas to work on stories that can be useful in class
either to make a class project or just to prepare an activity, you have the
choice!

Storytellers on Tour.

Have students practice retelling folktales in their classroom. When students feel
confident, teams of three or four students at a time can then take their tales to
other classes for a storytelling concert. If older students are sent to the younger
grades, ask the younger grades to thank the storytellers with drawings inspired
by their stories.

1001 Nights Festival.

This is a continuing storytelling session in which a story is begun and then left
open-ended at a crucial point. The next day the story is completed and a new one
begun and left open-ended at an exciting moment. Stories could be selected from
any well known story and adjusted to the students` ideas.

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words.

A class selects a classical painting. Looking at the painting for inspiration, the
class constructs the first few sentences of a tale through group discussion and
suggestion. The paragraph is then sent on to another class which reads the first
paragraph and adds on another. The process is repeated including as many
classes as possible until the tale seems finished. All the classes then gather to
hear the result of their group effort read out loud and to see the painting that
inspired the story.

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A Story Treasure Hunt.

A class selects a well-known fable or folktale. The plot is simplified into a

sequence of events that can be transcribed onto cards with short sections of the
tale on each. Students hide the cards out of sequence throughout the school or
classroom. A treasure map showing the exact location where all the cards are
hidden, is given to another class (Or, with clues, one card can lead to the next).
Groups of students must find the cards and assemble them in correct order. The
treasure is finding the WHOLE story. Two classes can trade treasure hunts by
putting the stories on two different-colored cards. The treasure hunts can go on
simultaneously and, when each class has found the other's story, they confirm it
by assembling it, learning the plot and sending representatives to retell it, or to
act it out as a skit to the other class.

Old Time Radio Show.

Using the PA system like an old time radio show, have classes create a story
broadcast at a special time each week for the whole school to hear. This could
also be an ongoing project. Use a tape recorder for rehearsal so that students can
hear how the program will sound. The show could have a magazine format,
featuring interviews with teachers, student stories or poetry, or discussion of the
latest school issues.

Finding Stories in Songs.

Find and learn songs which tell a story. Folk ballads to contemporary songs often
suggest a larger tale. Listen to records and then have students retell the story in
the song in their own words. Or have a "story song" concert.

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Tourism
Vacations.
Tourist sites.
Traveling.
Booking.

Competence:

- The student uses different tenses to express his or her own ideas.

This kind of activity is called "milling" in some books and "find someone who" in
others and unless every question on this sheet is ideal for the assembled students
of your class, you really should be using your personal knowledge of the group
and writing something new - tailor-made for them. By "ideal" I mean that for
most questions there should be only a few class members who will answer yes
and that positive answers should be distributed throughout the group.

The activity proceeds as follows. The worksheet is cut in half and one piece is
given to each class member. Explain that they will try to find one class member
to match each sentence and if necessary you can demonstrate using the first
question. Lower level groups may like to write out the questions they are going to
use in the lower half of each segment.

To encourage further conversation you can tell the students that they MUST ask
one further question. To facilitate this, I often write a long list of useful Wh-
question words on the board where everyone can see.

Once everything is clear, you can tell everybody to stand up and start "milling".

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Ask your classmates questions and write a name in each right-hand box
below.

He / She Name
He / she visited foreign countries.
How many .......
He / she can speak two foreign languages.
How many ......
He / she went to another country this year.
Did you .....
He / she traveled to an Asian country.
Did you .......
Sometimes speaks a foreign language in school
Do you ever .....
Doesn’t want to study in another country.
Do you want ....

Ask your classmates questions and write a name in each right-hand box
below.

He / She Name
He / she visited foreign countries.
How many .......
He / she can speak two foreign languages.
How many ......
He / she went to another country this year.
Did you .....
He / she traveled to an Asian country.
Did you .......
Sometimes speaks a foreign language in school
Do you ever .....
Doesn’t want to study in another country.
Do you want ....

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 Environment
Pollution.
Climate change.
The Greenhouse effect.

Competence:

- The student uses different tenses to express his or her own ideas.

In this topic you can present some new vocabulary that will be useful to prepare
students to identify related vocabulary. You can use some easy exercises when
you have already presented the new words.

Activity one.
Circle the correct word.

1. conservatoin canservation conservation conservaton

2. eekohsistuhm eekehsohstuhm ecosystem eekohsihtuhm
3. ecology ihkoluhje eclogy ocelogy
4. atmuhsihr atmosphere atmoshere atmophere
5. aci rainn acid rian icid rian acid rain
6. environment enviranment enviironment anvirenment
7. rinew renew ranew rinoo
8. solar energy soolar energy soolar energ solar ehnurje
9. campost copost comost compost
10. supply suhlii suhplii suhpii
11. anuhmuh annimal animal anomal
12. ozne ozone ozoni ozonee
13. cirefal cariful careful creful
14. Earh Urh Eart Earth
15. nechuruhl natural nachuruuhl ntural
16. globa wermang glabal warming glohbul werming global warming
17. reesiekuhl reesiikahl recycle resiikuhl
18. resiikuhl reasiikuhl reesiikuh recycle
19. wehhtlandz wetlans wetlands wettlands
20. defforestation defarestation deforestetion deforestation
21. watershed watershedd wawturshihd wawtursehd

16
Test your students’ knowledge. Write true or false for each of the
following statements below.

1. Clothes and shoes cannot be recycled.

2. Lots of creatures are becoming extinct everyday.
3. Fumes from cars do not harm the environment.
4. Trees are very important for the environment.
5. We are all part of the environment.

You can make many activities with this short reading and prepare some
assignments for the students such as: posters, presentation, short compositions,
make vocabulary lists, picture description and so on.

WHAT IS AIR POLLUTION?

Air is the ocean we breathe. Air supplies us with

oxygen which is essential for our bodies to live. Air
is 99.9% nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor and inert
gases. Human activities can release substances into
the air, some of which can cause problems for
humans, plants, and animals.

There are several types of pollution

and well-known effects of pollution
which are commonly discussed.
These include smog, acid rain, the
greenhouse effect, and "holes" in the ozone layer. Each of these
problems has serious implications for our health for the whole
environment.

Another type of pollution is the release of noxious gases, such as sulfur dioxide,
carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and chemical vapors. These can take part in
further chemical reactions once they are in the atmosphere, forming smog and
acid rain.

Pollution also needs to be considered inside our homes, offices, and schools.
Some of these pollutants can be created by indoor activities such as smoking and
cooking. In the Nicaragua, we produce we produce a lot of pollution, and we are
exposed to harmful pollutants. It is therefore important to consider the
importance of environment conservation.

17
In the natural resources content you can make many vocabulary activities or
prepare a short reading about it to work in class, Natural resources
vocabulary.

1. Tree
2. River
3. Coal
4. Water fall
5. Water
6. Wood
7. Soil
8. Rain forest
9. Environment
10. Air
11. Cooper
12. Gold
13. Silver
14. Fish
15. nature

• You can tell the students they are going to do a brainstorming activity
about natural resources, explain the activity, they are in a forest and
have to list the things they can see around.

• Demonstrate with three or four more able students; Say e.g. I can see
a tree, the other says I can see a green tree, the next one I can see a
big green tree, if they can not add more they have to say another
word, I can’t see the tree but I can see a river, and so on.

• At the end you can pick out the most appropriate sentences to
practice.

• To do this activity you have to supply the students with enough

vocabulary to practice, we give a small list above but you can also add
more; you can also use visual aids that you can ask the students to
bring to class, you can also create a poster in the feedback.

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Natural Disasters
Emergencies.
Prevention.

Competence:

- The student categorizes key vocabulary from different kind of texts.

Disasters - A Narrow reading –

Actually, the basic idea behind this lesson is not so new. In learning to read a
second language, the concept goes, it is better to read several stories on the
same topic instead of reading several stories on a variety of topics.

This process is known as "narrow reading". The theory is that by reading within
the same topic, you can more easily understand the main ideas and the
vocabulary used to describe them. Instead of struggling with totally new material,
you will see many words and ideas repeated – a big help in understanding and
remembering them.

The newspaper is the perfect place to find material for narrow reading. First,
news stories often continue for many days. Each day you read, the story becomes
more familiar and easier to understand.

Secondly, newspapers tend to focus on certain types of topics – politics, crime,

the environment and the activities of famous and powerful people, just to name a
few. By focusing on one topic at a time, you can quickly build up the language
and the knowledge necessary to read stories within this topic.
Let’s try a strategy

It’s the flood season again

Activity one

Read the story and pay particular attention to the

vocabulary in bold letters. They are all words or
phrases commonly found in flood stories.

19
 Depression Joan unsettles northeastern region

Two villagers swept away by the currents.

Flash floods spawned by depression Joan struck several

northeastern provinces yesterday.

Among the affected provinces, Matagalpa was badly hit and

many of its areas were inundated. Two villagers were reportedly swept away
by the currents and their bodies had yet to be recovered.

The depression, which is now moving to the Northeast, has brought heavy rain to
almost all the country.

Provincial authorities yesterday sent flat-bottom boats to evacuate flood victims

to higher grounds. Rice and other food relief items were distributed to the
affected families.

In Jinotega, eight towns were inundated. Many roads became impassable and
hundreds of farmland were submerged in floodwaters.

In Matagalpa town, four houses were swept away ten other houses and two
temples were also damaged. One woman died after she accidentally fell into an
overflowing weir. Rescue workers tried in vain to retrieve the body.

The meteorological centre said Joan which is now entering to north Atlantic
area, will cause flooding in RAAN.

Flood-related vocabulary from the story

Notice that I have left out some of the easier vocabulary like "damaged" and "water level".
Depression Impassable
An area of low pressure which often results in Impossible to pass or go through.
heavy rain. Submerged (submerge)
Flash floods Covered with water.
Sudden and powerful floods. Overflowing
swept away Going over the edges (of a river, a container,
(past tense of sweep away) carried or pushed etc).
away with great force. Weir
Current A wall-like structure across a river which helps
A movement of water. control its flow.
Spawned Rescue workers
Formed. People who help other people who are in
Inundated(inundate) danger or who have suffered from an
Covered with water. unfortunate experience.
Recovered In vain
Found. Unsuccessfully.
Blanket Retrieve

20
To cover. To find; to recover; to get back.
Evacuate Meteorological
To take out of an area; to cause to leave. Relating to the science of understanding and
Relief predicting the weather.
Assistance (supplies of food, medicine;
equipment, etc).

Activity two.

Make students write sentences using the vocabulary presented above, try the
sentences be related to disasters.

Another strategy is to give a word of the list to each student, and ask they write a
sentence with it. It does not matter if you repeat some words, any way the
sentences are going to be different and when you collect all the sentences try to
create a story using the sentences and adding some ideas, at the end you will
have a funny and entertained activity.

21
22
Biographies
Famous Nicaraguan people.

Competence:

- The student uses reading comprehension techniques to understand

different kind of texts.

Ruben Dario short biography.

Rubén Darío was born Félix Rubén García y Sarmiento on January 18, 1867, in
Metapa. Raised as an orphan in the home of an aunt, he showed at an early age
an astonishing ability for versification. His early Jesuit training appears to have
had little influence on his subsequent behavior, except perhaps to intensify his
mystical inclinations.

Dario began reading at the age of 3 and at 12 he was already publishing poems.
He called his first three poems "La Fe", "Una Lagrima" and "El Desengaño". In
1882 in an attempt to secure a scholarship to study in Europe, Dario read his
poem, "El Libro" to conservative Nicaraguan authorities including President
Joaquin Zavala. He was denied the scholarship because his poems were
considered too liberal and officials feared a European education would further
encourage his anti-religious sentiments. Instead, Dario traveled to El Salvador
where he met the well-respected poet, Francisco Gavidia introduced Dario to the
rhythmic structure of French poetry, which later became the cornerstone of
Dario's revolutionary verses.

Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino(May 18, 1895 – February 21, 1934).

Was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and leader of a rebellion against the U.S. military
presence in Nicaragua between 1927 and 1933. He was labeled as a bandit by the
U.S. government, and his exploits made him a hero throughout much of Latin
America, where he became a symbol of resistance to U.S. domination. Drawing
the United States Marines into an undeclared guerrilla war, his guerrilla
organization suffered many defeats, but he successfully evaded capture. US
troops withdrew from the country after overseeing the inauguration of President
Juan Bautista Sacasa. Sandino was assassinated by Anastasio Somoza García,
who went on to seize power establishing a family dynasty that would rule
Nicaragua for over forty years. Sandino's legacy was claimed by the Sandinista
National Liberation Front (FSLN), which overthrew the Somoza government in
1979.

23
Life plans
Students´ future.
My career.

Competence:

- The student explains his or her ideas in the target language

confidently.

Cool Jobs - A Debate Roleplay Lesson Plan

INTRO

This is a lesson appropriate for using with career vocabulary or with comparative
adjectives and nouns.

STEP 1 Have a list of jobs prepared. Mix in some unusual ones with the more
pedestrian jobs.

STEP 2 Write a job title on the whiteboard. Sometimes I choose "BABYSITTER".

Brainstorm beneath this heading the"pros" of being a babysitter. It is important
to make the students realize that for this part of the activity they have no choice.
They are only going to think about the positive aspects of the job. You might lead
the students into the activity by choosing one or more students and asking them
questions to get them thinking:

"You are a babysitter, you like your job, why?"

"You work in a home. Why do you like it?"
"You like working with children, why?"
"You often work at night, what are the advantages of this?"
"It's different from working in an office. How?"

While you are asking the students questions like these start writing the answers
on the board in note form as below:

Babysitter Pros.

You can watch TV.

It's comfortable.
Children are fun.
Babysitters have free time.
Food is usually free.
You can read books.
Work in a friendly environment.
24
STEP 3 Group the students in pairs, give them an A4 sheet of paper and get
them to choose a job and begin writing a list as you modeled on the board.

STEP 4 After a few minutes, rotate the lists around to give each pair fresh
brainstorming material. Push the students to think of new ideas as this will make
for better and more lively debates in the next part of the lesson.

STEP 5 When the A4 sheets are just about full stop the students. Pick up one of
the "Job Pros Sheets" and introduce the notion of a debate if the students aren't
familiar with it.

STEP 6 Select a pair of students and make sure they are aware they are
supporting the job from the job pros sheet they are holding.

Supposing they are holding the "Chef"s Assistant Pros" sheet and you (the
teacher) are holding the "Babysitter Pros" sheet you might start the debate by
saying.

"Being a babysitter is better than being a chef's assistant because it's easier work
and you don't have a boss watching you".

A student might reply "But being a chef's assistant is more useful because you
gain work experience and learn about food".

This TEACHER-STUDENT exchange (which can be carried on as long as you like

because both sides have plenty of firepower ready from the A4 sheets) usually
kick starts the debate process .

STEP 7 Put the students in opposing pairs and let them go. Rotate the sheets and
jobs every so often to give the pairs new and fresh debating material. This debate
activity is wonderful because all the students are engaged all the time and the
subject material (careers) is something most people have strong feelings about.
Often classes can talk for 30- 60 minutes with the material they have created

25
Human Rights
 Human rights law and its application.
 Historical examples of freedom and equality.

Competence:

- The student creates his or her own texts with acceptable grammar and
fluency.

To work with right and duties you can share with the students the main right and
duties and try to make sentences saying in affirmative what they can do and in
negative what they cannot do and even negative to ask what they are not sure.

They can also create fascias to hang in the classroom walls to remember them in
class.

As a second stage you can apply the same strategy to work with human rights
and classroom behavior.

Students’ rights and responsibilities

Rights Responsibilities

1. To be respected. 1. To respect to the others.

2. To be educated. 2. To honor patriotic symbols.

3. To participate in the school activities. 3. To be in every class.

4. To express his/her opinion. 4. To behave.

5. To represent his/her classmates. 5. To dress properly.

6. To organize activities. 6. To take care the school.

7. To attend to class. 7. To practice cleaning habits.

8. To have a personal file. 8. To care the environment.

9. To complain abnormalities respectfully. 9. To participate in class.

10. To use the school equipment. 10. To fulfill assigned tasks.

26
 Classroom Behavior

• Rise your hand if you want to participate.

• Pay attention to the teacher.
• No eating in class.
• No chewing gum in class.
• Respect to the teachers, classmates and visits.
• Help your teachers and classmates as possible as you can.
• Keep the classroom clean.
• Do not write on the walls.
• Participate respectfully in class.

The General Assembly of the United Nations proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL

DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for
all peoples and all nations.

Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed
with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of
brotherhood.
Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment.
Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal
protection of the law.
Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals
for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent
and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any
criminal charge against him.

27
Community
My city.
My town.

Competence:

- The student interacts in real situations in the target language

confidently.

How Noise Effects our lives

What is the difference between noise and sound? Do you think it is important to
make the distinction?

What is noise? Any unpleasant sound is noise. It’s something we don’t like. It’s
something that makes us cover our ears. For example The screech of a car’s tires
when the brakes are put on suddenly.

How much sound is too much? At what level does sound become noise? Well
today sound can be measured scientifically. The level of sound is measured in
decibels. A decibel meter is used to register sound. Zero decibel is equal to the
faintest sound heard by the human ear. A decibel meter in a quiet bedroom may
register around 35 decibels. In a classroom during a quiet period.

it may register around 50 decibels. This level is comfortable on the ears. It is said
that most people speak in a range between 45 and 75 decibels.

Noise damages ears at 85 decibels. Hearing loss can begin when the noise level
goes above 100 decibels, and actual pain is felt at 140 decibels. Some people,
however, may experience pain at a lower level.

Read, Think and Answer.

1- Say whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F):-

i) Any loud sound is noise.

ii) The passage gives three examples of noise.
iii) Decibel is a unit to measure sound.
iv) Thirty five decibels is the loudest sound human beings can comfortably hear.
v) Sound above the range of 85 decibels is damaging for the ears.
vi) Most people feel pain at 140 decibels.

28
2- Fill in the blanks with appropriate words from the passage.

Today, sound can be _________- scientifically. The _____________ of sound is

measured in decibels by a _________. Most people speak in the _________ of 45
and 75 decibels. This is _________on our ears while ________ level above 100
decibels causes ________. We must therefore be careful about the amount of
_________ we make or hear.

Section II.

Do you know how much damage noise can cause? Read and find out.

Noise pollutes our environment just as much as smoke, foul water, dirty air and
litter. It can cause illness and deafness. The human body never gets used to
noise. It continues to react even though.

A person thinks he or she has become used to all the surrounding noises. For
instance, Nasser who lived in an apartment on a busy street often boasted that
he could sleep through any kind of noise. He claimed he just didn’t hear it. Well,
Nasser could sleep through the roar of traffic and.

the blare of a television set in the next apartment, but he didn’t know that while
he slept his body was reacting to the stress of the noise.

A doctor in West Germany, after studying the effects of noise, concluded that
sounds heard by persons when they are asleep can cause danger to their hearts
and blood vessels. Maybe this was the reason why Nasser had so many
headaches. Noise causes the blood vessels in the brain to expand. It brings on
pain.

Another doctor was researching the effects of loud music by talking to players in
a rock band.

One of them called out, “Speak up, Doctor, we can’t hear you”.

The doctor discovered that all the players suffered from some hearing loss and
two of them were partly deaf. The noise level of the music they played ranged
from 105 to 115 decibels and they played for more than eleven hours every
week.

29
Communication and Technology
Internet.
Modern life.
Technology.
Modernization.
Globalization.

Competence:

- The student infers the main message from different kind of texts.

With this reading you can make many activities that can consolidate the former
contents about technology and learn new vocabulary and review the learned.

PEOPLE THE GREAT COMMUNICATORS

We can communicate with other people in many different ways. We can talk and
write, and we can send messages with our hands and faces. There is also the
telephone (including the cell phone!), the fax, and e-mail. Television, movies,
painting, and photography can also communicate ideas.

Animals have ways of exchanging information, too. Bees dance and tell other
bees where to find food. Elephants make sounds that humans can’t hear.
Whales sing songs. Monkeys use their faces to show anger and love. But this is
nothing compared to what people can do. We have language – about 6,000
languages, in fact. We can write poetry, tell jokes, make promises, explain,
persuade, tell, the truth, or tell lies. And we have a sense of past and future, not
just present.

Communication technologies were very important in the development of ancient

societies:

Around 2900 B.C., paper and hieroglyphics transformed Egyptian life.

The ancient Greeks loved the spoken word. They were very good at public
speaking, drama, and philosophy.

The Romans developed a unique system of government that depended on the

Roman alphabet.

In the fifteenth century, the printing press helped develop new ways of
thinking across Europe.

30
Radio, movies, and television have had a huge influence on society in the last
hundred years. And now we have the Internet, which is infinite. But what is this
doing to us? We can give and get a lot of information very quickly. But there is
so much information that it is difficult to know what is important and what isn’t.
Modern media are changing our world every minute of every day.

Communication

1. How many different ways can people communicate?

2. Make students work with a partner. They will get some ideas to communicate.
But they can’t use words. They should mime the ideas.

Student A

Read the list of messages below. Can you communicate them without using any
words? Mime each idea for student B. He/she must guess what you are trying to
communicate.

• What time is it? • I’m hot/cold

• Do you want a cup of coffee? • I like your shirt
• I have a headache • I can’t carry this bag

Student B

Read the list of messages below. Can you communicate them without using any
words? Mime each idea for student B. He/she must guess what you are trying to
communicate.

• I’m tired • The food is too hot

• Can you swim? • I call you at seven
• Do you have any money? • I don’t like pizza

3. Make them read the text and match the correct heading to each paragraph.

• A history of communication.
• How we communicate.
• Communication today.
• Differences between people and animals.

4. Let’s read the text again and answer the question oral or written is up to you!

1. Which animals are mentioned?

2. What is special about human communication? What can we do?
3. Which four forms of media are mentioned in the last paragraph?
4. What is good and bad about information technology today?

31
5. What do you think?

• What can animals do that people can’t?

• How do you like to communicate?
• What is happening in information technology?

IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY

Technology is one the most revolutionary tool in this time. It can help us to save
effort and time we can do a task in less than the usual time using technology, in
Nicaragua everything has changed because of the technology. Internet, cell
phones, digital cameras, microwaves, DVD, air conditioning etc, are just a few of
the technologic devices that simplify our life, unfortunately not all the technology
is cheap, and some people do not use technology for good purposes they take
benefits affecting other persons; for instance: fake prizes in internet, cell phones
clones, etc.

Also most of the people can not afford many of these things because it results
expensive to purchase and supporting but we hope one day in the future
everybody in our country can access to the technology because shortly it will be
necessary to count on it.

Before reading the articles, match the underlined words in the first column with
their closest synonyms in the second column.

1. effort a. intention or objective

2. task b. false

3. purpose c. hard physical or mental activity

4. benefits d. able to pay

5. fake e. buy

6. afford f. in a short time

7. purchase g. work to do

8. shortly e. to earn something

32
Task 2: Short discussions

Choose one of the following topics, and be prepared to speak about it as fully as
possible.

1. Technology is important in our society.

2. Some people use technology to affect other persons.
3. In a few years we will need technology in almost everything.
4. How does technology affect your personal life?

THE CELL PHONE AGE

• Do you have a cellular phone?

• Why do/don’t you have one?

Vocabulary: Match the word with the correct meaning.

1. Indispensable Large inconvenient size

2. The preserve of Be as good as
3. Bulky Not noticing
4. Rival Suitable only for
5. Bemoan Very important
6. Oblivious Complain about

Reading: read the following text:

For many people today, it’s difficult to imagine life without a cellular phone.

Once the preserve of the rich, they have now become an indispensable part of
modern day life.

The technology for cellular phones was patented in 1975, but it wasn’t until 1982
that the first commercial cell phone network was established in the United States.

Since that time, the cellular phone has changed from a bulky machine, to
omething that can fit into the palm of your hand.

The functions available in modern-day cell phones are increasing rapidly. E-mail
access is now standard. Cellular phone cameras, which were once little more than
a gimmick, now rival stand - alone digital cameras in terms of quality. With ‘Third
Generation’ telephones, broadband access offers the possibility of video phones,
television and full Internet access.

All this comes at a cost, however. Many people bemoan a society where people
seem glued to their phone, but oblivious to all that is going on around them.
33
Answer Key (Other answers may be possible).

1. Very important
2. suitable only for
3. large inconvenient size
4. be as good as
5. complain about
6. not noticing

Summarizing:

Write a sentence for each paragraph. Compare your answers with other
students.

1)
2)
3)
4)

Questions related to the text.

Do you agree with the writer that cell phones have become ‘an indispensable part
of modern day life’?

The text talks about the social cost of people using cell phones. Do you think it’s a
major problem?

Questions for cellular phone users.

Why did you choose your particular cell phone? Does it have any functions that
you never use?

How do you think cellular phones will change in the coming years?

Do you think you have good ‘cell phone manners’? Can you give any examples?
In what places is cell phone usage banned? Do you agree with this?

Questions for non-cellular phone users.

Would you like to buy a cellular phone in the future?

Do you ever get annoyed by cellular phone users?
From what age to you think it’s acceptable for people to have cell phones?

34
Questions for everyone.

Would you like to buy a cellular phone in the future?

Do you ever get annoyed by cellular phone users?

Suggested strategy.

This content covers vocabulary, reading and discussion practice. Everyone seems
to have opinions on cell phones, and this worksheet will help your students
express them.

Some of this vocabulary is quite tough. You could help by introducing a scanning
exercise. Tell students to look for the words in the text and underline them
before doing the vocabulary section. If necessary, explain the concept of
scanning compared to detailed reading. A good example is a bus timetable – you
look for a specific time, rather than read the timetable from top to bottom.

Before reading the text, you should set a reading task / gist question. We
suggest asking students to make a list of the positive and negative points of
having a cell phone, which are mentioned in the text. Set a time-limit for the
reading. If students don’t understand a word, they should move on, and not get
stuck.

Go through the answer to the reading question.

Put students into new pairs. Students should summarize each paragraph using
one sentence. Encourage English. The text is quite formal in style – it might be
good for the students to make it more casual.

When the students have finished, let them compare with other students. Finally,
go through some of the answers with the class.

This is an opportunity to revise the new vocabulary. Students should work alone,
and check in pairs. Some sentences will need the grammar adjusted to fit the
changed vocabulary. Leave plenty of time for class discussion. To maximize
student talking time, it’s best to put students in pairs, or small groups. Students
should read all the questions first, before beginning the discussion.

Encourage eye contact and follow up questions. Some discussion phrases might
also come in useful. On the board, write “I know what you mean.”, “Yeah, but on
the other hand...” and other such useful phrases, if you think it would be of
benefit to your students.

While the students are speaking, monitor the conversations, but try not to
interrupt. When the discussion comes to a close, ask a few of the questions

35
yourself, and go through any points of English you made a note of while
monitoring.

Parents and Children

Parenthood.
Daily Responsibilities Chores.
Responsibility.

Competence:

- The student draws appropriate inferences and conclusions from a text.

VIOLENCE IN THE MEDIA NEEDS TO BE REGULATED

You are going to debate whether the government should take regulatory steps to
control the amount of violence in the media. Use the clues and ideas below to
help you create an argument for your appointed point of view with your team
members. Below you will find phrases and language helpful in expressing
opinions, offering explanations and disagreeing.

Opinions, Preferences:

I think..., In my opinion..., I'd like to..., I'd rather..., I'd prefer..., The way I see
it..., As far as I'm concerned..., If it were up to me..., I suppose..., I suspect
that..., I'm pretty sure that..., It is fairly certain that..., I'm convinced that..., I
honestly feel that, I strongly believe that..., Without a doubt,...,

Disagreeing:

I don't think that..., Don't you think it would be better..., I don't agree, I'd
prefer..., Shouldn't we consider..., But what about..., I'm afraid I don't agree...,
Frankly, I doubt if..., Let's face it, The truth of the matter is..., The problem with
your point of view is that...

Giving Reasons and offering explanations: To start with, The reason why...,
That's why..., For this reason..., That's the reason why..., Many people think....,
Considering..., Allowing for the fact that..., When you consider that...

36
 Yes, the Government Needs to Regulate the Media

Violence begets violence.

Children copy the violence seen on TV and in films.
It is the responsibility of the government to take corrective measures when a
situation becomes dangerous.
It seems like there are only violent TV shows anymore.
Media glorifies violence and sends the wrong message.
By giving so much importance to violence, the media encourages crazy people to
be violent in order to get a lot of attention.
What is more important to the growth of our society: A murder or a good school
teacher? Who gets more coverage in the media?
Media is cynical and only worried about making money. The only way things will
change is if the government intervenes.
Does all this violence improve your life in any way?

No, the Government Should Leave the Media Deregulated

Have you ever heard of the right to 'Free Speech’?

The Media only reflects what society as a whole does.
It is quite obvious that these films are made for entertainment purposes and
anyone can tell the difference between a film and reality.
Governments only make matters worse by introducing bureaucracy - they don't
really improve a situation.
True change needs to come from within and not be imposed from without.
We need to be kept informed about the true nature of the society that we live in.
Parents do quite a good job of regulating their own children's behavior.
There are already rating systems in place.
Wake up. Humanity has always been violent and government regulation is not
going to change that.

37
Resources
WARM UP

The owl is a bird that hunts at night.

We call people who like to stay up late at night “Night owls”.
Night owls feel awake at night.
Other people are “early birds”. They like the early morning hours.
They feel awake and eager to work in the morning.
Are you a night owl or an early bird?

A NIGHT OWL AND

AN EARLY BIRD
Doug Winston, a night owl, hates to get up in the morning. On weekends and
vacations, Doug goes to bed after 1:00 A.M. and gets up at noon. Unfortunately
for Doug, school starts at 8: 15, and doug needs to get up early.

At 7: 00 A.M. Doug, s alarm rings. He wakes up, but he doesn’t get up. He stays
in bed and daydreams. He thinks about his friends, his schoolwork, and his
soccer games. At 7:20 his mother comes in. She has a big smile on her face.
She’s cheerful and full of energy. She says, “Dougie, it’s time to get up”.

Eleanor, Doug’s mom, is an early bird. Even on vacations, Eleanor is up at 6:00

A.M. When Eleanor wakes Doug in the morning, he moans and groans. He’s a
grouch in the morning. He says, “Go away. Leave me alone. I’m tired. I need
more sleep”.

Finally, at about 7:30 Doug gets up. He jumps out of bed, showers, and gests
dressed. At 7: 50 he drinks a big glass of orange juice, takes a donut, and runs
to the bus stop.

It’s eight o’clock on a Monday morning. Dan and Carol are in a math class. Read
their conversation.

Then match the questions with the answers.

Dan : I am tired! (Yawning)

Carol: I can see that.
Dan : I always have trouble getting to an eight.
Carol: That’s because you sleep until noon on.
Sunday and stay up late on Sunday night.
Do you ever have trouble falling asleep?
Dan: Yes. But then I read our math book. That puts me to sleep.

38
__________ 1. Who sleeps until noon on Sunday? a. Monday.
___________ 2. What day is it especially hard to get b. Sunday.
to an eight o’clock class?
__________ 3. Why does Dan have trouble waking c. He reads his math book.
up early on Monday?
___________ 4. When does Dan sleep until noon? d. Because he stays up
late on Sunday.
__________ 5. What does Dan do when he wants e. Dan.
to fall asleep?

Why do we dream? Nobody knows, but everyone dreams.

We dream during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. In eighth hours of sleep,
people usually have four REM periods. But we remember very little. We usually
remember only 20 or 30 seconds of REM sleep.

There are many ideas about dreams. Some psychologists believe we dream
because we need a safe way to do things we can’t do when we’re awake. Some
think we dream in order to work out our problems. Others believe dreams don’t
have any special meaning. They are simply thoughts that come to us when we
sleep. Whatever you believe, dreams prove one thing – some people have
wonderful imaginations.

Examples:

Do you dream?
If yes, what do you dream about?
When does your alarm clock ring?
Are you a morning person?
What do you usually have for breakfast?

Example:

1. What do you drink in the morning?

2. What do you dream about?

Survey Results:

Six students drink coffee. Two students drink tea. One student drinks milk.

Activity: Password

Interaction: Whole class

Aim: To review vocabulary via a game.
Vocabulary: Various

39
Materials: Paper
Preparation: Make a list of words to review.
Time: 10–15 minutes

Procedure

1. Make sure you have the list of words to review.

2. Divide the class into two teams. Show the first word on the list to one team
only. Tell the students: “Don’t say this word to the other team, but say one
word to make them think of it. They should then answer with one word.”

3. Have the students take turns to give one word prompts to a student in the
other team. That student then guesses a word. If he / she guesses the word
you have shown, that is the end of the round and a different word is shown to
the other team.

4. Play the first round as an example, open class, e.g. show the word “vacation”
to team A. Student 1 says, e.g. “summer” and a student in team B says, e.g.
“beach”. Then student 2 says, e.g. “relax” and another student in team B says,
e.g. “sleep”. This continues until a student in team B guesses the word
“vacation”. If team B has not guessed correctly when all students in team A
have said a word, they can start again from student 1, this time saying more
than one word, until the word is guessed.

5. Choose another word and show it to the other team. Now it’s their turn to give
words and the other team guesses the word.

6. Continue showing words to each group alternately, starting with the student
next to the one who guesses the word correctly.

Additional ideas

Instead of two teams, have one student at the front and all the students calling to
him or her. This can be effective but noisy. Be careful to choose a confident
student for the “hot seat” if you choose this version.

Notes

 This game seems quite complicated and difficult to explain. It is easier to have
demonstration round to make the game clear to everyone.

 This game can be used to review a lot of vocabulary since students will recall a
lot of associated vocabulary in the clues given.

 Team games can be very good for building up group relationships.

40
Activity: Find the stress

Interaction: Whole group

Aim: To practice recognizing word stress.
Vocabulary: Various
Materials: Poster paper and pens (or blackboard and chalk)
Preparation: Choose twenty simple words that conform to 4 different stress
patterns, e.g. music, goodbye, Saturday, September. (See worksheet for
examples.)
Make 4 large posters with the 4 stress patterns clearly visible. Pin these in the
four corners of the classroom.
Time: 5–15 minutes

Procedure

1. Assemble the group in the middle of the classroom. Tell them that they are
going to play a game. Say “Go to the right poster for the word I say.” Students
should then move to stand by the poster with the correct stress for the word
you model.

2. Read out the first word on your list and encourage the students to move.
When they are all standing at a poster, you read the word again so they can
check their choice. When there is a doubt, keep reading the word until
everybody is in the same place. Now drill all the students in the word, focusing
on the correct stress.

3. You continue reading out words from your list, in random order.

4. Have the students continue moving around the room to different posters and
repeating the correct pronunciation as they go.

Additional ideas

 When students have finished, get them to write the words on the posters and
display them on the wall.
 The activity can be repeated to review different vocabulary.
 Have students make their own word lists to read aloud to each other.
 Have students focus on sounds by having four phonemes on the posters and a
list of words containing those sounds.

Notes

 The worksheet shows the correct stress patterns for twenty words
 If noise is going to be a problem for nearby teachers, have the students
whisper the drill words each time, or even mouth them silently.

41
 Stress patterns can be shown on the board if space cannot be cleared.

Parts of a Book

Across
3. subject matter of a book
5. list of references at the end of a
book
7. additional information
supplementing the text
8. international standard book
number
Down
1. inscription in a book in someone's honor
2. an explanatory section of a book
4. exclusive right of ownership given to an
author
6. gives an alphabetical listing of book
contents</TD< tr>

42
 Biography
A biography is the story of a person's life written by another person.

Write a short biography about someone you know.

Tell why you chose the person you did.

Noun Clown
A noun is a word that names a person, place or thing. Underline the noun or
nouns in each sentence.

1. The zookeeper has a very busy schedule.

2. I went to work in the library on summer vacation.
3. Lisa and Tim went to the museum.
4. My Dad loves the Grand Canyon.
5. New York is a very big city.
6. My grandma lives on a farm.
7. Jim is studying to be a meteorologist.
8. Susan is a very competent marine biologist.
9. My baby brother likes to go to the movies.

I'd like you to meet Noun Clown. He wants to wear only nouns on his clothes.
Cross off all the words on his clothes that are not nouns.

43
 All Mixed up

Read the words in each line. Write them in alphabetical order. What
happens?

1. archerfish water an spits _______________________________

2. grow a tall cactus can _______________________________

3. whale large mighty _______________________________

4. drink albatrosses saltwater _______________________________

5. cactus have spines _______________________________

6. have fireflies taillights _______________________________

7. termites aardvarks eat _______________________________

8. flowers superb smell _______________________________

9. stalagmites have caves _______________________________

10. build dams beavers _______________________________

44
 11. eats a seeds bird _______________________________

12. tentacles cephalopod a has ________________________________

13. long have giraffes necks ________________________________

14. spin spiders webs some ________________________________

15. like swimming fish ________________________________

16. upstream swim salmon ________________________________

17. underground moles time spend ________________________________

________________________________
18. gracefully butterflies fly
_____

Alphabetical Order
Read the words in each line. Write the number 1 by the word that is first
in alphabetical order. Write the number 2 by the word that is second in
alphabetical order. Write the number 3 by the word that is last in
alphabetical order.

_1_ cute _3_ turtle _2_ little

____ snake ____ gopher ____ cobra
____ cactus ____ plant ____ grow
____ rabbbits ____ fast ____ hop
____ cookies ____ milk ____ full
____ camping ____ flashlight ____ tent
____ truck ____ jeep ____ car
____ quickly ____ gerbils ____ run
____ I ____ support ____ zoos
____ needs ____ earth ____ respect
____ sting ____ scorpions ____ sometimes
____ useful ____ are ____ almanacs
____ chase ____ cats ____ mice
____ Asia ____ Europe ____ Australia
____ develop ____ grow ____ learn
____ math ____ numbers ____ googol
____ drum ____ flute ____ cello
____ plane ____ ship ____ train
45
 Pronouns
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns.
Some pronouns take the place of nouns in the subject part of a
sentence.
Example: Louis rode the skateboard. He rode the skateboard. (Louis is
replaced by He).
Write the pronoun found in the box below that can take the place of
each noun.

___________ 1. Mrs. May walked down the street to catch the bus.

___________ 2. Mary and Paul are going to visit friends.

___________ 3. The turtles were glad to see Aaron.

___________ 4. Lucy drove the tractor on the farm.

___________ 5. The soup was delicious!

___________ 6. Mr. Wheat played the trumpet for the class.

___________ 7. The presentation was very interesting.

___________ 8. Brian rode the horse.

___________ 9. Gianna petted the puppy.

___________ 10. Kali and Susan performed in the talent show.

___________ 11. Timmy and I baked a cake for father.

___________ 12. Mark went skiing with Barry.

___________ 13. Mark and Joe did well on the science project.

___________
14. Lois cleaned the house.

he it she they we you

46
 Compound Words
A compound word is two words written as one word.
Draw a line from the word in the first column to a word in the second
column to make a compound word.
Write the compound word on the line.
snow car _________________________
box head _________________________
paint ware _________________________
ship fly _________________________
him man _________________________
soft boy _________________________
grand ring _________________________
butter let _________________________
tar age _________________________
sun wreck _________________________
water brush _________________________
be get _________________________
ear ten _________________________
arrow ship _________________________
cow mother _________________________
partner fore _________________________
brace self _________________________
neck rise _________________________
got lace _________________________
ton color _________________________

47
 Compound Words
A compound word is formed when two different words are joined
together to make a new word.
Write the compound word for each of the following words.
The first one is done for you.
1. no + body ____________nobody______________
2. any + one _________________________________
3. with + out _________________________________
4. break + fast _________________________________
5. may + be _________________________________
6. harm + less _________________________________
7. grand + father _________________________________
8. back + yard _________________________________
9. every + body _________________________________
10. lip + stick _________________________________
11. sand + box _________________________________
12. data + base _________________________________
13. under + stand _________________________________
14. high + way _________________________________
15. base + ball _________________________________
16. life + like _________________________________
17. board + walk _________________________________
18. cup + cake _________________________________
19. skate + board _________________________________
20. out + side _________________________________

21. book + case

_________________________________

48
 Contractions
A contraction is a shortened form of two words made by leaving out one
or more letters. An apostrophe is used in place of the missing letters.
Read each sentence below and write the two words from the word box
that make the contraction in each sentence. The first one is done for
you.
Word Box
what is has not does not I have
there is we have he is
1. There's a lot to do in San Francisco. ___There is________

2. She hasn't found her new pencil. __________________

3. There's a great concert in town! __________________

4. I've been learning to play the recorder. __________________

5. What's the name of your school? __________________

6. He's the best plumber in town. __________________

7. He's a very gifted saxophone player. __________________

8. We've been to the Botanical Gardens. __________________

9. I've been on an archaeological dig. __________________

10. What's inside a rubber tree? __________________

11. He hasn't seen the desert before. __________________

12. She doesn't miss school very often. __________________

13. We've been swimming all day. __________________

Contractions is adapted from Let's Think About...Educational Activities for the first and
second grade child. Copyright ©1991 ISBN 1-880825-00-7. Used with permission from
T. Smith Publishing. By printing this page you agree to use it for one time home use
only. Any other use requires the written permission from the publisher.

49
 Questions and Statements
A question is a sentence that asks something. A question ends with a question
mark (?).

A statement is a sentence that tells something. A statement ends with a period

(.)

Read each sentence below and decide if it is a question or a statement.

Fill in the blank with the correct punctuation.

1. The ocean is big _____

2. Is the sky blue _____
3. I think poetry is beautiful _____
4. Why do birds fly _____
5. Is a redwood tree tall _____
6. Spiders spin webs to trap insects _____
7. How is a glass made _____
8. Do hummingbirds hum _____
9. You see with your eyes _____
10. Do you like learning _____

Unscramble each group of words to form a question and a statement. Remember

to capitalize the first word in a sentence. Each word is used only once.

Example: a is whale big Question - Is a whale big? Statement - A whale

is big.

1. flounder a is fish a

Question _____________________________________________

Statement ____________________________________________

2. does light fast travel

Question _____________________________________________

Statement ____________________________________________

3. cheetahs do fast run

Question _____________________________________________

Statement ____________________________________________

50
 Mixed Up Fruit
Unscramble the letters to correctly spell the
name of a fruit. Write the word on the line.

1. ybrtswrear ____________________

2. epar ____________________

3. mnole ____________________

4. reubrelb ____________________

5. mulp ____________________

6. nrogae ____________________

7. hapec ____________________

8. abaann ____________________

9. pegar ____________________

10.pfiurgrate ____________________

11.rehyrc ____________________

12.yapaap ____________________

Draw pictures of the fruits you would use to make a

delicious fruit salad.

51
 My Favorite Things
Draw a picture of your favorite thing and write a sentence or two
explaining your choice.

My favorite thing to do with friends.

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

My favorite thing to do with adults.

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

52
 My favorite book.

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

My favorite character.

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

My favorite author.

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

53
 I A A G R S V H H E B E R M K U N B

M I C H E L A N G E L O E O E O J I

P H G O G N A V Y Q C K M N B J V T

Famous Artists
Circle the name of each artist in the word search puzzle below.
Research project. Write a famous work of each artist on the line.

da Vinci _______________ Goya _______________

Rembrandt _______________ Monet _______________

Renoir _______________ Picasso _______________

Van Gogh _______________ Raphael _______________

Michelangelo _______________

54
I U I H X B M R U W B L B E Y Z I D

C W O C G O Y A D A E R R T I P V A

A C A K N P F V W A Y I A Z D M T V

S A W O V I G Q H F F O N H B K J I

S D U V A V V P X B S N D Q X Z H N

O F V Z T G A A J O R E T Y H B Q C

U Y B P M R L G D N O R Y P C F C I

Scrambled Sports

55
Unscramble each of the following sports
Write the word in the puzzle.
related words.
Down Across
1. keocyh ______________ 4. slbeaalb _______________
2. tgksnia _______________ 5. nsietn _______________
3. lylvobelal _______________ 7. arctk _______________
8. lofaoblt
6. ercosc _______________
_______________</TD< tr>

How Many
A trivia worksheet

Answer each question with a number.

1. How many sides does a triangle have? __________

2. How many days are in one year? __________

3. How many stripes are on the U.S. flag? __________

4. How many cookies make a dozen? __________

5. How many strikes make an out? __________

6. How many years in a score? __________

7. How many strings are on a folk guitar? __________

8. How many zero's follow the "1" in one million? __________

9. How many quarters are in a football game? __________

10. How many sides does an octagon have? __________

11. How many ounces are in a pound? __________

56
12. How many moons does saturn have? __________

13. How many inches are in one yard? __________

14. How many pencils are in a gross? __________

15. How many wings does a bi-plane have? __________

16. How many years are in a decade? __________

17. How many people can a hang glider carry? __________

18. How many inches are in two feet? __________

19. How many grams are in a kilogram? __________

20. How many wheels does a tricycle have? __________

READING TECHNIQUES

THEME :

1.- What is reading ?

2.- Stages of reading
3.- Discourse Parts
4.- Contextual Reference
5.- Guessing the meaning of unknown words:

a) by context, experience, logic and synonymy.

b) Cognates.
c) structural analysis.

6. Punctuation.

1. What is Reading?

- How would you define the reading process?

Each student will write his / her own definition.

Reading is
_________________________________________________________________

57
Reading is a comprehension process which implies the full activity of man and his
mental skills, in order to be able to interpret, value and assume a critical attitude
about the analyzed text.

Comprehending requires readers construct meaning. This is accomplished by

using the direct and indirect meanings of an author’s words, plus what the reader
knows that is relevant.

Comprehending is an interactive process in which the reader’s knowledge of the

world interact with the message conveyed directly and indirectly by the text. The
result is fully developed communication between author and reader.

2. Stages of Reading

To understand and improve your own reading, visualize the process. Good
reading is divided into the following three thinking stages:

a) Before reading , readers preview to find out what the material is about,
what they already know about the topic, and what they need to find out
while reading.

b) During reading, readers anticipate upcoming information?

Visualize and integrate old and new knowledge, and assess their own
understanding in order to make adjustments.

c) After reading , readers recall and react to what they have learned.

After
Before Recall
Preview React
Set goals
Activate
Knowledge

During
Predict
.
Picture
Relate
Monitor
Correct
58
MAIN WAYS OF READING

A. Skimming: It is to read, study or examine superficially or rapidly in order to

obtain general information about the text. It is to explore the
chief ideas of the text.

B. Scanning: It is to read, to examine intensively going through a text to find a

particular piece of information.

C. Extensive Reading: Reading longer texts, usually for one’s own pleasure.
This is a fluency activity, mainly involving global understanding.

D. Intensive Reading: Reading shorter texts, to extract specific information.

This is more an accuracy activity involving reading for detail.

3. DISCOURSE - DISCOURSE PARTS

Discourse is all message (Spoken – written, mimic or graphic). In a written

discourse is considered:

Discourse Parts:

Cohesion: It is the logical union of the parts of the sentence: Subject, Verb,
Complement, etc.

EXAMPLE ABOUT COHESION: Energy may be defined as that property of

something which enables it to do work.

Coherence: It is the logical sequence among the ideas of a text.

EXAMPLE ABOUT COHERENCE: Personal computer is so named because it is

designed for personal use. IBM, the foremost computer manufacturing firm in the
world introduced the first PC named as IBM-PC. Personal computers are classified
on the basis of size and portability.

4. REFERENCE WORDS:

Contextual reference are words used to link ideas together so that the text is
easier to read. When pronouns such as IT, THEY, THEM, I, HE, SHE,
WHICH,WHO, WHOSE, THAT AND DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES such as THIS,
THAT THESE AND THOSE are used as contextual references markers, they refer
to a word, or words, mentioned earlier in the sentence or paragraph. Their
function is generally to take your thoughts back to something that has already

59
been mentioned. The following words are often used to refer backward : THE
FORMER, THE LATTER, THE FIRST, SECOND THE LAST, etc...

These reference terms are:

- Personal Pronouns : I, you, he, she, it, we, they.

- Possessive Adjectives: My, your, his, her, its, our, their.
- Possessive Pronouns : Mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.
- Relative Pronouns : Whom, what, which, by which, in Which, Whose.
- Objective Pronouns : Me, you, him, her, it , us, them.
- Demonstratives Pronouns or Adjectives : This, these, that, those.
- Reflexive Pronouns : Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, yourselves,
ourselves, themselves.
- Indefinite Pronouns : One, other, another, some, both, the former, the latter.

The Contextual Reference could be :

1. Anaphoric Reference : When it is referred to something said before.

Example :

 Human beings supply data to the computer, which are required to be

processed.
 If producers do their job well, they earn a profit and they stay in business.

2. Cataphoric Reference : When it is referred to something that comes after

it.

Example :

3. The computer remembers both the data and instructions, does the processing
when asked to and give us the result in the specified form.

4. In summary, the prices in both the production sector (for resources) and the
consumption sector (for goods and services) varies to allocate resources and
distribute income according to consumer preferences.

PRACTICE : UNDERLINE THE REFERENCE TERMS AND FIND TO WHAT

THEY REFER TO.

A computer, like any other machine is used because it does certain jobs better
and more efficiently than humans. It can receive more information and process it

60
faster than any human. The speed at which a computer works means it can
replace weeks or even months of pencil and paper work. Therefore, computers
are used when the time saved offsets their cost which is one of the many
reasons they are so much in business, industry and research.

5. DEDUCTION OF UNKNOWN WORDS BY CONTEXT, EXPERIENCE AND OR

LOGIC “OR” FUNCTION. (SYNONYMY-ALTERNATIVE).

BY CONTEXT : The reader concludes the meaning of an unknown word by

analyzing the information contained before and after this.

Examples:

 To read efficiently and effectively, a student of English must have a solid

understanding of the rules of English Grammar.
 It is always necessary for a firm to hire a system engineer.

BY EXPERIENCE : The reader knows about the theme he/she’s reading,

therefore.
He/she can guess the meaning of a word using his/her
Knowledge about the subject.

Example:

 There are clues that give you an idea about the text before you begin to read.
 A programmer designs, writes, and tests programs for performing various
tasks on a computer.

BY LOGIC : This is when you apply the reasoning in a correct way.

Example:

 Scientists are now able to use computers to conduct research into complex
problem areas.
 Computers can solve different kinds of problem if they are given the right
instructions for what to do.

“OR” introduces a) Alternative or choices

b) Synonymy or Repetition.

Example:

 Inductive reasoning is involved in arriving at a generalization or general

principle by starting with large number of facts.

Example:

61
 One may proceed by inductive reasoning from two or more specific facts.

PRACTICE
EXERCISE I: EACH SENTENCE HAS ONE WORD WHICH IT IS UNDERLINED.
YOU MUST DEDUCE THE MEANING WITHOUT USING THE DICTIONARY.

1. If you don’t understand a word try to get the meaning of the word from the
context.
2. Automation replaces man-power in some instances.
3. Another method of education that is gaining popularity is computer-based
Training using multimedia.
4. The Law of conservation of Matter states that matter is neither created nor
destroyed during chemical change.
5. Disinfection of water is the killing of disease-causing microorganisms that it
may contain.
6. Computers have now permeated all aspects of business and the economy. It is
a sophisticated tool that can significantly increase productivity.
7. The National Center for Health together with the Geological survey is using
computers to evaluate and control the level of pollution.

EXERCISE II: Explain if OR stands for synonymy or alternative.

1. Information is the output from computer printed on paper or displayed on a

screen.
2. Electronic mail is an electronic system which can store and deliver message
that would otherwise be sent through postal services or over telephone lines.

COGNATES AS A READING TECHNIQUES

62
COGNATE WORDS.

They are words linguistically akin in different languages.

There are two types of Cognate Words.

TRUE COGNATES : Are words which have similar writing and meaning as their
counterparts in Spanish.

- Corrosion - Element
- Important. - Atom
- Resistance - System
- Electrical - Factor
- Metal - Solar
- Temperature - Collector
- Concrete - Area
- Plastic - Problem
- Plant - Combustion
- Energy - Industrial

FALSE COGNATES.- Are words which have similar writing but different meaning
as their counterparts in Spanish.

Examples: sentence
design
library
bat
crane
rate
actually. (realmente)
exit.
ratio.
success.
several
firm

Exercise : Write 5 True Cognates and 5 False Cognates.

True Cognates Meaning False Cognates Meaning

1.-____________ _____________ 1.- ______________ ______________

2.-____________ _____________ 2.- ______________ ______________

3.-____________ _____________ 3.- ______________ ______________

4.-____________ _____________ 4.-_______________ _____________

63
5.-____________ _____________ 5.-_______________ _____________

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF COMMONEST WORDS IN ENGLISH

PREFIXES
AFFIXES
SUFFIXES

Affixes: Simple words can be obtained with certain word beginnings and endings
called prefixes and suffixes, to produce new words.

Prefixes and Suffixes: They are word parts that can not stand alone. They must
always be combined with a base word.

A base word is a word that can stand alone.

Prefixes and suffixes :

Examples : Un - Product ive

Prefix Base word Suffix

PREFIXES

1.- NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE PREFIXES :

Prefix Meaning Examples

un - - unprofitable
Negative in - - inflexible
im - Not - immovable
il - - illogical
ir - - irrational

Prefix Meaning Examples

not involved with non–programmable.

Non - not related with non-existence.

Mis - badl miscalculate.

64
 misunderstanding.

Mal - wrong malnutrition.

malformation.

Dis - opposite feeling disapprove.

opposite action dislocate.

anti - against antiviral.

de - reduce deform.
reverse demagnetize.

under - too little, in or to a underestimate.

position lower than. undertone.
underweight.

Positive re - do again revalue.

reactivate.

over - too much overproduction.

overload.

2.- Prefixes of size :

Prefix Meaning Examples

Semi - half, partly semiconductor

semicircle.

Equi - equal equilateral.

equidistant.

Mini - small minicomputer.

miniseries.
minibus

Micro - very small microcomputer

Microprocessor

Macro - macroeconomy
Mega - large, great macroeconomics
megabyte
megaton
megawatt.

65
3.- Prefixes of location :

Prefix Meaning Examples

Inter - Between, among interchange

Interdependence
interconnect

Super - over super structural

supernatural

Trans - across transcontinental

transoceanic.

Ex - out ex-president.
excommunicate

Extra - beyond extraordinary

extracurricular

Sub under subsoil

| substandard

Infra - below infrastructure

Peri - around perimeter

4.- Prefixes of time and order

Prefix Meaning Examples

Ante - before antedate

Anteroom

Pre - prefabricate
predeterminate

Post - after postdated

postgraduate

retro - backward retroactive :

66
1.- Noun – Forming suffixes :

Suffix Meaning Examples

- ance state grievance,

Performance

- ence quality of independence

- er, or a person who operator

a thing what producer,
programmer
worker
writer

- ist a person who analyst,

yst typist.

- ian pertaining to electrician,

- tion the act of - oxidation,

production,

- ness condition of - happiness,

hardness
spaciousness

- ing activity performing

acting

- ment state / action development.

management.

- ity state, quality mobility

electricity

- ism condition / state magnetism

professionalism

- dom domain kingdom

-ship condition / state friendship

2.- Verb – forming suffixes :

67
 Suffix Meaning Examples

- i ze / ise mobilize
homogenize

- ate to make originate

automate
calculate

- ify simplify, electrify.

clarify

- en harden
widen
3.- Adverb – forming suffix :

Suffix Meaning Examples

-ly in the manner originally

of . . . logically
electronically
comparably

4.- Adjective – forming suffixes:

Suffix Meaning Examples

- al having the mechanical,
- ar quality of electrical
- ic molecular
- ical circular
allergic
magnetic
automatic
logical

- able capable creditable

- ible of being profitable
divisible
reversible

-ous like/ full of famous

homogeneous

68
 -full characterized by helpful
beautiful
successful

-less without needless

hopeless

-ish like yellowish

greenish

- ed having the closed

quality of arranged

- ive interactive
excessive

EXERCISE : Read the following sentences and circle the suffixes.

1. Probably the most critical in the design process is the definition of the
problem.

2. A systems analyst studies organizational systems and decides what action

needs to be taken to maximize efficiency.

3. Computers are becoming increasingly useful tools of education.

4. Software developers are producing increasingly sophisticated applications for a

growing global market.

5. PUNCTUATION

Helps to convey the writer’s idea. Punctuation mark helps the reader to get the
tone and the feeling the writer wants to communicate.

PUNCTUATION MARKS:

USE OF COMMA (,)

It is used to separate elements in series. After connector or phrases like:

however, therefore, in conclusion, etc.
To enclose phrases which are not essential to the meaning of the sentence,

EXAMPLE:

69
1. Advanced mathematics includes those subjects beyond the elementary math
subjects. Such subjects as college algebra, analytical geometry, vector
analysis, differential calculus, and integral calculus are considered advanced
math.

2. Plastics are lighter and more corrosion-resistant, but they are not usually as
strong.

USE OF SEMICOLON (;)

- It is used like a weak point or a strong comma.

- To separate sentences not joined by coordinators when they are closely
related.

EXAMPLE: Metal objects can often be broken down and the metals recycled;
plastics can only be dumped or burned .

USE OF COLON (:)

It is used to introduce a list of items, to separate an explanation or to state a

conclusion.

EXAMPLE:

 Considering the main functions performed by a computer we can broadly

classify the hardware components into the following two types named as:

1. Central processing unit (CPU).

2. Peripheral Devices connected to and controlled by the CPU.

USE OF PARENTHESIS:

We are all familiar with the symbols C and F for Scales of temperature, but there
are also K (Kelvin), which is the fraction 10 (1/273.16) of the thermodynamic
temperature of the triple part of water.

USE OF DASH (GUION MAYOR)

It has the same function as the parenthesis.

EXAMPLE: Marketing strategy, planning tries to match opportunities to the firm’s

resources - what it can do - and its objectives - what it want.

USE OF APOSTROPHE (’)

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It shows possession and contractions.

EXAMPLE: An important application of computers is in a clinical laboratory. From

the doctor’s initial request for a test to the printing of test results.

USE OF QUESTION MARK (?)

It is found at the end of an interrogative sentence.

EXAMPLE: Which type of heat treatment makes metal softer and less brittle?

USE OF PERIOD (.)

It is used to mark the end of a declarative sentence, a mild command and some
abbreviations.

EXAMPLE: The molecules of a solid are closer together than those of a fluid.
7 p. m
Dr. Wilson

USE OF HYPHEN (GUION MENOR)

- It is used to divide a long word at the end of a line

- To show that two or three words are being used as a single grammatical unit.
- To form a compound noun or a compound modifier.

EXAMPLE: The processor is the nerve – center of the computer, where all
computations take place

HOW TO READ A FOREIGN LANGUAGE?

1. There are two different methods of reading an intensive and an extensive
method.
2. The intensive method is a slow, careful reading.
3. We observe especially the structure of the foreign language and the se of
words. 4) The extensive method is rapid reading of much easy material.
4. We attempt to assimilate the principal ideas rapidly and completely.
5. The principal problems are vocabulary and sentence structure.
6. Here are three suggestions; they might help to solve the problems:

a) We read the text rapidly to obtain the general meaning. To know the
principal ideas helps to understand difficult details. We mark difficult parts
and words. We use the dictionary only when it is absolutely necessary.

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 b) We read again the difficult parts. To obtain the meaning, we observe the
use of the new words and the relation of them.
c) We read the text again, with normal rapidity.

7. To learn to read a foreign language fluently is a long process. 9) Constant

practice is necessary.
8. To read technical texts fluently helps the professional to know the
development and the progress in the corresponding area. This helps us to be
excellent professionals.

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS IN SPANISH.

1.- What are the two methods of reading?

2.- What is the difference between them?

3.- What are the main problems when reading a foreign language?

4.- What is the 1st suggestion?

5.- What is the 2nd suggestion?

6.- What is the 3rd suggestion?

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7.- What is necessary to learn to read a foreign language?

8.- What is the importance of reading technical texts fluently?

Reading Material

ENGINEERING

1.- Since the beginning of the modern age in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, there has been an explosion of knowledge in every scientific field:
Physics, Chemistry and Physiology, as well as recently evolved disciplines like
Nuclear and Solid state Physics. 2.- One reason for this rapid increase in
scientific knowledge was the development of the experimental method to
verify theories. 3.- At least of equal importance has been the use of
quantification, that is, putting the data from the results of experimentation
into precise mathematical terms. 4.- It cannot be emphasized too strongly
that mathematics is the basic tool of modern engineering. 5.- As scientific
knowledge increase, so did the practical applications. 6.- The eighteenth century
witnessed the beginning of what is usually called the Industrial Revolution
in which machines began to do more and more of the work that previously
had been done by human beings or animals. 7.- In the nineteenth century and
in our own day, both scientific research and the practical applications of
its results have progressed rapidly. 8.- They have given the civil engineers
new and stronger materials; the mathematical formula which they can use
to calculate the stresses that will be encountered in a structure; that
make possible the construction of skyscrapers, dams tunnels, and bridges
that could never have been built before. 9.- Another result of the increase
in scientific knowledge is that engineering has grown into a profession. 10.-
A profession is an occupation like law, medicine, or engineering that requires
specialized, advanced education; indeed, they are often called the “learned
professions”. 11.- Until the nineteenth century, engineers generally were
craftsmen or project organizers who learned their skills through apprenticeship,
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on the job training, or trial and error. 12.- Nowadays, many engineers spend
years studying at universities for advanced degrees. 13.- Engineers must be
willing to undergo a continual process of education and be able to work in other
disciplines. 14.- They must also adapt themselves to two requirements of all
engineering projects. 15.- First, the systems that engineers produce must be
workable not only from a technical but also from an economic point of view.
16.- Second, the public in general has become much more aware especially in
the last ten years or so, of the social and environmental consequences of
engineering projects. 17.- The most visible part of science was the engineering
work. 18.- No one can avoid seeing the great dams, the skyscrapers, and the
highways that have created an impressive, engineered environment around us.

EXERCISE I: REFER BACK TO THE CONTEXT CIRCLE THE WORD THAT

BEST EXPLAINS THE MEANING OF THE UNDERLINED WORD.

1. In sentence (6 ) WHICH refers to:

a. scientific knowledge b. practical applications c. the industrial revolution

2. In sentence (8) THEY refers to:

a. scientific research and the practical applications b. civil engineers c. human

beings

3. In sentence (11) WHO refers to:

a. engineers b. a profession c. the mathematical formula

4. In sentence (7) BOTH refers to:

a. new and stronger materials b. scientific research and the practical

applications c. bridges

5. 5.- In sentence (14) THEMSELVES refers to:

a. two requirements b. other disciplines c. engineers

EXERCISE II: CIRCLE THE ONE WORD THAT WOULD BEST KEEP THE
MEANING FROM CONTEXT.

74
1. In sentence (4) TOOL means:

a. objeto b. herramienta c. tarea

2. In sentence (7) RESEARCH means:

a. rebuscar b. método c. investigación

3. In sentence (11) SKILL means:

a. habilidad b. entusiasmo c. conciencia

4. In sentence (9) INCREASE means:

a. disminución b. aumento c. falta

EXERCISE III: SAY IF THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES ARE TRUE OR FALSE

AND EXPLAIN YOUR REASONS.

1. Industrial Revolution developed both scientific research and practical

application.
________#_________BECAUSE_______________________________________

2. In ancient times engineering was considered a profession.

________#_________BECAUSE_____________________________________

3. The quantity of work produced by men and animals was less than the
one produced by machines. ________#_________BECAUSE:

4. The engineering projects have to take into account the economic as

well as the social aspect. _______#_______BECAUSE:________________

EXERCISE IV: ANSWER IN SPANISH ACCORDING TO THE READING.

1. Explain the development of sciences obtained at the beginning of the

modern age.

2. What was the great contribution of the Industrial Revolution to

engineering?

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3. Explain what is a Profession

EXERCISE V: UNDERLINE THE SUFFIX OR PREFIX IN THESE WORDS.

THEN WRITE THE BASE WORD.

1.- development _______________ 8.- stronger _______________

2.- beginning _______________ 9.- occupation ________________

3.- experimental _______________ 10.- specialized _______________

4.- importance _______________ 11.- engineer ______________

5.- previously ________________ 12.- apprenticeship ___________

6.- research _______________ 13.- workable _____________

7.- learned _______________ 14.- encountered _____________

Teaching pronunciation

I. Stressed syllables

- Repetición de palabras modelos

Ex : Britain ,United , Blackboard.

- Los alumnos determinarán en qué sílaba suena el acento.

Desempeño de Comprensión:

1. Circle the stressed syllable

Japan Turkey Performance

2. Fill the chart

o o oo
oo o

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 Japan Ireland doctor
England bookcase student
Nicaraguan Portuguese

II. Suffix – ion and stress

- Presente sustantivos derivados de verbos y repítalos. Induzca a los alumnos a

diferenciarlos:

Ex: describe – description

Celebrate- celebration

- Diferencie la acentuación con proceso igual a la unidad numero 1

Desempeño sugerido

1. Complete the chart. Mark the stress.

Noun Verb

invite
description

inform
action

invent

compete

III. Sounds

Sugerimos las siguientes estrategias

1. MINIMAL PAIRS son las que difieren en un patrón de sonido

1 2
77
 Will well
Ship sheep

1.1 Listen and complete 1 or 2

En este ejercicio el docente pronunciará palabras contentivas de los fonemas

objeto de estudio y los cuales los alumnos deberá ubicar debajo de la columna
donde aparece la palabra modelo que lo contiene.

1.2 Missing words Frases cortas donde solo falta una palabra.

Ex: Say a word to complete the gap

1. Tony is a boy , Mary is a _____

2. First , second , _______
3. A pigeon is a _______

1.3 Make sentences . Use words from 1 and 2

1 2
dark farm
glad pant
black rabbit
IV. Entonation

- Presente fragmentos para que el alumno determine las curvas de entonación.

A: I don’t A:Do you want A: Who’s that?

want it it? B: It’s George
B: No? B: No !

A: Is that
George?
B: No, It isn’t

- Ilustre los patrones de entonación

Ex: IS THAT GEORGE?

Is that George?

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- Practique los patrones con ejemplos breves o simples

Ex:

Mary No
Mary? No?
Mary! No!

Entonación y acento
Puede usar la siguiente estrategia:

- Pronuncie las oraciones.

- Marque las silabas acentuadas.
- Divida la oración para producción pronunciada en sentido inverso.
- Marque las curvas de entonación.

4 3 2 1
How long / have you / been / living there?

V. Dificultad con un sonido especifico.

1. Aísle el sonido y pronúncielo

2. Use el sonido en una palabra
3. Repetición individual
4. Contrástelo con otro sonido
5. Explique su producción anatómica

¿Cómo preparar una clase?

1. Seleccione el aspecto en el que se presenta la dificultad

2. Seleccione las estrategias a utilizar para solucionarlo

Notemos:

Que esta actividad no puede ser realizada exclusivamente como una unidad en
particular sino que se ha de trabajar a través de todo el desarrollo del curso

USING SONGS IN THE CLASSROOM

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 Provide incomplete songs lyrics. Students listen to the song and complete the
lyrics.
Discuss the storyline of the song.
Discuss issues such as love, jealousy and loneliness as expressed in songs.
Decide on a title for a song.
Complete a song.
Mime the action of the song.
Write a short dialogue based on the theme.
Do a role play acting out the story or theme.
Use the song lyrics as a reading comprehension passage.
Teach the students to sing the song.
Divide the class into groups and get them to sing different parts of the song.
Get students to write a story based on the song.
Ask Students to write a letter to one of the characters referred to in the song.
Ask students to write a letter to the composer of the song giving their reaction
to it.
Cut up the text of the song and give out the pieces of paper of students. Then
ask them to put the song back together in the best order.
Compare two songs that deal with the same theme and discuss it.
Compare two themes and issues are treated in songs in English with those
sung in Spanish.
Discuss the life and career of the singer o group.

Teaching ideas

With 5 minutes left in class, I like to have the kids provide an answer to a basic
question relating to facts presented or concepts taught in the course. They are
provided with a small form that has an appropriate graphic on it. The heading
may be "AHA" or "I Still Don't Get It" or "The most important thing I learned
today" OR it could be an answer to one of 10-15 questions I display on an
overhead.

They have to write their answer and present it to me on their way out the door. If
it calls for something factual (usually basic questions) the answer must be correct
before they leave. In that case, they may choose another question.

If the response is just an impression or a question, they may leave as soon as

they turn in their paper. I use the papers as feedback the next day, and may
even select from them as a pool of "volunteers" or to call on students as part of a
review.

The students enjoy ending the class on an energetic note. I find the feedback
invaluable in evaluating my success with the class on a given lesson. I enjoy the
basis for reviewing the following day. The students enjoy "Feedback!"

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"Journal writing is a great way to close a lesson. It keeps the kids focused and
provides an opportunity for them to express their thoughts in a constructive way.
You should always give them a focus question or something you want them to
reflect on and write about in their journal related to what you expected them to
learn. In this case, you should also check their journals to see if they are on track
with what you wanted them to learn."

"Have a variety of games that students can choose from that can reinforce any
lesson. This can be used as an incentive to get students to pay attention and stay
on task during the lesson with the reward that they can play any game that they
choose for five minutes. Some five minute games include simple puzzles, mazes,
OT timed computer games."

"Use the last five minutes of a lesson to ask your students to tell you what they
learned as a result of the lesson. A large chart in front of the room is a great way
to poll students' responses so that all can benefit. Students can copy what you
write on the chart during free time or while you are recording the responses. You
can leave the chart up for the remainder of the day, or tear off the sheet and tape
it somewhere in the classroom for students to access during the day. It also
serves as a great reminder. You can then save it and refer to it during review.
This is also can be done with a PowerPoint presentation if you have technology
available".

This activity requires a large ball of string.

Have the students sit in a circle and emphasize that they must remain in their
seats (for safety reasons). The game starts by a child or the teacher saying the
name of someone else in the circle and holding on to the end of the string, while
throwing the ball to the person they named. The receiver calls out the name of
another child, and keeps hold of his or her end of the string while throwing the
ball of string on to the named child. As this continues a tangled web begins to be
formed by the crossing of strings.

When the web is completed the group has to undo the web by calling names and
throwing the ball of string which is rewound by the receiver before sending it on.

"This is a great icebreaker for a class to get to know each other better, and it also
gives students a chance to get up and move around! Give students an index card,
and on that card, have them write a question they would like to ask other
students (like "what is your favorite song", "do you have any siblings" etc). Have
students move around room singing "Mingle mingle mingle!" (Like the cha-cha)
and when the teacher says stop, students should grab the person closest to them
to exchange answers to both of their questions. After they have talked for about

81
30 seconds about their answers, students exchange cards so they have a
different question to ask, and "mingle" again!"

"For an icebreaker to be used with any grade. Throw out a role of toilet paper and
tell the students to take as much as they need. (Don't tell them what it's for).
After everyone has taken some, have them tear the toilet paper at the
perforations. For each square of paper in their possession, they have to share one
fact about themselves."

"Get your students use to collecting information about each other early on in the
school year. Place students in groups and encourage them to exchange phone
numbers, email addresses or any information that is useful to get in touch with
each other. During this time, ask students to share with each other some of the
classes they have taken and hints on how they have studied in the past to get
good grades. During this time, you can also encourage them to form study groups
and meet after class time or show them how to set up a chat room discussion
that enables them to meet online. This is also a great way to get students to
communicate with each other outside of class."

"To help students get in touch with what's important to them and to introduce
themselves to others in the class. Students will need construction paper and
markers or crayons. Students are told to imagine that the piece of paper in an
island. The island is theirs and they can have anything on the island that they
want. Encourage the students to draw images of anything that they'd like to have
on their "Fantasy Island"... After drawings are finished, students are paired off
with a buddy. They share with each other about their island. After 5-10 minutes,
the pairs are invited to share with the class what they've discovered about their
buddies' similarities and differences."

"Years ago before I got into administration, I would start every year off with this
game. I would take out about 100 post-it notes and then give one to each
student. Students would get in circle. Each student writes a noun (person, place,
or thing) on the card. Then they stick the post-it on the forehead of the person to
their right, noun showing. Each person then gets a turn to ask the group a
"yes/no" that will help them guess what it is. If they don't get it right, we move
on to the next person in the circle clockwise. I usually give some sort of prize to
the three people that took the least number of guesses to get it right."

"This is an idea to help students learn how rumors begin and spread and how the
information changes from one person to the next. Ask for three student
volunteers. Ask the three volunteers to please go outside in the hall. Ask for one
more volunteer from the class. Ask the volunteer to come up front. Read a
detailed description of a person to the student. For example: Susan is 12 years
old. She is wearing blue jeans and an orange shirt. She has sneakers on her feet.
Her hair is brown and her eyes are blue.

82
She is wearing a NY Yankees baseball cap, turned around backwards. In her
hands are a lunch bag and 2 books. Ask the students who are seated to observe
and note what they are about to witness. Invite one of the students in from the
hall. Ask the student who just heard the description to repeat it to the student
from the hall. Repeat this process with the next 2 students. Conclude by asking
students to share their observations and ask them how they will handle the
situation the next time they hear a rumor. Rumors are not true and the more
they are spread around, the less truth they hold."

"This helps students get acquainted and to start to feel at ease in the class/group
setting. Make copies of a blank record; A circle within a circle divided into 6
segments. Start by talking to students about what a composer thinks of when
he/she writes a song. The person wants to share his /her feelings or ideas with
other people. Tell the students that they'll be doing a brief activity to share some
things about themselves. Hand out a blank record sheet to each student. Ask
students to choose six (6) categories from the following list and create a Record
of Me. One of the categories must be what I hope to accomplish or get from this
group/class.

My Favorite Song.
My Favorite Place To Go With Friends.
My Month of Birth.
Favorite Restaurant.
Class I Like Best.
Favorite Movie.
Favorite Musician.
Where I was Born.
Place I'd Like To Go To.
What I Want To Accomplish or Get From This Group/Class.

Give students about 5 minutes to work, then ask them to pair off with someone
they don't know. Ask them to begin to share the information they've chosen for
their record with their partner. Ask students to take turns introducing their
partner to the class/group, explaining what they've learned about their partners."

"An icebreaker that seems to work well for high-schoolers entails trying to guess
their classmates' favorite things. Circulate writing paper and pens and ask
students to write their names and record their favorite (you as a teacher can
come up with subject appropriate topics) things. Some ideas that I've used are:
bands, TV shows, movies, books, subjects, foods, sports and athletes. Collect the
papers, and read the answers, but have the class guess who responded. It's a
good way to settle beginning of the year tension and get to know your classes."

"For my junior high school class in which the students are in this course for the
first time and don't know each other yet, I usually play "Remembering Names"
game using a ball. I do this because they tend to be quiet or shy to ask others

83
student's names that they don't recall. After they introduce themselves in front of
others, I tell them to recall the names for 1 minute & that'll keep them busy
asking each others' names. Then I throw the ball first to anyone I call and she/he
must throw it again to the other student by calling out his/her name. Remember;
don't throw it to the person next to the name you're calling out and/or to the
same person all the time. The one who miscall his/her friend's name must come
forward and ask the 'miscalled friend' about any of their favorite things. That'll
work for 5-10 minutes and finally they'll get new acquaintances."

"Ask for 2 student volunteers to come up and stand in front of the class. Explain
to them that they are going to be part of an experiment about different
perceptions. Ask the class to begin to describe the two classmates who are
standing before them. Let the descriptions go on for a few minutes. Examples of
descriptions might be: hobbies, music they like, etc. Ask the 2 students how
accurate the descriptions of them were. Let the students point out things that
were right on and things that were not true, at all. Point out to students how we
all assume certain things to be true about people based on how they look.
Additionally, our perceptions are based on our experiences and beliefs.
Perceptions change from person to person and there is never an absolute truth in
our perceptions. We need to be open to experiencing people for who they are and
not how they look."

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 MINISTERIO DE EDUCACIÓN

“La Educación es un Elemento Central de la Dignidad y

También del Desarrollo Humano”
Programa del Gobierno de Reconciliación y Unidad Nacional, 2006

Nicaragua
2 011