Lesson Plan of Short Answers for English Language Teaching
Grade VI, VII, and VIII
Students` Learning Outcomes
- Apply critical thinking to interact with text using intensive reading strategies.
- Locate specific factual information to answer short questions.
Information for Teachers
- Critical thinking means to base thinking on facts and then analyze it for better understanding in a uniquely individual way, based on the learner`s prior learning.
- Reading is the process by which we make sense of text. We understand the message or information or comprehension.
- The sub-skills of reading are skimming and scanning. These skills help the reader in understanding text with appropriate speed of reading.
- Skimming means to go through the text quickly to grasp the overall meaning of text. It is used to extract the main theme of the text by quick reading process.
- In scanning the reader collects particular information from the given text. It requires the ability to ignore irrelevant information.
- The questions at the end should have short answers. These questions must be relevant with the text.
- There are some kinds of responses. One word response, fixed response and free response, etc. in factual information must have the same answers or fixed response from all the students.
- While teaching the lesson, the teacher should also consult the textbook at all the steps wherein and whenever it is required.
Material/Resources
Writing board, chalk/marker, duster, textbook
Introduction
- Tell the students that while reading any passage or lesson we get various types of information. We always find specific information related to the questions.
- Tell the class that reading carefully and with interest will help them in understanding things better and it will also help them in extracting information from the text they are reading.
- Speak a few words or phrases and ask the students to locate them in the text quickly.
Development
Activity 1
- Divide the class in pairs.
- Ask them to open a particular page of the textbook which you have chosen for them or use the text along with comprehension given at the end of this lesson.
- Ask them to read the text carefully as there will be a question answer session at the end.
- While they are reading the text, write some questions that require factual information on the board, which are from the text they are reading. Let them see those questions because it will help them to locate the information which you want from them.
- Ask them to read the questions after sometime and write the answers in their notebooks.
- They will seek for the information from the text given.
- After that, ask a few questions from the board from different students.
- Students will read their answers from their notebooks.
Text for Activity 1
- It is wisely said, “Happy is the man who acquires the habit of reading when he is young.” This valuable habit brings before him a lifelong source of pleasure, information, knowledge and inspiration. Ruskin called books “King`s Treasure”. This is not the treasure of gold, silver, jewels or precious stones. Rather, it is the priceless treasure of knowledge, noble thoughts, high ideas and enlightenment.
- Raza, an outstanding student, inherited the habit of reading from his grandfather and then developed it. In his spare time, he used to read books, newspapers and magazines. One day he thought of getting the membership of a big and famous library. He went to ask his uncle Ahsan for further guidance. Mr. Ahsan, who was also fond of reading books, told him to go to the library and get the application form, fill in it and submit it to the library with the membership fee. He told him that this application would be processed, and a library card would be issued to him, entitling him to borrow books from the library. He further added that this card was required for borrowing or returning books. This card also states the rules concerning the use of library materials. Raza asked his uncle some more questions about the library and its use.
- Raza: How are the books arranged in libraries?
- Ahsan: In libraries, books are usually arranged on the shelves by subject. Stories are kept in one section, science books in another, and so on. All books on the same subject are supposed to have the same classification number on their spines.
- Raza: How can we find a book of our choice in the library?
- Ahsan: The books can be sought out through card catalog.
- Raza: (Impatiently) what are they and how can we use them?
- Ahsan: A card catalog is the traditional way of finding books in a library.
- Raza: How long can we keep the library books with us?
- Ahsan: We can keep them with us for two weeks or a month.
Comprehension:
- After reading the text, the following questions should be asked:
1. What did Ruskin call books?
2. Who is Raza? What does he do in his free time?
3. How can we search for books in the library?
Sum up/ Conclusion
- Conclude the lesson by telling them that they can locate information from the text by reading it carefully.
- Tell them that whenever they have a situation where they are supposed to answer the questions from a text, they should first read the questions and then the text. That will help them to locate the information easily.
Assessment
- Ask them to open the page of the book which you have selected.
- Read a paragraph loudly in the class and use pauses and breaks. Give special emphasis on the words which are important.
- Then ask simple but important questions from the text.
- Ask them to write the answers in their notebooks.
- Involve the students in solving the problems given in the exercise at the end of unit/chapter.
Follow up
- Give them a small paragraph to read at home and ask them to answer the questions given at the end of the paragraph.
