Reading a short text: main idea and meaning
A short text usually has one main idea. Read the title and the first sentence first, then the last sentence, and ask: what is the whole text about? To find what a pronoun refers to, look at the sentence before it and find a noun that fits in number and meaning. It stands for one thing, they stands for many things as the subject, and them stands for many things as the object. To guess a word’s meaning, read the words around it: they are called the context. If a sentence says Children borrow books for a week and then give them back, you can guess that borrow means take for a short time. A correct answer to a question must be true according to the text, not only possible in real life. Use words from the text but write your own sentence.
| Reading skill | What to do |
|---|---|
| Main idea | Read the title, first and last sentences. Ask: what is it all about? |
| Pronoun | Find the noun before it that matches (one thing or many things). |
| Word meaning | Read the words around it. Try the meaning in the sentence. |
| True or false | Find the sentence in the text. Do not use only what you know. |
Our school library is small, but it is the busiest room in the school. It opens at eight o’clock, and students can borrow two books for a week. Many children come at break time because it is quiet and cool. The librarian, Mrs Hagar, helps them to find stories about science, sport and history. Last year the students collected old books from their families, so now the library has more than a thousand books. Today it also has three computers, which students use for homework.
Text detectives. Find a short article in a school book or a magazine. Write a title for it in your own words, find three pronouns and say what each one refers to. Show a grown-up and explain how you decided.