Reading Efficiently and Fluently
Demonstrate appropriate comprehension skills
Use the directory effectively
Build a wide range of vocabulary
Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow
Madam and her madam
I worked for a woman,
She wasn’t mean;
But she had a twelve room
House to clean.
Had to get breakfast,
Dinner, and supper too
Then take care of her children
When I got through.
Wash, iron, and scrub,
Walk the dog around
It was too much,
Nearly broke me down.
I said Madam,
Can it be
You’re trying to make a
Pack horse out of me?
She opened her mouth,
She cried Oh, no!
You know, Alberta,
I love you so!
I said, Madam,
That may be true
But I’ll be dogged
If I love you!
African Poetry for schools.
Intensive Reading
Intensive Reading refers to reading carefully a specific text, passage or story for comprehension. This
type of reading, helps the learner develop capacity to identify relevant information, distinguish between main ideas and supporting details in a text and evaluate ideas.
Through intensive reading, the learners should also develop critical awareness necessary to analyse and appreciate literary works. Comprehension on the other hand is the ability to read understand and
remember the information for future use.
Create a drag and drop where learners can click on the correct answer by arranging the words in three
columns. Column A will be for words showing movement, B for words indicating sound and C for words related to sight.
Create a hot spot where learners can click on correct answer. Learners will arrange the sentences given so as to describe the steady build up of the storm
The following sentences describe the steady build up of the storm. Arrange them in their correct order.
The rain steadily pours
The sky darkens
There is thunder
There is a bright flash.
There is a strong wind.
There is a strong wind
The sky darkens
There is a bright flash
The rain steadily pours.
Read the following poem ‘Madam and her Madam’ and attempt the questions and activities that follow.
Include a pictorial depicting the following items.
Stanza 1- A big house, outside is a girl gazing at the house with a pail and a broom.
Stanza 2 – the same girl taking children to school.
Stanza 3 – the girl walking the dog around.
Stanza 4 – the girl and madam conversing. The girl’s face is composed but Madam’s face should show
surprise.
Note: the line ‘I’ll be dogged’ means under no circumstances should I love you. She cannot bring herself to love her mistress.
She wasn’t mean –
But she had a twelve – room
Dinner, and supper too –
Walk the dog around –
I said ‘Madam,
You’re trying to make a
Pack – horse out of me?
She cried, ‘Oh, no!
I said, ‘Madam,
That may be true –
But I’ll be dogged
If I love you
Langstone
Comprehension Skills
A comprehension passage tests a wide range of skills. This lesson concentrates on recall,
comprehension and application skills.
THE SCANDAL OF CHILD LABOUR.
Most children help with the work in their homes. They do things like washing clothes, cleaning the house, shopping, cooking, looking after very young children, and working in the shamba. In small families, it can be difficult for parents to do this by themselves. In big families it is impossible for parents to do all the work and children therefore, have to do their share of the work. This is important because it teaches them useful life skills at a young age.
However, there is a big difference between normal family duties and giving children so much to do that they cannot go to school and have little rest or playtime. This can cause physical or mental illness.
Unfortunately, this is what happens in many parts of the World, including African countries such as
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. This practice is known as child labour. It can happen in the child’s own
home but it is more common when the child goes out of the home for paid work.
Children do many kinds of paid work. They work on the land, for example on tea or cotton plantations, they work as servants in other people’s homes, they work in factories, they work in mines and in building and construction sites, they work in bars and restaurants and they work on the streets as beggars. In some cases, they work in the sex industry, in the illegal drugs trade and as child- soldiers.
Why do they do it? They work because their families are very poor and depend on the money the child
earns. In many cases, children start working because their parents have become ill with HIV and AIDS
related sicknesses and cannot support the family. Some of the children are orphans and have no one to look after them. Many employers like to use children because they are cheap and can be subjected to all manner of conditions.
Child labour causes many problems. Firstly, children work for long hours and earn very little for their hard work. This results in terrible long term effects on their lives. In addition such children do not attend school and are therefore not able to compete with their educated counterparts in the job market, thus leading to a life of poverty. This is not only bad for them, but also for the development of the Nation. The United Nations secretary General Kofi Annan once said that child labour has serious consequences that stay with the individual and with the society for far longer than the years of childhood. Young workers not only face dangerous working conditions but also long term physical, intellectual and emotional stress. They endure an adulthood of unemployment, illiteracy and poverty.
Common form of child labour
Demonstrate appropriate comprehension and recall skills through answering questions correctly.
Make short notes from a given passage appropriately.
Write a short clear summary from the notes.
Build a wide range of vocabulary.
Comprehension Skills
Comprehension involves reading a text with a view to understanding it both for surface and deeper
meaning.To develop comprehension skills effectively , you are expected to read a wide range of texts
selecting essential points and applying inference and deduction where appropriate. The comprehension skills covered in this lesson include recall, comprehension and application.
State whether the following statements are true or false. Support your answer.
Children assist their parents.
Not all work done by children is child labour.
Working on plantations is the only kind of child labour activity.
Children normally work to buy their parents cars and good houses.
Children do not have problems in their working areas.
Give space for writing answers after every question.
True: children assist their parents at home in various chores. For example in cooking, washing clothes
etc.
True: children can do some work and as a result even acquire some life skills.
False: children work in other places also, like in prostitution, work as child soldiers and even in illegal drug trade.
False: children work for other reasons like sending for themselves and caring for their sick parents.
False: children have a lot of problems in their working areas. They suffer physical, intellectual and
emotional stress.
Application
This requires you to apply what you have read in the passage. For example.
Attempt the following questions.
What are some of the child labour activities common in your community?
What are some of the ways of curbing child labour in our society?
What should be done to parents who send their children to beg on the streets?
Leave a gap after every question for the learners to key in answers. Probable answers.
Herding, fishing, prostitution, working in plantations, begging
Parents should be educated on importance of education.
Community leaders like chiefs should be in the forefront in fighting this.
Employers of children should be prosecuted.
All those parents who send their children to beg should be arrested.
Provide answer buttons for the learner to check answers
Insert small boxes in front of the points, such that each time the learner clicks on the main point a tick
appears in the box.
Answers: 1, 2, 5, 4.
When reading a comprehension passage the main points help you in understanding. For it is from these main points that the rest of the passage is developed. The development is done by explaining the points further and giving relevant examples.
Make notes on the following then click on the answer button to check if they are correct.
The forms of child labour
Reasons why children engage in paid labour.
The effects of child labour.
Insert an alphabet strip so that the learner can type in their answers.
On the same page provide an answer button so that the learner can view the answers when he/she clicks on it.
Forms of Child Labour
Working on land e.g. cotton plantations
Servants in other people’s homes
Sex industry and illegal arms trade.
Child soldiers
Working in factories, mines and building industry
Working in bars and restaurants.
Reasons why children engage in paid labour?
Poverty
Orphans who have to look after themselves have to work.
AIDS
Children provide cheap labour to many bosses.
Effects of child labour.
Little income
Illiteracy
Unemployment
Under develops the country.
The answers you have typed are the points used in developing each paragraph of the passage.
Provide a glossary option where the learner can check for the definition of the words scanning and
summary. The words should be highlighted.
Scanning – reading a text with an aim of getting specific information.
Summary – a shortened piece of writing that gives only the main points.
Writing is the most advanced of the four language skills that has a wide range of implications that
influence our thinking and reasoning. It also encourages us to be organized, logical and creative in our
thinking. Writing will enable you express your ideas clearly and effectively.
The ability to write well is essential because it influences our chances in academic disciplines, personal development and our relationships with other people. For you to achieve recommended competence in writing using a variety of sentence structures, you need to read widely.
There are different types of writing which include:
a) Personal writing
b) Social writing
c) Study writing
d) Creative writing
e) Institutional writing
f) Public writing.
A mastery of various types of writing will enable the learner to use English creatively and for expressive purposes.
Read this summary on punctuation Marks.
Punctuation is a system of marks used in written/spoken work to make clear what is written or spoken.
Capital letters.
Used to begin a sentence, for example, “M” in
My teacher is coming.
Used with proper nouns, e.g “N” in
Nairobi/John
Used with the personal pronoun “I” as in
I went home.
Used with days of the week, months and holidays, for example, “M”D”and”J” as in
Madaraka Day is celebrated on 1st of June
Used in names of organizations and religious bodies, for example,
KANU / Catholic Mission.
Used in abbreviations, e.g “M”D”P”and”H” as in
Mr., Dr., Prof., Hon.
Full stop
Used as a final punctuation mark (end mark), as in
Peter is coming.
Used to indicate date and time in the abbreviated form, for example, in 6.6.2006 or 8.00 a.m.
Used in writing of initials for example, “P” and “M” in
P.M. Koech
Exclamation Mark (!)
Used to show command as in
Quiet!
to show emotions (distress/surprise/awe/wonder).
You are here! (surprise)
Oh God! (awe)
My toe! (distress/pain).
Question Mark (?)
used after a direct question as in
Where are you going?
The comma (,)
used to separate items in a list as in
Kamau went to the market and bought oranges, apples, tomatoes and potatoes.
Used to indicate a pause in a sentence as in
As she went home, she fainted.
Used with a quotation or direct speech, for example,
“I am getting married,” she said