Pre-Academic Communication

for

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Level 3

Molly Eguchi and Dave Meadows

Preface

This text was made possible through Lansing Community College’s OER award program. This is the third of a five-level series of open textbooks for ESOL students (Communication Foundations, Communication Basics, Pre-Academic Communication, Bridge to College English Skills, College English Skills) created by the ESOL faculty team at Lansing Community College. Our goal was to create a set of texts for adult ESOL students that would integrate skills across language skill areas: Reading, Speaking, Vocabulary, Listening, Grammar, and Writing. Our goal was also to scaffold skill instruction across levels so that students would experience a connected instructional approach as they progressed through an ESOL program.

Pre-Academic Communication was created for students at the Low Intermediate level. The focus is on communicative competency and on bridging to academic communication skills for our students whose goal is to complete a postsecondary training program. The text is a combination of original work by the authors with contributions from the ESOL faculty team and includes an adaptation of Introduction to Academic Writing for ESOL by Delpha Thomas, Ph.D. Charts from College English Skills for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) by Marcy Bauman and Cheryl Garayta are also included.

This text is arranged in three parts. Part 1 – Reading, Speaking, Listening, and Notetaking includes three thematic units, with readings linked to the Commonlit.org website combined with reading skills instruction and listening, speaking, notetaking, and spelling/pronunciation practice tied to the readings. Part 2 – Grammar uses the themes from Part 1 but adds a fourth themed unit, with all units incorporating readings that illustrate use of the grammatical forms covered in the units with grammar instruction and writing practice to encourage application of grammar in writing. Part 3 includes the adaptation of Delpha Thomas’ writing text and moves students from paragraphs to basic essay writing. Our students include immigrants, refugees, permanent residents, U.S. citizens, and International F-1 visa holders and come from Central and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. We hope that this text will help you as you work with your students. Please feel free to remix and adapt as best fits your and your students’ needs.

Molly Eguchi, Adjunct Associate Professor and David Meadows, Adjunct Associate Professor, Lansing Community College

Table of Contents

Part 1: Reading, Speaking, Listening, and Notetaking

Unit 1 – Learning and Culture…………………………………………………………………………..5

Topics: Reading Skills – Dictionary Use, Context Clues, Affixes and Roots, Main Idea, Supporting Details, Inferences, Figurative Language; Listening Skills – Listening for Information and Listening for Vocabulary; Spelling and Pronunciation – Short and Long Vowel Sounds and Spelling Patterns

Unit 2 – Community..……………………………………………………………………………………71

Topics: Reading Skills – Dictionary Use, Context Clues, Affixes and Roots, Main Idea, Supporting Details, Inferences, Figurative Language, Example and Definition Context Clues, Author’s Purpose; Listening Skills – Listening for Information and Listening for Vocabulary; Spelling and Pronunciation – Homonym and Vowel Digraph Sounds and Spelling Patterns

Unit 3 – Careers………………………………………………………………………………………..124

Topics: Reading Skills – Dictionary Use, Context Clues, Affixes and Roots, Main Idea, Supporting Details, Inferences, Figurative Language, Example and Definition Context Clues, Author’s Purpose, Point of View, Fact and Opinion; Listening Skills – Listening for Information and Listening for Vocabulary; Spelling and Pronunciation –Consonant Digraph and Schwa Sounds and Spelling Patterns

Part 2: Grammar

Unit 1 – Learning and Culture………………………………………………………………………..171

Grammar Focus: Verbs and Tenses

Unit 2 – Community……………………………………………………………………………………196

Grammar Focus: Gerunds, Infinitives, Adverb Phrases and Clauses

Unit 3 – Careers………………………………………………………………………………………….212

Grammar Focus: Passive Voice, Future Time Clauses, Future Perfect and Perfect Progressive Tenses, and Noun Clauses

Unit 4 – Identity………………………………………………………………………………………….230

Grammar Focus: Relative Clauses and Connectors

Part 3: Writing

Unit 1 – Writing Process – ……………………………………………………………………………248

Unit 2 – Methods of Paragraph Development………………………………………………………256

Unit 3 – Essays………………………………………………………………………………………267
Part 1

Reading, Speaking, Listening

Spelling, Pronunciation, and Notetaking

Unit 1 Topic – Learning and Culture

female-teacher by oksmith Source: Openclipart.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license

Introduction

What do you think education is? Is it memorizing facts for successfully taking tests? Is it learning life skills? Is it learning how to learn? Is it a tool or is it a goal in itself? Discuss your ideas with your classmates.

Now, discuss the differences and similarities between education in your culture and here in the United States. List the main factors that are important in your country’s educational processes and the main factors you believe are important in the US educational system.

Practice 1

Comparison of Educational Systems

Country – Name / Aspect of Educational System	United States – Aspect of Educational System

Reading Strategies – Graphic Organizers

One strategy you can use to organize your thoughts as you read is to create a graphic organizer. Graphic organizers are pictures or diagrams that represent ideas. One type of graphic organizer is a Venn Diagram. A Venn Diagram shows 3 connected circles. Each circle represents one concept. The areas that overlap show how the ideas connect between concepts. An example of a Venn Diagram showing relationships between colleges represented at LCC’s University Center is below.

Venn Diagram of University Center Programs

Practice 2

Answer the questions about the Venn Diagram above.

What 3 schools offer classes at the University Center?

Where are the main campuses of the 3 schools?

What level degrees do the 3 schools offer?

What similar program is mentioned at each school?

Practice 3

Look at the table you created in Practice 1. Use the information from the table to create a Venn Diagram showing the overlap between educational systems in the US and two other countries. Then, answer the questions about the Venn Diagram you’ve created.

Venn Diagram Comparing World Educational Systems with US System

What 3 countries are detailed in the Venn Diagram?

What factors are the same in the countries?

List factors that are present in other countries but not in the US.

List factors that are present in the US but not in other countries.

Practice 4

Reading for Information: Click on the link and read the article; then, answer the questions that follow. The reading discusses basic terms related to education. After you answer the questions, submit to check your answers.

Education Terms and Comprehension Questions

Reading Strategies – Using the Dictionary

Dictionaries give several definitions for each word. The dictionary entry also tells you the part of speech for the word as it applies to each definition. Remember that the same word may change part of speech depending on the way the word is used in the sentence. Click on the link in Practice 5 to select the definition that matches the meaning of each word as it is used in the sentences.

Practice 5

Dictionary Use – Selecting the Correct Definition

Choose the appropriate definition for the bold words in the following sentences:

The issue* was very complicated because there were many different ways to look at it.

a._________

b.________

The job of academic advisors is to support* the students.

_____.
_____

Getting a college education is an investment* in your future.

a.______

b.______

*Notes a word from the New General Service Word List. The New General Service Word List by Charles Brown and Brent Culligan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike CC-SA 4.0 International License

Practice 6

Vocabulary Building: Write the letter of the vocabulary word by the correct definition. Use the link to the dictionary in Practice 5 to check definitions.

Definition	Word
1. Need	a. System*
2. Worry	b. Fund*
3. Think about carefully	c. Consider*
4. Provide money for	d. Involve*
5. Not easy to understand	e. Available*
6. A group of parts that work together as a whole	f. Concern*
7. Ready for use, at hand	g. Require*
8. To include or affect someone or something	h. Unclear*

Practice 7

Choosing meanings in context: Go to the link below and read the poem. Find the three words that follow in the poem. Write the letter of the correct definition (as the word Is used in the poem) on the line next to the word.

What Teachers Make by Taylor Mali

Taylor Mali by BrodieAdler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.

Waste*: _____ a. To use or consume carelessly (v)

A barren or wild area or expanse (n)
Undigested food eliminated from the body (n)

Wonder*:_____ a. One that arouses awe or admiration (n)

To feel doubt (v)
To be filled with curiosity (v)

Judge*: _____ a. One who decides the winner of a contest (n)

A public official who decides someone’s innocence or guiltin a court of law(n)
To determine the worth, quality, or value (v)

How does this poem relate to the idea of education?

Reading Strategies – Word Roots and Affixes

The term, affixes, refers to parts of words. A prefix is an affix that comes at the beginning of a word. Examples of prefixes are “re”, reread, and “un”, uninteresting. A suffix is an affix that comes at the end of a word. Examples of suffixes are “ness”, sadness, and “able”, understandable. Roots are the main part of the word. Examples of roots are “bio” meaning life, and “ology” meaning study of. The two roots combined become biology, meaning the study of life. Adding the suffix “ist”, person who, gives biologist, a person who studies life. Adding the prefix “micro”, small, gives microbiologist, a person who studies small life, or organisms that can only be seen with a microscope. Understanding how words fit together through the system of affixes and roots can help you understand many words that would otherwise seem unfamiliar as you read.

Practice 8

Using the link for affixes and roots, circle the root of each of the following words and underline the affix, then define the word. Example: portable; able to carry around

Roots and Affixes

Mortal___________________________________
Reform___________________________________
Paternal__________________________________
Unusual__________________________________
Phobic___________________________________

Reading Strategies – Word Forms

Click on the link below. Read the article.

Practice 9

At the end of the article, there are 5 practice sentences with errors in them. Correcting the errors, write out the sentences on a separate sheet of paper.

Word Forms

Listening Strategies

Go to the following links.

Practice 10

Do the activities before going to the Listening Practice link. Discuss the listening activities in class.

Pre-Listening Activities

Practice 11

After discussing the Listening Preparation questions, go to the link below and listen to the lecture.

Listening Practice

Practice 12

Silently read the transcript from the link below while listening to the lecture again. Highlight any unfamiliar vocabulary words.

Listening Practice

Speaking Strategies – Everyday Conversation

Everyday conversation is different from academic communication. In everyday conversation, speech is often reduced (not pronounced clearly.) Speakers use more idioms and slang in everyday conversation as well.

Practice 13

Role-Play Practice – Registering for Classes: After watching the sample conversations from the link below, work with a partner and create your own dialogue. Each person should have at least 5 lines.

Registering for College Classes

Practice 14

Now, create a dialogue asking to change sections of a class.

Practice 15

Giving Directions: In small groups, draw a map of the LCC campus and use it to answer the following questions.

How do you find the Star Zone in the Gannon Building from Arts and Sciences Building?
How do I get to the CATA bus stop from Dart Auditorium?
Where is the Japanese Garden on campus?
How do I go from the Arts and Sciences Building to the Administration Building?

Speaking Strategies – Academic Communication

Describing a Campus Location: Most college campuses have special locations that have meaning for the campus. One of these areas on the LCC Campus is a Japanese garden donated by Lansing’s Sister City in Japan. Use this location or another location from your campus to describe an area using academic language. Keep the following points in mind:

Use specific descriptions. Instead of “a pretty garden with lots of plants” you might say “An oval-shaped area forms the garden. The garden is filled with plants that are native to Michigan and that represent the style of a formal garden in Japan.”
Use adjectives to paint a picture with words. Instead of saying “a lot of colors” you might say “The bright orange bridge crosses a pond filled with orange Koi fish.”

Moon Bridge at the Japanese Garden of the Huntington Garden Near Pasadena, California by Michael Slonecker Source: Wikimedia Commons.org carries the attribution note: The copyright holder of this work allows anyone to use it for any purpose including unrestricted redistribution, commercial use, and modification.

Practice16

Choose a location your campus or your city/town that you would like to describe. Draw a sketch of the location and label the items in the sketch. Then, prepare a paragraph describing the sketch of the scene. Present your description orally to your class. As a group, discuss the descriptions. Were the descriptions specific enough to give an idea of the appearance of the scene described?

Reading 1

Reading 1 describes how a teacher and musician from Africa shares his love of the music of his country with his students in the United States.

Vocabulary – Reading 1 – Identifying Meaning in Context

The words listed in the table are found in Reading 1. Many words in English may be used in different ways. Often, the word’s meaning and part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction) can change depending on how the word is used in the sentence. For each word listed, write the meaning with which you are familiar and give the part of speech for that meaning of the word. If the word is new for you, use a dictionary to find the meaning and part of speech, but write the meaning using your own words. This will help you understand the meaning. Then, as you read, give the meaning and part of speech that represents the way the word is used in the reading. If the meaning and part of speech are the same as what you have already listed, write “Same” in the last column.

Reading 1 Vocabulary

Word	Meaning – Most Common	Part of Speech	Meaning in Reading and Part of Speech
Accomplish*
Accompany**
Beat*
Composition*
Create*
Master*
Musician*
Rhythm
Uplift
Warmth**

*Notes a word from the New General Service Word List. **Notes a variant word form of the New General Service Word List. The New General Service Word List by Charles Brown and Brent Culligan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike CC-SA 4.0 International License

Pre-Reading / Discussion

Look at the picture of drums from Togo, the area in Africa that is discussed in the reading. Discuss the questions related to the picture.

Ewa Musicians by David Stanley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

How would you describe the drums?
From the expressions on the faces of the audience, do you think they are enjoying the music? Why?
Does it appear that the drummers are an important part of this group? Why or why not?
From the vocabulary and from the picture, what would you predict will be the focus of the reading?

Reading 1

Read Move to the Beat by Colin Hickey. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website.

Practice 2

Write a sentence using each vocabulary word from Practice 1. If the word was used differently in the reading than the common meaning, use the meaning from the reading in your sentence.

10.

Practice 3

Using the link for affixes and roots, circle the root of each of the following words and underline the affix, then define the word. Example: portable; able to carry around

Roots and Affixes

Musician

Physcial

Healer

Performer

Historian

Reading Strategies – Highlighting and Annotating

When you read for pleasure, simply to enjoy a story, a poem, or even an informational article, you are focused only on the content – enjoying and understanding what you are reading. You may mark new words or important points you want to remember, but your main focus is not to study and remember. When you read material for academic purposes (a college class, a job training, studying for any test – even a test for a driver’s license,) it is important to remember specific points and to be able to restate and explain the material in your own words. This is especially true in American colleges and universities, where most professors do not want you to simply memorize and repeat information, but to restate information in your own words and combine pieces of information from different sources to explain similarities and differences between the sources. One technique that can help you is to highlight and annotate text as you read.

Highlighting means to underline or use a highlighter to mark facts you want to remember. Be careful only to mark what is most important. Too much highlighting makes it difficult to find the important information when you return to study. Being selective (choosing only the most important information) makes your studying easier because your eyes immediately pick up the highlighted information.

Example 1 – This example shows the problem of highlighting too much information.

Folk songs of fishermen in the south may be accompanied by bells such as the gankogui and frikiwa. Folk songs in Ewe and Kabye, are common, Fon and Yoruba songs also occur.^[2] Togolese music includes a great variety of percussion-led dance music. All over Togo drums are used, by Christians and Muslims as well, to celebrate all major events of life and for festivals like the Expesoso or Yeke Yeke festival.^[3] In the Aneho district alone drums in use include the agbadja, ageche, aziboloe, kple, amedjeame, akpesse, grekon, blekete and adamdom.^[3] There are numerous rhythms in Togo, each area having its own special beats.

Music of Togo Source: Wikipedia.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike CC-SA License

This highlighting says everything in the paragraph was important enough to remember. Highlighting like this does not help you as you study. When you highlight selectively, you highlight material that relates to your purpose for studying. For example, in an anthropology class, you might be focusing on the lifestyles of different countries. In a music class, you might be focusing on musical instruments from different countries. In the anthropology class, you would need to remember details about customs, but not names of instruments. In the music class, you would need to remember the names of the instruments. The layout of your textbook, your teacher’s lecture material, and the information in your syllabus for each class can help you identify what material you should highlight as you read.

Example 2 – This example shows selective highlighting. The reader focused on the ideas – not the specialized vocabulary.Folk songs of fishermen in the south may be accompanied by bells such as the gankogui and frikiwa. Folk songs in Ewe and Kabye, are common, Fon and Yoruba songs also occur.^[2] Togolese music includes a great variety of percussion-led dance music. All over Togo drums are used, by Christians and Muslims as well, to celebrate all major events of life and for festivals like the Expesoso or Yeke Yeke festival.^[3] In the Aneho district alone drums in use include the agbadja, ageche, aziboloe, kple, amedjeame, akpesse, grekon, blekete and adamdom.^[3] There are numerous rhythms in Togo, each area having its own special beats.

Music of Togo Source: Wikipedia.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike CC-SA License

Example 3 – This example shows selective highlighting. The reader focused on the specialized vocabulary.

Folk songs of fishermen in the south may be accompanied by bells such as the gankogui and frikiwa. Folk songs in Ewe and Kabye, are common, Fon and Yoruba songs also occur.^[2] Togolese music includes a great variety of percussion-led dance music. All over Togo drums are used, by Christians and Muslims as well, to celebrate all major events of life and for festivals like the Expesoso or Yeke festival.^[3] In the Aneho district alone drums in use include the agbadja, ageche, aziboloe, kple, amedjeame, akpesse, grekon, blekete and adamdom.^[3] There are numerous rhythms in Togo, each area having its own special beats.

Music of Togo Source: Wikipedia.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike CC-SA License

Annotating means that you will make a note, usually in the margin of the text – that explains why you highlighted the material. Annotations are short – a few words to a short sentence. The table shows an example of an annotation for each of the highlighted text sections above.

Annotations for Highlighted Texts

Text

A Annota-

Ti tion

Togo: Folk songs, bells, drums with special beats and rhythms

Togo Bells:

Gankoqui, frikiwa

Togo Drums: agbadja, aziboloe, kple, amedjeame, aplesse, grekon, blekete, adamdom

Music of Togo Source: Wikipedia.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike CC-SA License

Practice 4

Use the printed text copy of the reading. In each paragraph, highlight what you think is most important. Focus on ideas, not vocabulary in this exercise. Then, for each paragraph, provide an annotation explaining what you highlighted in your own words. Discuss why you highlighted the information you selected and whether your annotations match the author’s information.

Reading Strategies – Main Idea

One of the most important aspects of reading is to identify the main idea of a text. Each paragraph should focus on one main idea. In addition, the entire article should also focus on one overarching (overall – complete) main idea. One strategy that can help you identify the main idea of a larger text such as an article or a chapter is to look at the main ideas of the separate paragraphs and determine which idea is most repeated throughout the text. This is the main idea of the text. You can always find the main idea by looking for the most repeated idea in a reading.

Practice 5

Look at the annotations (Practice 4) you made for each paragraph from Reading 1. List the main idea of each paragraph by summarizing your annotation in a few words. Then, decide which idea is repeated most often in your annotations. Finally, write a sentence to express the main idea of Reading 1.

Reading 1 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph

Paragraph	Main Idea
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16
17.
18.

Reading 1 – Most Repeated Idea:

Reading 1 – Main Idea of Article:

Reading Strategies – Supporting Details

Supporting details are statements, facts, that add information about the main idea. These statements support the main idea.

Practice 6

In the table below, list the main idea for each paragraph that you identified in Practice 5. Then, list 2 supporting details that add information related to the main idea for each paragraph.

Reading 1 Supporting Details by Paragraph

Main Idea	Supporting Detail
1.	a.
	b.
2.	a.
	b.
3.	a.
	b.
4.	a.
	b.
5.	a.
	b.
6.	a.
	b.
7.	a.
	b.
8.	a.
	b.
9.	a.
	b.
10.	a.
	b.
11.	a.
	b.
12.	a.
	b.
13.	a.
	b.
14.	a.
	b.
15.	a.
	b.
16.	a.
	b.
17.	a.
	b.
18.	a.
	b.

Reading Strategies – Summarizing and Restating

Summarizing a reading, writing a paragraph that restates the main information from the reading in your own words, is one of the most useful strategies for studying. Restating the information helps you to know that you have understood the reading. Summarizing is also an assignment that you will often be given in college classes or in work assignments. Teachers and employers want to know that you can express ideas clearly.

One strategy that can help you restate ideas from reading material in your own words is to use your annotations as a guide. Your annotations give you short notes about what you have already identified as the most important information in a reading, so using those notes gives you a solid starting point for your summary.

Practice 7

Write a paragraph of at least 5, but no more than 10, sentences summarizing the reading Move to the Beat. Include a topic sentence and a concluding sentence. Make sure to state that you are summarizing a reading by the author of the reading, in Reading 1, Colin Hickey. For a review of information related to paragraph reading, use the section What Is a Paragraph? from Part 3 of this text.

Listening

Practice 8

Listening for Specific Information: Watch the video that gives a discussion of Djembe drumming styles. Listen to fill in the answers to the questions as you watch and listen.

Djembe Drumming Styles

This drumming technique comes from what part of Africa? _________________
What level drummer are these techniques designed for? ___________________
How many tones and how many slaps are included in the first technique? ______ tones ________ slaps.
The player goes faster when he feels _______________________.
The player “swings” the rhythm to learn the _____________ of the West African music and to ________________ his technique.
When the player puts the tones and slaps together, he lets the music ___________ (breathe / bleed).
This helps him keep _________________.
This is the first player’s _________________ hand pattern.
The second player starts with _____________ followed by ______________.

Practice 9

Dictation Practice: Your teacher will read 8 sentences from the lecture to you. Write exactly what the teacher reads.

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Speaking

Discuss the topic related to the reading and lecture information.

Practice 10

With a partner, discuss the reading Move to the Beat. How does Jordan Bennisen’s love of music make him an effective teacher? Each group share your thoughts with the class. Create a table that shows the individual groups’ information.

Partner Discussion Reading 1

Group	Group Information
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Practice 11

Think about an experience you have had when someone’s love of a subject helped you become interested in learning. Describe the experience to your partner and take notes about your partner’s experience. Then, describe your partner’s experience to the class.

Fete traditionel habiye – Image from Togo Source: Wikipedia.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Reading 2

Reading 2 gives biographical (factual information about a person who really lived) information about Anna Julia Haywood Cooper, one of the first female, Black American leaders, teachers, and activists.

Vocabulary – Reading 2 – Identifying Meaning in Context

The words listed in the table are found in Reading 2. Remember that many words in English may be used in different ways and that the word’s meaning and part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction) can change depending on how the word is used in the sentence. For each word listed, write the meaning with which you are familiar and give the part of speech for that meaning of the word. If the word is new for you, use a dictionary to find the meaning and part of speech, but write the meaning using your own words. This will help you understand the meaning. Then, as you read, give the meaning and part of speech that represents the way the word is used in the reading. If the meaning and part of speech are the same as what you have already listed, write “Same” in the last column.

Practice 1

Reading 2 Vocabulary

Word	Meaning – Most Common	Part of Speech	Meaning in Reading and Part of Speech
Citadel
Eventually*
Head*
Mission*
Pioneer
Permanent*
Prestigious
Principal*
Rigorous
Segregated

*Notes a word from the New General Service Word List. **Notes a variant word form of a New General Service Word List. The New General Service Word List by Charles Brown and Brent Culligan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike CC-SA 4.0 International License

Pre-reading / Discussion

Skim the reading A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation (click on the link to access the Commonlit website.) Then, click on the second link to view information related to the fight for equality in education. Think about the following questions:

How many court cases were brought to the Supreme Court before the Brown vs. Board of Education decision declared segregation in schools unconstitutional?
How many years after the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision that said “separate but equal” schools were legal was the Brown vs. Board of Education decided?
How does the history of educational inequality make Anna Julia Cooper’s work even more important than it might otherwise seem?

A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation by Karen Grigsby Bates

Brown versus Board of Education by The National Archives is in the public domain.

Reading 2

Read A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation by Karen Grigsby Bates. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website.

Practice 2

Choose the word from the vocabulary list in Practice 1 that will best complete each sentence.

The Southern United States maintained a __________________ society for

almost 100 years after the end of the Civil War. Laws that prevented any change

in the separate social structures were __________________ly enforced.

Anna Julia Cooper acted as the ____________________, the person in charge

of a school, and _______________ed the school with dedication to her

___________________ to provide education for all her students.

__________________(after almost 100 years), laws maintaining segregation in schools were declared unconstitutional, the result of a Supreme Court decision and a _____________ end to legal segregation. This led to integration of many _________________ colleges and universities, such as the University of Alabama, which had been closed to all but white students prior to the Court ruling.
As the first Black American to become a Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall was a __________________ in the fight to equalize this American ______________ of legal decision-making.

Practice 3

Using the link for affixes and roots, circle the root of each of the following words and underline the affix, then define the word. Example: portable; able to carry around

Roots and Affixes

Rigorous

Superbly

Insistently

Insistence

Admirable

Practice 4

Anna Julia Haywood Cooper’s Photo from her book Source: Wikimedia Commons.org is in the public domain. Photo Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by JDavid using CommonsHelper.

Practice 5

Look at the annotations (Practice 4) you made for each paragraph from Reading 2. List the main idea of each paragraph by summarizing your annotation in a few words. Then, decide which idea is repeated most often in your annotations. Finally, write a sentence to express the main idea of Reading 2.

Reading 2 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph

Paragraph	Main Idea
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Reading 2 – Most Repeated Idea:

Reading 2 – Main Idea of Article:

Reading Strategies – Supporting Details

Look for supporting details, facts that add information about the main idea. Then, complete the table.

Practice 6

In the table below, list the main idea for each paragraph that you identified in Practice 4. Then, list 2 supporting details that add information related to the main idea for each paragraph.

Reading 2 Supporting Details by Paragraph

Main Idea	Supporting Detail
1.	a.
	b.
2.	a.
	b.
3.	a.
	b.
4.	a.
	b.
5.	a.
	b.
6.	a.
	b.
7.	a.
	b.
8.	a.
	b.
9.	a.
	b.
10.	a.
	b.
11.	a.
	b.
12.	a.
	b.
13.	a.
	b.
14.	a.
	b.
15.	a.
	b.
16.	a.
	b.
17.	a.
	b.
18.	a.
	b.
19.	a.
	b.
20.	a.
	b.
21.	a.
	b.
22.	a.
	b.
23.	a.
	b.
24.	a.
	b.
25.	a.
	b.

Reading Strategies – Summarizing and Restating

Use your annotations from Practice 4 to complete Practice 7.

Practice 7

Write a paragraph of at least 5, but no more than 10, sentences summarizing the reading A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation. Include a topic sentence and a concluding sentence. Make sure to state that you are summarizing a reading and give the name of the author of the reading, in Reading 2, Karen Grigsby Bates. For a review of information related to paragraph reading, use the section What Is a Paragraph? from Part 3 of this text.

Listening

Practice 8

Listening for Specific Information: Watch the video that gives a discussion of Anna Julia Haywood Cooper’s life and accomplishments. Listen to fill in the answers to the questions as you watch and listen.

Life and Work of Anna Julia Cooper

Where was Anna Julia Cooper born?

What dates are given for her birth?

How old was she when she entered St. Augustine’s school?

As a student, she acted as a teacher assistant and _______________.

At the time, girls were educated to become _____________________, ________________, or ________________________.

Anna insisted on receiving a more __________________ education. She wanted to be taught in the same way the _________________ students were taught.

Anna could be called both a genius and a _________________ learner.

She became the first African-American woman to earn a doctoral degree from the Sorbonne in ________________.

Anna wrote that education was the cause of ______________________.

Her book was published in ___________________.

Anna wanted to share her thoughts with the ___________________.

Anna’s story is an __________________ story, not just a story about a woman from North Carolina.

Anna’s voice was always raised to help ____________________.

Practice 9

Dictation Practice: Your teacher will read 8 sentences from the lecture to you. Write exactly what the teacher reads.

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Reading Strategies – Inferences

Inference refers to coming to conclusions based on what you read or study. Inferences must be logical and must be based on the material included in readings and lectures. For example, if you walked onto campus and saw that the sidewalks were wet, but the street was dry, a logical inference would not be that it had rained only on campus, not on the street outside the campus. A logical inference could be that the campus sprinkler system had been turned on before you arrived.

Practice 10

The reading and the lecture gave you some important information about Anna Julia Cooper. Based on the information in the reading and the lecture, write Yes if the statement is a logical inference and No if the statement is not logical. Be prepared to explain why you selected Yes or No for each statement

Anna Julia Cooper was determined to become an educated woman even though women of her time tended not to be highly educated.

Anna Julia Cooper was the only Black woman of her time to receive a college education.

Most men of Anna Julia Cooper’s time did not think women needed a high level of education.

Anna Julia Cooper was the most successful educator of her time.

Anna Julia Cooper’s book is important today because it gives insight into the thoughts and events of the time in which she lived.

Speaking

Practice 12

With a partner, discuss the reading A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation. What personal qualities made Anna Julia Haywood Cooper an effective leader? Each group share your thoughts with the class. Create a table that shows the individual groups’ information.

Partner Discussion Reading 2

Group	Group Information
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Practice 13

M Street School by AgnosticPreachersKid Source: Wikipedia.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY-SA 3.0 license.

Reading 3

Readings 1 and 2 were both non-fictional works: information from real life. Reading 3 is a fictional story: a story in which the actual characters did not live. However, Reading 3 is based on facts from the period before the American Civil War. The focus of Reading 3 is on a life lesson that the main character learns. What is the lesson? How will the lesson affect this character as he becomes an adult?

Vocabulary – Reading 3 – Identifying Meaning in Context

The words listed in the table are found in Reading 3. Remember that many words in English may be used in different ways and that the word’s meaning and part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction) can change depending on how the word is used in the sentence. For each word listed, write the meaning with which you are familiar and give the part of speech for that meaning of the word. If the word is new for you, use a dictionary to find the meaning and part of speech, but write the meaning using your own words. This will help you understand the meaning. Then, as you read, give the meaning and part of speech that represents the way the word is used in the reading. If the meaning and part of speech are the same as what you have already listed, write “Same” in the last column.

Practice 1

Reading 3 Vocabulary

Word	Meaning – Most Common	Part of Speech	Meaning in Reading and Part of Speech
Flickered
Freedom*
Glow
Handling**
Searching**
Sign*
Slipped**
Spot*
Surround*
Trembling

*Notes a word from the New General Service Word List. **Notes a variant word form of a New General Service Word List. The New General Service Word List by Charles Brown and Brent Culligan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike CC-SA 4.0 International License

Pre-reading / Discussion

Reading 3 tells the story of a family that worked to help slaves escape from the South to the North, usually to Canada. This network of paths leading from slavery to freedom was called “The Underground Railroad”. Slaves who had escaped in earlier years would return to guide slaves who wanted to escape to freedom. The pictures below show an escaping slave from a poster that was printed before the Civil War. Owners and slave hunters (men who returned slaves to their owners for money) posted pictures like this to tell people they were looking for a slave who had run away. The second picture shows a map of some of the routes (roads with directions) of the Underground Railroad. Discuss the following questions before you read the story:

How is the slave dressed?
Does he have many possessions with him?
In winter, how would he survive in the cold?
Why was it important that families living along the way would provide a safe place for the slaves to rest?

A Common Image in Runaway Slave Ads from “The Underground Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom” by Wilbur Henry Siebert Source: Wikipedia.org is in the public domain.

How far was it from one of the Southern states to Canada (estimate the distance by looking at how many states lie between Kentucky/Virginia and Canada.)
What would have been some of the problems slaves faced as they made the journey from the South to the North?
What characteristics would a person have to have had to be willing to try to escape? Why?
What characteristics would a person have to have had to be willing to help an escaping slave? Why?

Routes of the Underground Railroad 1830-1865 Source: Wikimedia Commons.org is in the public domain.

Reading 3

Read The Sign by Laura Wrang. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit.website

Practice 2

Choose the word from the vocabulary list in Practice 1 that will best complete each sentence in the paragraph.

The candle in the lantern ________________ and ___________ed in the dark night.

The boy _______________ the lantern was ______________ because he was afraid. As he walked carefully through the trees, he was ________________ for any ____________ of his lost dog. The dog had run out of the kitchen after dinner, something he tried to do every few days. The dog seemed to dream of ________, but he always came back home, tired and hungry. This time, he hadn’t come back, so the boy had gone out to look for him. The boy ____________ on the wet grass and looked up as he tried to keep himself from falling. He heard a noise and looked ahead. He _____________ed his dog standing by a small pond ____________ed by tall grass. He called, and the dog looked up, wagged his tail, barked happily, and came running to him.

Practice 3

Using the link for affixes and roots, circle the root of each of the following words and underline the affix, then define the word. Example: portable; able to carry around

Affixes and Roots

Strangers

Bearded

Dangerous

Constellation

Sadness

Practice 4

Understanding Pronoun Referents: In Practice 2, the pronouns “he”, “him”, and “his” sometimes refer to the boy and sometimes refer to the dog. For each sentence below, write boy or dog in the space after the pronoun to indicate to which noun the pronoun refers.

The boy holding the lantern was shaking because he _______ was afraid.
As he _______ walked carefully through the trees, he ______ was looking for his ______ lost dog.
The dog had run out of the kitchen after dinner, something he _______ tried to do every few days.
The dog seemed to dream of being free, but he _______ always came back home, tired and hungry.
This time, he ________ hadn’t come back, so the boy had gone out to look for him ________.
The boy tripped on the wet grass and looked up as he _______ tried to keep himself _______ from falling.
He _______ heard a noise and looked ahead.
He _______ saw his ______ dog standing by a small pond.
He ______ called, and the dog looked up, wagged his _______ tail, barked happily, and came running to him ________.

Practice 5

Practice 6

Look at the annotations (Practice 5) you made for each paragraph from Reading 3. List the main idea of each paragraph by summarizing your annotation in a few words. Then, decide which idea is repeated most often in your annotations. Finally, write a sentence to express the main idea of Reading 3.

Reading 3 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph

Paragraph	Main Idea
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34

Reading 3 – Most Repeated Idea:

Reading 3 – Main Idea of Article:

Reading Strategies – Supporting Details

Look for supporting details, facts that add information about the main idea. Then, complete the table.

Practice 7

In the table below, list the main idea for each paragraph that you identified in Practice 5. Then, list 2 supporting details that add information related to the main idea for each paragraph.

Reading 3 Supporting Details by Paragraph

Main Idea	Supporting Detail
1.	a.
	b.
2.	a.
	b.
3.	a.
	b.
4.	a.
	b.
5.	a.
	b.
6.	a.
	b.
7.	a.
	b.
8.	a.
	b.
9.	a.
	b.
10.	a.
	b.
11.	a.
	b.
12.	a.
	b.
13.	a.
	b.
14.	a.
	b.
15.	a.
	b.
16.	a.
	b.
17.	a.
	b.
18.	a.
	b.
19.	a.
	b.
20.	a.
	b.
21.	a.
	b.
22.	a.
	b.
23.	a.
	b.
24.	a.
	b.
25.	a.
	b.
26.	a.
	b.
27.	a.
	b.
28.	a.
	b.
29.	a.
	b.
30.	a.
	b.
31.	a.
	b.
32.	a.
	b.
33	a.
	b.
34.	a.
	b.

Reading Strategies – Summarizing and Restating

Use your annotations from Practice 5 to complete Practice 8.

Practice 8

Write a paragraph of at least 5, but no more than 10, sentences summarizing the reading The Sign. Include a topic sentence and a concluding sentence. Make sure to state that you are summarizing a reading and give the name of the author of the reading, in Reading 3, Laura Wrang. For a review of information related to paragraph reading, use the section What Is a Paragraph? from Part 3 of this text.

Listening

Practice 9

Listening for Specific Information: Watch the video that gives a discussion of the Underground Railroad. Listen to fill in the answers to the questions as you watch and listen.

Teacher Tube: The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad began around the ___________ and continued until the _________________.

The most popular places to live after escaping were _______________, _____________________, ___________________, and __________________.

The ___________ Blacks living in the ___________ were important to the escaping slaves.

Slaves were guided to safe places where they could ____________ and ___________ along the way.

Even when they reached a free state, escaping slaves were not guaranteed their _________________.

People who provided safe houses and led escaping slaves were called _____________ or ____________________-.

Homes and hideouts were called _________________ and _________________.

Escaping slaves talked about catching the next ________________.

People who provided safety were told to expect __________________.

Runaway slaves were referred to as __________________-.

Harriet Tubman was born in ___________________.

She returned to help _______________ slaves escape.

Levi Coffin, the president of the Underground Railroad, helped almost ______________ slaves escape to freedom.

Levi Coffin his slaves in his home for ______________years.

Slaves used ________________ to give directions.

The Drinking Gourd was a term for the Big Dipper, a constellation that points to the _________________ Star.

The song says that dead _______________ will show the way.

Practice 10

Dictation Practice: Your teacher will read 8 sentences from the lecture to you. Write exactly what the teacher reads.

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Reading Strategies – Inferences

Remember that inference refers to coming to conclusions based on what you read or study. Inferences must be logical and must be based on the material included in readings and lectures.

Practice 11

The reading and the lecture gave you some important information about the Underground Railroad. Even though the reading was fictional, the background was based on facts about the Underground Railroad. Based on the reading and the lecture, write Yes if the statement is a logical inference and No if the statement is not logical. Be prepared to explain why you selected Yes or No for each statement.

Runaway slaves faced many dangerous situations.

Seeing the bandanna in the bushes made the family think Orry had been killed.

It was easy to escape on the Underground Railroad.

The family in the story acted as Station Masters on the Underground Railroad.

No one could have survived in the river, so Orry must have been killed.

Levi Coffin House by Nyttend Source: Wikipedia.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license. *Levi Coffin is considered the Father of the Underground Railroad.

Figurative Language

Word meanings may be literal, giving the actual meaning of the word, or figurative, meaning the word is used as an idiom (expression unique to the language) or to create a picture or feeling in the mind of the reader. For example, if you say, “The car stopped at the stop sign,” you mean a red octagon with the word “STOP” printed on it.

Stop Sign on Post by Rfc1394 Source: Openclipart.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license.

However, if you say, “Not getting a raise was a stop sign for me, telling me I needed to find a better job,” you mean that when you did not get the raise, you were forced to stop, think, and evaluate your job situation.

Practice 12

In the sentences below, write Literal if the word in bold print is being used to show the actual meaning or Figurative if the word is being used to create a picture or feeling. If you choose Figurative, describe the picture or feeling the author wanted to create.

Jess slipped

The river roared in the night.

Their search won’t be easy.

They’d spot us in the water.

The boat wouldn’t be safe.

Speaking

With a partner, discuss the qualities that allowed slaves to escape and also allowed Underground Railroad conductors and station masters to help the runaway slaves. Then, as a class, complete the table with each group’s information.

Practice 13

Partner Discussion Reading 3

Group	Group Information
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Practice 14

Think about someone you know who has been in a situation in which they needed to display courage. Describe the situation to a partner. Take notes about your partner’s information. Then, describe the information your partner shared with the class.

Reading 4

Like Readings 1 and 2, Reading 4 is non-fictional, a real-life account of events. The author of the article interviewed, or spoke to, several people from Dallas, Texas. Some of the people interviewed were refugee students attending school in Dallas; others were city officials or educators. As you read this article, compare the students’ experiences to your own as you have moved into a different educational system than the one with which you were familiar before you came to the United States.

Vocabulary – Reading 4 – Identifying Meaning in Context

The words listed in the table are found in Reading 4. Remember that many words in English may be used in different ways and that the word’s meaning and part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction) can change depending on how the word is used in the sentence. For each word listed, write the meaning with which you are familiar and give the part of speech for that meaning of the word. If the word is new for you, use a dictionary to find the meaning and part of speech, but write the meaning using your own words. This will help you understand the meaning. Then, as you read, give the meaning and part of speech that represents the way the word is used in the reading. If the meaning and part of speech are the same as what you have already listed, write “Same” in the last column.

Practice 1

Reading 4 Vocabulary

Word	Meaning – Most Common	Part of Speech	Meaning in Reading and Part of Speech
Challenge*
Current*
Disclose
Evolve*
Fiscal
Influx
Juggle
Political*
Scariest**
Unique*

*Notes a word from the New General Service Word List. **Notes a variant word form of a New General Service Word List. The New General Service Word List by Charles Brown and Brent Culligan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike CC-SA 4.0 International License

Pre-reading / Discussion

Think about the following questions. Make brief (short) notes about your answers to each. Then, compare your answers with a partner. Note where your answers are similar and where they are different. Then, in the space below the questions, create a Venn Diagram to show similarities and differences in your responses.

Have you ever gone to an entirely new school location? Where was the school? How old were you?
How did you feel on your first day? What aspects (parts) of the day at school were the most difficult?

Venn Diagram of Partner Responses – First Day of School in New Location

Reading 3

Read Going to School as a Refugee by Caroline Garrison. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website.

Practice 2

Choose the vocabulary word from Practice 1 that best fits the description of a situation.

Something related to the present times is _________________.
A situation related to politics is _______________________.
Something that is extremely unusual may be __________________.
A situation related to money and finances is _____________________.
To tell means to ________________________.
Something that is difficult to accomplish is a ________________________.
The most frightening experience you have had is the ____________________.
To try to combine many different activities into your daily schedule means you are trying to ________________ the activities.
A situation of many new people coming into a place at the same time is an ____________________________.
When situations change gradually over time, they _____________________.

Practice 3

Using the link for affixes and roots, circle the root of each of the following words and underline the affix, then define the word. Example: portable; able to carry around

Affixes and Roots

Extracurricular

Daily

Disproportionately

Resettlement

Continual

Practice 4

Pronoun Referents: Read the short paragraph below. Then, for each sentence below the paragraph, in the space after the pronoun write the noun to which noun the pronoun refers.

Refugee students often face difficulties when they move into school life in the United States. For one thing, the US school system is very different from the school systems in most other countries. Its expectations can seem challenging to understand. Some of the differences seem obvious: speaking and understanding teachers and other students’ English language is often the first and greatest challenge. It can feel exhausting for the refugee students as they move through the school day. However, other aspects of school life can present even more challenges even though they are not as clearly seen. In some school systems, male and female students attend separate classes. It can be hard for a female student to find herself in a room with male students even if they all treat her respectfully. Other challenges include different focus on assignments, differences in clothing, differences in expectations of parents’ involvement in school, and differences in after-school activities. These can play a more important role in students’ adjusting to school than language.

Refugee students often face difficulties when they _________ move into school life in the United States.

For one thing, the US school system is very different from the school systems in most other countries. Its ________ expectations can seem challenging to understand.

Some of the differences seem obvious: speaking and understanding teachers and other students’ English language is often the first and greatest challenge. It _______________________________________ can feel exhausting for the refugee students as they _______________ move through the school day.

However, other aspects of school life can present even more challenges even though they __________________ are not as clearly seen.

In some school systems, male and female students attend separate classes. It __________________________can be hard for a female student to find herself ____________________ in a room with male students even if they _________________ all treat her _______________ respectfully.

Other challenges include different focus on assignments, differences in clothing, differences in expectations of parents’ involvement in school, and differences in after-school activities. These ________________________________________________________________ can play a more important role in students’ adjusting to school than language.

Practice 5

Practice 6

Look at the annotations (Practice 5) you made for each paragraph from Reading 4. List the main idea of each paragraph by summarizing your annotation in a few words. Then, decide which idea is repeated most often in your annotations. Finally, write a sentence to express the main idea of Reading 1.

Reading 4 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph

Paragraph	Main Idea
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.

Reading 4 – Most Repeated Idea:

Reading 4 – Main Idea of Article:

Reading Strategies – Supporting Details

Look for supporting details, facts that add information about the main idea. Then, complete the table.

Practice 7

In the table below, list the main idea for each paragraph that you identified in Practice 6. Then, list 2 supporting details that add information related to the main idea for each paragraph.

Reading 4 Supporting Details by Paragraph

Main Idea	Supporting Detail
1.	a.
	b.
2.	a.
	b.
3.	a.
	b.
4.	a.
	b.
5.	a.
	b.
6.	a.
	b.
7.	a.
	b.
8.	a.
	b.
9.	a.
	b.
10.	a.
	b.
11.	a.
	b.
12.	a.
	b.
13.	a.
	b.
14.	a.
	b.
15.	a.
	b.
16.	a.
	b.
17.	a.
	b.
18.	a.
	b.
19.	a.
	b.
20.	a.
	b.
21.	a.
	b.
22.	a.
	b.
23.	a.
	b.

Practice 8

Use the information from your tables on main idea (Practice 6) and supporting details (Practice 7) as well as the annotations you made on the printed copy of the text to answer the following questions.

Since the 1970’s, the number of refugees leaving Burma and settling in Dallas has increased due to______________________________.

Name two barriers to learning that the Burmese refugees encounter:

_________________________ and __________________________.

What are the main goals of programs such as the Refugee School Impact Program?__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

After reading this article, who do you think is the best support system for refugees learning to get along in their new community?

__________________________________________________________.

Practice 9

Write a paragraph of at least 5, but no more than 10, sentences summarizing the reading Going to School as a Refugee. Include a topic sentence and a concluding sentence. Make sure to state that you are summarizing a reading and give the name of the author of the reading, in Reading 2. For a review of information related to paragraph reading, use the section What Is a Paragraph? from Part 3 of this text.

Practice 10

Listening for Specific Information: Watch the video, a lecture by Rita Pearce, an educator who has spent her life working with students who face academic and social challenges. Listen to fill in the answers to the questions as you watch and listen.

Every Kid Needs a Champion

Rita spent __________________ years as a teacher.

Rita believes that not liking teaching makes a school year long and _______________.

Rita believes that every student needs an adult to act as their _____________________.

Rita teaches her students to walk quietly by telling them to _____________.

Rita wrote +________________ instead of -_________________ on her student’s paper.

She told her student that he could do _________________.

She teaches them to say I am ____________________. I deserve an _____________________.

Rita’s mother was also a ____________________.

Rita’s mother bought items to help her students and kept them in her ________________.

Rita’s mother died when she was ___________________.

Practice 11

Listening for Vocabulary: The words listed below are used in the lecture. Listen to the lecture again and write a note to help you remember the context (sentence in which the word is used). This will help you understand the meaning of the word. Then, complete the sentences that follow with the word that best fits the meaning in the sentence.

champion
strut
deserve
on a roll
recess
cruel
legacy
take risks
academic
deficient
self-esteem
achievement

Outside playtime during the elementary school day is called _______________.
Another word for extremely mean is _______________________________________.
An adjective that relates to school life is ____________________________________.
Graduating from college is a great _________________________________________.
_______________________is how you feel about yourself.
All children ____________________ a safe home, love, and the chance to succeed.
Some people are not willing to ____________________because they are afraid.
A ____________________ is someone who is there to help and support you.
If you _______________________, you walk proudly and with self-confidence.
I need to take extra Vitamin D because the doctor said I was __________________.
Princess Diana was a very caring person. She left a ____________________of kindness.
My student has gotten three 100% grades in a row. He is ________________________!

Practice 12

Dictation Practice: Your teacher will read 8 sentences from the lecture to you. Write exactly what the teacher reads.

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Practice 13

Use the information from Reading 4 and from the lecture to write Yes if the inference is logical and No if the inference is not logical.

Rita would probably be a good teacher for refugee students.

Refugee students might find Rita an unusual teacher.

Rita would probably allow American students to make fun of refugee students.

Rita would most likely tell American teachers that they need to try to understand the needs of their refugee students.

Refugee students and American students in Rita’s class would most likely be treated as separate, different groups.

Practice 14

Students are expected to juggle

The numbers have increased due to political unrest.

Schools in the US are bigger and more complex.

Some of this stems from facts that systems are different.

Programs address the divide within the community.

Speaking

Practice 15

Think about your first day in a US school. What were 3 positive experiences and 3 negative experiences? Describe your experiences to a partner. Then, describe the information your partner shared with the class. Create a table that shows the individual groups’ information.

Partner Discussion Reading 4

Group	Group Information
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Practice 16

Rita Pierce is an example of a teacher who makes a difference in students’ lives. Think of someone who has been a positive influence in your life. This person could be a teacher, a friend, an employer, a family member. Describe the person and how they influenced you positively.

Photo of Bhutanese Refugees in Beldanji by Alemaugil Source: Wikipedia.org is licensed under a a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license.

Spelling and Pronunciation

English spelling and pronunciation is very regular. This may not seem to be the case when you look at words like there, their, they’re, all of which sound like the letter a but do not have the letter a in the word spelling.

Part of the problem with English spelling is that English was influenced by many languages. Influences on English spelling and pronunciation came from the original Celtic origins of the language and from the languages of the countries that conquered England throughout its history: the Angles (a tribe from Germany with the German language), Denmark (Danish), Rome (Latin), and France (French). All of these languages mixed with the original English and affected spelling and pronunciation.

One of the biggest confusions for people working with English spelling (including native English speakers) is the spellings for vowel sounds. This is because the English alphabet has 5 vowel letters: A, E, I, O, U. However, these 5 letters have 17 different sounds. The differences in the vowel sounds are noted in spelling patterns. If you learn the spelling patterns for English vowels, you will be able to pronounce most of the new words you see.

Each vowel has a long and short sound (2 sounds for 5 letters = 10 sounds). There are also 7 sounds called dipthongs, which are combinations of 2 vowel sounds into one new sound. This unit focuses on long and short vowel sounds and spellings.

Listen to the pronunciation of the English long and short vowel sounds.

Long and Short Vowel Sounds

Short Vowel Spellings: Regular Spelling Patterns

Look at the short vowel words listed below. What spelling pattern do you see in all the words?

A: At, Bag, Cat, Cab, Fat, As, Hat

E: Ed, Beg, Bed, Fed, Get, Let, Men

I: It, Bit, Kid, Is, Did, Fit, Him

O: Hot, Cot, Rob, Hop, Mop, Mom, Log

U: Cut, Pup, Up, Run, Fun, Gun, Nut

In the words listed, you see this spelling pattern: Vowel Consonant.

One or more consonants may come before the vowel: bag, beg, big, bog, bug; clap, bled, slip, chop, shut; splat, split.

More than one consonant may come after the vowel: cash, best, dish, cost, must.

Practice 1

Write the words you hear:

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Spelling and pronunciation rules for “c” and “k”.

“C” sounds like “k” before “a”, “o”, and “u”: cat, cot, cut.
After a short vowel sound like the “a” in “cat”, “e” in “beg”, “i” in “pit”, “o” in “hop”, or “u” in “cup”, use “ck” to spell the “k” sound: back, deck, pick, lock, luck.

Practice 2

Write the words you hear:

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Double Final Consonants

After short e, i, and u ending in l, the final consonant is usually doubled: ll: bell, hell, fell, sell, well, bill, hill, kill, mill, pill, still, will, dull, gull, lull.

Practice 3

Write the words you hear:

10.

Final S – Z or S Sound

After short vowels, the letter s (one) usually sounds like z: as, has, was, is, his.

After short vowels, usually use double s – ss– to spell the s sound: glass, pass, kiss, miss, boss, floss, loss. *Exceptions: gas, us, bus (1 s sounds like s). ous ending for adjectives.

Practice 4

Write the words you hear:

10.

CAUTION:

Vowels followed by R, W, or Y are NEVER short. Also, U followed by L, LL, SS, or SH is usually not short.

Practice 5

Mark an X in the Short column or the Other Sound column, depending on whether the word you hear has a short vowel sound or another vowel sound.

Short Sound?

Short Vowel	Other Sound
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Exception Spellings

The word “laugh” has the same sound as “cat” – short a. This is the ONLY common English word with this spelling for this sound.

The word “said” has the same sound as “bed” – short e. This is the ONLY common English word with this spelling for this sound.

A few words use the letters “EA” to spell the short e sound. Learn these words. This is a very small group of words. The words are listed below:

Bread, Breath, Dead, Death, Dread, Feather, Head, Health, Healthy, Heather, Instead, Leather, Read, Steady, Stealth, Stealthy, Thread, Threat, Threaten, Wealth, Wealthy

The word “sieve” has the same sound as “sit” – short i. This is the ONLY common English word with this spelling for this sound.

The words “father” and “ha” (like Ha Ha – an exclamation that shows surprise or laughter) have the same sound as “hot” – short o. These are the ONLY commpn English words that use the letter a to spell this sound.

The ending “ous” like in the adjectives “glorious, joyous” has the same sound as “us” – short u. The words “enough”, “rough” and “tough” are pronounced like short u followed by f – enuff, ruff, tuff. These are the ONLY common English words with this spelling for the short u sound. A few words spell the short u sound with ove or other: above, dove (noun – type of bird), glove, hover, love, shove, other, mother.

Practice 6

Write the words you hear:

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Long Vowel Spellings: Regular Spelling Patterns

Look at the long vowel words listed below. What spelling patterns do you see?

A: mane, main, rain, rein, may, way, weigh, weight, wait, they, hey, hay, stare, stair

E: meet, meat, brief, ceiling, be, he, me, we, bee, see, tea, tee, grieve, sieze, mere, near:

I: mile, mine, my, dye, bye, by, fly, hi, high, right, write, cry, light, hire, spire, tire, wire, find, grind, wind

O: hope, goal, go, hoe, ho, stole, shone, rope, coal, home, shore, tore, blow* *low, *row, *know

U: cute, cube, mule, tune, pure, unit, unique, blue, blew, knew, sue, *too, *cool, *pool, *tool, *noon

In the words listed, you see this pattern for long A, I, O, and U: Vowel–Consonant -E.

In all of the long vowel words with this pattern, the final E is silent: mane, stare, mile, ride, side, mine, tire, hope, shone, rope, home, shore, tore, cute, cube, mule, tune, pure.

Additional Long Vowel Spelling Patterns

Each long vowel also has several other spellings. Learn these additional patterns for each vowel.

A: ai, ei (except after c), ay, ey (except the word key).

E: e, ee, ea (all ea words except the group listed for short e sound), ie, ei after c

I: _y (one-syllable word), _ye (one-syllable word), igh, _i, _ind

O: oa, oe, some ow words, (some ow words do not make this sound – see Unit 2)

U: ue, ew, uni (2-syllable word beginning with uni as part of the word – not the prefix – un), *some oo words (some oo words do not make this sound – see Unit 2)

OW Long O Words (See Unit 2 for OW words with different pronunciation)

The group of ow words is almost evenly divided between long o words and the pronunciation that is covered in Unit 2. Learn the group listed here to recognize the most common long o words with this spelling: bow, bowl, blow, blown, crow, flow, flown, glow, grow, grown, low, mow, know, known, row, sow, tow, throw, thrown, slow, show, stow

*The word sow has two pronunciations. Farmers sow seeds in the spring. (Sow = verb meaning to plant.) The sow has five piglets. (Sow = meaning a female pig.)

Practice 7

Write the words you hear:

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Exception Spellings

The words bear, pear, wear have the same sound as in bare, pare/pair and ware – long a. The words there, where have the same sound as ware – long a. These are the ONLY common English words with these spellings for the long a sound.

The word key has the same sound as be – long e. This is the ONLY common English word with this spelling for this sound. All words with two or more syllables that end in y use the long e sound for the y: city, country, beauty, municipality, ability, recently.

The words die, lie, pie, tie have the same sound as mile – long i. These are the ONLY common English words that spell the long i sound with ie. The word buy (buy something – purchase something) has the same sound as by – long i. This is the ONLY word that spells the long i sound “uy”. The word “height” (how tall) sounds like long i even though the spelling is ei. This is the ONLY common English word that spells the long i sound with ei.

The word sew has the same sound as “so” – long o even though the spelling is ew. This is the ONLY common English word that spells the long o sound with ew. The words “though” and “dough” have the same sound as so – long o. These are the ONLY common English word that spell the long o sound ough.

The word “through” has the same sound as blew – long u. This is the ONLY common English word that spells the long u sound ough. The words tour, route, wound (noun – meaning an open cut), soup, and group have the long u sound even though the spelling is ou. (These words came from French, where the ou sound is pronounced like English long u and became part of English vocabulary.) A few words spell the long u sound with “ove”: move, prove. These are the ONLY common English words that spell the long u sound ove.

** The word WIND has 2 pronunciations and 2 meanings.

The wind is blowing. WIND is a noun with the short I sound.

Can you please wind up the clock? WIND is a verb with the long I sound and means to turn clockwise to start a piece of machinery.

Practice 8

Write the words you hear.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Unit 1 Oral Presentation

You will give an oral presentation on the topic: Comparing education systems in your culture with those in the U.S. Your teacher will give you the timeframe and rubric for the presentation. Use the outline format below to plan your presentation:

Introduction-Tell the audience what you’re going to tell them.
Body-Tell them.
Conclusion-Tell them what you told them.

Introduction
Greeting
Establish core message
List supporting points
Thesis statement (opinion about topic)

Body
First Supporting Point
Detail
Detail
Second Supporting Point
Detail
Detail
Third Supporting Point
Detail
Detail

Conclusion

Recap main points
Summarize core message

Unit 2 Topic-Community

Community Circle by Josephluis Source: Openclipart.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license.

Introduction

What does “community” mean to you? Do you think of your neighborhood, home town, or college campus? How important is belonging to a community? Is “community” defined differently in your culture? Discuss these questions with your classmates.

Now, discuss the differences and similarities between communities in your culture and here in the United States. List the main factors that are important in your country’s communities and the main factors you believe are important in US communities.

Practice 1

Comparison of Community Structures

Country – Name / Aspect of Community Structures	United States – Aspect of Community Structures

Reading Strategies – Graphic Organizers

In Unit 1, you worked with Venn Diagrams, one type of graphic organizer that can be used to show relationships between ideas. Another type of graphic organizer is a concept map. Concept maps can take many shapes. The concept map pictured here contrasts (shows differences) between an urban (city) community and a rural (farming) community in the United States.

Concept Map – Contrasting Urban and Rural US Communities

Practice 2

Answer the questions about the Concept Map above.

Which type of community has many tall buildings and lots of people?

Which type of community has fewer buildings and people?

Where would you find more parks?

Which type of community seems to help people know each other better?

Practice 3

Look at the table you created in Practice 1. Use the information from the table to create a Concept Map showing the differences between communities in the US and another country. Then, answer the questions about the Concept Map you’ve created.

Concept Map Contrasting US and World Community Structures

What country are you contrasting with the US?

What are 2 similarities between community structures in your country and the US?

What are 2 differences between community structures in your country and the US?

List 1 positive aspect of the community structures in your country.

List 1 positive aspect of the community structures in the US.

Reading Strategies – Using Context Clues

Using context clues means trying to understand the meaning of the word as you read instead of automatically using a dictionary. In Practice 4, click on the link to practice using context clues.

Practice 4

Click on the link, read the information, and follow the directions to complete the exercise.

Understanding What You Read Using Context Clues

Reading Strategies – Using the Dictionary

Remember that dictionaries give several definitions for each word and also tells you the part of speech for the word as it applies to each definition. Remember that the same word may change part of speech depending on the way the word is used in the sentence.

Practice 5

Watch the video. Then, use the word instrumental in a sentence that expresses the meaning of the word given in parentheses ( ).

Finding the Right Definition

(instrument* – a mechanical implement used for delicate work)

(instrument* – a formal legal document)

(instrument* – a device for measuring value)

(instrument* – something that produces musical sounds)

(instrument* – a means by which something is done)

(instrumental** – performing an important job)

(instrumental** – acting as an instrument)

*Notes a word from the New General Service Word List. **Notes a variant form of a word from the New General Service List. The New General Service Word List by Charles Brown and Brent Culligan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike CC-SA 4.0 International License

Practice 6

Choosing meanings in context: Go to the link below and read the poem. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website. Find the three words that follow in the poem. Write the letter of the correct definition (for the meaning expressed in the poem) for each of the 3 words from the dictionary entries next to the word. Then, answer the question about how the poem relates to the concept of community.

I Am the People, the Mob by Carl Sandburg

Mcgill student vote mob 2011 by Adam Scotti Source: Flickr.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-By-NC-SA 2.0 license

Mass*: _____ A body of coherent matter of indefinite shape (n)
A collection of small parts, like a mass of sand (n)
Whole, usually used with “the” (n)

Seed*: ______ Small part that produces a fruit or vegetable (n)
To plant seeds in the ground (v)
Able to be used for planting seeds (adj)

Crowd*: _____ a. A large group of people (n)

A group of people with something in common (n)
To push together in a large group (v)

*Notes a word from the New General Service Word List. The New General Service Word List by Charles Brown and Brent Culligan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike CC-SA 4.0 International License.

How does this poem relate to the idea of community?

Reading Strategies – Word Roots and Affixes

Remember that the term, affixes, refers to parts of words. Remember also that a prefix is an affix that comes at the beginning of a word. Examples of prefixes are “re”, reread, and “un”, uninteresting. Remember that a suffix is an affix that comes at the end of a word. Examples of suffixes are “ness”, sadness, and “able”, understandable. Suffixes can change the meaning of a word (demonstrator is a person who demonstrates and demonstration is the situation or idea of demonstrating.) Suffixes can also change the part of speech of a word. Demonstrate is a verb. Demonstrator and demonstration are nouns. Demonstrable is an adjective. Demonstrably is an adverb.

Practice 7

Use the link for affixes and roots to find the suffixes that would change each word to the part of speech listed. Then, use the dictionary link to find the root word (base word). The dictionary entry for the root word will give you the correct forms for the other parts of speech for each word.

Example: Instrument (n); Instrumental (adj).

In this case, the correct suffix to form the adjective is al, not able, ful, or ous.

Roots and Affixes

Dictionary Use – Selecting the Right Definition

Describe* (v) to Noun
Confuse* (v) to Adjective
Finance* (n or v) to Adjective and Adverb
Develop* (v) to Noun
Enjoy* (v) to Adjective
Inform* (v) to Noun (situation or idea)
Prefer* (v)
Fear* (n or v) to Adjective
Embarrass* (v) to Adjective
Differ* (v) to Adjective
Differ* (v) to Noun
Strong* (adj) to Noun
Educate* (v) to Noun
Excite* (v) to Adjective
Excite* (v) to Noun
Amuse* (v) to Adjective
Beauty* (n) to Adjective
Expend* (v) to Adjective and Adverb
Expend* (v) to Noun
Urge* (v) to Adjective
Act* (v) to Noun
Danger* (n) to Adjective and Adverb
Economy* (n) to Verb
Economy* (n) to Adjective
Skill* (n) to Adjective

Practice 8

Word Forms: For each sentence, use the form of the base word so that the word makes sense in the context of the sentence. Use the forms you created by adding suffixes in Practice 7 to complete the sentences. In some cases, the form you need is the base word.

(Describe)* 1. Can you give me a ______________*? I need to know what he looks like. Can you ______________* him to me?

(Confuse)* 2. The directions were ______________**. We were _________________**.

(Finance)* 3. The restaurant wasn’t making a profit. It was having ______________* problems. The restaurant wasn’t doing well _______________**.

(Develop)* 4. There have been many new ______________* in the treatment of cancer.

Who ______________* the cure for tuberculosis?

(Enjoy)* 5. The picnic was very ** We all ______________* it.

(Inform)* 6. I can’t decide yet. I need more ______________*. The policeman ______________* us of the robbery.

(Prefer)* 7. Which sport do you like better, baseball or soccer? I ____________* soccer.

The restaurant has Japanese and Korean food. Do you have a _______________*?

(Fear)* 8. The child was ______________** of the dark. What is your biggest _______*?

(Embarrass) 9. I was ______________** when I spilled my drink at the party. Teachers should not ______________* their students.

(Differ)* 10. Although Tim and Jim are twins, they are very ______________* from each other. Can you see the ______________* between them?

(Strong)* 11. That woman is very ______________*. Her ______________* is amazing.

(Educate)* 12. We must ______________* our children. ______________* is very important.

(Excite)* 13. The World Cup is very ______________**. You can feel the ___________*.

(Amuse) 14. I will ______________ my friend. The movie was very ______________.

(Beauty)* 15. There is ______________* everywhere. The world is ______________*.

(Expend)** 16. The lady dressed _______________**. School tuition is a big ________*.

(Urge)* 17. The child had to go to the hospital immediately. It was an ____________** situation. I always ______________* my students to study.

(Act)** 18. He ______________ campaigned for his favorite candidate. Every _________* has a reaction.

(Danger)* 19. Some people live ______________**. The criminal was _____________*.

(Economy)* 20. America is in an ______________** crisis. How is the ____________* in your country?

(Skill)* 21. President Obama is a ______________** speaker. You must have many ______________* to be a good politician.

*Notes a word from the New General Service Word List. **Notes a variant form of a word from the New General Service Word lIst. The New General Service Word List by Charles Brown and Brent Culligan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike CC-SA 4.0 International License

Practice 9

Vocabulary Building: Write a sentence for each of the words listed below.

Company*
Different*
Market*
Government*
Product*
Public*
Development*
Security*
Decision*
Economic*
Organization*
Industry*
Relationship*
Opportunity*
Employee*
Technology*
Current*
Financial*
Society*

Practice 10

Choose the best word from the list to complete the sentences below. Be sure to circle a or an, if required.

If you work for someone, you are known as a/an______________.
In order to have the most recent information, it is important to choose a/an_________________website.
A connection between people is called a/an_______________.
Another word for chance is____________________________.
I like science and math. I haven’t made a ___________which one to major in

Listening Strategies

Go to the following links.

Practice 11

Do the activities before going to the Listening Practice link. Discuss the listening activities in class.

Pre-Listening Activities

Practice 12

After discussing the Listening Preparation questions, go to the link below and listen to the lecture.

Listening Activities

Practice 13

Silently read the transcript from the link below while listening to the lecture again. Highlight any unfamiliar vocabulary words.

Listening Practice

Speaking Strategies – Everyday Conversation

Practice 14

Role-Play Practice – Making a Medical Appointment: After watching the video from the link below, work with a partner and create your own dialogue. Each person should have at least 5 lines.

Making a Medical Appointment

Practice 15

Now go to the link below and read the different ways to negotiate appointment making and cancelling. With a partner, make a dialogue to practice cancelling an appointment.

Negotiating and canceling appointments

Practice 16

Giving Directions: In small groups, draw a map from your home to an important community location (school, library, health clinic, courthouse). Exchange maps with another student in your group. Practice asking for and giving directions to different locations in the community.

Speaking Strategies – Academic Communication

Explaining the Purpose of a Location: Every community and every college include locations that are unique to that community or college. Choose a place on campus (library, tutoring center, writing center, registration area, advising) and explain the purpose of the area and how to use the area.

Practice 17

First, visit the area and interview someone who works there.
Ask for handouts or other information they have that explains the purpose and gives directions for using the services the area provides.
Use specific verbs to explain the purpose of the area. For example, instead of saying “Advisors help you get registered for classes,” you might say, “Advisors give you information on selecting your college major and on how your choice of major can affect the career choices you may make.”
After you have explained the purpose of the area and how to use the services of the area you selected, ask the class questions to see if you explained clearly and if the group understood your information.

Reading 1

Reading 1 is a non-fictional, autobiographical (person telling their own story) account from a teenage girl living in a refugee camp. What qualities does she display that allow her to be positive in such a difficult environment?

Vocabulary – Reading 1 – Identifying Meaning in Context

Practice 1

Reading 1 Vocabulary

Word	Meaning – Most Common	Part of Speech	Meaning in Reading and Part of Speech
Available*
Bomb*
Border*
Camp*
Checkpoint
Destroy*
Gather*
Rocket
Smuggler
Terrified

Pre-reading / Discussion

All of you have had the experience of going somewhere completely new for the first time. How was the new place different from the places you had known before? How were the places similar? What challenges did you face in the new location? Create a Concept Map to contrast the location with which you were familiar with the new location. Discuss your Concept Map with a partner. Then, explain your partner’s Concept Map to the class.

Concept Map Contrasting Familiar and Unfamiliar Locations

Reading 1

Read Diary of a Teenage Refugee by Amira. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website.

Practice 2

Choose the vocabulary word from Practice 1 that best fits the description of a situation, person, or thing.

Something that explodes is a _______________.
Something that is easily found in many places is _______________________.
To come together is to __________________.
Something that no longer exists because of some form of violence has been
A person who moves people or things illegally and secretly from one place to another is a ________________________.
To feel great fear is to be ________________________.
Something that flies and may explode when it falls is a ____________________.
A place where people have to present identification to authorities before entering is a ____________________________.
An imaginary line that separates one location from another location is a _______.
A place where people live in temporary shelters is a _____________________.

Practice 3

Using the link for affixes and roots, circle the root of each of the following words and underline the affix, then define the word. Example: portable; able to carry around.

Roots and Affixes

Driver

Bottled

Treasured

Government

Official

Reading Strategies – Using Context Clues (Compound Words)

One strategy that can help you identify meanings of words in context is to look for words you know within the word. Often, English combines two words into one to create a new word. Examples are highway (high and way), newspaper (news and paper), cowboy (cow and boy). Even if you do not catch the full meaning of a word, you will know the relationships that the word indicates. A cowboy has something to do with a boy and cows.

Practice 4

For the words from Reading 2 that are listed below, write the two words that have been combined. Then, write what you think is the meaning of the compound (combined) word.

Downstairs

Halfway

Bedrooms

Homesick

Hairdressers

Practice 5

Pronoun Referents: Read the short paragraph below. Then, for each sentence below the paragraph, in the space after the pronoun write the noun to which noun the pronoun refers.

Life in a refugee camp brings many challenges for the residents. They often live in tents or temporary buildings. These are not sturdy, and they do not provide a strong shelter. Food can be scarce, and it can also be expensive. Families may be separated, or they may be allowed to remain together, but in either case, it is a difficult life. Education is usually interrupted for the children, and this causes problems for them when they are finally resettled into a country that offers schooling.

Life in a refugee camp brings many challenges for the residents. They ___________ often live in tents or temporary buildings.

They often live in tents or temporary buildings. These ____________ are not sturdy, and they ______________ do not provide a strong shelter.

Food can be scarce, and it _____________ can also be expensive.

Families may be separated, or they ____________ may be allowed to remain together.

In either case, it ___________ is a difficult life.

Education is usually interrupted for the children, and this ___________- causes problems for them ___________ when they _______________ are finally resettled into a country that offers schooling.

Practice 6

Practice 7

Look at the annotations (Practice 6) you made for each paragraph from Reading 1. List the main idea of each paragraph by summarizing your annotation in a few words. Then, decide which idea is repeated most often in your annotations. Finally, write a sentence to express the main idea of Reading 1.

Reading 1 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph

Paragraph	Main Idea
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16
17.

Reading 1 – Most Repeated Idea:

Reading 1 – Main Idea of Article:

Syrian Refugee Camp by Mustafa Khayat Source: Flickr.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-ND 2.0 license.

Reading Strategies – Supporting Details

Look for supporting details, facts that add information about the main idea. Then, complete the table.

Practice 8

In the table, list the main idea for each paragraph that you identified in Practice 7. Then, list 2 supporting details that add information related to the main idea for each paragraph.

Reading 1 Supporting Details by Paragraph

Main Idea	Supporting Detail
1.	a.
	b.
2.	a.
	b.
3.	a.
	b.
4.	a.
	b.
5.	a.
	b.
6.	a.
	b.
7.	a.
	b.
8.	a.
	b.
9.	a.
	b.
10.	a.
	b.
11.	a.
	b.
12.	a.
	b.
13.	a.
	b.
14.	a.
	b.
15.	a.
	b.
16.	a.
	b.
17.	a.
	b.

Practice 9

How did Amira and her family escape from Syria?

How many rooms are in their tent? How many people live in the tent?

List two of the problems the family faces in the camp.

List two strategies the refugee children use to fight boredom.

List two items that are expensive.

Practice 10

Write a paragraph of at least 5, but no more than 10, sentences summarizing the reading Diary of a Teenage Refugee. Include a topic sentence and a concluding sentence. Make sure to state that you are summarizing a reading and give the name of the author of the reading, in Reading 1 Amira. For a review of information related to paragraph reading, use the section What Is a Paragraph? from Part 3 of this text.

Practice 11

Listening for Specific Information: Watch the video, a lecture that gives information on the links between natural disasters and displacement from homes. Fill in the missing information as you listen.

Why a Multipronged Approach Is Necessary to Address Environmental Migration

Between 2008 and 22016, ____________ million people per year were displaced because of climate change.

Natural disasters that have caused migration include ____________ and __________.

Slow processes like coastal _______________ can also cause environmental migration.

Around __________ to ____________ there has been an increase in work linking climate change to migration.

The goal of the global compact is that states will recognize the need to protect the ___________________.

The organization addresses __________ main dimensions of the problem.

The organization works on the preservation of eco________________.

The first goal is to find solutions for people to ________________.

The second goal is about ______________ people who are forced to move after a disaster.

The third goal is to find solutions for people to move and to see _______________ as part of the solution to climate change.

Another goal is to make migration _____________ and dignified.

The Atlas of Environmental Migration was published in English, ____________, and German.

The people who wrote the publication tried to explain a complicated subject in a ___________ way.

_______________ of academics worked on the publication.

Practice 12

Migration
Climate change
Displace
Solution
Natural Disasters
Environmental
Ecosystem

Hurricanes, blizzards, floods, and tornadoes are examples of ___________________________.

Being forced to leave your home is being _________________d.

Forced _____________ can result from war, economic disasters, and natural disasters.

Changes in weather patterns and overall temperature of the earth are examples of ____________________________.

A long period of drought, a period with little to no rain, is an example of an _________________________ situation that might lead to people moving.

In the United States, each region (Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest, South) has a unique _______________ that supports the plant and animal life of that area.

The United Nations is working to find ____________________s to problems caused by forced migration.

Practice 13

Dictation Practice: Your teacher will read 8 sentences from the lecture to you. Write exactly what the teacher reads.

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Practice 14

Inferences: Use the information from Reading 1 and from the lecture to write Yes if the inference is logical and No if the inference is not logical.

War is the only cause of forced migration.

Refugees may be fleeing war, economic hardship, or natural disasters.

No one in a European country will ever be a refugee for any reason.

Life for refugees, whether they were displaced by war or by environmental changes, presents many difficulties.

Countries should work together to find solutions for the problems of refugees.

Practice 15

She’s got the usual interests: pop music and her mobile phone.

Neighbors were running from one house to the next.

A rocket landed on our house.

We have so many needs that you can’t count

To pass the time, we do each other’s hair.

Speaking

Practice 16

Think of a difficult situation you have faced or that someone you know has faced. What was the cause of the problem, and what were some of the results of the problem? Describe the experience to a partner. Then, describe the information your partner shared with the class. Create a table that shows the individual groups’ information.

Partner Discussion Reading 1

Group	Group Information
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Practice 17

The organization discussed in the lecture is working to find solutions to a global problem. Think of a person or an organization you know that is working to solve problems. The problem could be worldwide, like climate change, or could be a local problem like trying to have a crossing light put in place at a busy intersection. Describe the organization’s or individual’s work and explain why you think the work is important.

Emblem of the United Nations Source: Wikipedia.org is in the public domain.

Reading 2

Reading 2 is a record of an interview with a refugee from the Sudan who has found a home in the United States. As you read, think about the different communities that have formed his experiences.

Vocabulary – Reading 2– Identifying Meaning in Context

Practice 1

Reading 2 Vocabulary

Word	Meaning – Most Common	Part of Speech	Meaning in Reading and Part of Speech
Agreement*
Assistant*
Capital*
Fleeing
Medical*
Pivotal
Private*
Rebel
Regional*
Tribe

Pre-reading / Discussion

Some experiences completely change our lives and take us in a direction we never imagined going. Often, new places that seem strange at first end up becoming the place we call home. Think of an experience that seemed negative to you at the time it happened, but that has turned out to lead to positive changes in your life. Describe the experience to your partner. Compare your experiences. How are they similar? How are they different?

Reading 2

Read Voice of Witness: A Sudanese Refugee’s Oral History by Judith Linderman. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website.

Map of Sudan by OCHA Source: Wikipedia.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-3.0 license.

Practice 2

Choose the vocabulary word from Practice 1 that best fits in each sentence of the paragraph.

_____________ war in the Sudan, Felix eventually joined the ___________ army. He was a _________________ in the ____________ army, the army in the south of Sudan. His father, who worked as a ________________ ______________, a helper for doctors, had spent his life trying to help his people, his _______________. A ____________ point in Felix’s life came when he and his family came to an _____________ to leave the Sudan. Eventually, they arrived in the United States. Now, Felix is an American citizen, so the ___________________ of his country today is Washington, DC.

Practice 3

Using the link for affixes and roots, circle the root of each of the following words and underline the affix, then define the word. Example: portable; able to carry around

Roots and Affixes

Autonomy

Primarily

Detained

Exiled

Unable

Reading Strategies – Using Context Clues (Example Clues)

One strategy that can help you identify meanings of words in context Is to watch for examples within the sentence and in nearby sentences that help give you an idea of the meaning of the word.

Example: I can still remember the terrifying sight of the car overturned on the road with the driver trapped inside.

Even if the reader does not know the meaning of terrifying, the description of the event that was terrifying explains the meaning: very frightening.

Practice 4

For the words from Reading 2 that are listed below, check the reading, find the example within the sentence that explains the meaning, and write the meaning next to the word.

Struggle

Impending

Conscription

Factions

Guerrillas

Practice 5

Pronoun Referents: Read the short paragraph below. Then, for each sentence below the paragraph, in the space after the pronoun write the noun to which noun the pronoun refers.

War has torn countries apart and destroyed families. It has separated husbands and wives and eliminated entire communities. Some of these have rebuilt, but many of them no longer exist. Victims of war often become refugees; they have lost their homes, and many of them have lost their families. Worldwide organizations such as the United Nations work to provide assistance to those affected by war, but they often are limited in the help they can give.

War has torn countries apart and destroyed families. It _______ has separated husbands and wives and eliminated entire communities.
It has separated husbands and wives and eliminated entire communities. Some of these ___________ have rebuilt, but many of them _________ no longer exist.
Victims of war often become refugees; they ___________have lost their __________ homes, and many of them ___________ have lost their ___________ families.
Worldwide organizations such as the United Nations work to provide assistance to those ___________ affected by war, but they ____________ often are limited in the help they __________ can give.

Practice 6

Practice 7

Look at the annotations (Practice 6) you made for each paragraph from Reading 2. List the main idea of each paragraph by summarizing your annotation in a few words. Then, decide which idea is repeated most often in your annotations. Finally, write a sentence to express the main idea of Reading 2.

Reading 2 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph

Paragraph	Main Idea
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16
17.
18.
19.
20

Reading 2 – Most Repeated Idea:

Reading 2 – Main Idea of Article:

Reading Strategies – Supporting Details

Look for supporting details, facts that add information about the main idea. Then, complete the table.

Practice 8

In the table, list the main idea for each paragraph that you identified in Practice 7. Then, list 2 supporting details that add information related to the main idea for each paragraph.

Reading 2 Supporting Details by Paragraph

Main Idea	Supporting Detail
1.	a.
	b.
2.	a.
	b.
3.	a.
	b.
4.	a.
	b.
5.	a.
	b.
6.	a.
	b.
7.	a.
	b.
8.	a.
	b.
9.	a.
	b.
10.	a.
	b.
11.	a.
	b.
12.	a.
	b.
13.	a.
	b.
14.	a.
	b.
15.	a.
	b.
16.	a.
	b.
17.	a.
	b.
18.	a.
	b.
19.	a.
	b.
20.	a.
	b.

Practice 9

Use the information from your tables on main idea (Practice 7) and supporting details (Practice 8) as well as the annotations you made on the printed copy of the text to answer the following questions.

Who is Juliet Linderman?____________________________________________
Where is Felix Lohitai from?__________________________________________

3.In 1993, when the leadership of the guerilla movement split, what were Felix’s two

options?______________________________________________________
While living in the Agojo camp in Kenya, who did Felix meet?

________________________________________________________________

6.How did meeting this person help him and his family?______________________

________________________________________________________________

7.Why did Felix’s wife choose Erie, Pennsylvania?__________________________

________________________________________________________________

8.What were two things about the United States that surprised Felix?

______________________________________________________________________

9.What does Felix say that you can do in the U.S. that you can’t do anywhere else?_________________________________________________________________

Practice 10

Write a paragraph of at least 5, but no more than 10, sentences summarizing the reading Voice of Witness: A Sudanese Refugee’s Oral History. Include a topic sentence and a concluding sentence. Make sure to state that you are summarizing a reading and give the name of the author of the reading, in Reading 2 Judith Linderman interviewing Felix Lohitai. For a review of information related to paragraph reading, use the section What Is a Paragraph? from Part 3 of this text.

Practice 11

Listening for Specific Information: Watch the video, a lecture that gives information on a volunteer who is working to help parents care for their children after war has destroyed their homes and families. Fill in the missing information as you listen.

What’s It Like to Be a Parent in a War Zone

Over ___________ billion people experience war and conflict.

The experiences of war can cause _______________ damage to children.

____________, secure parenting can protect children from the emotional damage.

The speaker is a psychologist and a ___________.

She wanted to ______________ parents to help their children while they were living in war zones.

She has been working for __________ years to help families.

She travelled to refugee camps in _______________ and Turkey.

They decided to deliver parenting information through __________ wrappers.

Suggestions included spending more __________ talking to children.

The group distributed ___________ in one week.

____________% of the families responded to ask for more help.

___________ million refugees have reached Europe.

She described a young woman who had ____________ her children and family because of the trauma she had experienced.

She asked us to ____________ the victims of war as humans.

She believes we need to build a _____________ where children can dream.

Practice 12

Armed Confllct
Trauma
Behavioral
At Risk
Well-being
Secure
Crisis
Horrifying

World War II is an example of an ___________________________.

A very frightening experience is

Great stress that causes harm is a _____________.___.

Being safe means being __________________.

A terrible situation can be an emergency or a ___________________.

Safety and security are aspects of __________________-.

To be in danger is to be ______________.

Trauma can affect behavior or cause __________________ change.

Practice 13

Dictation Practice: Your teacher will read 8 sentences from the lecture to you. Write exactly what the teacher reads.

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Practice 14

Inferences: Use the information from Reading 2 and from the lecture to write Yes if the inference is logical and No if the inference is not logical.

The speaker thinks we all need to take responsibility for helping victims of war.

The speaker believes the program she helped start may produce positive changes for parents and children in war zones.

The speaker thinks that refugees are to blame for their situation.

The speaker does not care about parents and children.

Being from Syria originally and being a mother probably contributed to the speaker’s desire to help.

Practice 15

Whenever the leadership splits…

When you live in projects…

Owning a home gives you confidence.

Many things surprised

Everybody in America is a stranger when they first arrive.

Speaking

Practice 16

Partner Discussion Reading 2

Group	Group Information
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Practice 17

Felix described not only his experiences, but the political background that led to the conflict in his country. Use the internet to research the political background that has contributed to a war that has taken place in the last ten years. Include the following information:

What country or countries were involved?
Was this a civil war (internal conflict limited to one country)?
What was the source of the conflict? Why did fighting begin?
Approximately how many people have been killed, injured, or forced to move from their homes as a result of the war?
If the war has ended, what was the result? If the war has not ended, what are the projections for an end to the conflict?

Derivative of NASA’s Blue Marble Summer Month Composite by Unknown Source: Wikimedia Commons.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Reading 3

Like The Sign in Unit 1, Reading 3 is a work of fiction, a story that does not involve people who have really lived. However, the situation described in the story has affected many people throughout the world. As you read, think about how the situation reflects a common experience as well as about how the characters in the story react to the situation.

Vocabulary – Reading 3 – Identifying Meaning in Context

Practice 1

Reading 3 Vocabulary

Word	Meaning – Most Common	Part of Speech	Meaning in Reading and Part of Speech
Extension*
Flat*
Lawn
Magnificent
Merely*
Porch
Rock*
Obstinate
Slip*
Succeeded**

*Notes a word from the New General Service Word List. **Notes a variant form of a word from the New General Service Word List. The New General Service Word List by Charles Brown and Brent Culligan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike CC-SA 4.0 International License

Pre-reading / Discussion

How do you approach a difficult situation? What strategies do you use to help deal with a situation that is difficult, frightening, or frustrating? With a partner, make a list of strategies that can help in difficult situations. Share your list with the class.

Reading 3

Read Home by Gwendolyn Brooks. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website.

#rocking#chairs#front#porch#springdale by Matt Sudol Source: Flickr.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.

Practice 2

Choose the vocabulary word from Practice 1 that best fits in each sentence of the paragraph.

The beautiful _______________ of green grass spread from the front door to the street and almost became an _______________ of the house. You entered the house by climbing the _________ steps that led to a wide front _____________ with white ____________ing chairs. The chairs gave you the feeling that it would be fine to _____________ sit, and think, and look at the ______________ roses in the garden. If you looked closely at the garden, you would see that, hidden among the rose bushes, was one tall foxglove plant that obviously did not belong with the more elegant flowers. Marta had pulled out that foxglove plant every spring for the past five years. The foxglove, however, _________ly refused to disappear. Every year by mid-summer, a careful observer could see that the foxglove had ___________ed back into its place between two tall rose bushes. It was as if the plant was saying to Marta, “Here I am; I’ve _______________! I’m back!”

Practice 3

Using the link for affixes and roots, circle the root of each of the following words and underline the affix, then define the word. Example: portable – able to carry around

Roots and Affixes

Graceful

Passively

Western

Dullness

Mechanical

Reading Strategies – Using Context Clues (Overall Sense of the Sentence)

One strategy that can help you identify meanings of words in context Is to read the entire sentence with the word that is new for you. Also, read a few sentences before and after the word. Think about the overall information and how the word fits into that meaning of the sentence and paragraph.

Example: The night was dark. The darkness was so deep, so intense, that it almost seemed that light would never come again. Even the moon, that point that usually brightened an evening, was missing from the onyx sky. Complete, total blackness covered the neighborhood.

The new word is onyx. You know that the night is dark. The word darkness repeats the idea of dark. The phrase so deep, so intense, that it almost seemed that light would never come again emphasizes the idea that the night is very dark. The moon is missing, so there is no light. The sky is onyx. Then, you read that complete, total blackness covered the neighborhood.

From the repetition of the ideas of Night, Dark, Black, and No Light, you can know that ONYX has something to do with being dark and black. Actually, onyx is a black stone that is often used in jewelry.

Practice 4

For the words from Reading 3 that are listed below, check the reading, find the word, read for the overall meaning of the section, and give a meaning for the word.

Jardiniere

Poplar

Shafts

Flat

Stride

Practice 5

Pronoun Referents: Read the short paragraph below. Then, for each sentence below the paragraph, in the space after the pronoun write the noun to which noun the pronoun refers.

Old houses can be beautiful. They have a unique charm that is missing from newer houses. A new house may be shiny, but it lacks character. New neighborhoods seem to repeat patterns. They have cookie-cutter designs that vary only in the color of the homes. It seems as if the architect had only one idea, and he mistakenly thought that if he gave it a different color, it would seem new. In older neighborhoods, styles move from one architectural period to the next with no pattern. Buyers who want shine buy new houses; they buy a unique older home when they seek the charm it represents.

1. Old houses can be beautiful. They _________ have a unique charm that is missing from newer houses.

A new house may be shiny, but it ____________ lacks character.
New neighborhoods seem to repeat patterns. They __________ have cookie-cutter designs that vary only in the color of the homes.
cookie-cutter designs that vary only in the color of the homes. It _______ seems as if the architect had only one idea, and he _______ mistakenly thought that if he ________ gave it ________ a different color, it _________ would seem new.
Buyers who want shine buy new houses; they _______ buy a unique older home when they _______ seek the charm it ________ represents.

Practice 6

Practice 7

Look at the annotations (Practice 6) you made for each paragraph from Reading 3. List the main idea of each paragraph by summarizing your annotation in a few words. Then, decide which idea is repeated most often in your annotations. Finally, write a sentence to express the main idea of Reading 3.

Reading 3 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph

Paragraph	Main Idea
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16
17.
18.
19.
20
21.
22.
23.
24.

Reading 3 – Most Repeated Idea:

Reading 3 – Main Idea of Article:

Reading Strategies – Supporting Details

Look for supporting details, facts that add information about the main idea. Then, complete the table.

Practice 8

In the table, list the main idea for each paragraph that you identified in Practice 7. Then, list 2 supporting details that add information related to the main idea for each paragraph.

Reading 3 Supporting Details by Paragraph

Main Idea	Supporting Detail
1.	a.
	b.
2.	a.
	b.
3.	a.
	b.
4.	a.
	b.
5.	a.
	b.
6.	a.
	b.
7.	a.
	b.
8.	a.
	b.
9.	a.
	b.
10.	a.
	b.
11.	a.
	b.
12.	a.
	b.
13.	a.
	b.
14.	a.
	b.
15.	a.
	b.
16.	a.
	b.
17.	a.
	b.
18.	a.
	b.
19.	a.
	b.
20.	a.
	b.
21.	a.
	a.
22.	a.
	a.
23.	a.
	a.
24.	a.
	a.

Practice 9

What is the relationship between Mama and Maud Martha and Helen? ____________________________________________
What is the relationship between Maud Martha and Helen?

__________________________________________

Why are the women expecting to lose their home? ______________________________________________________
Why does Helen say she didn’t really like the house? ________________________________________________________________
How do you know that the family cares about each other?

________________________________________________________________

6.How do you know that money was a problem for the family?

________________________________________________________________

7.Did the house have a garden?

________________________________________________________________

8.What was the family waiting to learn?

_________________________________________________________________

Practice 10

Write a paragraph of at least 5, but no more than 10, sentences summarizing the reading Home. Include a topic sentence and a concluding sentence. Make sure to state that you are summarizing a reading and give the name of the author of the reading, in Reading 3 Gwendolyn Brooks. For a review of information related to paragraph reading, use the section What Is a Paragraph? from Part 3 of this text.

Practice 11

Listening for Specific Information: Watch the video, a lecture that gives information on how architecture and building design affects community structures and community culture.

Architecture at Home in Its Community

The speaker was asked to design a multi-story _________________.

He first wanted to __________________.

The first thing they did was create a connection between two ________________.

He used small pieces of colored glass to light up the building at _____________.

People realized the open ________________ was more profitable than the shopping mall.

The designed put porches on the _____________ to collect water.

He believed he needed to understand the history and ____________ of Tunisia to design a building that fit into the city.

He created a space for people to socialize on the ________________.

He believes architecture should enhance the ________________ between the culture and the community.

Practice 12

Architecture
Emerging
Analyses
Perspectives
Image
Façade
Complement
Asses

The use of glass _____________ the building by adding light.

Different points of view, different ______________, helped the designer to create his project.

His ______________ of the needs of the area helped him to create the _________ that he presented to the owners who had hired him for the project.

In the designer’s view, _____________ should be used to design spaces that ____________ history and traditions of a community.

The designer believes it is especially important to preserve the cultures of ___________ countries in Africa and Asia.

The outside of the building is a ______________ made of concrete and glass.

How would you ______________ the designer’s success? Has he achieved his goal?

Practice 13

Dictation Practice: Your teacher will read 8 sentences from the lecture to you. Write exactly what the teacher reads.

1._____________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________

4._____________________________________________________

5._____________________________________________________

7._____________________________________________________

8._____________________________________________________

Practice 14

Inferences: Use the information from Reading 3 and from the lecture to write Yes if the inference is logical and No if the inference is not logical.

In the reading, Helen and Maud do not care if they keep their home.

The reading shows a family that is close, where each person cares about the others.

Helen says she wants to have a party because she feels secure that she will keep her home.

The architect in the lecture wanted to run away because he was afraid of the project.

The architect in the lecture believes that buildings should reflect the culture of a community.

Practice 15

The Home Owners Loan was hard.

The rain would drum.

The birds were mechanical

She knew that this had been a

They did not want to cry.

Reading Strategies – Author’s Purpose

The reason why an author writes, whether the writing is fiction or non-fiction, is the author’s purpose. Every piece of writing has a purpose. The purpose may be to give information, to describe an event, to tell a story, to create a feeling, or to argue a position. These are some examples of authors’ purposes, not the only possible reasons for writing. Recognizing the author’s purpose can help you analyze the material and assess whether or not the material matched the purpose for writing.

Practice 16

Author’s Purpose: Select the choice that most closely matches Gwendolyn Broods’ purpose for writing the short story Home.

To give information about the process of losing a home
To convey the feeling of a family faced with losing their home
To describe details of the day a family lost their home

Speaking

Practice 17

Gwendolyn Brooks gave very detailed descriptions of the home in her short story. Bring a picture of a place that you like, either a place in your country or a place in the US. Describe the place to your partner. Give details of how the place looks and why the place is important to you. Then, create a Venn Diagram with your partner to compare your two important places.

Venn Diagram Comparing Important Locations

Practice 18

Think of the information from Reading 3 and from the lecture on architecture. Choose a picture that represents an important public space either in your country or here in the United States. Explain how the public space reflects characteristics of the community where the space is located.

Spelling and Pronunciation

Homonyms

Homonyms, or homophones, are words that sound alike, but have different spellings and different meanings. All words with long vowel sounds include many sets of homonyms. Some examples are listed.

Long A:

Ware – Wear – Where

Where is the hardware department? I need to find a dress to wear to the party.

There – Their – They’re

They’re looking for their books, which are over there near the bookshelf.

Steak – Stake

Do you prefer steak or fish? The tomato plants are held up with stakes.

Fair – Fare

My children don’t think it’s fair that they must do homework before they may watch tv. How much is the fare from Lansing to Detroit?

Male – Mail

Mark male or female on the application. Did my letter come in the mail?

Long E:

Beat – Beet

Beat the eggs before you add them to the cake batter. I do not like beets, but I do like green beans.

Steel – Steal

Cars are made of steel. Stealing money is a crime.

Meet – Meat

It’s nice to meet you. What is your favorite type of meat: lamb or beef?

See – Sea

Did you see the full moon last night? The Mediterranean Sea is near Europe, but the Caribbean Sea is near the southern United States.

Seem – Seam

Does it seem warm today? I have a rip in the seam of my skirt that I need to repair.

Long I:

By – Bye – Buy

The door is by the stairs. Goodbye. I need to buy some paper for the printer.

Hi – High

Hi! How are you? The book is on the top shelf, and it’s too high for me to reach.

Die – Dye

When did Abraham Lincoln die? The red dye from the shirt soaked into my skirt when I washed them together.

Pie – Pi

I love apple pie! Pi is the term in mathematics for the number 3.14.

Write – Right

Please write with a blue or black pen. How many right answers did you get?

Long O:

So – Sew – Sow

It’s late, so I need to go home. Can you sew the button on my shirt? Farmers sow seeds in the spring.

Groan – Grown

He groaned in pain because of his broken arm. Sam’s daughter has grown almost six inches since I last saw her.

No – Know

No, you may not go to the party. Did you know that grammar and spelling are important?

Or – Oar – Ore

Would you like chocolate or vanilla ice cream? Use the oars to row the boat. Gold ore is one of the most precious metals because it is very rare.

For – Four – Fore

The book is for my English class. Class ends at four o’clock. He fell and hit his forehead.

Long U:

To – Too – Two

I’m going to New York for vacation. Would you like to go, too? I need two tickets for the trip.

Flew – Flue

The birds flew south for the winter. The flue in the fireplace needs to be cleaned.

Blew – Blue

The wind blew so strongly that it knocked over the table in the backyard. That blue color is very attractive.

Threw – Through

The pitcher threw the ball to the hitter. Go through the door and turn right.

New – Knew

The new book is for my English class. I knew the answer when I was studying, but I forgot it during the test.

Because homonyms sound exactly the same, the only way to know which word you are hearing is from the context of a sentence. This is true for native English speakers as well as for those studying English. You must learn the spellings and meanings together. Even native English speakers make many mistakes in spelling homonyms if they did not study and learn the spellings.

Practice 1

For each of the groups of homonyms listed, your teacher will read a sentence. Circle the word from the homonym group that you hear.

Here – Hear
Flew – Flue
To – Too – Two
Pear – Pare – Pair
Stair – Stare
Fair – Fare
Through – Threw
Main – Mane
Bear – Bare
Rain – Rein – Reign
Know – No
Their – There – They’re
Here – Hear
Pain – Pane
Pear – Pair – Pare
Wear – Where – Ware
New – Knew
To – Too – Two
No – Know
There – Their – They’re
Ware – Where – Wear
To – Too – Two
For – Four – Fore
Where – Wear – Ware
See – Sea

Practice 2

Choose 10 of the homonym groups from Practice 1 and write a sentence for each word in the group.

10.

Vowel Digraphs

Vowel digraphs are combinations of letters that produce a new, different sound from either the long or short sounds you have worked with so far. Examples of digraphs are words like car, third, turn, draw, out, clown, boy, book. In each word, the vowel sound you hear is neither long nor short but a completely different sound.

AR

The letters ar produce the sound you hear in car. Words with this sound do not end in e – are produces a long a sound as you saw in Unit 1.

Pronounce these words after your teacher: far, car, cart, hard, farther, part, ***heart (exception spelling for ar sound).

ER – IR – UR

The letters er – ir – ur all produce the same sound: her, bird, turn. Words with this sound do not end in e – ere produces a long e sound (or a long a sound in the case of there, where) as you saw in Unit 1.

Pronounce these words after your teacher: her, bird, birth, shirt, turn, curtain, hurt.

AW – AU – AUGH – ALL

All of these spellings produce the same sound: draw, haul, all, fall, caught.

Pronounce these words after your teacher: saw, shawl, fall, call, tall, taught, ***off (exception spelling for aw sound); ***fought (exception spelling for aw sound).

OW – OU – OUGH

All of these spellings produce the same sound: cow, out, clown, how, shout, bough.

Pronounce these words after your teacher: cow, about, hour, clown, crown, town, cowl, howl, bough.

The group of ow words is almost evenly divided between long o words (Unit 1) and the dipthong words covered in this unit. Learn the group listed here to recognize the most common vowel digraph words with this spelling: allow, bow, brow, brown, chow, clown, cow, cowl, crowd, crown, dowel, fowl, frown, gown, growl, how, now, owl, plow, pow, prow, prowl, sow, towel, town, trowel, vow, wow.

Practice 2

Write the words you hear.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

Unit 2 Oral Presentation

Expressing your Opinion: People all over the world interact with animals in one way or another. Some people consider animals as an important part of our community, while others do not. Many people even consider their pets as a part of their family. While it is partly cultural, there are also individual considerations. You will give an oral presentation discussing your individual feelings and the attitudes of your culture regarding animals as a part of our lives.

Introduction-Tell the audience what you’re going to tell them.
Body-Tell them.
Conclusion-Tell them what you told them.
Introduction
Greeting
Establish core message
List supporting points
Thesis statement (opinion about topic)
Body
First Supporting Point
Detail
Detail
Second Supporting Point
Detail
Detail
Third Supporting Point
Detail
Detail

Conclusion

Recap main point
Summarize core message

Friends: Cats and Dogs by Free-Photos Source: Pixabay.com is licensed under a Creative Commons 0.0 Public Domain license.

Unit 3 – Topic Careers

People-Business-Corporate Workerss by DeeMar is licensed under a Creative Commons 0.0 Public Domain license.

Introduction

What is the difference between a job and a career? Had you chosen a career in your country? Do you want to work in the same career here in the United States? What type of educational preparation is required for the career you have selected?

With a partner, discuss what careers you are considering and why those careers appeal to you.

Practice 1

Comparison of Career Selections

Partner 1 – Career Selections	Partner 2 – Career Selections

Reading Strategies – Graphic Organizers

In Unit 1, you worked with Venn Diagrams, and in Unit 2 you worked with Concept Maps. In this unit, you will work with web maps, a strategy to help you brainstorm, or generate ideas about a topic. The main idea (Careers) is shown in the center circle. Career areas (health care, education, business, computers) are shown in circles that should be connected to the main idea by lines. Choices within an area (programming and networking; nursing and ???) are shown in circles that should be connected to those career areas by lines. The ??? indicates that you know there are careers besides nursing in the health care area, but you need information on what those careers are.

Web Map – Brainstorming About Career Choices

Computers

Health

Care

Business

Education

Programming

Practice 2

In the diagram of the web map, draw lines to connect the main career fields (Business, Computers, Education, and Health Care) to the Main Idea – Careers – circle. Then, draw lines to connect the Nursing and ??? subfields to Health Care and to connect the Networking and Programming subfields to Computers.

Practice 3

Answer the questions about the Web Map above.

How many main career areas are listed?

For which career areas are choices within the area shown?

How could you find information about health care careers besides nursing?

Does the fact that Education and Business do not list subfields of career choices mean that for these careers, there is only one choice or that the person generating the web map did not know of any subfields to list?

Practice 4

Look at the table you created in Practice 1. Use the information from the table to create a Web Map showing your career selections. Your partner will create a Web Map showing his or her career selections. Add circles as you need to, in the areas that apply to your career choices and connect the circles you add. Label the circles. Then, answer the questions about your partner’s Web Map.

Web Map of My Career Selections

Reading Strategies – Expanding Vocabulary.

Expanding your English vocabulary is one of the strategies that can increase your ability to understand reading material, to write effectively, and to understand more complex ideas when you listen to movies, television shows, information given on the radio, and in academic settings like classroom lectures for your college classes. The video in Practice 4 gives some tips for expanding vocabulary.

Practice 5

Click on the link, read the information, and follow the directions to complete the exercise.

Expanding Vocabulary – Learning New Words

Reading Strategies – Using the Dictionary

Remember that dictionaries give several definitions for each word, tell you the part of speech for the word as it applies to each definition, and give information on pronunciation. In Unit 2, you looked at using dictionary guidewords to locate a definition. Watch the video in Practice 5 and complete the online exercise that recap all of the dictionary practice you have completed to this point.

Practice 6

Watch the video and complete the online exercises.

Dictionary Entries

Practice 7

Choosing meanings in context: Go to the link below and read the poem. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website. Find the three words that follow in the poem. Write the letter of the correct definition (for the meaning expressed in the poem) for each of the 3 words from the dictionary entries next to the word. Then discuss the question: How does this poem relate to the idea of career choices?

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Enchanted Wood by slimmer_jimmer Source: Flickr.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-By-NC-ND 2.0 license

Diverge: _____ Separate into parts (v)
Relate information (v)
Differ (v)

Fair*: ______ Price for a plane, train, bus, or taxi (n)
Attractive (adj)
Just; right (adj)

Wear*: _____ a. Question for location (adv)

To put on clothing (v)
Evidence of use (n)

How does this poem relate to the idea of career choices?

Reading Strategies – Synonyms

You know that a dictionary gives you meanings of words, parts of speech of words, and pronunciation of words. A specific type of dictionary is a thesaurus, which gives synonyms, words with the same or similar meanings to the word for which you are searching. Using a thesaurus can help you build your vocabulary and also help you to use more interesting and varied (having variety) you write.

Practice 8

Use the link (or use your own dictionary) to find the meaning for each word. Write the meaning in your own words and list the part of speech. Then, use each word in a sentence. Think about part of speech of the word as well as meaning.

Dictionary

Focus* –
Compare* –
Management* –
Demand* –
Contact* –
Industry* –
Particularly* –
Knowledge* –
Structure* –
Influence* –
Environment* –
Purpose* –
Significant* –
Recent* –
Addition* –
Solution* –
Attempt* –
Profit* –
Worth* –
Nearly* –

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Practice 9

Use the link to the thesaurus to find a synonym for each word on the right. Then, write the letter of the definition (original word) next to the synonym.

Thesaurus

Synonym Practice

Synonym	Word – Definition of Synonym
New	a. Purpose*
Important	b. Worth*
Goal	c. Attempt*
Value	d. Particularly*
Information	e. Knowledge*
Especially	f. Significant*
Try	g. Recent*

Listening Strategies

Go to the following links.

Practice 10

Review the idioms related to work. Discuss their meaning. Practice with a partner, using each idiom in a sentence.

Idioms About Work

Practice 11

Click on the link to view the video: an interview asking people what jobs they have. After you listen, answer the questions that follow.

Interview: What Do You Do For a Living?

Did any of the people have the job of their dreams? ______________________
What were the occupations of the people who had their “dream jobs”?

_________________________________________________________________

Speaking Strategies – Everyday Conversation

Remember that everyday conversation is different from academic communication. In everyday conversation, speech is often reduced (not pronounced clearly.) Speakers use more idioms and slang in everyday conversation as well. Job Interviews are slightly more formal than a conversation you have with your friends. While you may use idioms in a job interview, especially if the idioms are connected to the type of work for which you are interviewing, you should avoid using slang. You should also speak more clearly than you would in an information conversation, but you do not need to speak as formally as you would in an academic presentation.

Practice 12

Role-Play Practice – Job Interviews: Work with a partner to write 10 questions you might be asked in a job interview. You can find sample questions by visiting the Career and Employment Services area of our college. Then, practice interviewing your partner.

*Cultural Note: In the United States, it is not considered polite to ask about salary in the beginning of a job interview. In fact, if you discuss salary too soon, it can prevent you from getting the job! Check the job advertisement for salary information. If the lowest salary listed will not work for you, don’t apply! If the lowest salary listed is not your goal, but could work for you, apply, interview, but do not discuss salary until you are offered the job. At that point, it is acceptable to negotiate, but be reasonable in your expectations.

Practice 13

Now go to the link below and read about ways to discuss different occupations (careers – jobs). Practice a conversation with your partner, discussing your opinions about different types of careers. Present your conversation to the class.

Talking About Occupations

Practice 14

Giving Instructions: Use the link to read some tips about how to have a successful job interview. Then, write the instructions in your own words. Exchange your list with a partner and compare your instructions.

Instructions for Job interviews

Speaking Strategies – Academic Communication

What is your ideal Career? Why? In 3-4 minutes, tell the class what your career goal is and why. Be sure to give examples and specific details. Use formal English.

Reading 1

Are women and girls innately, naturally, better at some activities than men and boys? Is the reverse true? Are some activities intended only for men? Reading 1 explores some background related to why, in the US culture, Mathematics is often seen as a subject intended for men, and how that assumption has affected women’s career opportunities

Vocabulary – Reading 1 – Identifying Meaning in Context

Practice 1

Reading 1 Vocabulary

Word	Meaning – Most Common	Part of Speech	Meaning in Reading and Part of Speech
Competition*
Contestant**
Invitation
Participant*
Percent*
Pretty*
Pursue*
Qualifying**
Roughly*
Striking**

Pre-reading / Discussion

What subjects were you encouraged to study when you were a child? What careers were you encouraged to pursue? Did you ever feel that your family’s or your society’s expectations would not support you in a choice? Discuss your childhood experiences related to school study and career selection with a partner. Compare your experiences. Does it seem that your experiences were similar or different? How do you think differences in culture may have affected your experiences?

Reading 1

Read Math Isn’t Just for Boys by Rachel Crowell. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website.

Girl Chiild Education by Bindaas Madhavi Source: Flickr.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.

Practice 2

Choose the vocabulary word from Practice 1 that best fits in each sentence of the paragraph.

In the United States, and in many parts of the world, women are encouraged to _________________ different career choices than men. The ________________ difference in expectations can be seen at school *__________________________s. At spelling bees, the ____________________ are almost all female but at science and math ____________________, you will see mainly male * __________________. _________________ half of all female engineers in the US say they had a difficult time when they were in college, not because of the subject matter, but because male students and teachers did not offer them an ___________________ to contribute to discussions. _________________ for acceptance into a field of study by virtue of their academic performance was not enough to ensure their success in that academic choice. It’s __________________ discouraging to think that intelligent women find it difficult to succeed in some fields simply because of the perception that they should not have selected that field. It’s just as discouraging to know that a male nursing student may be considered odd because he chose to be a nurse, traditionally a female choice, rather than the more traditionally male selection of being a doctor.

Practice 3

Using the link for affixes and roots, add a prefix or suffix to change each of the words below to fit the meaning or part of speech indicated.

Roots and Affixes

Pursue (change to noun)

Participant (change to verb)

Qualifying (change to noun)

Qualifying (change to verb)

Qualifying (use verb form and change to add the meaning “again”)

Reading Strategies – Using Context Clues (Overall Sense of the Sentence)

One strategy that can help you identify meanings of words in context Is to look for punctuation clues. Example: The night was dark, with the moon missing from the onyx, deeply black, sky.

The new word is onyx. You know that the night is dark. The moon is missing, so the sky will not be bright. After the word onyx, there is a comma, and after the phrase deeply black, there is another comma. The commas are clues that the definition follows the word.

Click on the link to see other examples of punctuation-related context clues.

Punctuation-Related Context Clues

Practice 4

Rewrite the sentences below, adding a punctuation clue to give the meaning of the word.

These numbers can be striking, _____________________, because can be just as good at math as boys.

They enter competitions – _________________________- less often than boys do.

Outdates stereotypes (___________________________________) may be part of the problem.

Stereotypes can be harmful, or ______________________.

Differences in the numbers of male and female engineers and scientists can be explained by the gender gap:____________________________________

Practice 5

Pronoun Referents: Read the short paragraph below. Then, for each sentence below the paragraph, in the space after the pronoun write the noun to which noun the pronoun refers.

Many girls say they do not like math. They often say this because they believe they will not get good grades in math. Math has become a phobia, an unreasonable fear, for them. Math phobia results from repeated negative comments about a subject, in this case: math. A phobia can limit a person’s ability to perform. It can reduce success. Sometimes, the phobia can be so great that it completely eliminates the person’s confidence. He or she may never even approach the subject of the phobia because even the thought of the subject has become too painful.

Many girls say they _________ do not like math. They _________ often say this _________ because they ________ believe they _________ will not get good grades in math. Math has become a phobia, an unreasonable fear, for them _________.
A phobia can limit a person’s ability to perform. It __________can reduce success.
Sometimes, the phobia can be so great that it _________ completely eliminates the person’s confidence. He _______ or she ________ may never even approach the subject of the phobia because even the thought of the subject has become too painful.

Practice 6

Practice 7

Reading 1 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph

Paragraph	Main Idea
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Reading 1 – Most Repeated Idea:

Reading 1 – Main Idea of Article:

Reading Strategies – Supporting Details

Look for supporting details, facts that add information about the main idea. Then, complete the table.

Practice 8

In the table, list the main idea for each paragraph that you identified in Practice 7. Then, list 2 supporting details that add information related to the main idea for each paragraph.

Reading 1 Supporting Details by Paragraph

Main Idea	Supporting Detail
1.	a.
	b.
2.	a.
	b.
3.	a.
	b.
4.	a.
	b.
5.	a.
	b.
6.	a.
	b.
7.	a.
	b.
8.	a.
	b.
9.	a.
	b.
10.	a.
	b.
11.	a.
	b.
12.	a.
	b.
13.	a.
	b.
14.	a.
	b.
15.	a.
	b.

Practice 9

What percentage of female participants were included in the competition discussed? _________________________________________
Is the perception that males are stronger math students than females limited to the United States?

__________________________________________

3.Name one group that is trying to change the negative perceptions surrounding female math students?

______________________________________________________

In what type of schools does the gender gap in math not seem to be a problem? ________________________________________________________________
How can peer pressure affect the gender gap?

________________________________________________________________

6.How is Demi Guo an example of a person who has overcome a stereotype?

________________________________________________________________

7.What does Demi believe could be done to reduce the gender gap in math?

________________________________________________________________

8.How does a fear of math reduce career opportunities for female students?

_________________________________________________________________

Practice 10

Write a paragraph of at least 5, but no more than 10, sentences summarizing the reading Math Isn’t Just for Boys. Include a topic sentence and a concluding sentence. Make sure to state that you are summarizing a reading and give the name of the author of the reading, in Reading 1 Rachel Crowell. For a review of information related to paragraph reading, use the section What Is a Paragraph? from Part 3 of this text.

Practice 11

Listening for Specific Information: Watch the video, a lecture that gives information on reasons for small numbers of female students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields.

Why There Aren’t More Women in STEM Fields

1. to __ percent of female students select STEM fields

Some students believe girls cannot succeed in Math and Science because of how the brain is _________________, how the brain ________________.

Female students from ______________ expect to succeed in Math and Science.

Girls’ decisions on whether to pursue careers in Math and Science seem to be affected by _____________________.

A traditionally female field like _______________ can relate to engineering.

Engineering requires _____________________ skills in addition to Math and Science.

One way to attract girls to STEM fields like Engineering and Science is to talk about ___________________ people.

Engineers have to be ____________________ and have to want to work with _________________________.

Practice 12

STEM
Brain is wired
Circle of friends
Outreach
Nerdy
Science Fiction
Gaming
Turns off

An electrical engineer works in a ________________ field.
Not liking something means the subject ___________ you _____________.
My son loves online video games. He enjoys the _______________ culture.
If you believe you can’t do something because of how your brain works, you believe your ___________________ to not perform well in that area.
My close friends form my ____________________________.
Pablo works in ______________________ by visiting elementary schools to talk to students about their future in college.
The female student who loves math, studies a lot, wants to be a doctor, and wears glasses is often considered ______________________.
My favorite _______________________ film is Star Wars.

Notetaking Strategies – Cornell System

Cornell Notes by icez-enwikibooks at English Wikibooks. Transferred from en.wikibooks to Wkimedia Commons.org is in the public domain.

The Cornell System for notetaking was developed by Walter Pauk, a Professor at Cornell University in New York in the 1940’s. The system is designed for a high school or college student. The purpose of the system is to help you take notes from a lecture and, instead of simply writing down facts you hear with no organization so that going back to review and study can be difficult or confusing, you take your notes and organize them as you listen and write in an efficient method for studying.

Here is the Cornell System:

Divide the paper into two columns: the note-taking column (on the right) should be twice the size of the questions/key word column (on the left).
Leave five to seven lines, or about two inches (5 cm), at the bottom of the page.
Write the notes from the lecture in the note-taking column.
Notes should focus on main ideas with a few supporting details.
Do not try to capture the speaker’s exact words – you can use your own words more easily.
Use symbols or abbreviations to help you take notes without missing information.
Immediately after the lecture, add a keyword to the Keyword column beside each fact you noted. The keywords act like your annotations when you highlight text; they help you remember why you noted the information.
You can also write a question in the keyword column to act like a study prompt when you review.
Within 24 hours of taking the notes, review the questions/keywords and the notes, and then write a summary in your own words in the space you left at the bottom of the page. Summarizing in your own words (paraphrasing) helps you know you understood the material.

Notetaking Strategies: Cornell System is an adaptation of Cornell Notes Source: Wikipedia.org licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 2.0 license.

Practice 13

Set up a paper for notetaking according to the picture of Cornell Notes and the description in the Notetaking Strategies – Cornell System section. Then, listen to the lecture again, and take notes in the notetaking column. After the lecture, add questions or keywords and write a summary in the summary section.

Practice 14

Dictation Practice: Your teacher will read 8 sentences from the lecture to you. Write exactly what the teacher reads.

1._____________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________

4._____________________________________________________

5._____________________________________________________

6._____________________________________________________

7._____________________________________________________

8._____________________________________________________

Practice 15

Inferences: Use the information from Reading 1 and from the lecture to write Yes if the inference is logical and No if the inference is not logical.

Being nerdy is considered a negative quality in the United States.
Only male students should consider Computer Programming as a career.
Robotics would be considered a STEM field.
Cultural expectations may affect female and male career decisions.
Girls should consider only nursing if they wish to work in health care.

Practice 16

Figurative Language: In the sentences below, write Literal if the word in bold print is being used to show the actual meaning or Figurative if the word is being used to create a picture or feeling. If you choose Figurative, describe the picture or feeling the author wanted to create.

The brain is wired.

Qualifying students must have received a top

Girls may pick up the idea that math isn’t for them.

That number is pretty high.

Outdated stereotypes may be part of the problem.

Practice 17

Author’s Purpose: Select the choice that most closely matches Rachel Crowell’s purpose for writing the short story Home.

To give information about a social problem
To encourage female students to study math
To explain why female students cannot succeed in math classes

Reading Strategies – Point of View

Point of View refers to how the speaker or writer presents a topic. Point of view may be 1^st Person – the speaker or writer talking about himself or herself and using “I, me,, my, mine”. Second (2^nd) Person point of view means the speaker or writer is giving instructions / directions to the audience. Imperatives are 2^nd person. Stating “You should…” is another example of 2^nd person point of view. Third (3^rd) person point of view means that the speaker or writer is talking about a subject or telling a story from a removed point. Using “he, she, they” and talking about others are clues that the speaker / writer is using 3^rd person point of view. Understanding the point of view of the speaker or writer can help you analyze the information you are hearing or reading.

Practice 18

Point of View: Identify the point of view of the speakers / writers listed below.

Rachel Crowell in Math Isn’t Just for Boys –
Demi Guo in Math Isn’t Just for Boys –
The main speaker in Why There Aren’t Many Women in STEM Fields
The student from India in Why There Aren’t Many Women in STEM Fields
Randall Cone in Math Isn’t Just for Boys –

Speaking

Practice 19

With a partner, discuss the expectations for men’s and women’s careers in your country. Take notes on your partner’s information using the Cornell system. Share the information from your notes with the class.

Practice 20

Have traditional women’s and men’s career roles changed in your culture? Describe the situation to the class in about 3 minutes. Be sure to give specific examples.

Reading 2

Technology has changed the workplace. Before the Industrial Revolution of the 1800’s, most work was done by hand. Gradually, machines introduced into the workplace changed jobs, but they did not eliminate jobs. Now you needed people to repair the machines as well as to operate the machines. While fewer people were needed for any single job, more jobs overall were created. We are in the middle of another Technology Revolution, with changes affecting types of work and levels of training needed for work. Reading 2 looks at the question of whether technological changes will actually eliminate careers. As you read, look for points on both sides of the debate.

Vocabulary – Reading 2 – Identifying Meaning in Context

Practice 1

Reading 1 Vocabulary

Word	Meaning – Most Common	Part of Speech	Meaning in Reading and Part of Speech
Accompanied**
Advances**
Booking**
Cashier**
Decade*
Definitely*
Filing**
Labor*
Productive**
Robot

Pre-reading / Discussion

How do you feel about technology? Are you comfortable with technological advances, or do you prefer to do things the way you are used to? With a partner, discuss your views on technology and whether you believe increasing technological advances will have a positive or negative effect on the job market. Share your and your partner’s views with the class.

Reading 2

Read Experts Debate: Will Computers Edge People Out of Entire Careers? by David Kestenbaum. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website.

HPIM0064 by Michael Kooiman Source: Flickr.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-By-NC-SA 2.0 license

Practice 2

Choose the vocabulary word from Practice 1 that best fits in each sentence of the paragraph.

In the United States, and in many parts of the world, technological ______________ are changing the workplace. Some examples are cars that drive themselves, computers that proofread and edit for writers, and supermarket scanners where customers scan and pay by machine instead of using a _________________. We no longer need accountants for ____________ our taxes or travel agents for ____________ our airplane flights. Technology has ______________ changed the ways we live and work in many ways. However, have the changes been ______________, or have the negative effects on the _____________ market that have _____________ technological growth outweighed the positive? In a few ______________s, some wonder, will ___________s have replaced the majority of human functions in the workplace?

Practice 3

Using the link for affixes and roots, add a prefix or suffix to change each of the words below to fit the meaning or part of speech indicated. Then, use each new word in a sentence.

Roots and Affixes

Accompany (v) change to noun –

Labor (n or v) change to adjective –

Definitely (adv) change to adjective –

Productive (adj) change to noun –

Productive – (adj) change to verb –

Reading Strategies – Using Context Clues

Give a meaning for each word from the reading. Then, explain the Context Clues strategy you used (Examples, Synonyms, Sense of the Sentence, Word Parts, Punctuation Clues.

Practice 4

Debate –

Autonomous –

Kiosk –

Extrapolate –

Struggle –

Practice 5

Pronoun Referents: Read the short paragraph below. Then, for each sentence below the paragraph, in the space after the pronoun write the noun to which noun the pronoun refers.

Technology is changing our lives. It is making them easier in many ways, but it has negative effects as well. Some of these are that jobs may either be lost or change. They will also require training because of new working requirements related to the technology. Another negative effect is pollution, which has increased significantly with some of the technological advances of the last century. Robots, autonomous cars, smart homes – all of these represent advances with potential positive and negative effects. How society addresses the changes will largely determine whether we see change as positive or negative.

Technology is changing our lives. It _______ is making them ______ easier in many ways, but it _______ has negative effects as well.
, but it has negative effects as well. Some of these _______ are that jobs may either be lost or change. They _______ will also require training because of new working requirements related to the technology.
Another negative effect is pollution, which ____________ has increased significantly with some of the technological advances of the last century.
Robots, autonomous cars, smart homes – all of these ______________ represent advances with potential positive and negative effects.
How society addresses the changes will largely determine whether we __________ see change as positive or negative.

Practice 6

Practice 7

Reading 2 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph

Paragraph	Main Idea
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Reading 2 – Most Repeated Idea:

Reading 2 – Main Idea of Article:

Reading Strategies – Supporting Details

Look for supporting details, facts that add information about the main idea. Then, complete the table.

Practice 8

In the table, list the main idea for each paragraph that you identified in Practice 7. Then, list 2 supporting details that add information related to the main idea for each paragraph.

Reading 2 Supporting Details by Paragraph

Main Idea	Supporting Detail
1.	a.
	b.
2.	a.
	b.
3.	a.
	b.
4.	a.
	b.
5.	a.
	b.
6.	a.
	b.
7.	a.
	b.
8.	a.
	b.
9.	a.
	b.
10.	a.
	b.
11.	a.
	b.
12.	a.
	b.
13.	a.
	b.
14.	a.
	b.
15.	a.
	b.
16.	a.
	b.
17.	a.
	b.
18.	a.
	b.
19.	a.
	b.
20.	a.
	b.
21.	a.
	b.
22.	a.
	b.
23.	a.
	b.
24.	a.
	b.
25.	a.
	b.

Practice 9

Write a paragraph of at least 5, but no more than 10, sentences summarizing the reading Experts Debate: Will Computers Edge People Out of Entire Careers. Include a topic sentence and a concluding sentence. Make sure to state that you are summarizing a reading and give the name of the author of the reading, in Reading 1 David Kestenbaum. For a review of information related to paragraph reading, use the section What Is a Paragraph? from Part 3 of this text.

Practice 10

Listening for Specific Information: Watch the video, a lecture that gives information on

the process of change and why change presents difficulties for many people.

Why Change Is So Hard

Dan Heath says many people believe that not liking change means people are _________________________.
He says _________________ is not often the reason.
Heath believes that what is perceived as laziness is really ______________.
Heath described a study from the field of _____________________.
In the study, students came into a science lab that smelled like __________________ chip cookies.
They saw two ____________________, one with ________________ and one with _____________________.
Some students were told to only eat _______________________, but other students were told to eat only ___________________.
The researchers left the students alone in the _____________________.
The researchers observed the students to see if the radish eaters would eat any _______________________.
None of the ________________ eaters ate cookies.
Next, both groups were asked to trace a ______________ shape without raising the _______________ from the paper.
The task was designed to be ______________________.
The cookie eaters persisted for ______________ minutes, but the radish eaters only lasted _______________ minutes.
The radish eaters did not have _____________ to deal with any more frustration because they were already tired.
This result has been proven again and __________________.
This relates to change because in a change situation, we are substituting unfamiliar __________________ for familiar _____________.
Heath concludes that change wears people _______________.

Practice 11

Self-control
Laziness
Exhaustion
Frustration
Wear out
Monitor
Behavior
Unfamiliar

Tired people who are experiencing _______________ often do not like change.

People who have to deal with constant change need a great deal of _________________.

Not wanting to deal with change can be mistaken for _________________ because others assume the person doesn’t want to work hard.

Dealing with difficult situations can cause people to become exhausted and to experience ________________, or a sense that the challenge is impossible.

___________________ing your own ___________________, your daily actions, requires ____________________________.

After too much frustration, people can become so tired that they simply ________________________.

Strange, ________________ situations can be frightening.

Practice 12

Practice 13

Dictation Practice: Your teacher will read 8 sentences from the lecture to you. Write exactly what the teacher reads.

1._____________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________

4._____________________________________________________

5._____________________________________________________

7._____________________________________________________

8._____________________________________________________

Practice 14

Use the information from Reading 2 and from the lecture to write Yes if the inference is logical and No if the inference is not logical.

People fear technology because it represents significant change.
There is no real reason to fear change.
While most people recognize that technology is changing the workplace, not everyone agrees that careers will be eliminated.

Technology will change the workplace to the point that very few careers remain.

Understanding why change can be difficult can help us to adapt to change.

Practice 15

Practice 16

Author’s Purpose: Select the choice that most closely matches Rachel Crowell’s purpose for writing the short story Home.

To give information about a social problem
To encourage female students to study math
To explain why female students cannot succeed in math classes

Reading Strategies – Point of View

Practice 17

Point of View: Identify the point of view of the speakers / writers listed below.

Rachel Crowell in Math Isn’t Just for Boys –
Demi Guo in Math Isn’t Just for Boys –
The main speaker in Why There Aren’t Many Women in STEM Fields
The student from India in Why There Aren’t Many Women in STEM Fields
Randall Cone in Math Isn’t Just for Boys –

Speaking

Practice 18

Practice 19

Have traditional women’s and men’s career roles changed in your culture? Describe the situation to the class in about 3 minutes. Be sure to give specific examples.

Reading 3

Reading 1 presented information about female students and whether their proficiency in math and science is related to physical or cultural factors. Reading 2 focused on the effects of technology on a changing workplace. Both were non-fiction works. Reading 3 is a fictional account of a woman discovering herself and her potential. As you read, think about how cultural expectations have affected the woman’s life in the past and how her changing circumstances may affect her life in the future.

Vocabulary – Reading 3 – Identifying Meaning in Context

Practice 1

Reading 3 Vocabulary

Word	Meaning – Most Common	Part of Speech	Meaning in Reading and Part of Speech
Abandon*
Afflicted
Gently*
Grief
Inability**
Patience**
Significance*
Stormed**
Veiled
Wild*

Pre-reading / Discussion

Do events that seem sad sometimes present opportunities? Think about a time when you experienced an event that, even though it was difficult at the time, led to positive experiences later. Keep this event in mind as you read the short story in Reading 3.

Reading 3

Read The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website.

Kate Chopin in 1894 from kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/awakening Source: Wikipedia.org is in the public domain.

Practice 2

Choose the vocabulary word from Practice 1 that best fits in each sentence. Change the form of the word by adding prefixes or suffixes if necessary to fit into the sentence. Use the link for affixes and roots to check for suffixes.

The __________________ kitten hissed ______________ at the little girl who ___________ and ___________ tried to pick it up and care for it.
Being ______________ to play baseball because of his broken leg filled Paul with sorrow. The required ____________________ of his favorite activity made the summer seem unending.
The __________________ parents cried when they learned that their child’s _________________________ was a hereditary and uncurable condition.
The coming ________________ covered the sky with a ________________ of grey, but the most _________________ point for weather watchers was the funnel cloud that signaled a tornado.

Practice 3

Practice 4

Look at the annotations (Practice 3) you made for each paragraph from Reading 3. List the main idea of each paragraph by summarizing your annotation in a few words. Then, decide which idea is repeated most often in your annotations. Finally, write a sentence to express the main idea of Reading 3.

Reading 3 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph

Paragraph	Main Idea
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

Reading 3 – Most Repeated Idea:

Reading 3 – Main Idea of Article:

Reading Strategies – Supporting Details

Look for supporting details, facts that add information about the main idea. Then, complete the table.

Practice 5

In the table, list the main idea for each paragraph that you identified in Practice 4. Then, list 2 supporting details that add information related to the main idea for each paragraph.

Reading 3 Supporting Details by Paragraph

Main Idea	Supporting Detail
1.	a.
	b.
2.	a.
	b.
3.	a.
	b.
4.	a.
	b.
5.	a.
	b.
6.	a.
	b.
7.	a.
	b.
8.	a.
	b.
9.	a.
	b.
10.	a.
	b.
11.	a.
	b.
12.	a.
	b.
13.	a.
	b.
14.	a.
	b.
15.	a.
	b.
16.	a.
	b.
17.	a.
	b.
18.	a.
	b.
19.	a.
	b.
20.	a.
	b.

Reading Strategies – Tone

Writers and speakers use their words not only to present facts and opinions and convey information or tell stories. They also create feelings in the reader or listener by the choice of the words they use. Words can create a feeling of anger, surprise, joy, excitement, or curiosity. Words can also be chosen to deliberately create a neutral feeling that allows the reader or listener to evaluate the ideas presented. Identify the feelings that the speaker or writer wanted to create through word choices is called identifying tone. Adjectives and adverbs as well as prefixes give clues to the speaker’s or writer’s tone. Looking at use of specific words, for example using storm instead of rain or drizzle instead of rain can give clues to the tone of the piece.

Practice 6

For the statements taken from Reading 3, mark the words that give you an idea of the author’s tone. Then, select the description that best describes the tone of each statement.

She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself, she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.

Tone: Angry and Sorrowful, Joyful and Excited, Confused and Frustrated

She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.

Tone: Calm and Relaxed, Angry and Confused, Sad and Patient

When she abandoned herself, a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!” The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.

Tone: Sad and Joyful, Confused and Surprised, Surprised and Excited

Practice 7

Write a paragraph of at least 5, but no more than 10, sentences summarizing the reading The Story of an Hour. Include a topic sentence and a concluding sentence. Make sure to state that you are summarizing a reading and give the name of the author of the reading, in Reading 3 Kate Chopin. For a review of information related to paragraph reading, use the section What Is a Paragraph? from Part 3 of this text.

Practice 8

Listening and Notetaking: Watch the videos, e short lectures related to women’s changing patterns related to work and retirement. Take notes using the Cornell Sytems or another system your teacher provides. As you listen, focus on these questions:

What workplace patterns are changing for women?
Do the speakers present primarily facts or opinions?
What inferences about women’s workplace patterns can you make based on the information provided?

Women Working Longer

Cornell Notes by icez-enwikibooks at English Wikibooks. Transferred from en.wikibooks to Wkimedia Commons.org is in the public domain.

Practice 9

Dictation Practice: Your teacher will read 8 sentences from the lecture to you. Write exactly what the teacher reads.

1._____________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________

4._____________________________________________________

5._____________________________________________________

7._____________________________________________________

8.____________________________________________________

Practice 10

Author’s Purpose: Write a statement of what you think was the author or speaker’s purpose. Use the infinitive form (to + verb) for each purpose statement.

Kate Chopin
Claudia Goldin
Claudia Olivetti
Nicole Maestas

Practice 11

Point of View: Identify the point of view of the writers or speakers listed below:

Kate Chopin
Claudia Goldin
Claudia Olivetti
Nicole Maestas

Spelling and Pronunciation

Consonant Digraphs

Digraphs are two consonants that come together to pronounce a new sound. English digraphs are ch, sh, and th. (Wh is technically a digraph. This digraph used to have a distinct sound, different from w. Today, the pronunciation has been lost, and most native American English speakers simply pronounce the wh as w. Learn the wh spelling group: who, what, when, where, why, which, whose, whether).

Watch the video and listen to the pronunciation of the consonant digraphs.

Consonant Digraphs

Practice 1

Mark an X in the column for the digraph that you hear in each word.

CH	SH	TH
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Practice 2

Write the word you hear.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

The Schwa Sound: “A”

Listen to the video to learn to recognize the schwa sound: the sound you hear in words like a, ton, lesson.

Pronouncing the Schwa Sound : “a”

Practice 1

Listen to your teacher read a passage from one of the readings in Unit 3. Mark an X under the column for the Schwa sound or for other vowel sounds.

Schwa vs. Other Vowel Sounds

Schwa	Other Vowel Sounds
1.
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

Unit 3 Oral Presentation

Work and Culture: In many countries around the world, women are still expected to take on traditional roles. In many other countries, including the United States, women’s roles have been changing. Give an oral presentation discussing a career that would not have been open to women in the past but is open to women today.

Introduction-Tell the audience what you’re going to tell them.
Body-Tell them.
Conclusion-Tell them what you told them.
Introduction
Greeting
Establish core message
List supporting points
Thesis statement (opinion about topic)
Body
First Supporting Point
Detail
Detail
Second Supporting Point
Detail
Detail
Third Supporting Point
Detail
Detail
Conclusion
Recap main point
Summarize core message

Doris Mabel Cochran (1898-1968) measuring a turtle shell from Smithsonian Institution Source: Flickr.com has no known copyright restrictions.

Part 2

Grammar, Sentence Structure, and Mechanics

Unit 1 – Learning and Culture

Education by Alistair is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license

Grammar Focus Verb Tenses

Reading 1– “Move to the Beat” by Colin Hickey

Grammar Focus: Simple Present and Present Progressive Tenses

Pre-reading Questions

Does your culture have a particular kind of music?
Do musicians have a place of importance in your culture?

Read the article “Move to the Beat” by Colin Hickey.

(Clicking on this link will take you to the Commonlit website.)

Comprehension/Discussion Questions

1. How does Messan Benissan teach students in United States about his culture?
What are the roles of someone who is a master musician in Togo?
How does music connect people to the history of a culture or country?

Vocabulary Practice 1

Find these words in the reading and try to guess their meaning. Then, look them up in a dictionary. As you find the word, identify the part of speech (N- Noun, V-Verb, Adj. – Adjective, Adv.- Adverb).

Strike –

Uplift –

Awaken –

Serve –

Carpenter –

Harmony –

Cable –

Instrument –

Replica –

Valuable –

Mimic –

Performer –

Rhythm –

Healer –

Physical –

Vocabulary Exercise 1

Use the vocabulary words from the list to complete the sentences below.

Who is your favorite musical _______________? I really like Katy Perry.

That song has a catchy tune and an irregular _______________.

Don’t ______________ me. I don’t like someone to copy my movement.

She uses a variety of potions in her practice as a faith ____________.

How much did you pay for the model? Is it an exact ______________.

You say Tom built your deck. He’s an excellent __________________.

This document will have to _______________ as our proof of ownership.

She will _______________ from sleep in a few minutes and not remember anything.

I have to ______________ the drum at just the right time in the program.

How many _________________(s) do you play? I can play the guitar.

Music can affect us both in a spiritual and _________________ way.

That pearl necklace looks very old. Is it very ___________________?

I’m sure that your message of hope will ______________ their spirits.

You play your part of the song and I’ll play mine in _______________ with you.

Attach the trailer with the ______________ provided by the manufacturer.

Writing Practice 1

On a separate piece of paper, write 8-10 separate sentences in response to the reading. For example, write about the importance of music in your culture or how music is part of your everyday life.

Grammar Explanations:

Click on these links. Then read the grammar explanations. Print the handouts and put them in your 3-ring binder for this class.

Present Tense and Present Continuous Tense

Irregular Verbs and Used To

Grammar Practice 1:

Look at the reading 1 and find and list 25 Simple Present verbs and 3 Present Progressive verbs.

See Part 3, Unit 1 Introduction: Elements of Paragraphs and Essays

At this point, you may need a refresher on paragraph writing. Part III of this textbook is dedicated to writing instruction. Please refer to Part III before doing your formal paragraph assignments.

Paragraph Assignment 1

Write a paragraph related to the first reading. Be sure to start your paragraph with a Topic Sentence that tells the reader what your topic and claim are (a claim is a main point that expresses some kind of opinion about your topic). Then support your point with sentences that explain or prove your point. Add a concluding sentence at the end. You may use sentences from your Writing Practice.

Grammar Exercises – Simple Present or Present Progressive

Practice 1 Simple Present Tense

Write the correct form of the verb in the blank.

I _______________ (be, not) happy to be leaving this city.

The prosecutor _____________ (hope) to file charges soon.

The police ______________ (write) citations for traffic violations.

You _______________ (be, not) the only applicant for the position.

________________ (leave, not) trash in the park.

We always ______________ (take) pictures on our vacation trips.

______________ (you, want) to have dinner next Thursday?

The principal _______________ (want) to see you in her office.

That car ________________ (cost) more than we can afford to pay.

She _______________ (swim) in the ocean every morning.

Cats _______________ (like) to climb trees.

Those homeless children _________________ (have, not) enough food to eat.

He _________________ (deal) with many kinds of people in his job.

The hairdresser _________________ (take, not) appointments on Mondays.

The pictures on that wall _______________ (depict) scenes from the Civil War.

Practice 2 – Simple Present or Present Progressive

Choose the correct tense to use in the following sentences.

When I have a new idea, I ________________ (like) to write it down quickly.
She _________________ (take) pictures of the new baby now.
I’ll help you later because I _________________ (finish) this project at the moment.
Betty usually _________________ (get) up at 6 o’clock every morning.
The show ________________ (come) on at 8:00 on Monday nights.
Do you know who __________________ (come) to the party this evening?
The police want to know who _________________ (own) this car.
We have to be quiet because the baby _______________________________ (sleep).
Look! Those birds __________________ (fly) south for the winter.
The office staff __________________ (mail) a flyer out about that issue every year.

Practice 3 – BE or DO in Simple Present Questions

Choose the correct form of BE or DO in the following questions.

_________ you have a qualified applicant for that job?
_________ you a student in her class?
_________ you have time to talk about it now?
_________ he late for work again today?
_________ they vote in every election?

Practice 4 – BE or Do in Negative Simple Present and Present Progressive Statements

Choose BE or DO + Not to write contractions.

She ______________________ (want) to work at that store anymore.
Why ______________ Mrs. Johnson_____________ (come) to her daughter’s wedding shower?
I heard that Shayna and Bobbi ______________________ (talk) again.
His truck _____________________ (have) a radio in it.
The paparazzi __________________ (take) pictures of that person anymore.

Practice 4 – Simple Present and Present Progressive Tense

Write the correct form of the word in parenthesis.

_____ Luis _________________ (text) his friend about the party?
That convenience store _________________ (close) at 6 pm on Sunday.
She ________________ (sell) her paintings online. I bought one last year.
The photographer __________________ (take) pictures at the school this afternoon.
She _________________ (talk) to her doctor on the phone right now.
We _________________ (play) tennis every Saturday morning.
The Jeffersons __________________ (buy) a new washing today.
The ship __________________ (stop) in several Mediterranean ports on every voyage.
If the game __________________ (end) in a tie, there will be an extra period.
The test ___________________ (take) longer than anyone expected.
Their dog _________________ (start) barking at about this time every night.
The clock _________________ (chime) every hour.
My friends _________________ (come) on the 15^th. I’m so excited to see them!
___________ your puppy ______________ (have) all its shots?
___________ you _____________ (get) season tickets again this year?

Practice 5 – Stative Verbs

Choose the Simple Present or Present Progressive. This exercise includes the verbs see, think, have, be, and taste, which are sometimes stative.

They ______________________ (see) their in-laws next weekend

My roommate ___________________ (always/have) his girlfriend over on the weekend.

She _______________ (have) a doctor’s appointment every month it seems.

She ___________________ (have) an appointment with her hairdresser this afternoon.

We ____________________ (have) a birthday party for George tomorrow.

This drink ___________________ (not/taste) right to me. What’s in it?

Jack _____________________ (see) his advisor now.

What _________________________ (you/think) about the economy?

It _______________________ (be/not) cold today.

They always ____________________ (taste) the food before they serve it to customers.

Who _____________________ (want) a ham sandwich?

They ____________________________ (not/have) any children yet.

Our son ___________________ (see) a physical therapist about his back problem.

The Uber driver ___________________________ (be) late again.

He __________________________ (not/be) a lawyer.

I ________________________ (have/not) any fun at this party.

She ___________________________ (think) too much about her ex-boyfriend.

We often _______________________ (see) each other after football games.

The cat ______________________ (be) sick again.

________________________ (have/you) a good time when you go to their cabin?

Reading 2 – “A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation” by Karen Grigsby Bates

Grammar Focus: Simple Past and Past Progressive

Pre-Reading Questions

What was life like for freed slaves after the Civil War ended?
What was life like for women in the nineteenth century?
Why was education so important for freed slaves and women at that time?

Read the article: “A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation” by Karen. Grigsby Bates (Clicking on this link will take you to the Commonlit website.)

Comprehension/Discussion Questions

1. What was Anna Julia Cooper’s view of an appropriate curriculum at Dunbar?
What was the District of Columbia’s view of appropriate curriculum at the school?
What degree did Cooper receive at the Sorbonne in Paris?
In what ways was Anna Julia Cooper “ahead of her times”?

Vocabulary Practice 2

Find these words in Reading 2 and try to guess their meaning. After you make a guess, then look up any words that you are not sure of. As you find the word, identify the part of speech (N- Noun, V-Verb, Adj. – Adjective, Adv.- Adverb).

Citadel –

Pioneer –

Achievement –

Avid –

Insistent –

Vocational –

Journalist –

Clothe –

Domestic –

Elite –

Laughable –

Rumors –

Spark –

Impeccable –

Stellar –

Vocabulary Exercise 2

Use the vocabulary words from the list to complete the sentences below.

Your proposal is ___________________. I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous.

If you want to find a job more quickly, you might want to consider going to a ____________________ school instead of a four-year college.

Your lecture provided the ______________ I needed to pursue engineering as a career.

Her credentials were ___________________, so they hired on the spot.

Don’t listen to the _____________ about the mayor. They aren’t factual.

Although he wasn’t a member of an ____________ class, he rose to prominence in his field.

As a house maid, she had to attend a number of ______________ duties.

He’s an _______________ hunter and fisherman. He really loves the outdoors.

It’s our duty to _____________ and feed those who are less fortunate.

Henry Ford was a _______________ in the American auto industry.

When threatened by invaders, the villagers fled to the _____________ on the hillside.

Her research in microbiology was a great _________________ in medical science.

For her ____________ performance in her classes, she won a scholarship.

My goal is to become the best __________________ I can be and report every story accurately and honestly.

The university was _________________ about getting to the bottom of the controversy.

Writing Practice 2

On a separate piece of paper, write several sentences in response to Reading 2. Think about the following questions and then write your ideas. This is informal writing, and the purpose is to develop your fluency in writing, to practice the grammatical structures that we have been learning, and to develop your critical thinking and writing skills.

How was Anna Cooper “ahead of her time” in education?

How did the challenges that Cooper faced impact her professional and personal life?

Why is it important to know who Anna Cooper was and to remember her?

In the context of this article, what is the goal of education?

Grammar Explanation:

Click on these links. Then read the grammar explanations. Print the handouts and put them in your 3-ring binder for this class.

Simple Past Tense

-Irregular Verbs

Flashcards to Practice Irregular Verbs

ED Endings

Past Continuous or Progressive Tense

Past Continuous/Progressive 2

Past Continuous/Progressive Negative Form

Simple Past and Past Continuous Tense

Past Time Markers

Grammar Practice 2:

Find and list 20 Simple Past or Past Continuous verbs used in Reading 2.

Paragraph Assignment 2

Write a well-developed paragraph in response to Reading 2. Your professor may give you some guiding questions or a specific topic to write about. You may use sentences from your Writing Practice. Be sure to check your paragraph for the following elements:

A clear topic sentence that makes a claim.

5 to 7 body sentences that support your claim.

A clear concluding sentence.

Grammar Exercises

Practice 1 Simple Past or Past Progressive

Choose the correct verb forms. Use Simple Past or the Past Progressive.

We were ___________________ (eat) pizza and watching TV when lightening _______________ (knock) out the power.

Carson ____________________ (talk) a lot of people while he __________________ (ride) on the plane to Europe.

Whenever they ______________ (see) that commercial, they ________________ (think) about taking a vacation to the Bahamas.

The students ____________________ (take) pictures of the accident with their phones.

While the Jacksons ___________________ (sleep), their teenage daughter ___________________ (sneak) out of her bedroom window.

It ___________________ (begin) to snow when we _______________ (leave) for the airport.

When I ________________ (open) the door, it ___________________ (rain) cats and dogs outside.

While Henry __________________ (be) working, his wife ______________ (take) their son to the doctor.

Joe _______________ (hear) a loud noise while he _________________ (talk) to his friend.

While he _____________________ (study) for the test, his friend ___________________ (watch) a movie in another room.

Reading 3– “What Past Generations Can Teach Us About Our Future” by Mike Kubic

Grammar Focus: Present Perfect and Present Perfect Progressive

Pre-Reading Questions

1. Do you feel a sense of identity with people of your same age?
Do you know which generation you are a member of – Baby Boomer, Gen X, or Millennial?
Are you interested in sociology? Do generational studies interest you?

Read the article: “What Past Generations Can Teach Us About Our Future” by Mike Kubic. (Clicking on this link will take you to the Commonlit website.)

Comprehension Questions

Why is the generation born before 1900 called the Lost Generation and the generation born right after 1900 called the Greatest Generation?
How would you define the word “Turnings” as it is defined in the article?
How reliable do you think predictions based on generational constructions are?

Vocabulary Practice 3

Fascinates

Embarked

Preoccupied

Recurring

Generation

Generalization

Historic

Reliability

Formative

Exception/Exceptional

Writing Practice 3

On a separate piece of paper, write several sentences in response to Reading 3. This is informal writing, and the purpose is to develop your fluency in writing, to practice the grammatical structures that we have been learning, and to develop your critical thinking and writing skills.

Grammar Explanation

Click on these links. Then read the grammar explanations. Print the handouts and put them in your 3-ring binder for this class.

Present Perfect and Present Perfect Progressive Tenses and Past Tense and Present Perfect

Grammar Practice 3

Find and list 10 Present Perfect Verbs in Reading 3 or any of the readings in this unit.

Paragraph Assignment 3

Write a well-developed paragraph in response to Reading 3. Your professor may give you some guiding questions or a specific topic to write about. You may use sentences from your Writing Practice. Be sure to check your paragraph for the following elements:

A clear topic sentence that makes a claim.

5 to 7 body sentences that support your claim.

A clear concluding sentence.

Grammar Exercises

Practice 1 – Present Perfect

Write the Present Perfect Tense form of the verb in parenthesis.

We _______________________ (fly) in a plane for over an hour.
I _________________________ (eat/never) sushi.
3. She _____________________ (act) on stage for more than a decade.
We _______________________ (give) blood many times.
She _______________________ (meet) at least one famous person.
They_______________________ (visit) a Disneyland twice.
I _____________________ (learn) another language since living here.
He _______________________ (witness) crime in his neighborhood.
______________ ever ___________ (sleep/you) in an unusual place?
I _______________________ (hold/never) a snake in my hands.
He _______________________ (break) a bone in his hand.
They _______________________ (swim) in the ocean several times.
I_______________________ (cry) in the cinema many times.
__________________ ever ______________ (win/you) a trophy?
____________ ever _____________ (tell/you) someone you love them.

Practice 2

Write either Simple Past or Present Perfect

Susan ___________________________ (go) shopping yesterday.

They ______________________ (paint) their room, and it looks great.

Last summer we ___________________________ (visit) the Alps.

The children ________________________ (do) their homework. Now they can watch TV.

I _______________________ (lose) my car keys. Have you seen them?

We ___________________________ (eat) pizza on our last holiday.

She ___________________________ (be) to Europe twice before.

I’m sorry, but I______________________ (forget) my homework again.

I ___________________________ (send) you an email two days ago.

He ___________________________ (not/call) me yet.

We ____________________ (take/not) any pictures of our trip. Let’s take some today.

She _________________ (have) three days to finish the report, but she’s not done yet.

Evidently the clock _________________ (stop) at 3:01 pm exactly.

If we ____________________ (reach) our goal of $100,000, let’s have a celebration.

Your dog _______________ (bark) all night. I couldn’t sleep with that noise outside.

Reading 4 “The Sign” by Laura Wrang

Grammar Focus: Past Perfect and Past Perfect Progressive

Pre-Reading Questions

1. Is slavery still practiced anywhere in the world today?
What does “runaway slave” mean?
Was slavery in the American South different from slavery in the ancient world?

Read the article: “The Sign” by Laura Wrang.

(Clicking on this link will take you to the Commonlit website.)

Comprehension/Discussion Questions

What did Orry love to study during his time with Jess?
Why was Jess’ mother able to “handle” the men looking for a runaway slave?
How did Jess realize that his friend had not drowned in the river?

Vocabulary Practice 4

Find these words in the reading and try to guess their meaning. Then, look them up in a dictionary. You will notice that the words in this reading are very descriptive. As you find the word, identify the part of speech (N- Noun, V-Verb, Adj. – Adjective, Adv.- Adverb).

Wince

Roared

Flickered

Gasped

Crawled

Raging

Chuckled

Reckon

Tilted

Fitfully

Stumbled

Writing Practice 4

On a separate piece of paper, write several sentences in response to Reading 4. This is informal writing, and the purpose is to develop your fluency in writing, to practice the grammatical structures that we have been learning, and to develop your critical thinking and writing skills.

Grammar Explanation

Click on these links. Then read the grammar explanations. Print the handouts and put them in your 3-ring binder for this class.

Past Perfect Tense and Past Perfect Progressive

Grammar Practice 4

Find and List as many Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous/Progressive verbs used in any of the readings in this unit.

Paragraph Assignment 4

Write a well-developed paragraph in response to Reading 4. Your professor may give you some guiding questions or a specific topic to write about. You may use sentences from your Writing Practice. Be sure to check your paragraph for the following elements:

A clear topic sentence that makes a claim.

5 to 7 body sentences that support your claim.

A clear concluding sentence.

Grammar Exercises

Practice 1 – Past Perfect Progressive

Write the past perfect progressive of the verb in parenthesis.

They ___________________________ (watch) TV all afternoon when their parents.came home.
The air conditioner _______________________ (work, not) until today.
The brothers _________________________ (speak) to one another for two years.
The chili _________________________ (cook) since early this morning.
She _____________________________ (receive) her mail for several days.

Practice 2 – Past Perfect & Past Perfect Progressive

Choose either Past Perfect, Past Perfect Progressive, or Simple Past for the verbs in parentheses.

1.When she __________________ (get) to the bank, she _____________ (realize) that she ____________________ (forget) to bring her ID.

2.I ___________________ (see) that movie before, and ___________________ (want/not) to see it again.

3.A photographer ______________________ (take) pictures of the accident before the police ________________ (arrive).

4.__________________ (tell/you/not) a lie, you wouldn’t be in this trouble now.

5.My uncle, who __________________ (serve) in the Vietnam War in the 1970s, ____________ (died) recently.

6.The play _______________________ (start/already) by the time we ______________ (get) to the theater.

7.If he ________________ (take) the medicine, he would be better now.

8.They _______________ (tell) me that the house ___________________ (sell) last week.

9.They _______________ (give) blood at that blood bank many times before.

10.We ________________________ (travel) for several hours by the time the sun ________________ (come) up.

The verb charts that follow are taken from College English Skills for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) by Marcy Bauman and Cheryl Garayta,

Parts of Verbs

Every verb in English has 4 forms: Base Form (form used for simple present and imperative forms), Ing Form (also called Present Participle, used with Be to show ongoing actions in any timeframe), Past (ed for regular verbs or specific form for irregular verbs, used only to show completed actions in past time), and the Past Participle (used with have to show relationship between 2 timeframes, ed for regular verbs or specific form for irregular verbs).

Regular verbs use ed for past and past participle forms. Irregular verbs have specific forms that must be learned. Even for native English speakers, these verb forms require learning – either through memorization or repeated practice. However, these verbs follow patterns; the forms are not random. Learning the verbs in groups according to their patterns makes it easier to remember the forms.

The various groups of irregular verb forms are shown in the tables that follow.

Group 1 – No Change

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Bet	Betting*	Bet	Bet
Broadcast	Broadcasting	Broadcast	Broadcast
Burst	Bursting	Burst	Burst
Cast	Casting	Cast	Cast
Cost	Costing	Cost	Cost
Forecast	Forecasting	Forecast	Forecast
Hit	Hitting*	Hit	Hit
Hurt	Hurting	Hurt	Hurt
Put	Putting*	Put	Put
Read	Reading	Read****	Read****
Set	Setting*	Set	Set
Shut	Shutting*	Shut	Shut
Spread	Spreading	Spread	Spread

*Double the final letter before ing for words with CVC spelling patterns

**** Long E sound change to Short E sound

Group 2 – I-A-U

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Begin	Beginning*	Began	Begun
Drink	Drinking	Drank	Drunk
Ring	Ringing	Rang	Rung
Shrink	Shrinking	Shrank	Shrunk
Sing	Singing	Sang	Sung
Spring	Springing	Sprang	Sprung
Stink	Stinking	Stank	Stunk
Swim	Swimming*	Swam	Swum
Run	Running	Ran	Run

*Double the final letter before ing for words with CVC spelling patterns

Group 3 – I-U-U

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Cling	Clinging	Clung	Clung
Fling	Flinging	Flung	Flung
Sting	Stinging	Stung	Stung
Stick	Sticking	Stuck	Stuck
Strike	Striking***	Struck	Struck
Swing	Swinging	Swung	Swung
Wring	Wringing	Wrung	Wrung
Hang	Hanging	Hung	Hung

***Drop the final silent e before ing

Group 4 – Present (W or Y ending) – Vowel Change to E – Present+N

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Blow	Blowing	Blew	Blown
Draw	Drawing	Drew	Drawn
Fly	Flying	Flew	Flown (exception – own
Grow	Growing	Grew	Grown
Know	Knowing	Knew	Known
Throw	Throwing	Threw	Thrown

Group 5 – Present – Aught/Ought – Past

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Bring	Bringing	Brought	Brought
Buy	Buying	Bought	Bought
Catch	Catching	Caught	Caught
Fight	Fighting	Fought	Fought
Teach	Teaching	Taught	Taught

Group 6 – Present – Vowel Change – Present+N

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Arise	Arising	Arose	Arisen
Draw	Drawing	Drew	Drawn
Drive	Driving***	Drove	Driven
Eat	Eating	Ate	Eaten
Fall	Falling	Fell	Fallen
Forgive	Forgiving***	Forgave	Forgiven
Gave	Giving***	Gave	Given
Overtake	Overtake	Overtaking***	Overtook
Take	Take	Taking***	Took
Ride	Riding***	Rode	Ridden**
Rise	Rising***	Rose	Risen
Shake	Shaking***	Shook	Shaken
Write	Writing***	Wrote	Written**

*Double the final letter before ing for words with CVC spelling patterns

**Double the final letter before en for words with CVC spelling patterns

***Drop the final silent e before ing

Group 7 – Present – Vowel Change to O – Past+N

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Awake	Awaking***	Awoke	Awoken
Break	Breaking	Broke	Broken
Choose	Choosing***	Chose	Chosen
Forget	Forgetting*	Forgot	Forgotten**
Freeze	Freezing**	Froze	Frozen
Get	Getting**	Got	Gotten**
Speak	Speaking	Spoke	Spoken
Steal	Stealing	Stole	Stolen
Swell	Swelling	Swole	Swolen
Wake	Waking***	Woke	Woken

*Double the final letter before ing for words with CVC spelling patterns

**Double the final letter before en for words with CVC spelling patterns

***Drop the final silent e before ing

Group 8 – Present – Change – Present +En/ Ne

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Be	Being	Was/Were	Been
Beat	Beating	Beat (No Change)	Beaten
Do	Doing	Did	Done
Forbid	Forbidding*	Forbade	Forbidden**
Go	Going	Went	Gone
See	Seeing	Saw	Seen

*Double the final letter before ing for words with CVC spelling patterns

**Double the final letter before en for words with CVC spelling patterns

Group 9 – Present – Vowel Change to O – Past+N

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Awake	Awaking***	Awoke	Awoken
Break	Breaking	Broke	Broken
Choose	Choosing***	Chose	Chosenr4t
Forget	Forgetting*	Forgot	Forgotten**
Freeze	Freezing**	Froze	Frozen
Get	Getting**	Got	Gotten**
Speak	Speaking	Spoke	Spoken
Steal	Stealing	Stole	Stolen
Swell	Swelling	Swole	Swolen

Group 10 – EAR – ORE- ORN

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Bear	Bearing	Bore	Born
Tear	Tearing	Tore	Torn
Wear	Wearing	Wore	Worn

Group 11 – Present – Vowel Change to A- Present

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Become	Becoming***	Became	Become
Come	Com***	Came	Come
Run	Run	Ran	Run

Group 12 – IND – OUND- Past

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Bind	Binding	Bound	Bound
Find	Finding	Found	Found
Grind	Grinding	Ground	Ground
Wind	Winding	Wound	Wound

Group 13 – Present – Long Vowel Change to Short Vowel or Reverse – Past + EN

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Bite	Bite	Bite	Bite
Beat	Beat	Beat	Beat
Forbid	Forbade	Forbid	Forbid
Hide	Hide	Hide	Hide

Group 14 – Present – Long Vowel Change to Short Vowel or Reverse – Past + EN

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Bite	Bite	Bite	Bite
Beat	Beat	Beat	Beat
Forbid	Forbade	Forbid	Forbid
Hide	Hide	Hide	Hide

*Double the final letter before ing for words with CVC spelling patterns

**Double the final letter before en for words with CVC spelling patterns

Group 15 – O – E – Past / E – OLD – Past

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Hold	Holding	Held	Held
Sell	Selling	Sold	Sold

Group 16 – Present – Vowel Change – Past

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Bleed	Bleeding	Bled	Bled
Breed	Breeding	Bred	Bred
Dig	Digging*	Dug	Dug
Feed	Feeding	Fed	Fed
Have	Having***	Had	Had
Lay	Laying	Laid	Laid
Light	Lighting	Forbid	Forbid
Make	Making***	Made	Made
Meet	Meeting	Met	Met
Slide	Sliding***	Slid	Slid
Spit	Spitting*	Spat	Spat

*Double the final letter before ing for words with CVC spelling patterns

**Double the final letter before en for words with CVC spelling patterns

***Drop the final silent e before ing

Group 17 – Present – Vowel Change + t / Present + t only – Past

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Creep	Creeping	Crept	Crept
Deal	Dealing	Dealt	Dealt
Dream	Dreaming	Dreamt	Dreamt
Feel	Feeling	Felt	Felt
Keep	Keeping	Kept	Kept
Lose	Losing***	Lost	Lost
Light	Lighting	Lit	Lit
Sleep	Sleeping	Slept	Slept
Sweep	Sweeping	Swept	Swept

***Drop the final silent e before ing

Group 18 – No Common Pattern – Memorize

Base Form	ING	Past	Past Participle
Lie	Lying*****	Lain	Lain
Sew	Sew	Sewed	Sewn
Sow	Sow	Sowed	Sown

*****Change I to y and drop final e before ing

Unit 2 – Community

Community Circle by josephluis Source: Openclipart.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license

Grammar Focus: Gerunds, Infinitives, Adverb Phrases

Reading 1 – “Can Machines Learn Morality?” by Randy Rieland

Pre-reading Questions

1. Do you think machines need to learn to make moral choices? Why or why not?
Can studying animal behavior help scientists to program robots to make moral choices?
Do you think robots or robotic machines (like driverless cars) will play an increasingly important role in society?

Read the article: Can Machines Learn Morality? By Randy Rieland

(Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website.)

Comprehension/Discussion Questions

Why does the author begin the articles discussing drones used in warfare?
What’s an “ethical governor” supposed to do?
What do human rights groups think of robotic soldiers?

Vocabulary 1

Find these words in the reading and try to guess their meaning. Then, look them up in a dictionary. As you find the word, identify the part of speech (N – Noun, V- Verb, Adj.- Adjective, Adv.- Adverb)

Quandary –

Supplant –

Wrestle –

Occupy –

Suspect –

Autonomous –

Far-fetched –

Predator –

Ethical –

Squash –

Deception –

Cyborg –

Pandora’s Box –

Haunt –

Terrain-

Vocabulary Exercise 1

Complete the sentences with a word from the vocabulary list that matches the meaning of the sentence.

I think we have a large _________________ living in the area. It’s what killed your sheep.

If you ask that question at the meeting, I’m afraid you’ll be opening _____________________.

Our school encourages ________________ behavior toward its students.

I know you are in a _________________ and don’t know what to do.

That’s hard to believe. It sounds like a _______________ story to me.

Is Robocop the most famous _____________ character in the movies?

The name of that song is going to ____________ me until I remember it.

When you’re able to live by yourself, do you believe that you will be completely ____________________.

If you want to trick him, you will have to use more ________________.

I believe our invention will quickly ________________ older technology.

Our protest will be more effective if we can ______________ the building.

We need to ______________ that story before it gets on the Internet.

I’ve ________________ with this problem for days. I don’t see a solution.

What’s the toughest _________________ you’ve ever traveled over?

The fire was probably started by someone. I _____________ it was arson.

Writing Practice 1

Write your ideas about this topic:

Do you agree or disagree with author’s conclusion: “What we really want are machines that can go a step further, endowed not only with the soundest codes of ethics that our best contemporary philosophers can devise, but also with the possibility of machines making their own moral progress, bringing them past our own limited early-twenty-first century idea of morality.”

Grammar Explanations:

Click on these links. Then, read the grammar explanations. Print the handouts and put them in your three-ring binder for this class.

Gerunds: Gerunds as Subjects

Infinitives: Infinitives and Gerunds

Gerunds and Infinitives: Shift in Meaning

Grammar Practice 1

Find and List 10 gerunds and 10 infinitives in the reading

Paragraph Assignment 1

See Part 3 of this book for more writing instruction.

Write a well-developed paragraph in response to the reading. Your professor may give you some guiding questions or a specific topic to write about. You may use sentences from your Writing Practice. Be sure to check your paragraph for the following elements:

A clear topic sentence that makes a claim.

5 to 7 body sentences that support your claim.

A clear concluding sentence.

Grammar Exercises

Practice 1 – Gerunds as Subjects and Objects

Write the gerund form of the verb in parenthesis.

1.____________________ (drop out) of school isn’t an option for her.

people are afraid of ______________ (eat) shellfish.

3.________________ (see) a doctor might be a good idea.

sure you will enjoy ____________(read) that book as much as I did.

5.________________ (watch) what you eat will improve your health.

6.Are you interested in _________________ (contribute) to my campaign?

7.________________ (give) to that charity made us feel good.

8.We have decided to look into _______________ (buy) a house.

9.We tried ______________ (call) the company, but they said they couldn’t help us.

10.Does ________________ (take) a job in NYC seem exciting to you?

11.You need to stop _______________ (talk) now.

12._______________ (swim) isn’t permitted at this beach.

13.How did you avoid _______________ (pay) interest on this loan?

14.The defendant insisted on _______________ (defend) himself.

15.We need to talk about _____________ (fix) the fence in the back yard.

Practice 2 – Gerunds After Verbs and Prepositions.

Choose one of the verbs to put in the blank with the gerund form in parenthesis. Use an appropriate tense for the main verb.

start consider in favor of believe in be used to

dream of delay worry about discuss be accused of

1.Don’t __________________ (make) your plans. Hotel space is limited

2.I ______________________ (get) bad grades and failing my classes.

3.Are you _____________________ (let) the offender go?

4.He _______________________ (shoplift) a soda at that store.

5.I wouldn’t _____________________ (win) a match against him. He’s too strong.

6.We need to ________________________ (hand out) the tests to the students now.

7.Teresa and her advisor _______________________ (get) a grant for her education.

8.He _________________________ (take) care of himself.

you __________________________ (apply) to that college?

10.We _________________________ (give) everyone a second chance.

Practice 3 – Gerunds After Prepositions Following Nouns.

Add the preposition that is needed to follow the noun in parentheses. Then change the verb in parentheses to a gerund following the preposition.

1.What are the __________________________ (advantages/attend) a community college?

2.Are you in the ________________________ (habit/eat) breakfast?

3.Do you have a ______________________ (way/get) home?

4.The ____________________________ (possibility/not attend) your wedding unfortunately exists.

5.I don’t want to have the ________________________ (risk/owe) a lot of money after graduation.

6.Why do you have a ______________________ (fear/jump) out of airplanes?

7.What’s the _______________________ (danger/take) out loans to pay for college?

8.Have you considered the _____________________ (cost/pay) for college?

9.The ______________________ (effects/get) a degree are numerous.

10.The _______________________ (process/apply) isn’t very difficult.

Practice 3 – Infinitives After Verbs

Change the verb in parentheses to an infinitive following the main verb of the sentence.

1.Don’t hesitate ________________ (call) me if you run into trouble.

2.Can you learn ______________ (be) more patient?

3.She doesn’t care ______________ (see) him anymore.

4.You have to promise _______________ (repay) your loan on time.

5.Don’t attempt _________________ (escape). The police are outside.

6.She desires ________________ (be) alone today.

7.He will have to wait ______________ (get) married.

8.We hope __________________ (buy) a new car this year.

9.He doesn’t appear ______________ (need) help with his homework.

10.Will you agree ______________ (vote) for our community renewal plan?

Practice 4 – Verbs + Objects + Infinitives

Add the main verb and object into the sentence; then, add an infinitive following the object.

1.We’ll ________________________ (tell/Tom/place) his name on the ballot.

2.Our broker___________________________ (advised/us/sell) our stocks.

3.The committee _____________________ (encouraged/Miss Baker/run) for office.

4.We ____________________________ (tried/convince/our son/play) a sport in high school.

5.The Red Cross ________________________ (urge/everyone/give) blood in this emergency.

6.The town council __________________________ (warned/citizens/not obstruct) demonstrators) protesting in the streets.

7.Our teacher ___________________________ (taught/us/read) French classics.

8.Do you _____________________ (expect/us/send) you the money today?

9.I believe you ___________________ (would like/me/buy) you a present for your birthday.

10.The city council couldn’t ____________________________________ (persuade/the mayor/step) down from office despite the scandal.

Practice 5 – Infinitives After Adjectives and Nouns

Choose from the following combinations to fill in the appropriate adjective or noun + infinitive.

fun/see necessary/vote difficult/find decision/make

time/buy chance/read easy/bake ability/climb happy/meet surprised/learn

1.Is It _________________ a good recipe for baked lasagna?

2.The Johnsons were _____________________ they were having twins.

3.Li was _________________ my son and his family this past weekend.

4.I don’t think I have the ____________________ that mountain.

5.You have a _______________________ . You have to apply soon.

6.Is it ______________________ in every election?

7.The sale ends in an hour. We don’t have much ______________ that TV.

8.My mother told me it was ________________ those cookies if I followed her recipe.

9.Have you had a ____________________ that book I loaned you?

10.You will be _________________ that your bid on the house was accepted.

Practice 6 – Gerund vs Infinitive

Choose either the gerund or infinitive form of the verb in parenthesis.

1.Schaffer computers regrets _______________ (announce) the closing of their factory in this city.

2.Did you remember _______________ (close) the windows?

3.You need to stop ________________ (look) at the TV and finish your homework.

4.I tried ______________ (change) my password several times, but each time I did it, it didn’t work.

5.Did you forget _______________ (pay) your electric bill again?

6.Do you remember _____________ (take) this picture? Who else is in it?

7.I regret _________________ (tell) my secret. Why did you repeat it?

8.We stopped ______________ (look) at the puppies in the pet shop window.

9.We tried _________________ (call) you several times, but you never answered your phone.

I could never forget ________________ (see) you in that dress.

Reading 2 – Diary of a Teenage Refugee by Amira

Grammar Focus: Adverb Clauses and Phrases

Pre-reading Questions

How is a sense of community changed by warfare in a country?

Is Syria the only country being affected by war right now? Do you know of similar situations?

Do you know anything firsthand about living in a refugee camp?

Read the article: Diary of a Teenage Refugee by Amira

(Clicking on this link will take you to the Commonlit website.)

Comprehension/Discussion questions

How has Amira’s life been affected by the war in Syria?

Why doesn’t Amira want her mother to know who gave her the necklace?

Why is Amira afraid that the people running may find out she and her family are from Syria?

Vocabulary 2

Civil War –

Rocket –

Terrified –

Treasured –

Cheap –

Official –

Homesick –

Distribution –

Tailor –

Smuggler –

Vocabulary Exercise 2

Complete each sentence with a word from the vocabulary list that matches the meaning of the sentence.

This printer is not _______________. I don’t think I can afford it.

A ________________ landed on our roof. Fortunately it did not explode.

Those pictures are among my most _________________ possessions.

We have to improve our _________________ methods if we want to reach more people.

Dealing with a _______________ was our only option for escaping.

Sometimes I feel _________________ when I think of my country.

Were you _______________ when the robber entered your house?

He went to a ______________ to have his suit altered.

One of the ______________ (s) at the camp tols us we had to leave.

The ________________ has lasted for over ten years. Will it ever end?

Writing Practice 2

Write a paragraph discussing your ideas about this reading. Do you know someone who has spent time in a refugee camp? Is Amira’s story similar to their story? If you do not know anyone who has spent time in a refugee camp, what surprised you about Amira’s story?

Grammar Explanation 2.A

Sentence Types (Compound and Complex)

A CONJUNCTION is a word that connects together words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.

There are two kinds of conjunctions: COORDINATING conjunctions and SUBORDINATING conjunctions.

The following chart lists the most common types of conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs.

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS (FANBOYS) : When Coordinating Conjunctions join Independent Clauses (IC, cc IC), it forms a COMPOUND SENTENCE.

For And Nor But Or Yet So

Bill owns a Chevrolet Impala [, and] his wife drives a Subaru Minivan.

IC 1: Bill owns a Chevrolet Impala. IC 2: his wife drives a Subaru Minivan.

The restaurant was closed [, so] they drove home hungry.

IC 1: The restaurant was closed IC 2: they drove home hungry.

INDEPENDENT CLAUSES can also be joined together with TRANSISTION WORDS.

however, therefore, moreover, furthermore, on the other hand

We chose officers for our literary club [; however,] not all our selections wanted to serve.

IC 1: We chose officers for our literary club trans however IC 2: not all our selections wanted to serve.

SUBORDINATING CONJUNTIONS connect two unequal parts, e.g., DEPENDENT and INDEPENDENT CLAUSES in a COMPLEX SENTENCE. Clauses that begin with a subordinating conjunction are called ADVERB CLAUSES.

TIME: after, since, when, until, before, as, while, whenever

REASON: because, since

CONTRAST: although, even though, while, though, whereas

PURPOSE: so that

CONDITION: if, whether, unless, even if

When Francis went on vacation, he asked his neighbor to watch his house.

SC – DC (ADV. CL.): When Francis went on vacation IC: he asked his neighbor to watch his house.

I won’t give you my phone number even if you get down on your knees and beg me to.

IC: I won’t give you my phone number SC – DC (ADV. CL.): even if you get down on your knees and beg me to.

Grammar Exercises 2.A

Find and List nine sentences with Adverb Clauses in the reading.

Practice 1

Combine the sentences using the subordinator in parenthesis.

You have a part-time job. It still doesn’t pay all your school expenses. (although)

______________________________________________________________________

We sent our son to that school. We lived closer to it. (because)

______________________________________________________________________

He’s your friend. You should be the one to tell him. (since)

______________________________________________________________________

She was visiting Chicago. She took lots of pictures. (while)

______________________________________________________________________

Tom likes to play basketball. His friend Bob likes to roller skate. (while)

______________________________________________________________________

The post office closed. They got there. (before)

______________________________________________________________________

I won’t be able to help you. You come over to my house by 6 pm. (unless)

______________________________________________________________________

They won’t cancel the game. It rains cats and dogs. (even if)

______________________________________________________________________

The community needs road repair. We voted for the tax increase. (because)

We took our daughter to visit the college. She could meet some of the faculty there. (so that)

______________________________________________________________________

Practice 2

Choose the correct subordinator and combine the sentences.

1.I visit my sister. I am in St. Louis (since, whenever)

______________________________________________________________________

2.I haven’t had a chance to see many games. I moved to Cincinnati. (since, when)

______________________________________________________________________

I had a ticket. I didn’t go to the concert. (because, even though)

______________________________________________________________________

I went to the library. I wanted to find some books to read on my vacation. (because, although)

______________________________________________________________________

We called a meeting. We could discuss the plan for the new parking lot. (until, so that)

______________________________________________________________________

We need to talk about it. You want to or not. (whether, even if)

______________________________________________________________________

I won’t turn out the light. You fall asleep. (unless, until)

______________________________________________________________________

We talk about your idea. You get back to town. (although, when)

______________________________________________________________________

We will have to pack everything away. It snows. (before, so that)

______________________________________________________________________

We’ll go to a show. We’re in New York City. (while, although)

______________________________________________________________________

Grammar Explanation 2.B – Adverb Phrases

Adverb phrases use the present participle (-ing) form. In phrases, the present participle (ing form) is a gerund because gerunds are nouns, and nouns follow the prepositions that begin the phrase.

While he was swimming, he got a cramp in his leg. [Adverb Clause]

While swimming, he got a cramp in his leg. [Adverb Phrase]

Before he went sunbathing, he put on sunblock. [Adverb Clause]

Before going sunbathing, he put on sunblock. [Adverb Phrase]

Because she lost the election by only a few votes, she decided to run again. [Adverb Clause]

Losing the election by only a few votes, she decided to run again. [Adverb Phrase]

Since she had gotten the golf clubs, she decided to learn how to play. [Adverb Clause]

Having gotten the golf clubs, she decided to learn how to play. [Adverb Phrase]

Notice that the time subordinators (while, before) remain in the reduced clause, while the reason subordinators (because, since) do not. Also notice that Perfect tenses (e.g. had gotten) use the participial form having in the adverb phrase. Past tenses change into present participles.

Grammar Exercise 2.B

Practice 3

Rewrite the sentence, changing the adverb clause to an adverb phrase.

While they were boating on the river, Bill fell overboard.

______________________________________________________________________

Because he was driving 15 mph over the limit, Tucker got a ticket for speeding.

______________________________________________________________________

Since we were enjoying our vacation in Acapulco, we decided to stay another week.

______________________________________________________________________

Since she has seen the movie twice already, she declined the offer to go with her friends.

______________________________________________________________________

Before they left the house, they turned off their three TVs.

______________________________________________________________________

While they were shopping downtown, they bought their children a few things.

______________________________________________________________________

After she had her lunch with her friends, she went back to her office.

______________________________________________________________________

Until he got the letter of acceptance, he didn’t know he could get into Harvard.

______________________________________________________________________

Because he was a doctor, her brother could anwser her questions about son’s illness.

______________________________________________________________________

When he takes the freeway, he can save 20 minutes going home after work.

______________________________________________________________________

Using Subordinators to Express Purpose

You can use so that or so to show purpose in an adverb clause.

People go to college so that they can prepare for a career.

People go to college so they can prepare for a career.

You can also show purpose with in order to or to in adverb phrases.

He enrolled in an IRA in order to have adequate retirement funds.

He enrolled in an IRA to have adequate retirement funds.

Paragraph Assignment 2

See Part III, Unit 1 for more instruction on writing a paragraph.

A clear topic sentence that makes a claim.

5 to 7 body sentences that support your claim.

A clear concluding sentence.

Unit 3 Topic – Careers

Consulting-Training-Learn-Knowledge by Geralt Source: Pixabay.com Is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license

Grammar Focus

Passive Voice, Future Time Clauses, Future Perfect and Perfect Progressive Tenses, and Noun Clauses

Reading 1 – Math Isn’t Just for Boys

Pre-reading Questions

What makes someone good at math? Is genetics or the expectations others have?
Are girls less likely to be good at math than boys are? Why or why not?
Should more girls continue their interest and ability in math into high school and college?

Read the article: “Math Isn’t Just for Boys” by Rachel Crowell.

(Clicking on this link will take you to the Commonlit website.)

Comprehension/Discussion Questions

What are some of the reasons girls don’t pursue math-related careers?
What could be ways to change the pattern?
What does Demi Guo mean by “You’ll never appreciate the beauty of math if you never try”?

Vocabulary

Here are some words that may be new to you. Write down what you think the word means in the reading. Write down how the word is used in each sentence (N, V, Adj., Adv.) Then, look them up in a dictionary to see if you guessed correctly.

Occurrence –

Competition –

Contestant –

Represent –

Stereotype –

Outdated –

Potential –

Dissuade –

Superstar –

Gap –

Exception –

Self-esteem –

Startup –

Gender –

Participation –

Vocabulary Exercise 1

1. I want to find a ______________ that I can invest money in.
There’s not that much of a _____________ between their ages.
We tried to _______________ him, but his mind was made up and we couldn’t change it.
You shouldn’t say those things about him. Those opinions are just __________________.
My boss said I had the _______________ of being a manager someday.
We would like to have your __________________ in our project.
Please make an __________________ for me. I can’t be at your party this weekend.
She’s really skilled at that sport. I believe she’s going to be a __________________ someday.
His views are _________________. He’s needs a more modern approach.
Have ____________ issues been resolved. Do women have the same opportunities as men?
This __________________ a breakthrough in the field of medical science.
There has been only one ____________________ of vandalism this month.
Do you think the _____________________ was fair? Should that team have won?
Has his ____________________ been damaged by the negative comments of his boss.
She was a __________________ on a game just last week. I think she won a new car.

Writing Practice 1

Write your ideas about Reading 1. Do you think it is important for everyone to study and learn math? Explain your ideas.

Grammar Explanation: Passive Voice

An Active Sentence has a subject doing an action, an action verb describing the action, and an object receiving the action.

S = man; V = gave; O = blood; PP = at the Red Cross

The man gave blood at the Red Cross.

A Passive Sentence has a recipient subject, a passive verb, and perhaps an agent in a

by phrase.

S V PPAgent (in by phrase)

Blood was given at the Red Cross by the man.

In the Active Sentence there is transfer of action: subject à verb à object

In the Passive Sentence there is no transfer; in fact, the passive subject still receives the action of the verb.

Forming the Passive

A passive sentence always has some form of the BE verb and the past participle form of the main verb.

BE + Past Part.

Candice was awarded a scholarship. A scholarship was awarded to Candace.

The committee awarded Candice a scholarship.

S = committee; V = awarded; IO = Candice; O = scholarship

If the active sentence has two objects, direct and indirect, either one can be the passive subject.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Transitive verbs take an object; intransitive verbs do not take an object.

Intransitive verbs cannot occur in the passive.

Some verbs are always transitive – call, give, find, lose, make, put

Some verbs are always intransitive – arrive, fall, go, happen, occur

Linking verbs are also intransitive – appear, be, become, seem, look, taste

Other verbs can be either transitive or intransitive – change, close, open, write

Grammar Practice 1:

Find and list 5 passive voice verbs in Reading 2.

Grammar Exercises 1

Practice 1

I. Choose the active or the passive form of the verb.
More information (needs, is needed) before we can reach a decision.
Their house (robbed, was robbed) last night while they we out to dinner.
Our company profits (grew, were grown) by 10% last year.
How many jobs (lost, were lost) in the last recession?
He (spoke, was spoken) to a recruiter last week about a job in Seattle.
The contract (needs, is needed) to be signed before this Friday.
I understand that a contract settlement (has reached, has been reached) today.
Will her job (phase out, be phased out) in the new restructuring plan?
The lunch menu (has changed, has been changed) by the cafeteria staff.
Her husband (has given, has been given) new responsivities at work.

Practice 2

Fill in the blank with either the active or passive form of the verb in parenthesis.

She ___________________ (take) pictures of her children all afternoon.
Bids on the new project _____________________ (accept) this morning.
Several of the documents we need for the merger ____________________ (lose).
Your partners want to sell the company because it ________________ (lose) money.
The doctor _______________ (tell) his patients that he would be on vacation for two weeks.
Her family ________________ (give) a cash settlement after their lawsuit ended.
Nothing __________________ (gain) by her angry words against management.
Joan successfully _______________ (solved) the puzzle in only 15 minutes.
The employees knew what ________________ (expect) of them in the coming year.
The movie ___________________ (film) in Detroit I think.

Practice 3 –

Transitive vs Intransitive Verbs: Write the passive form if it is possible. Put an X if it is not.

The train arrived at 9 o’clock tonight.

_____________________________________________________________

She gave me an application to fill out.

_____________________________________________________________

3 Did the man recognize you?

_____________________________________________________________

Please tell me what happened last night.

______________________________________________________________

The accident occurred on 20^th Street.

______________________________________________________________

The team finished the project on the 12^th.

______________________________________________________________

We recorded the score as soon as the game was over.

______________________________________________________________

She looked for her keys all over the apartment.

______________________________________________________________

They developed a method to extract rare earth elements.

Our cherry tree got blight and died.

_______________________________________________________________

Practice 4 – Switching between Active and Passive Voice

Change the voice. Sentences in the active voice should be changed into the passive and sentences in the passive voice should be changed into the active. No by phrase is needed.

We elected Peter captain of the team.

______________________________________________________________________

Someone saw him opening the parcel.

______________________________________________________________________

We must listen to his advice.

______________________________________________________________________

Will I ever forget those happy days?

______________________________________________________________________

By whom was this glass broken?

______________________________________________________________________

One cannot pluck grapes from thistles.

______________________________________________________________________

Without effort, nothing can be gained.

______________________________________________________________________

The weak and the oppressed should not be insulted.

______________________________________________________________________

All desire wealth and some acquire it.

______________________________________________________________________

The information is kept on our computer.

______________________________________________________________________

He was refused admittance.

The people regarded him as a traitor.

______________________________________________________________________

The store got robbed again this month.

______________________________________________________________________

We are going to sell our house next year.

______________________________________________________________________

Someone poisoned our neighbor’s dog.

______________________________________________________________________

Modal Passives

Modal passives use the form BE + modal + past participle

The environment can be harmed by pesticides.

Precaution should be taken.

The car may have been stolen.

He will be given another chance to explain.

Get Passives

Passive sentences with get instead of be are more informal. Get passives require the DO helping verb in Questions and negatives.

The little boy was lost in the woods.

The little boy got lost in the woods.

They were married in a church.

The got married in a church.

Did you get questioned by the police?

We didn’t get inspected again this month.

Passive Gerunds and Infinitives

Passive gerunds use being + past participle He tried to avoid being seen.

Passive infinitives use to be + past participle We expect to be awarded a prize.

Reading 2: “Experts Debate: Will Computers Edge People Out Of Entire Careers?”

Pre-reading Questions

Will technology take away jobs or create more jobs in the future?
Would you like to work in technological field?
Will almost all jobs have a technological component in the future?

Read the article: “Experts Debate: Will Computers Edge People Out Of Entire Careers?” by David Kestenbaum. (Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website.)

Comprehension/Discussion Questions

Do the people involved in the conversation all agree about the effects of technology on jobs in the future?
What caused the accidents involving Google’s autonomous cars?
Will people’s preference for self-service cause the loss of service jobs? What kinds of jobs might be affected?
What kinds of jobs can’t be replaced by technology?

Vocabulary

1. Debate –
Byline –
Mishap –
Extrapolate –
Kiosk –
Exponentially –
Innumerable –
Humbled –
Tractor –
Eliminate –
Arrogant –
Swerve –
Predict –
Mechanical –
Compose –

Vocabulary Exercise 2

I find it more convenient to walk up to a _________________ and purchase a ticket.
If you go to New York, I believe you will have ___________________ opportunities to find employment.
If we plan to plant that amount of corn, we’ll have to buy a _________________.
I’ve never met anyone as _________________ as you. Don’t be so rude.
Your little __________________ will cost us a lot of money to fix.
When it ran over the patch of ice, the car __________________ and hit a pole.
Mozart ________________ music for the piano as well as operatic scores.
Your ability to learn the material has grown ___________________ in the last few months.
I was ____________________ by the invitation to speak at the awards ceremony.
Would it be possible to __________________ the answer from your initial first estimate?
Her _______________ on the article may cause many readers to avoid reading it.
You can’t ________________ the future. No one can.
If those jobs are __________________, what will replace them?
His movements were stiff and ___________________, like those of a robot.
The Lincoln-Douglas ________________ were the first between U.S. Senate candidates.

Writing Practice 2

Write your ideas about Reading 2. Do you agree with the author? Why or why not?

Grammar Explanation: Future Time Clauses, Future Perfect, and Future Perfect Progressive

Use Future time clauses to show the order of future events.

He’ll graduate after he finishes this semester’s classes.

Use future (will or be going to) in the main clause and simple present in the time clause.

Use time words like after, as soon as, once, when in the time clause to show the event happens first. The words before and until show the event happens second.

Once we get the application, we’ll send it in.

When the store opens, we’ll be the first ones to go in.

Before you leave, I’ll give you my new address.

We’ll be talking about this until the meeting ends.

Until means “up to the time”

Note: with not …until the event happens first.

I won’t buy it until I get paid.

Grammar Exercises

Practice 1

Write the correct time word in the blank.

_____________ (Once, Until) we get approval for our design, we’ll start construction.
She won’t start school ______________ (as soon as, until) she hears about her financial aid.
Robert will leave for college ______________ (as soon as, after) he can.
He’ll change his mind ______________ (until, after) he sees you.
_______________ (Until, After) they see the sights, they’ll go out to dinner.

Practice 2

Circle the correct form of the verb.

We believe we (are going to have, have) more customers once the alterations (are going to be, are) complete.
Construction (will begin, begins) as soon as we (will get, get) the permit.
Her trip (is going to take, takes) her to five European cities after she (will land, lands) in Paris.
The show (will begin, begins) once everyone (is going to be, is) seated.
We (are going to sit, sit) here and wait until they (say, will say it’s safe to leave.

Future Perfect vs. Future Perfect Progressive

The Future Perfect describes events that will be completed in the future. The Future Perfect Progressive describes events that will in progress at a time in the future.

Her project will have been completed by the end of the year.

By next December I’ll have visited all our factories in the United States.

By the end of this decade, I’ll have been living in this state for 10 years.

He will have finished his meal by the time you get there.

Grammar Exercises

Practice 1

Fill in the blank with the Future Perfect or Future Perfect Progressive Tense.

Her cousin _____________________ (leave) by the time you arrive.
Will Fred ___________________ (finished) painting the bathroom by the time she gets home?
They _________________________ (drive) for 12 hours by the time they reach their motel.
She _________________________ (graduate) by 2020.
He _______________________ (take) all his required courses by the end of this year.
Bobby_______________________ (play) video games for 3 hours by 6 o’clock.
Her husband _______________________ (work) for the same company for 25 years when he retires next month.
His son _________________________ (complete) his training by the time he sees him this fall.
Ron’s company ________________________ (finish) their ad campaign by January.
Hershel _________________________ (get/not) his degree by the time she gets hers.

Reading 3 – “First Female Army Rangers Say They Thought of Future Generations of Women” by Brakkton Booker

Pre-Reading Questions

What roles have women traditionally played in the military?

Do you know of anyone who could be considered a pioneer or a trailblazer?

Read the article: “First Female Army Rangers Say They Thought of Future Generations of Women” by Brakkton Booker. (Clicking on the link will take you to the Commonlit website).

Comprehension Questions

Did these two women have to compete with men to earn their position as Rangers?

Did these two women think about quitting at any time during the training?

Will they now be able to serve alongside men in combat?

Vocabulary 3

Identify words in the reading that are new or unfamiliar to you. Make a list of the words and the part of speech (N, V, Adj, Adv.) here.

______________________________________________________________

Discuss these words with your classmates and teacher. Can you guess the meaning of the words? If not, look them up in a dictionary and write the meaning in your notebook.

Writing Practice 3

Have you ever tried to do something unusual or different from what others expected of you? Have you ever had to overcome a difficult challenge? Write your ideas about your experiences.

Grammar: Noun Clauses

Most Noun Clauses begin with WH– question words such as what, why, when, where, and how. They also can begin with that, if, and whether. Noun clauses have statement order (subject + Verb) not question order (verb + subject). Noun clauses can be subjects, direct objects of verbs, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions.

I would like to know what you intend to do.

How he did it defies logic.

Where she goes to college is important to her.

Please tell me about why you left that company.

I will help whoever has a question.

Grammar Practice 3

Find examples of Noun Clauses in one or more of the readings from this unit.

Grammar Exercises

Practice 1

Choose the correct form. Circle a or b.

Do you know ______________?
does this song go
this song goes
I can’t understand ______________.
why did you do it
why you did it
Did your father tell you ______________?
what you should do
what should you do
I’d like to know ______________.
why did he do it
why he did it
______________?
How angry was she
How she was angry
Did he tell the recruiter ______________?
would he take the job
he would take the job
Could she tell ______________?
how disappointed he was
how disappointed was he
Do you know ______________?
how did he do it
how he did it
Where ______________?
are you going
you are going
You can understand ______________.
how upset was she
how upset she was

Practice 2

Combine the sentences using one a noun clause.

Where does she work? No one knows. __________________________________________
Her name is Diane. Are you sure? _____________________________________________
Does anyone know? How old is she? ___________________________________________
I don’t know. What did he say? ________________________________________________
I don’t understand. Why did you say that? ________________________________________
Can you tell me? What did she say? ____________________________________________
Please tell me. How does it work? ______________________________________________
They don’t know. Where is it? _________________________________________________
I’d like to believe. What do you say? ____________________________________________
He told me. Why did he do it? __________________________________________________

Reduced Noun Clauses

Noun clauses with WH- words can be reduces to WH- word + infinitive.

We don’t know who we should ask. We don’t know who to ask.

I’d like to know how I can bake cookies. I’d like to know how to bake cookies.

Noun Clauses with IF and Whether

Use statement order. If/whether can both be used as direct objects.

Do you know if/whether the gym is open tonight?

Do you know if/whether the library is closed today or not?

Do you know whether or not the cafeteria is open? (You can’t say if or not.)

You need to think about whether you should get her a gift. (You can’t use if after a preposition.

We don’t know whether to tell her about it. (Don’t use if before an infinitive.)

Practice 1

Combine the sentences using if or whether clauses. Write if/whether if both are possible.

Most people don’t know ____________ peace is possible in the Middle East.
Please tell me _____________ or not you want to go with us to dinner.
He wasn’t informed about ______________ the company is giving bonuses or not.
She didn’t say ________________ to take the papers home after work.
You need to decide _______________ you should publish the report or not.
Do you mind _______________ I sign the contract today or tomorrow?
Can you find out ______________ the album is already available?
We need to figure out ______________ to charge tax on that item.
Do you remember ________________ it is supposed to rain tomorrow?
Our company hopes to decide about ______________ to expand to other cities soon.

Writing Assignment for Unit 3

Research a career that you are interested in. Find out what kind of education or degree is required to work in that career. Find out if the career is in high demand and what the pay ranges are. Your teacher will give you specific guidelines and a grading rubric for this assignment.

Here are some useful websites to help you get started:

Contact the Career and Employment Services Office at your College. Make an appointment with a career counselor and ask for information about degrees that are offered at your college.

Use the U. S. Government’s Occupational Outlook Handbook –Link to the Occupational Outlook Handbook website.

Unit 4 Topic – Identity

Mind Typography by GDJ Source: Openclipart.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license

Grammar Focus: Relative Clauses and Connectors

Reading 1 – “What Your Most Vivid Memories Say About You” by Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D

Pre-reading Questions

Where does your sense of identity come from?

Does our self-identity change over time?

How do memories shape identity?

Read the article: “What Your Most Vivid Memories Say About You” by Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D.

Comprehension/Discussion Questions

Is it important that we understand our own identity?

What are the rating criteria used by Blagov and Singer (2004)?

How does age affect the self-defining memories that shape our identity?

Vocabulary

Identity –

Toddler –

Adolescence –

Cohesive –

Perceive –

Tentative –

Vividly –

Unfold –

Anecdote –

Dimensions –

Generic –

Contemptible –

Derived –

Elaborate –

Neurological –

Vocabulary Practice

I remember the accident ________________ even though it happened years ago.

What are the __________________ of the room? We need to know that before we buy the carpet.

He told me a funny _________________ about when he lived in Australia.

You have to let the situation _______________ and then we’ll know the outcome.

His actions were _____________________. I hope he is severely punished.

I want to know every detail? Please ____________________.

The police are interested in the __________________ of the man leaving the crime scene.

The name of the island is __________________ from sacred images found by early explorers.

The doctor said she has a ___________________ disease caused by her accident.

The contract is ______________________. Nothing has been decided yet.

Their team chemistry is very good this season. They’re a very ____________ unit.

He didn’t ___________________ that his wallet had been stolen until he got home.

_____________________ is a period of anxiety and discovery for most kids.

What’s the ___________________ name of that group of insects?

When our child was a __________________, he had several bad falls.

Writing Practice 1

Write a response to the reading, “What Your Most Vivid Memories Say about You.” Your teacher may give you some guiding questions. You might consider writing down something that you consider a “self-defining memory.”

Grammar Explanation: Relative Clauses

Relative clauses, also called adjective clauses, add information after nouns. Relative clauses begin with relative pronouns such as who, that, which, and whose. The relative pronoun serves as the subject of the clause, and as with any clause, a relative clause needs a verb.

See the examples that follow. The relative (adjective) clause describes the noun it follows.

The man who won the prize was from Detroit. (Who won the prize describes man.)

The car that we bought was on sale. (That we bought describes car.)

She brought the flowers which were in the break room. (Which were in the break room describes flowers.)

The man whose house caught on fire was injured in the blaze

Whose is the possessive relative pronoun. The clause relates to the man and the house belongs to man.

Subject Relative Clauses

The relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause

I met a man who was in the circus. ‘Who’ is the subject in the relative clause.

Object Relative Clauses

The relative pronoun is the object in the relative clause.

Consider these two sentences: That’s the girl. He took her to the prom.

In the second sentence, ‘her’ is the object. The pronoun ‘that’ takes the place of ‘her.’

That’s the girl that he took to the prom. ‘That’ is the object in the clause.

Identifying Relative Clauses

Identifying relative clauses provide essential information about the noun.

The boy who got lost in the woods was found unharmed.

The card that she got in the mail today was from her son. The clause identifies a certain card. It’s essential to the meaning of the sentence.

In identifying object relative clauses the relative pronoun can be eliminated.

The DVD player that we bought was on sale.

The DVD player we bought was on sale.

Note: A clause must have a subject and verb, but it doesn’t have to have an object. Eliminating the object relative pronoun doesn’t affect the meaning of the sentence.

Non-Identifying Relative Clauses

Non-identifying relative clauses provide extra information about the noun. See the examples below:

Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, owned over 200 slaves.

Thomas Jefferson does not need to be identified. It is a unique noun, a proper noun. The relative clause provides additional information about him.

His sister, who lives in California, works in the motion picture industry. (It’s his only sister hence the use of commas.)

His sister who lives in California works in the motion picture industry. (She’s not his only sister thus no commas. His other sister lives in another state.)

Non-identifying relative clauses are always set off by commas. The relative pronoun that is never used in non-identifying relative clauses.

Relative Clauses with Prepositions

The box in which we put the photos was destroyed in the flood.

The box which we put the photos in was destroyed in the flood.

The candidate for whom we voted didn’t win the election.

The candidate that we voted for didn’t win the election.

Whose in Relatives Clauses

Whose is the possessive relative pronoun.

The vet was treating a dog whose paw had become infected.

Whose signals that the paw belongs to the dog. It’s the dog’s paw.

The player whose ankle was broken had to be carried off the field.

Reduced Relative Clauses

When the subject of the main clause and the relative clause are the same, the subject of the relative can be eliminated. What remains must be a meaningful phrase.

The man who was taking pictures at game was a newspaper photographer.

The man taking pictures at the game was a newspaper photographer.

In this case, both the subject and the BE verb could be eliminated, leaving a present participial phrase.

The politician, who is a Democrat, won the last remaining council seat.

The politician, a Democrat, won the last remaining seat.

In this case, eliminating the pronoun and the BE verb leaves a noun phrase.

A car which was parked in a handicap zone got a ticket.

A car parked in a handicap zone got a ticket.

Here, eliminating the pronoun and the BE verb leaves a past participial phrase.

The people who believed the rumor were embarrassed when it was proved to be false.

The people believing the rumor were embarrassed when it was proved to be false.

The simple past verb “believed” was reduced to the present participle, believing.

George, who had fought in the Korean War as a young man, returned home to start an import company.

George, having fought in the Korean War, returned home to start an import company.

***Perfect tense verbs change into present participle having.

Both identifying and non-identifying relative clauses can be reduced in this way.

***We cannot reduce whose clauses ***

Writing Assignment 1

Write a paragraph related to Reading 1. Your teacher may give you some guiding questions and a grading rubric for this assignment.

Grammar Practice:

Find and list 10 relative clauses in the reading.

Grammar Exercises

Practice 1

Complete the sentences using one of the words provided.

1 – Can you name the man ___ wrote the Declaration of Independence?

which

whose

who

where

2 – Can you name the country ___ was the birthplace of Beethoven?

which

whose

who

where

3 – Can you name the American singer ___ sang “Firework”?

which

whose

who

where

4 – Can you name the basketball team with ___ Magic Johnson won 5 NBA titles with?

which

whose

who

where

5 – Can you name the country ___ the Eiffel Tower can be found?

which

whose

who

where

6 – Can you name the artist ___ famous painting is called ‘Guernica’?

which

whose

who

where

7 – Can you name the scientist ___ discovered x-rays?

which

whose

who

where

8 – Can you name the place ___ George Washington was born?

which

whose

who

where

9 – Can you name the actress ___ real name was Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko?

which

whose

who

where

10 – Can you name the country ___ is well known for the waltz?

which

whose

who

where

Practice 2

Combine the sentences using an identifying relative clause.

Do you know the girl? She lives in Apartment 3A.

_____________________________________________________________________

I met a man. He works with my sister at the mall.

_____________________________________________________________________

The people are very thankful. You helped the people.

_____________________________________________________________________

The box is now empty. You put the money in it.

_____________________________________________________________________

Your dog is very friendly. The dog is a collie.

_____________________________________________________________________

The diploma will be very valuable. You received it from that school.

_____________________________________________________________________

Does this book belong to you? Its cover is torn.

_____________________________________________________________________

Your friend is very nice. He is from North Carolina.

_____________________________________________________________________

The meal was very delicious. You prepared the meal.

_____________________________________________________________________

Our house got robbed last night. It’s in a nice neighborhood.

_____________________________________________________________________

Practice 3

Change the relative clause to a reduced clause.

Mr. Thomas, who is a minister, coaches the church softball team.

_____________________________________________________________________

The car, which was speeding down the road, was being closely followed by the police.

_____________________________________________________________________

Mrs. Jones, who thought the meeting was tonight, got ready to go.

_____________________________________________________________________

The team which had just won the game was very excited.

_____________________________________________________________________

My friend who is serving in the U.S. Navy plans to go back to school when he gets out.

_____________________________________________________________________

Coldplay, which is a British band, is very popular in the United States.

_____________________________________________________________________

7 The reporter who had won the Pulitzer Prize made a brief speech at the ceremony.

_____________________________________________________________________

Our friends, who hoped to have another child, went to see a fertility doctor.

_____________________________________________________________________

The miners, who were praying for help to reach them, tried to fight off their fears.

_____________________________________________________________________

The church, which was overflowing with parishioners, hoped to find a building with more space.

_____________________________________________________________________

Practice 4

Add the phrase in parenthesis to the first sentence using a relative clause. If it’s possible, you should omit the relative pronoun.

The paper was due in the morning. (I had spent all night writing it)

______________________________________________________________________

The horse was recently put out to stud. (the horse won the Kentucky Derby)

______________________________________________________________________

I texted my brother. (you met him last year)

______________________________________________________________________

The phone takes great photographs. (the phone you just bought)

______________________________________________________________________

Would you like a copy of the photo? (I just took the photo)

______________________________________________________________________

She got married to a man. (the man was from France)

______________________________________________________________________

The fish was huge (you caught the fish)

______________________________________________________________________

The actor was recently arrested (the actor won an Oscar several years ago)

______________________________________________________________________

The gym was closed for renovation. (we go to that gym)

______________________________________________________________________

Sojourner Truth was born a slave in Ulster County, New York. (her original name was Isabella Baumfree)

______________________________________________________________________

The fruit was not available today. (she likes to eat the fruit)

______________________________________________________________________

Her grandmother used to be a showgirl. (she’s eighty years old now)

______________________________________________________________________

The neighbor isn’t at home. (the neighbor’s dog is running loose)

______________________________________________________________________

The company no longer exists. (you ordered shoes from the company)

______________________________________________________________________

The tiger looks old and sick (the tiger is lying in that cage)

______________________________________________________________________

The pizza is on the way. (you ordered the pizza)

______________________________________________________________________

The cappuccino maker is broken. (you paid a lot of money for it)

______________________________________________________________________

The contract is not binding on all parties. (you recently signed the contract)

______________________________________________________________________

The horse has won the race. (he bet on the horse)

______________________________________________________________________

The fireworks display was awesome. (we saw the display in the park last night)

______________________________________________________________________

Reading 2 – “I Am Not an Inmate…I Am a Man, And I Have Potential” by Deena Prichep.

Pre-Reading Questions

Before you read, discuss these questions with your classmates.

What might happen to a person’s identity when they spend many years in prison?

Can a person’s identity change after they get out of prison?

How do other people’s opinions of us shape our identity?

Read the article: “I Am Not an Inmate… I Am a Man. And I Have Potential” by Deena Prichep. (Clicking on this link will take you to the CommonLit website.)

Comprehension Questions

Who are the different men that were interviewed for this article?

In what ways did each of them change?

What were the factors that caused them to change?

Vocabulary

Identify words in the reading that are new or unfamiliar to you. Make a list of the words and the part of speech (N, V, Adj, Adv.) here.

______________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Discuss these words with your classmates and teacher. Can you guess the meaning of the words? If not, look them up in a dictionary and write the meaning in your notebook.

Writing Practice 2

Write a paragraph related to Reading 2. Your teacher might give you some guiding questions. You might write about life circumstances or events that influence a person’s identity.

Grammar Explanation A: Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions, also known by the acronym FANBOYS, connect all other parts of speech as well as phrases and clauses. When connecting only two words or phrases, use only the conjunction without a comma. You can also connect two dependent clauses without using a comma.

Examples:

We some apples and oranges at the market. [2 nouns]

He breeds and races his horses. [2 verbs]

That actress is beautiful and talented. [2 adjectives]

That company produces some vehicles for the military and some for domestic use. [2 phrases]

Who you know and what you know are both useful in this job. [2 noun clauses]

Every structure can be joined in this way except for two independent clauses.

The lawsuit was upheld by the court, and proper penalties were handed down.

In this case, a comma must accompany the conjunction.

Grammar Explanation B: Correlative Conjunctions

Either… or, neither…nor, not only… but also, both…and are common correlative conjunctions.

I’ll either be a policeman or an astronaut when I grow up.

He’s neither a qualified nor prepared to run for office in this county.

She’s not only a successful businesswoman but also the mother of three children.

He’s both a scientist and a poet.

Correlative conjunctions are useful for “hooking things up” you might say.

Grammar Exercises

Practice 1

Combine the sentences using the correlative conjunctions in parenthesis. Choose a singular or plural verb were needed.

Fish is a healthy alternative to red meat. Chicken a healthy alternative to red meat. (Both…and)

______________________________________________________________________

Cars are not allowed on this private road. Motorcycles are not allowed on this private road. (Neither…nor)

______________________________________________________________________

London is on our itinerary Paris is on our itinerary. (Not only…but also)

______________________________________________________________________

You can have the banana cream pie for dessert. You can have the Dutch apple pie for dessert. (Either…or)

______________________________________________________________________

Table tennis is a popular sport in China. Badminton is a popular sport in China. (Not only…but also)

______________________________________________________________________

Transitions: Connecting Information with Transitions and Prepositions

Transitions show a relationship between independent clauses (complete thoughts).

Transitions join ideas in separate sentences. Transitions are always followed by a comma.

She wanted to defend the innocent wrongly accused of a crime. Therefore, she became a public defender. [therefore, as a result, and consequently show result]

He felt embarrassed by his colleague’s crude joke. However, he laughed louder than anyone in the room. [however and nevertheless indicate a contrast]

Several members of the committee didn’t agree with the chairman’s proposal. On the other hand, some others staunchly defended it. [on the other hand, in contrast, and conversely show an opposite side]

The play was an overnight sensation. Moreover, it received unanimous critical acclaim. [moreover, furthermore, and in addition indicate more information about something].

therefore furthermore in addition as a result moreover on the other hand

nevertheless consequently however conversely in contrast

Practice 1

Choose from the list of transitions above to fill in the blank. More than one answer is totally possible.

She didn’t want to talk him. ________________, she went to meet him at the coffee shop.
He spilled his tea in the specimen tray, _______________, the experiment was ruined.
We could go to the concert in the park. ____________________, we could stay home and watch a movie.
We finished writing our proposal. ____________________, the committee has accepted it.
The candidate made several serious mistakes. _________________, the election was lost.

Connecting with Prepositional Phrases

as well as because of due to in addition to instead of

as a result of except for next to besides in spite of

These are phrases that end in prepositions. Thus, they are followed by nouns or noun phrases.

She went to the emergency room because of her accident.

He was able to perform all his duties in spite of his disability.

Practice 1

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate prepositional phrase.

We had to change our plans ___________________ the unavailability of rooms to reserve.
I hope to buy a new car this time ___________________ a used one.
The poor sales results were __________________ the downturn in the whole market.
We found all of the missing tests ____________________ yours.
We have to pay a special penalty ___________________ other fees.

Practice 2

Circle the correct prepositional phrase.

The show was cancelled in spite of / due to the poor ratings.
They were told to bring salad because of / as well as a dessert.
Do you want the black one instead of / in spite of the blue one?
Next to / Besides being inexpensive, our coffee maker has many desirable features.
His problems came about as well as / as a result of his stubbornness.
The power outage was due to / except for a power surge at the main station.

Part 3

Writing

Part 3 is a remix of Introduction to Academic Writing for ESOL by Delpha Thomas, Ph.D

Introduction to Academic Writing for ESOL Students by Delpha Thomas Source: OER Commons is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0

Unit 1 – Writing Process

Academic Writing Skills Inventory

A good place to start learning about writing is to think about what you already know about writing. Please be honest. If you are not sure what each of these skills is exactly, just choose “I don’t know” or “I am not sure”. It’s okay not to know!

Put a ✔ in the box that best describes your understanding of the writing skill.	I am good at this	I am okay at this	This is difficult	I don’t know
1. Getting ideas, planning, and organizing when I write.	❐	❐	❐	❐
2. Formatting my paper with the proper heading and spacing for a college class.	❐	❐	❐	❐
3. Using a variety of sentence types in my writing (simple, compound, and complex).	❐	❐	❐	❐
4. Writing a topic sentence with a clear topic and main idea for a paragraph.	❐	❐	❐	❐
5. Using different types of development strategies in my supporting sentences for a paragraph.	❐	❐	❐	❐
6. Writing a concluding sentence for a paragraph.	❐	❐	❐	❐
7. Writing a thesis statement for an academic-style essay.	❐	❐	❐	❐
8. Writing effective introduction and conclusion paragraphs for an essay	❐	❐	❐	❐
9. Organizing my ideas logically into paragraphs.	❐	❐	❐	❐
10. Using grammar correctly in my writing (e.g. verb tenses, complex sentence, & subject-verb agreement)	❐	❐	❐	❐
11. Using vocabulary correctly in my writing (e.g. spelling, natural collocation and correct word form)	❐	❐	❐	❐
12. Using transition (signal) words correctly and effectively.	❐	❐	❐	❐
13. Summarizing and paraphrasing information to put it in my own words.	❐	❐	❐	❐
14. Checking my writing for mistakes without my teacher’s help.	❐	❐	❐	❐

Have you ever written …

(Circle yes, no, or I don’t know.)

a descriptive-narrative paragraph or essay? Yes. / No. / I’m not sure.

a process paragraph or essay? Yes. / No. / I’m not sure.

a compare and contrast paragraph or essay? Yes. / No. / I’m not sure.

Punctuation Awareness Survey

Put a ✔ in the box that best describes your understanding of these punctuation marks.	Yes, I do	Usually	Only Sometimes	No, I’m not sure.
I know how to use periods.	❐	❐	❐	❐
I know all the rules for when to use capital letters.	❐	❐	❐	❐
I know at least three rules about using commas.	❐	❐	❐	❐
I know what a colon is and I know exactly how to use it.	❐	❐	❐	❐
I know what a semicolon is and I know exactly how to use it.	❐	❐	❐	❐

What are some mistakes that you often make when you are writing in English? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Introduction to the Writing Process

To write a good paragraph or essay, good writers need time and a step-by-step approach. Even writers who are writing in a language that is natural for them have to change the words, grammar, punctuation, and sentences several times. In most writing classes, you will practice different writing processes. While there are many possible steps, there are three main stages. The stages of the writing process are shown in the diagram that follows.

Pre-writing:

brainstorming ideas

narrowing

organizing

outlining

Drafting:

writing the whole paragraph or essay from the beginning to the end.

Revising + Editing

proofreading

peer reviewing

feedback

Practice 1

Look at the diagram of the writing process. Write a word or phrase from the diagram that matches the definitions below.

______________ checking your writing for errors.

______________ creating a lot of ideas by making a list or a mind-map before you write.

______________ a way of organizing your writing using letters and numbers.

______________ students reading each other’s writing to give advice and improve a draft.

______________ focusing more specifically on your topic and removing unconnected ideas.

What is a paragraph?

Practice Two

Read the paragraph below. Can you complete these sentences with a word? Discuss your ideas with a partner.

In academic-style writing, a paragraph is a group of ____________ that are all about one ____________ idea. One paragraph in a longer piece of academic writing is very different from a paragraph you might see in newspapers, magazines, websites, or in fictional story. In academic writing, a paragraph usually has three parts: a ____________ sentence, some ____________ sentences, and a ____________ sentence. Each part of an academic paragraph plays a special role.

Now, take a moment to look at the three parts of a paragraph in the diagram below. Did it help you to finish the paragraph above? Think about what each part of the paragraph should do. Also, notice how the paragraph looks

(it is not written in a modern language, so don’t worry about understanding it!).

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent venenatis, justo eu tincidunt finibus, enim velit dictum turpis, ac suscipit diam diam tristique felis. Fusce eget feugiat arcu. Vestibulum hendrerit risus in quam pretium, blandit vehicula purus consectetur. Curabitur tincidunt vulputate diam, id euismod purus aliquam at. Pellentesque vel rhoncus est, sit amet posuere mauris. Nunc tincidunt metus a tortor placerat, et aliquet lorem ultricies. Quisque mattis ligula nec tincidunt fermentum. Nullam nec dui gravida, luctus ligula id, faucibus arcu. Praesent posuere, est non congue ultricies, orci mauris consectetur dui, id vulputate nisl metus ut augue. Mauris ligula ligula, molestie non pulvinar vitae, mollis quis tellus. Suspendisse sagittis diam nibh, a feugiat nunc eleifend ut. Donec eget ullamcorper urna. Fusce non placerat est.

The topic sentence

The supporting sentences

The concluding sentence

Paragraph Structure

Practice Three

Now, complete the sentences by match the purpose or function (a-c) for each part of a paragraph (1-3).

The topic sentence… ____
The supporting sentences … ____
The concluding sentence … ____
… can do many things like restate the main idea, summarize the main points, make a prediction about the topic, or offer a suggestion. Sometimes they transition to the next paragraph.

… tells the reader what the paragraph is going to be about and gives the writer’s opinion or idea about the topic (it’s sometimes called “the controlling” idea or “ the main idea”).

… support the main idea in several ways including giving examples, specific details, definitions, telling the events of a story, or giving reasons, etc.

Practice Four

Put these sentences in order to make a paragraph.

The Process of Writing

______ After that, the best thing to do is just write the whole first draft.

______ Once you have a topic, the first thing to do is brainstorm and outline.

______For many students writing is one of the most difficult subjects, but by following some simple steps, it doesn’t have to be painful.

______Following your teacher’s recommendations will ensure that you get the best grade possible.

_____If you feel stuck while writing your first draft, stop and take a shower or go for a walk to clear your mind.

______Finally, carefully read your teacher’s feedback and follow their instructions if they ask you to write a second draft.

______These two steps go well together because you’ll need to get ideas with a brainstorm and then organize them with the outline.

______By following these simple steps, you will find that writing an essay is a piece of cake.

______As soon as you have a finished draft, ask a friend or a tutor to read your paper before you give it to your teacher.

Topic sentences

For many students, writing is one of the most difficult subjects, but by following some simple steps, it doesn’t have to be painful.

Topic

Main Idea

Look at the two parts of the topic sentence from the paragraph “The Process of Writing” we organized in the last task.

The two parts of a topic sentence are the topic and the main idea (sometimes called the controlling idea). The topic tells the reader what the whole paragraph will be about. In the paragraph from task four, the topic is writing. The main idea explains the writer’s opinion or idea about the topic. In this topic sentence, the writer’s main idea is that writing is easier if you follow the steps they are going to explain. Let’s practice some important aspects of topic sentences.

Practice Five – Finding the Topic and Main Idea in a Topic Sentence

The sentences below are all topic sentences taken from different paragraphs.

Circle the topic and underline the main idea like in each one.

Global warming is one of the most serious problems facing society today.
Of all the academic skills, one of the most important to practice daily is reading.
For most people, changing dietary and exercise habits can be very challenging.
American students have more educational debt than ever before.

Group work: With your partners, can you think of some information than might be in the supporting sentences following the topic sentences A-D above? Make a note below.

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

The paragraph below comes from the University of Victoria English Language Centre . Terms of Use Published 1998, Revised 2011. Source: http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/490/reading/dog2-reading.htm. The content has been only slightly modified for readability and language level.

Practice Six – Working with topic sentences

Choose the best topic sentence from A-C for the paragraph below.

_____________________________________________________. As a dog owner, the child must take care of the animal’s daily needs. The dog must be fed and exercised every day. A dog is completely dependent on its owner for all its needs, including the need for good health and a safe environment. Therefore, being responsible for a dog also means taking care of the dog so that it stays healthy. Furthermore, the owner must take responsibility for the safety of the dog and the safety of the people it comes into contact with. If the child forgets any of these duties, or ignores any of the dog’s needs, the dog will suffer. This teaches the child that their responsibility to the dog is more important than their desire to play with toys, talk on the phone, or watch TV. This is true not only for the care of a dog, but also for the care of oneself, another person, or one’s job. Learning how to look after the health and welfare of a dog leads to learning how to take responsibility for oneself.

Dogs are better for young children than toys, phones, or TV.
Having a dog helps a child learn how to act responsibly.
There are many negative results when ignoring a pet dog.

Practice 7

Write a topic sentence for this paragraph. To write a good topic sentence, read all of the supporting sentences carefully to decide what the writer’s main idea is. Then look carefully at the concluding sentence.

________________________________________________________________________________________________.. Most people go through a lot of planning when they do it. Besides finding financial support, they also need to spend time searching for the right house. The right house should be the right size for the family now and in the future. If a family is planning to grow, finding a house with enough space for all family members is important. Once the right size house is found, the next step is to investigate the neighborhood. Many people omit this step, but it may be the most important step before buying a house. The neighborhood is the place in which people invest, expect to raise children, and plan to live for a long period of time. A bad neighborhood can have a higher crime rate, poor schools, and might be located in areas with a lot of traffic, noise, and air pollution. With careful consideration, buying a house can be one of the best investments a person can make in their future.

Unit 2 – Methods of Paragraph Development

Ways of Developing a Paragraph

In this course you will study different types of paragraphs and essays. Each type of paragraph or essay can use different ways of supporting an idea (sometimes called “means of support”). When we talk about developing a paragraph (or essay), we are talking about adding enough support for our ideas.

A well-developed paragraph has several supporting sentences that help make the main idea clearer and more believable to the reader. How many supporting sentences do you need? Well, that depends on how complex your topic is, but at a minimum you should try to have at least three to four supporting sentences. However, academic paragraphs in college writing can have ten or more sentences!

To develop your paragraph, supporting sentences can give the reader….

examples.

specific details (time, date, place, number, percentage, or other facts).

a clear description.

a definition.

an explanation.

an opposite point of view.

Of course, there are even more ways to develop a paragraph than the list above. Your writing instructor can guide you in developing your paragraphs and help you to decide how many sentences you need to make your ideas clear. In addition to your instructor’s help, you can also get help at your school’s tutoring or writing center to help develop your ideas.

The paragraphs below come from the University of Victoria English Language Centre . Terms of Use Published 1998, Revised 2011. Source: http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/reading/happy-brain1.html. The content has been only slightly modified for readability and language level.

Practice 1

Which paragraph is better developed, I or II? Do both paragraphs have enough support for an academic essay? If not, how can they be improved?

People who form close relationships with other people tend to be

happier than those who do not. The number of friends a person has is not important. When it comes to happiness, what matters most is the quality of the relationships. Close relationships are ones that usually involve the sharing of feelings, mutual respect, acceptance, trust, fun and empathy. As long as the relationships are deep, a person will experience greater levels of happiness.

People who exercise regularly are usually happier than people who

avoid exercising. People with good exercise routines are always improving

both their physical and mental well-being. In fact, research has shown that

exercise can be as effective as medication in treating depression.

Looking at the six ways to develop a paragraph mentioned above, what types of support did paragraphs I and II use?

Practice 2

Review the types of information that you could include as supporting sentences below:

examples

specific details (time, date, place, number, percentage, or other facts)

a clear description

a definition

an explanation

an opposite point of view

What kinds of support could be used to write a paragraph about the following topics (use the types from the list above). Most paragraphs use more than one type of support!

The bravest moment of your life

Type(s) support: _________________________________________________________

Taking an amazing photograph

Type(s) support: _________________________________________________________

The differences between high school and college

Type(s) support: _________________________________________________________

Discuss your answers with a partner. Why did you choose the types of support that you did?

Concluding Sentences

Typically, the last sentence in a paragraph is the concluding sentence, and its job is to help the reader feel that the writer has expressed a complete and finished idea. It closes the paragraph. There are many simple and creative ways to end a paragraph!

The concluding sentence can….

give advice or make a suggestion about the topic to the reader.

make a prediction or offer hope for the future.

give the writer’s feelings or opinion about the topic.

restate the main idea from the topic sentence.

summarize the main points from the supporting sentences.

Practice 3

Look back at the two paragraphs in task eight. Which paragraph doesn’t have a concluding sentence and which one does?

Paragraph I. yes / no Paragraph II. yes / no

Practice 4

Now, let’s look at the concluding sentence in the paragraph titled “The Process of Writing” again: “By following these simple steps, you will find that writing an essay is a piece of cake.”

Does the above concluding sentence…(check all that apply)

❐ …give advice or a suggestion.

❐ …make a prediction or offer hope.

❐ …give the writer’s feelings or opinion.

❐ …restate the main idea.

❐ …summarize the main points.

The paragraphs below come from the University of Victoria English Language Centre . Terms of Use Published 1998, Revised 2011. Source: http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/490/reading/tattoos2-reading.htm. The content has been only slightly modified for readability and language level.

Practice 5 – Working with Concluding Sentences

Read the topic sentence and supporting sentences in the paragraph below. Then, choose the best concluding sentence for the paragraph.

It is not always the influence of other people or the media that results in a person getting a tattoo. Many people decide to wear tattoos in order to express their artistic nature, their beliefs, or their feelings; in other words, they get a tattoo to show and express their individuality. A musician in a rock band may get a tattoo of a guitar on the arm. Some environmentalists may tattoo pictures of endangered animals on their shoulders. Lovers may tattoo eachothers’ names over their hearts. _________________________________.

a) A person’s friends and the media will affect their decision to get a tattoo.
b) The unfortunate fact about tattoos is that they are impossible to remove.
c) A tattoo can be a public sign to show what is important in a person’s life.

The paragraphs below come from the University of Victoria English Language Centre . Terms of Use Published 1998, Revised 2011. Source: http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/reading/most-amazing-structure1.htm. The content has been only slightly modified for readability and language level.

Read the following paragraph about the human brain.

The human brain is very mysterious and only partially understood. Many questions about the brain have not yet been answered. For example, why do we need to sleep or why do we dream? There is a lot about the brain that we do not yet understand. In fact, people used to think of the brain as useless stuffing. Of course, scientists now know the brain is our control center. Scientists also know about the basic functions of the different parts of the brain. The surface of the brain is called the cerebral cortex. It is the part of the brain that makes us intelligent, and it consists of four parts called lobes. The front lobe is where much of our thinking and feeling happens. The top lobe processes information which is coming from parts of our bodies, such as our skin and muscles. The side lobe plays an important role in hearing, speech and long-term memories while the back lobe processes images from our eyes. _____________________________________________________________________.

Write two different concluding sentences for this paragraph about the brain. Use the technique for writing a concluding sentence in parenthesis.

a)(restate the main idea from the topic sentence) ______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________.

b) (make a prediction about the brain) ________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________.

Formatting Your Paragraph

Now, look at this typed paragraph below and notice how it looks on the page. In college, your teachers may ask you to format your paper differently, but this is a good example to copy.

Practice 6

Label these things on your paragraph:

Header Indent Title Margin Double-spaced lines

Delpha Thomas

ESOL 164

Process Paragraph

April 1, 2017

The Process of Writing

For many students writing is one of the most difficult subjects, but with a little bit of organization and a good attitude, writing can be a very simple process. Once you have a topic, the first thing to do is brainstorm and outline. These two steps go well together because you’ll need to get ideas with a brainstorm and then organize them with the outline. After that, the best thing to do is just write the whole first draft. If you feel stuck while writing your first draft, stop and take a shower or go for a walk to clear your mind. As soon as you have a finished draft, ask a friend or a tutor to read your paper before you give it to your teacher. Finally, carefully read your teacher’s feedback and follow their instructions if they ask you to write a second draft. Following your teacher’s recommendations will ensure that you get the best grade possible. By following these simple steps, you will find that writing an essay is a piece of cake.

What information does your teacher want you to put in the header?

Grammar and Mechanics in Writing

Before we move on to essays, it’s important to consider the parts of a sentence because sentences are the basic building blocks of paragraphs. Knowing the parts of sentences will help you to understand the feedback that you might get from your teacher about specific grammar points. Another benefit is that knowing the terms that describe the grammar of words can help you to search online by yourself to find answers to your grammar questions. This would make you a more independent learner who can solve your own learning problems.

Parts of Speech

Sentences have two kinds of words: content words (words that meaning) and grammar words (words that make structure). Do the next task to practice identifying parts of speech.

Practice 7 – Content Words

Look at the bolded words and phrases in each group (a-d) and decide which group contains countable nouns, uncountable nouns, verbs, modals, adjectives, or adverbs. Write the part of speech in the space provided.

a)___________________

a smiling woman

a good movie

an educated child

b) ___________________________

The man is smiling

Who saw a good movie?

We have educated ourselves.

c) ___________________

How much work is there?

I need some help.

Would you like sugar?

d)________________________

Unfortunately, I can’t.

He sometimes comes early.

The police can drive fast!

e) ___________________

Parents shouldn’t spank.

Animals can feel and think.

The climate might get warmer.

f) ___________________

ESOL students are hardworking.

There are many assignments.

How many times did it happen?

Practice 8 – Grammar Words

Which part of speech of are these grammar word? Match 1-4 to a-d

____1. in, of, about, between a. Articles (which are definite and indefinite?)

____2. the, a, b. b. Prepositions (which show time or place)

____3. She, him, mine c. Conjunctions (FANBOYS: what are F, N, O, and Y?)

____4. and, but, so d. Pronouns (subject, object, and possessive)

Practice 9 – Analyzing Parts of Speech in a Sentence

Label the parts of speech of each word in the topic sentences A-C. Use the abbreviations below.

Art = article. Prep = preposition V = verb, Adj = adjective, N = noun

Adv = adverb, Conj = conjunction, Pro = pronoun

Scientists believe the earth is heating up quickly.

Good teachers love their jobs and their students.

In the southern parts of the U.S., the climate is usually warmer and wetter.

Practice 10 comes from the University of Victoria English Language Centre . Terms of Use Published 1998, Revised 2011. Source: http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/490/grammar/review-of-sentence-types1.htm. The exercise style has been completely modified, but the example sentences are unmodified.

Practice 10

Review the information from Part 2 – Grammar, Units 2, 3, and 4. Review the information related to joining compound sentences and combining dependent clauses (relative clauses, noun clauses, and adverb clauses) with independent clauses to form complex sentences. Then, label each sentence as simple, compound, or complex.

__________ 1. My oldest daughter may study forensic science in Vancouver, or she

may study biology in Victoria.

__________ 2. My daughter must decide if she wishes to study forensic science in

Vancouver before the May enrollment deadline.

__________ 3. My daughter may go to Vancouver to study forensic science or stay

in Victoria to study bio-genetics.

__________ 4. The neighbours invited us to come inside and asked us to make

ourselves comfortable.

__________ 5. After the neighbours had invited us to come inside, they asked us to

make ourselves comfortable.

__________ 6. The neighbors invited us to come inside, and they asked us to make

ourselves comfortable.

What’s this punctuation mark?

In Part 2 – Grammar, we saw how commas are used with dependent adverb clauses and with FANBOYS in compound sentences. In this section, we’ll explore more rules about punctuation Do you know the names of all the punctuation marks?

Practice 11

Fill in the missing letters for the names of these punctuation six marks. There are a few more punctuation marks than this in English, but these will be most important to learn about in this course.

, C o m m a
: __ __ __ __ __
. __ __ __ __ __ __
; __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
’ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
( ) __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Unit 3 – Essays

What Is an Essay?

An essay is a collection of paragraphs. If you can write a really well-organized paragraph, then you can probably write a fantastic essay because paragraphs and essays do similar things. Just as there are three parts of a paragraph that have a specific job, each paragraph in an essay also has a special role.

Practice 1

Name

Class

Assignment

Date

Title

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus viverra pulvinar pretium. Donec sodales sed ipsum nec consectetur. Integer non arcu sollicitudin, facilisis felis a, iaculis erat. Vestibulum dapibus nisi quis dui auctor, nec semper erat feugiat. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

Donec tempor aliquet sem non tincidunt. Nulla nunc tortor, venenatis a consequat sit amet, dictum pellentesque diam. Nulla vel odio sit amet urna pretium tempor. Integer in arcu aliquet, eleifend massa vel, tristique ante. Ut consequat pulvinar lacinia. Vivamus imperdiet lacus at porttitor pellentesque.

Aenean accumsan sed augue vel volutpat. Nam pretium consequat tortor, ac interdum nunc rhoncus non. Pellentesque non ex nibh. Nullam vitae fringilla dolor. Fusce eget congue tortor.Integer venenatis iaculis lectus ac aliquet. Sed non turpis massa.

Cras semper at ante eget elementum. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Nulla quis enim non nisi finibus aliquam dignissim in ipsum.

The introduction

The body

(usually contains 2-3 paragraphs)

The conclusion

Look at the diagram to the right and the box below. Discuss with a partner how you think the parts of the paragraph are similar.

Introduction paragraphs

The first paragraph in an essay is called the introduction. A strong introduction paragraph should do four key things. Read the sentences below to see if you can guess what the missing letters in the words are.

The text on culture shock in Practice 2-3 comes from the University of Victoria English Language Centre . Terms of Use Published 1998, Revised 2011. Source: http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/490/wchild/wchild20.htm. The exercise style has been completely modified, but the example sentences are unmodified.

Introduction Paragraph

The introduction paragraph is often compared to a funnel. This is because the first sentences are more general, or broad, and each following sentence becomes more and more specific with details, facts, examples, and explanations until the reader reaches the thesis statement. The thesis statement is the most narrow and specific sentence. Look at the diagram that follows:

Practice 2

Fill in the missing letters.

Starts with a h _ _ _ , a sentence that tries to maintain the reader’s interest in the topic.

Clearly mentions the t _ _ _ _ , or subject, of the essay.

Gives several sentences with b _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ information to help the reader understand the topic by answering what, who, where, when, and why — all the questions that make the topic important. This information is also sometimes called “connecting information”.

Includes a t _ _ _ _ _ statement that explains the _ _ _ _ idea of the essay and

s _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ s the writer’s opinion or feeling about the topic. This is usually the last sentence in the introduction paragraph.

Diagram of an Introduction Paragraph

When entering and living in a new culture, a student can get a major shock — culture shock. It happens when a person’s ideas about how people should behave are challenged by the strange new things they experience when they move from one culture to another. For example, if a person’s culture involves bowing when greeting others, they may feel very uncomfortable in a culture that does not involve bowing. If the language a person uses when talking to someone in their own culture is influenced by levels of formality based on the other person’s age and status, it may be difficult for a student to feel comfortable communicating with teachers or older classmates in the new culture. The shock can be intense and cause a lot of stress that can affect a person’s ability to learn. Fortunately, culture shock is a four stage process that is predictable and easy to understand.

The hook

Background information

(connects the hook to the thesis and helps the reader to understand the topic)

The thesis statement

(tells the reader the main idea and the writer’s feelings about it)

Practice 3

Read the underlined thesis statement from the introduction paragraph about culture shock.

What is the writer’s feeling about the four stages of culture shock? Can you guess what the writer will explain in the body paragraphs? How many body paragraphs would you expect in this essay? Discuss your answer with a partner.

Body paragraphs

Introduction paragraphs are different the typical paragraph structure because they have a hook and a thesis statement. Body paragraphs are just normal paragraphs with a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. Each body paragraph should connect directly to the thesis statement.

Practice 4

Read the following body paragraphs that follow the introduction paragraph about culture shock. Were you right about the number of body paragraphs?

Look at the highlighted concluding sentences in each body paragraph, does it give advice or a suggestion, make a prediction or offer hope, give the writer’s feelings or opinion, restate the main idea from the topic sentence summarize the main points.

Culture shock begins with the “honeymoon stage”. This is the period of time when a person first arrives in which everything about the new culture is strange and exciting. In this stage, students may be suffering from “jet lag”, but they are thrilled to be in the new environment, seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and language, and eating new kinds of food. This honeymoon stage can last for quite a long time because students feel they are involved in some kind of great adventure. It’s easy to understand why this period of time is called a honeymoon.

Unfortunately, the second stage of culture shock can be more difficult. After a student has settled down into his or her new life, working or studying, buying groceries, doing laundry, or living with a home-stay family, they can become very tired and begin to miss their home countries and their family, girlfriend/boyfriend, and pets. Another issue is that all the little problems in life seem to be much bigger and more upsetting in the foreign culture. This period of cultural adjustment can be very difficult and lead to the new arrival rejecting or pulling away from the new culture. This “rejection stage” can be quite dangerous because the visitor may develop unhealthy habits (smoking and drinking too much, being too concerned over food or contact with people from the new culture). This stage is also considered a crisis in the process of cultural adjustment. As a result, many people choose to go back to their homeland or spend all their time with people from their own culture, speaking their native language. Sadly, experiencing problems and engaging in negative behavior during this stage can negatively impact a student’s success in school.

The third stage of culture shock is called the “adjustment stage”. If a person makes it past the challenges of the second stage, this is part in the process when the they begin to realize that things are not so bad in the new host culture. One thing that can help is the student’s sense of humour. Another thing that can help is when students realize that they are becoming stronger by learning to take care of themselves in the new place. Things are still difficult, but the student is now a survivor. It’s likely now that the learner will succeed and move on to the next stage.

The fourth stage can be called “at ease at last”. Now the student feels quite comfortable in the new surroundings. They have learned to cope with most problems that occur, especially if they have developed the language skills they need to clearly communicate their needs. Students may still have problems with the language, but they are strong enough to deal with it or find a resource to help them if they can’t resolve the issue. They don’t feel afraid that they will be judged or hurt by others. In this stage, if a student meets someone from their country who has just arrived, they can be the expert on life in the new culture and help the new student to deal with their own culture shock.

Practice 5

Go back and re-read the introduction and thesis statement for this essay. What do you think the writer will discuss in the conclusion paragraph?

The Concluding Paragraph

A good conclusion paragraph does at least three things:

restates the main idea from the thesis statement.
summarizes the main points from the body paragraphs
Ends with a final thought, which could:

give advice or a suggestion about the topic to the reader.
make a prediction or offer hope for the future.
give the writer’s feelings or opinion about the topic.

Practice 6

How is a concluding paragraph in an essay different from a concluding sentence in a paragraph?

Practice 7

Now, read the conclusion paragraph from the essay on culture shock:

International students who stay in a new country for a while can expect to go through the whole process of culture shock from the “honeymoon” stage to the “at ease stage”. ^2.Though sometimes the process can repeat with each new experience.^3.Each stage has different effects that include a range of emotions, from excitement to frustration and even depression. ^4.However, if a student takes the time to recognize the predictable pattern of behavior and emotions that people experiencing culture shock go through, they can easily find ways to overcome any negative emotions.

1.Write the number of the sentence that…

___ restates the main idea from the thesis statement.

___ summarizes the main points from the body paragraphs.

___ ends with a final thought.

Practice 8

Check the type of final thought you think this sentence uses

❐ gives advice or a suggestion about the topic to the reader.

❐ makes a prediction or offer hope for the future.

❐ give the writer’s feelings or opinion about the topic.

The following paragraph comes from “Writing for Success: 1st Canadian Edition” by Tara Horkoff and Scott McLean. Revised 2015. Source: https://opentextbc.ca/writingforsuccess/. The content has been only slightly modified for readability and language level.

Using “Transition” or “Signal” Words (Conjunctive Adverbs)

Careful writers use transitions to show how ideas in their sentences and paragraphs are connected to each other. These words and phrases help the writing flow smoothly. Adding transitions is not the only way to improve the flow (also called coherence, but they are often useful and add a more academic style to your essays. The following is a list of transition words that you should look back to for each paragraph and each essay that you write for this course.

Difference, Contrast, Concession

however, otherwise, nevertheless, nonetheless, conversely, instead, on the contrary,

in contrast, on the other hand, still, yet, whereas, fortunately, unfortunately

Reason or Result

as a result, consequently, as a consequence, accordingly, hence, therefore, thus, for this (or that) reason

Time or Sequence

earlier, previously, later, meanwhile, concurrently, currently, presently, lastly, finally

Example or Illustration

as a matter of fact, in fact, for example, for instance, namely, that is, in particular, a case in point,

Emphasis, Clarification, or Restatement of an Idea

in fact, at any rate, in other words, of course, to be sure, surely, all in all, altogether, on the whole, in other words, to put it differently, to rephrase, to paraphrase, to clarify, once again, in short, in brief, simply stated, in retrospect

Additional Information

in addition, additionally, also, furthermore, likewise, moreover, besides

Conclusion

in conclusion, to conclude, in summary, to summarize, in sum, to sum up, finally, therefore, thus, hence, in closing, to recap, to recapitulate, in short, lastly

The list of transition words below comes from “Book Five: ESL for Advanced Students: The Way You Like It: Advanced Grammar/Writing,Plus Modified Bloom’s Taxonomy, Capitalization and Punctuation Rules” by Don Bissonnette, 2016. https://www.oercommons.org/authoring/13890-esl-for-advanced-students-the-way-you-like-it . The content has been only slightly modified for readability and language level.

Practice 9

Use a transition word from the box to complete the sentences, then search back through the pages of this unit to find the texts the sentences come from to check your answers.

also, therefore, besides, as a result, furthermore

1.A dog is completely dependent on its owner for all its needs, including the need for good health and a safe environment. ___________, being responsible for a dog also means taking care of the dog so that it stays healthy. ___________, the owner must take responsibility for the safety of the dog and the safety of the people it comes into contact with.

2.Most people go through a lot of planning when they buy a house. ___________ finding financial support, they also need to spend time searching for the right house.

3.The “rejection stage” can be quite dangerous because the visitor may develop unhealthy habits (smoking and drinking too much, being too concerned over food or contact with people from the new culture). This stage is ___________ considered a crisis in the process of cultural adjustment. ___________, many people choose to go back to their homeland or spend all their time with people from their own culture, speaking their native language.

*Notice how most transitions are used at the beginning of a new sentence and followed by a comma. One transition is used differently. Which one is different and how is it used?

Comparison-Contrast Essays

In comparing paragraphs and essays, the similarities between specific elements, aspects, or factors of two subjects are discussed, while contrast writing discusses differences. A compare-and-contrast essay evaluates two subjects by comparing them, contrasting them, or both. Think about how these two photos are similar and how they are different.

woman-fashion-coat-hood-rings by Free Photos Source: Pixabay.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license

solo-reader-old-park by josemdelaa Source: Pixabay.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public License

Practice 10

Match the adjective with its dependent preposition.

a) similar as
b) different to
c) the same from
d) darker than

Practice 11

Find the noun and adverb forms of these adjectives.

similar _________ _________
b) different _________ _________c) comparable _________ _________
d) contrasting _________ _________

Practice 12

Work with a partner to discuss these three points.

These images similar in many ways. Can you list five similarities?

Now, look at the differences between these two pictures in terms of gender, class, wealth, beauty, ethnicity, fashion, and age.

How does seeing these images together affect how you see each of them?

Diagnostic

Before we choose a topic for this genre (or style) of writing, try writing one paragraph about the two images of the man and the woman that you’ve been looking at so far.

Remember You’ll come back to this paragraph and use it to track your progress in grammar, vocabulary, organization, and development in comparison and contrast writing.

Brainstorming with a Venn Diagram

One way that you can brainstorm a topic for comparison and contrast writing is to use a Venn diagram (see circles below). In the place where the circles overlap, you can list the similarities, but in the separate spaces, write only words or phrases that specific or unique to that topic.

*Note: You have already used Venn Diagrams to compare and contrast ideas from readings and discussions in Part 1 of this text. Now, you are applying the same technique to brainstorm ideas for your own writing.

Practice 13

Imagine that you are going to write a compare and contrast essay about two types of transportation: a bike and a car. Use the Venn diagram below to list the similarities and differences between them.

Venn Diagram for Comparison-Contrast Essay: Cars vs. Bikes

Cars

Bikes

Outlining: How to outline a paragraph

For an essay question on a test or a brief oral presentation in class, all you may need to prepare is a short, informal outline in which you write down key ideas in the order you will present them. However, for a longer assignment, like an essay or a research paper, many college instructors require students to turn in a formal outline before writing the first draft. This helps your instructor to be sure you are on the right path and are working in an organized way.

*Note: You have outlined information from lecture notes in Part 1 of this text. Now, you are applying the same technique to outline your own writing.

Let’s start by outlining a paragraph. Here’s the basic structure:

Topic sentence: (Write a full sentence here)

Main point
Supporting detail
Supporting detail
Supporting detail
Main point
Supporting detail
Supporting detail
Supporting detail
Main point
Supporting detail
Supporting detail
Supporting detail

Concluding Sentence: (Write a full sentence here. Remember to sum up, restate the main idea, and add something for the reader to either consider more deeply or help them understand where you’re writing is going next.)

Remember, you may not have three main points or three supporting details about each of those points, but you can still use this basic structure.

Practice 14

Read the paragraph, then complete the outline that follows.

London and Washington D.C. have similarities and differences in living standards and cultural diversity. Both cities share a very expensive cost of living in terms of housing. A downtown one-bedroom apartment in DC can easily cost $1,800 per month, and a similar “flat” in London may double that amount. These high costs create socioeconomic differences among the residents. Although both cities’ residents are predominantly wealthy, both cities have a significantly large population of poor and homeless. Perhaps the most significant difference is the racial diversity. Washington, DC, is a “minority majority” city, which means the majority of its citizens are races other than white. In 2009, according to the US Census, 55 percent of DC residents were classified as “Black or African American” and 35 percent of its residents were classified as “white.” London, by contrast, has very few minorities. In 2006, 70 percent of its population was “white,” while only 10 percent was “black.” Though the cost of these cities is high, the racial differences between the cities is what makes them feel different.

london-parliament-england-ben-ben by derwicki Source: Pixabay.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license.

Use these phrases to complete the outline for this paragraph.

London has few minorities

Washington DC has more minorities.

55% “black” and 35% “white”

us-capitol-building-washington-dc by Mark Thomas Source: Pixabay.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license.

Most residents are wealthy, but there are many poor and homeless

Racial diversity

High costs lead to socio-economic differences

High cost of housing

DC apartments cost $1,800 a month; a “flat” in London is twice.

70% “white” and 10% “black”

Topic sentence: London and Washington D.C. have similarities and differences in cost of living and cultural diversity.

Main point:

Main point:

Concluding sentence: Though the cost of these cities is high, the racial differences between the cities is what makes them feel different.

Why is comparison and contrast writing important to learn?

Comparison and contrast writing is a great way to evaluative a topic. In order to make accurate evaluations about a given topic, you must first know the critical points of similarity and difference. Comparing and contrasting is a primary tool for many workplace assessments. You have likely compared and contrasted yourself to other colleagues. Employee advancements, pay raises, hiring, and firing are typically conducted using comparison and contrast. Comparison and contrast could be used to evaluate companies, departments, or individuals. On the other hand, it is useful in life when deciding which products and services to buy.

Writing topic sentences for a comparison and contrast paragraphs

A good topic sentence for a compare and contrast paragraph should clearly state the two things being compared, the specific point by which they are being compared, and the main idea. Fortunately, in compare and contrast style writing, the main idea is simple: In what ways are the two items similar or different in regards to a particular point of comparison?

Practice 15

Carefully read the paragraph below and consider these questions: What are the two topics being compared? What is the point of comparison. Are they the same or different?

Now write a topic sentence.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________. The US has one of the most technologically advanced economies in the world, while Vietnam is still struggling with stabilizing its economy. One of the key criteria in defining a country’s economic power is its gross domestic product (GDP), which is the value of finished goods and services produced within the nation. According to The World Factbook, a website published by the CIA, the US has GDP of $54,800 per person annually compared to a GDP of $6000 per person annually in Vietnam. Considering the difference in value of currencies, the Vietnamese dong is still at a very low level compared to the strength of the US dollar. Moreover, the US has the second largest industrial output in the world, while Viet Nam is in thirteenth place. Despite the fact that the percentage of industrial production in Viet Nam has grown rapidly in recent years, the country still somewhat relies on agriculture, as much as 17.4 % GDP. These differing economic conditions explain why Vietnam is considered a developing country, whereas the United States is viewed as being developed.

Review of Good Concluding Sentence Techniques

Remember, the last sentence in a paragraph is the concluding sentence, and its job is to help the reader feel that the writer has expressed a complete and finished idea. It closes the paragraph. There are many simple and creative ways to end a paragraph!

Let’s review what concluding sentences can do:

The concluding sentence can….
give advice or make a suggestion about the topic to the reader.
make a prediction or offer hope for the future.
give the writer’s feelings or opinion about the topic.
restate the main idea from the topic sentence.
summarize the main points from the supporting sentences.

Practice 16

Look at the concluding sentence from the paragraph we read about London and Washington DC in Practice 14, then go back and look at the topic sentence and supporting sentence. What technique does this sentence use? Choose one from the box.

Though the cost of these cities is high, the racial differences between the cities is what makes them feel different.

Using a concluding sentence to transition between two paragraphs

As you learn more about essay writing and move beyond simply writing paragraphs and move into writing essays, the concluding sentence of a paragraph can also create a transition between two paragraphs.

Practice 17

Read the two paragraphs. The concluding sentence at the end of the first paragraph is missing.

There are several similarities and differences between the U.S and Bosnia Herzegovina in regards to their government. Bosnia is a much younger country than the United States. In fact, Bosnia only gained its independence from Yugoslavia on March 1st, 1992, while the United States gained its independence from Great Britain on July 4th, 1776. Although both countries gained their independence at different times, they are independent democratic nations. Both countries have voting to elect their president. According to the CIA World Factbook, the United States has five major political parties while Bosnia has seventeen. The major political parties that runs for presidency every election are the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S, but in Bosnia, the major political parties that compete during election are the SDA, SDP, and HDZ. Even though each country has many different political parties, only a couple of parties actually compete each election as the others are not popular enough to be selected. Both countries have the same election process where the people of the nations vote and elect their new president. ________________________________________________________________.

The economies for Bosnia and the United States have several similarities and differences when comparing the two. Bosnia is a developing country and the United States is a world power with a developed economy. Their budgets vary greatly. People in Bosnia rely mostly on agriculture while the United States produces agriculture amongst many other things. The CIA World Factbook website reports that both nations export wheat, corn, vegetables and livestock. Based on their size differences, their GDP purchasing powers vary drastically. Where Bosnia has approximately 39 billion and the U.S is roughly at 17 trillion dollars……

Choose a concluding sentence that would help transition the reader from the first paragraph’s point of comparison to the next point of comparison in the second paragraph.

The new president runs the nation’s government until the next election, when the people vote again.
The new president runs the nation’s government, with or without the support of all of the country’s parties.
The new president runs the nation’s government, which tends to impact the economy positively or negatively. positively or negatively.

US Flag by jp_draws Source: Openclipart.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license

bosnia-and-herzegovina-bosnia-herzegovina-flag-peace-background-banner-colors-country by Unknown Source: Needpix.com from Pixabay.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.0 Public Domain license.

Practice 18

Now write an outline for the diagnostic paragraph that you wrote about the two images (the young woman and the old man). This time choose just one point of comparison to focus on for your supporting sentences. You can edit or change anything you’d like. Use the outline structure on page 5. Write a full topic sentence and full concluding sentence, but for your concluding sentence, lead the reader to another point of comparison that could follow in another paragraph.

Organization: Block vs point-by-point?

When organizing the supporting sentences of a compare/contrast paragraph, or organizing the the body paragraphs of an essay, it is important to consider whether to use a point-by-point or a block organization structure. Look at the charts that show an outline for a paragraph below:

Topic Sentence

Point 1: Topic 1

Point 1: Topic 2

Point 2: Topic 1

Point 2: Topic 2

Concluding Sentence

Topic Sentence: Seeing these two similar looking images together makes the differences between them stand out.

A. Socioeconomic status

1. Woman: wealthy and powerful

2. Man: poor and low-class

B. Age

1. Woman: youthful and beautiful

2. Man: old and unattractive

Concluding sentence: Though these images focus on faces and have a similar shape, the differences between them are powerful.

Point-by-point Organization

Topic Sentence

Point 1: Topic 1

Point 1: Topic 2

Point 2: Topic 1

Point 2: Topic 2

Concluding Sentence

Topic Sentence: Seeing these two similar looking images together makes the differences between them stand out.

A. The woman

1. Socioeconomic class: wealthy and powerful

2. Age: youthful and beautiful

B. Man

1. Socioeconomic class: poor and low-class

2. Age: old and unattractive

Concluding sentence: Though these images focus on faces and have a similar shape, the differences between them are powerful.

Block Organization

Practice 19

Look at the two paragraphs from Practice 17. Do they use point-by-point or a block organization?

Transition words and conjunctions for comparison and contrast

Whichever way you decide to organize your sentences or paragraphs, you will need to use many transitions to help the reader move between topics and points of comparison and contrast smoothly. Compare and contrast writing uses a variety of transitions and conjunctions that you’ll need to practice using. We’ll also look at a new type of conjunction: correlative conjunctions.

Diagram of Compound Sentence Joined by a Conjunctive Adverb or Coordinating Conjunction (FANBOYS)

Sentence

Transition

Sentence

Conjunctive Adverbs

You have looked at conjunctive adverbs, also called “signal” or “transition” words, in Part 2, Unit 4. This kind of sentence connector is most often used to show how ideas between two separate sentences or separate paragraphs are related to each other. They usually begin the sentence, and they are usually followed by a comma, so it’s a good idea to practice using them this way first. However, as you advance in your writing skills, you might notice that like all adverbs, conjunctive adverbs can move into different places in a sentence or be used with more complex punctuation like semicolons to join.

Conjunctive adverbs that show differences: However, In contrast, On the other hand,

Conjunctive adverbs that show similarities: Likewise, Similarly

Practice 20

Decide whether the two sentences show similarities or differences. Which transition word could you use between them?

Teachers in China do not expect students to ask questions or to make comments in class. American teachers think that asking questions and making comments shows good student participation.

______________________________________________________________________

Some people find it helpful to listen to music when they study. Others prefer silence.

______________________________________________________________________

English is spoken in America. It is spoken in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

______________________________________________________________________

Subordinating Conjunctions – Also Called “Subordinators”

Review the information from Part 2 Unit 3 and 4 on adverb, relative (adjective), and noun clauses. Let’s review the idea that subordinating conjunctions make complex sentences. They are used to show how ideas in the two clauses in one sentence are related to each other. It is important to remember that in English, subordinating conjunctions cannot be used with a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) in the same sentence. One interesting thing about these sentence connectors is that they allow you to change the order of the clauses. Just remember that the subordinator stays with the dependent clause. When the dependent clause comes first, you need to use a comma between them.

Subordinators that show differences:

Although
Even though
Though
Whereas
While

Subordinators that show similarities:

As
Just as

Practice 21

Decide whether the two sentences show similarity or contrast. Join the two sentences into one complex sentence using an appropriate subordinator.

Some people find it helpful to listen to music when they study. Others prefer silence.

______________________________________________________________________

College students have to complete an average of three to five assignments per week. High school students tend to have one to three assignments per week.

______________________________________________________________________

English is spoken in America. It is spoken in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

______________________________________________________________________

Correlative Conjunctions

Comparison and contrast writing also frequently uses a special kind of sentence connector called a correlative conjunction (see Part 2 Unit 3). These are conjunctions that how your two topics are similar.

Correlative Conjunctions in Sentences

Sentence Connector

Example

Both…and

Neither…nor

Not only…but (also)

(requires negative inversion)

Both X and Y are / have (plural form)

Neither X nor Y is* / has* (*singular form in the negative)

Not only does X + verb, but it (also) verb

Not only is X + noun or adjective, but it (X) is also noun or adjective.

X verb not only, but X (also) verb

Practice 22

Combine the sentences using a correlative conjunction.

1.The United States doesn’t have universal health care. Mexico doesn’t have universal health care.

___________________________________________________________________________

China is a socialist country. Canada is a socialist country.

___________________________________________________________________________

China is a socialist country. China is a communist country.

___________________________________________________________________________

The chart that follows is taken from College English Skills for Speakers of Other Languages by Marcy Bauman and Cheryl Garayta. The chart gives a breakdown of coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, and prepositions, with the required punctuation pattern for each, arranged by organizational pattern. The chart can provide a reference for students as they being to write paragraphs and essays.

Common Transitional Words and Phrases

Group	Word	Part of Speech	Punctuation Pattern
Addition	And	Coordinating Conjunction (FANBOYS)	S V ,____ S V
	Also	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	In addition	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Additionally	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Moreover	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Furthermore	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Besides	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
Contrast	But	Coordinating Conjunction (FANBOYS)	S V ,___S V
	Or	Coordinating Conjunction (FANBOYS)	S V ,____ S V
	Nor	Coordinating Conjunction (FANBOYS) **Different SV word order: Nor aux s v or Nor v s	S V ,___S V
	Yet	Coordinating Conjunction (FANBOYS)	S V ,____ S V
	However	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Nevertheless	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Nonetheless	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	On the other hand	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S Vs
	Otherwise	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	On the contrary	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	In contrast	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Conversely	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Although	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	Even though	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	Though	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	Despite	Preposition	_____Noun
	In spite of	Preposition	_____Noun
Comparison	Likewise	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Similarly	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	In comparison	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	As	Preposition	_____Noun
	Like	Preposition	_____Noun
	Just as	Preposition	_____Noun
Cause and Effect	For	Coordinating Conjunction (FANBOYS)	S V ,____ S V
	So	Coordinating Conjunction (FANBOYS)	S V ,____ S V
	Therefore	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	As a result	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Consequently	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	In consequence	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Thus	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Hence	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Accordingly	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Because	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	Since	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	If	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	Whether	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	Unless	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	Due to	Preposition	_____Noun
	According to	Preposition	_____Noun
Time/Process	Then	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Next	Conjunctive Adverb
	When	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	While	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	Since	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	Before	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	After	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	At the time	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	By the time	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	As/Just as	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	Until	Subordinating Conjunction (Beginning/Middle)	_____ S V, S V S V ______ S V
	When	Preposition	_____Noun
	While	Preposition	_____Noun
	Since	Preposition	_____Noun
	Before	Preposition	_____Noun
	After	Preposition	_____Noun
	Until	Preposition	_____Noun
	At the time of	Preposition	_____Noun
	By the time of	Preposition	_____Noun
Example	For example	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____,S V
	For instance	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	As an example	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	To exemplify	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	Such as	Preposition	_____Noun
Summary/Conclusion	In conclusion	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	In summary	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	To summarize	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	To sum up	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	To conclude	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	In the end	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V
	At the end	Conjunctive Adverb	S V;____, S V

Forming comparative and superlative adjectives

Comparatives and superlatives are special forms of adjectives. They are used to compare two or more things. Generally, comparatives are formed using (adj)-er or more and superlatives are formed using the + (adj)-est or most. Let’s review basic rules for forming and spelling regular comparatives and superlatives.

How these forms are created depends on how many syllables there are in the adjective. Syllables are like “sound beats”. For instance, “sing” contains one syllable, but “singing” contains two — sing and ing. Here are the rules.

Forms of Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Adjective form

Comparative

Superlative

Only one syllable, ending in E.

Examples: wide, fine, cute

Add -R:

wider, finer, cuter

Add -ST:

widest, finest, cutest

Only one syllable, with one vowel and one consonant at the end.

Examples: hot, big, fat

Double the consonant, and add -ER:

hotter, bigger, fatter

Double the consonant, and add -EST:

hottest, biggest, fattest

Only one syllable, with more than one vowel or more than one consonant at the end.

Examples: light, neat, fast

Add -ER:

lighter, neater, faster

Add -EST:

lightest, neatest, fastest

Two syllables, ending in Y.

Examples: happy, silly, lonely

Change Y to I, then add -ER:

happier, sillier, lonelier

Change Y to I, then add -EST:

happiest, silliest, loneliest

Two syllables or more, not ending in Y.

Examples: modern, interesting, beautiful

Use MORE before the adjective:

more modern, more interesting, more beautiful

Use MOST before the adjective:

most modern, most interesting, most beautiful

Practice 23

What is the adjective for these noun forms? Then fill in the comparative and superlative adjective forms for each word.

Nouns to Adjectives

noun	adjective	comparative form	superlative form
success
health
wealth
poverty
importance
fame
youth

Practice 24

Correct the mistakes with comparative structures in these sentences. Use the chart to review the basic structures.

Sometimes flying to a city is more cheaper than driving.
The easyest way to buy cheap airlines tickets is on the Internet.
Renting a car is more expensive to taking the bus.
If you travel in winter, you can get best price on airplane tickets.
This year I am planning to go somewhere more far away than last year.
I went to same city as you last year.
The speed of taking an Amtrak train to Canada is similar with driving there.
Spanish that is spoken in Mexico is much different than the Spanish spoken in Spain.
The amount of rain in Portland is as much as Seattle.
One way to travel more cheaplier is to take the Bolt Bus.

Finally, remember that there are two very important adjectives that have their own unique collocations, or word associations. They do not follow the regular comparative or superlative structures and don’t use the more/-er or most/-est. These adjectives are listed below:

different from → slightly different from
very different from
completely different from

the same as + similar to → similar to
- very similar to
- the same as
- Exactly the same as

Practice 25 – Comparison / Contrast Assignment

Imagine that you are an expert in geography and you work for a government agency that studies how the world’s countries compare.

You have been hired to write a report about how your country is different from/similar to the U.S. for international students and recent immigrants.

Use the CIA World Fact Book to find data about how the U.S. and your country compare in the areas of: economy, people and society, geography, politics, energy, transportation, and other important issues.

You can choose to focus on just one area (ex. people and society) and write about all the three important differences or similarities in that area. Another option is to focus on three major areas of difference and write about the major data points that make the countries different or similar.

Make sure to follow the organizational points listed:

Use point-by-point organization
Write a thesis that tells the readers exactly which points you will compare / contrast
Use transitions and signal words that show comparison and contrast throughout your paper.
Make sure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that states the point(s) of comparison and whether the paragraph focuses on similarities or differences.
Make sure each paragraph has a concluding sentence that leads the reader to the next topic.
Remember to:
]”
Add a header to the top of your paper with your full name, the name of the class, the name of the assignment, and the date.
A centered title in 12 point
Indent each paragraph by pushing the TAB button at the beginning of the paragraph.
Double space and make the size of the letters 12 point.

Preacademic Communication

Part 1: Reading, Speaking, Listening, and Notetaking

Unit 1 – Learning and Culture…………………………………………………………………………..5

Unit 2 – Community..……………………………………………………………………………………71

Unit 3 – Careers………………………………………………………………………………………..124

Part 2: Grammar

Unit 1 – Learning and Culture………………………………………………………………………..171

Grammar Focus: Verbs and Tenses

Unit 2 – Community……………………………………………………………………………………196

Grammar Focus: Gerunds, Infinitives, Adverb Phrases and Clauses

Unit 3 – Careers………………………………………………………………………………………….212

Unit 4 – Identity………………………………………………………………………………………….230

Grammar Focus: Relative Clauses and Connectors

Part 3: Writing

Unit 1 – Writing Process – ……………………………………………………………………………248

Unit 2 – Methods of Paragraph Development………………………………………………………256

Unit 1 Topic – Learning and Culture

Introduction

Practice 1

Comparison of Educational Systems

Reading Strategies – Graphic Organizers

Venn Diagram of University Center Programs

Practice 2

Practice 3

Venn Diagram Comparing World Educational Systems with US System

Practice 4

Reading Strategies – Using the Dictionary

Practice 5

Practice 6

Practice 7

Reading Strategies – Word Roots and Affixes

Practice 8

Reading Strategies – Word Forms

Practice 9

Listening Strategies

Practice 10

Practice 11

Practice 12

Speaking Strategies – Everyday Conversation

Practice 13

Practice 14

Practice 15

Speaking Strategies – Academic Communication

Practice16

Reading 1

Vocabulary – Reading 1 – Identifying Meaning in Context

Reading 1 Vocabulary

Pre-Reading / Discussion

Reading 1

Practice 2

Practice 3

Reading Strategies – Highlighting and Annotating

Annotations for Highlighted Texts

Practice 4

Reading Strategies – Main Idea

Practice 5

Reading 1 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph

Reading Strategies – Supporting Details

Practice 6

Reading 1 Supporting Details by Paragraph

Reading Strategies – Summarizing and Restating

Practice 7

Listening

Practice 8

Practice 9

Speaking

Practice 10

Partner Discussion Reading 1

Practice 11

Reading 2

Vocabulary – Reading 2 – Identifying Meaning in Context

Practice 1

Reading 2 Vocabulary

Pre-reading / Discussion

Reading 2

Practice 2

Practice 3

Practice 4

Practice 5

Reading 2 Main Ideas Paragraph by Paragraph