Staying connected: a text and its main idea
To communicate means to share ideas, information or feelings, by speaking, writing, calling or simply listening. Good communication builds a bond between people: a close link between friends, siblings (brothers and sisters) and parents. It also helps us to resolve a misunderstanding, which happens when one person understands something differently from another. To keep a conversation healthy, be respectful (listen and do not laugh at opinions) and supportive (help when someone needs you). When you read an information text, find the main idea by asking: what does the writer want me to remember? Then check the questions: a detail question points to one sentence, a main-idea question needs the whole text. Your book has a text on communication on page 28: read it after this lesson and write its main idea in one sentence.
| Word | Type | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| communicate | verb | We communicate by phone and by letter. |
| misunderstanding | noun | A misunderstanding stopped the plan. |
| resolve | verb | They resolved the problem by talking. |
| respectful | adjective | Be respectful when others speak. |
Our school reading club has twelve members, and we have learned that good communication keeps a group together. We meet every Thursday, but we also write short notes on a board in the library. Every member must be respectful: we listen to the speaker and we never laugh at an opinion. When two members have a misunderstanding, the others help to resolve it quickly, because a small problem can grow when nobody talks about it. Some of us are siblings, and we have noticed that brothers and sisters can argue easily but also have a strong bond. Members are supportive too: when Hazem was nervous about reading aloud, three friends practised with him after school. In the end, good communication is not only talking; it is also listening and caring.
Staying connected. Write a short plan for how a family or a class can keep in touch: three ways to communicate (for example a weekly call or a notice board) and two rules to be respectful. Share the plan with a grown-up and ask which rule is the most important.