Reading about machines in daily life: main idea and context clues
A text about everyday life often has a main idea and a viewpoint. The main idea is what the text is about. The viewpoint is what the writer thinks. To find it, look for words such as however, but, I believe and the best way, and for words that show feeling: loves, realised, worried. A balanced viewpoint says that something has good and bad sides. Next, learn to write a one-sentence summary: say who or what, what happens and why it matters in about fifteen to twenty-five words. Context clues help with new words: read the words around them and test your meaning. For questions with NOT, check every option against the text and cross out the ones that you find. Your book has an article on pages 32 and 33 about how machines shape a day; read it after this lesson and answer in the same way.
| Skill | What to do |
|---|---|
| Main idea | What is the whole text about? |
| Viewpoint | Look for however, but, I believe and feeling words. |
| Summary | Who or what, what happens and why it matters, in one sentence. |
| Question with NOT | Check each option against the text and cross out those you find. |
Hala’s Tuesday begins at six with an alarm clock. In the kitchen a kettle boils the water for her tea while she packs her bag. Household appliances do the chores that her grandmother once did by hand, so Hala has time to revise her notes. At seven she taps her bus card on the reader, and a small display shows how many rides are left. In school the bell tells everybody when to start and when to stop, and a fitness band on her wrist tracks her steps. Machines make her day smoother and more efficient. However, last Wednesday the electricity went off for an hour. The bell stayed silent, the lessons ran over, and the whole building came to a standstill until Mr Zaki rang a hand bell. Hala realised how much she relies on machines. She still loves them, but she now keeps a paper diary beside her phone. She believes that the best way to use a machine is to stay in charge of it.
Machine diary. For one day write a list of the machines that you use, from the alarm clock to the evening lamp. Choose two and write one sentence about how each one helps and one sentence about what happens if it stops.