10

Grade

English
Activity Sheet No. 6
Name: ___________________Grade& Sec. _____________Date:______
Learning Evaluate and make judgements about a range of texts
Competencies&Code: using a set of
criteria e.g. comparing arguments on the same topic,
critiquing a short story
Lesson/Topic: Evaluate and make judgements about a range of texts
using a set of
criteria e.g. comparing arguments on the same topic,
critiquing a short story
Objectives: 1. comparing arguments on the same topic
2. evaluate a text based on criteria
3. critiquing a short story
References: Almonte L & et.al (2015) Celebrating diversity through
world literature (Grade 10) English-Learner’s material

The definition of critical reading means reading with the goal of finding a
deep understanding of the material, whether it is fiction or nonfiction. It is
the act of analyzing and evaluating what you are reading as you make your
way through the text or as you reflect back upon your reading.

Evaluating Texts

What is the text about?

Authors are trying to convey a message or an idea. Summarizing the

author’s main idea in a sentence of two is a good way for a reader to begin to
analyze a piece of work. You’ve got to be able to articulate the author’s ideas
if you hope to be able to say what you think about them.

As a reader, some good questions to ask yourself are, “What is this author
saying?” or “What is the author’s message?” or “What ideas are repeated or
connected to the main idea?”

Who is the author?

Knowing whom the author is and when and where he or she wrote can
sometimes provide useful information that will help you understand what is
being said. All text is written within a certain context and this context can

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help you interpret the author’s ideas. Similarly, when and where a text is
written can also be important when evaluating or analyzing a text.

As a reader a good question to ask yourself is, “What background

information do we know about the author such as age, gender, views, or
cultural background that might help use understand his or her ideas?”

Who is the audience?

All writing is aimed at a particular audience. The author was speaking to a

particular group of people or perhaps just one person, but there was
someone whom he or she wanted to read his or her ideas.

As a reader, a good question to ask yourself is, “Who is the audience for this
text and why might this matter?”

What is the purpose and form of the text?

Authors have a reason to write and they choose a particular form of writing
to best convey their ideas to an audience. To analyze and evaluate a text,
readers must consider why the author wrote the text in the first place and
why he or she decided, for example, to write a newspaper article instead of a
flyer.

As a reader, some good questions to ask yourself are, “What’s the purpose of
this text and why did the author choose this form of writing to communicate
his or her ideas?” or “Is this form of writing meant to be read out loud or
silently and how does this contribute to my interpretation?”

How does the author’s style contribute to meaning?

Authors often emphasize their ideas by adopting a particular style. One

author might be fond of using a lot of metaphoric language in his or her
work while another might choose to use satire to communicate. A different
author might choose to communicate through graffiti messages or the
conversational writing of a blog.

As a reader, a good question to ask yourself is, “How has this author’s style
of writing helped me understand his or her ideas or contributed to my
interpretation?”

What is the author’s point of view?

By its nature, all writing represents a particular point of view. When readers
evaluate a text, consideration must always be given to the author’s bias and
the way in which he or she crafts a certain perspective.

As a reader, some good questions to ask yourself are, “How might the
author’s point of view affect the way the information is presented or the way
in which we understand it?” or “Has the author used other sources of

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information to create a balanced perspective?” or “Are the opinions
presented supported through the work of others? Has/have the author(s)
used data to support conclusions? How reliable are these data?”

The Complete Guide To Critiquing a Short Story

Break your story into three parts:

1. Beginning: Shows the Intent – How does the story start? What is the
central event?
2. Middle: Growth/Conflict – What is the subtext? What events
happened in the past/backstory? Does it influence the central event?
3. End: Resolution/Surprise – What kind of ending does the story have?
Identify the following five elements in your story:
1. Plot: Describe the plot in a few lines.
2. Character: Identify the main characters.
3. Goal and Conflict: What is the main character’s goal and what is the
conflict that hinders that goal?
4. Theme: Write down the theme. This should be a full sentence. What is
the big idea or message? This could be a revelation or an opinion.
5. Setting: Where and when does, the story take place? Does it influence
the story?
Give your opinion:
1. Author’s style.
2. Tone of the story.
3. Use of the senses.
4. Do you like the story?
5. Is it coherent?

DIRECTIONS:
Read the texts below. Answer the questions after.

Text 1:

Are Video Games not beneficial?

by Peter Gray

Addiction is a word that is used in a variety of ways, but generally it

refers to a compulsive drive to take some substance or engage in some
activity that is clearly not good for us and may even be ruining our lives. The
clearest examples of addiction, of course, are chemical addictions, where
people become physiologically dependent on some chemical - such as
alcohol, nicotine, or heroin - and experience painful or debilitating

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withdrawal symptoms without it. But increasingly, and with some good
reason, psychologists have begun to apply the term addiction to harmful
behaviors that seem to become compulsive even though no chemical is
consumed. Perhaps the best example of this is addictive gambling.

Many if not most researchers who support the concept of video game
addiction draw an analogy between video game playing and gambling. In
fact, much of the research purporting to assess the prevalence of video game
addiction - including the much-touted recent study conducted in
Singapore2 - has employed the same questionnaire that is used to assess
the prevalence of gambling addiction, changing only the word "gambling" to
"video gaming." The analogy may be tempting to people who don't know
much about video gaming. From a distance, playing a video game looks a
little like gambling at a video screen in a casino. But think of the differences!

Video games are games of skill. They are like chess or any other
game in which success depends on perseverance, intelligence, practice, and
learning, not chance. The rewards are not random; they are earned. To move
up to the next level you have to work hard. Moreover, the rewards in video
games, as in chess, are purely in-game rewards (unless you are competing
in a tournament for prize money). They are rewarding only because they
signal mastery. Winning in these games doesn't produce real-world riches;
and, more to the point, failing in these games doesn't lead to debt. This is
why video games and chess are truly play, while gambling is not.

Not so for video games or chess or other games that depend on skill
and knowledge. The more you play these, the more skill and knowledge you
gain, and the better you get at the game (and at anything else that uses
similar skills or knowledge). You learn from your mistakes, and the more
you play, the better you get. So, playing these games a lot does not
necessarily imply addiction; it just means that you are really into the game
and enjoy it and are trying to get better at it.

Text 2

10 Dangers Of Video Gaming Addiction

By Matthew Cenzon

For many years, parents have often wondered about the negative
effects of video games on their children's health. Parents who are unfamiliar
with this electronic hobby are prone to believing that playing video games
can lead to loss of vision, decreased mental ability and aggression due to
violent scenes and situations found in many video games. While there is an
ongoing debate amongst researchers about the effects of video games on a
person's health and well-being, one can attribute video gaming addiction to
many negative effects

First is sleep deprivation,with work and school taking up a major

portion of a person's time, many people are prone to sacrificing their

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precious time for sleep to squeeze in an extra hour or two for more video
gaming. Video game addiction and prolonged periods of sleep deprivation
can lead to insomnia, and can take a major toll on a person's health.

Second is isolation and seclusion, excessive video gaming can lead

people to isolate or seclude themselves from friends and family. Their
disregard for personal hygiene is just the start of their displacement from
the real world and being in a social setting. Interaction within the video
game takes precedence over interaction with anything or anyone else. Work,
school, friends and family are neglected, and the addiction to video games
intensifies as people refuse to spend their waking hours doing anything but
playing video games.

Lastly, is aggressive behavior while many have argued that video

games offer an acceptable outlet to release feelings of aggression, they have
also shown to do the exact opposite, especially amongst those who have
become addicted. Another effect is inactive lifestyle video game addicts who
devote every waking hour to their video games are living an inactive lifestyle.
Sitting or lying down all day playing video games, combined with sleep
deprivation and poor eating habits is a dangerous combination that can lead
to stroke, heart disease and hypertension.

Video gaming addiction may be harmful to a person's health and well-

being, however, there are many studies that attribute video games to
numerous positive effects they can have on a person. Increased motor skills,
development of a person's cognitive ability and an outlet for aggression are
just few of those positive effects. There are even video games that promote
health and physical activity by requiring the player to physically move
around the room to play like dance and sport simulators.

Text 1 Text 2
Are Video Games not 10 Dangers Of Video
beneficial? Gaming Addiction
by Peter Gray By Matthew Cenzon

What is the text about?

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Who is the audience?

What is the purpose and

form of the text?

What is the author’s

point of view?

Answer read the story below. Answer the questions after

The Story of the Potter

Yudhisthira was the name of a poor potter who lived in a certain
kingdom. One night, when he was returning after drinking more than he
should, he stumbled and fell over some pots. When he got up, he saw blood
was oozing out of his forehead. There was a deep cut due to a broken piece
of pot. Poor that he was, he did not go apply any medicine on his wound,
which is the reason that the wound did not heal for a long time. After a long
time, the wound finally healed by itself, but it left a big scar on his forehead.

Soon afterwards, there was a famine in the country, and he

decided to leave his place and travel to another part of the country. On his
way, he joined a group of people, who served at the royal household. Along
with them, he started serving at the royal household. One day, the king
noticed the big scar on his forehead and thought, "This man must be a great

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warrior. The scar on his forehead is evident that he has received such
wound in some battle. He must be very brave." Thus, the king promoted him
as a warrior and he was honoured with a place amongst the best warriors of
the kingdom.

The other household workers knew that he was no warrior, and

became jealous of the fact that the king favoured him, although he did not
deserve it rightly. Soonafter, a battle was impending and the king
summoned all his warriors. He wanted to speak to all the great warriors
personally and gift them with precious items as an encouragement. The king
addressed the soldiers with encouraging words and inspected the
equipments, and weapons, and even the elephants and horses.

On the other hand, the potter was no real warrior, and he feared
going into the battleground. All the preparations for battle made him tense.
But he was resolved to prove himself as a warrior in the battleground. While
inspecting, the king noticed the potter. He took him aside and asked, "O
Warrior, fighting which battle did you get this deadly scar?"

The potter replied, "O king, this scar was not caused by any
wound by any sword. Being a potter by profession myself, my home was full
of pots. One night, I tripped after drinking more than I should have, I
tripped over them that caused this wound. Due to improper attention, the
wound left this big scar." When the king heard the truth, he felt
embarrassed for his earlier decision. He asked his soldiers, "He is a potter,
who has deceived me by pretending to be a warrior. Drive him away from the
army!"

The potter fell on his knees, and pleaded to the king, "O King,
please do not do this. Have mercy on me, for I am sure I will be able to prove
my bravery on the battleground. Please give me a chance to prove my
worth." The king replied, "You may have excellent qualities, and you may be
brave. But you do not possess the qualities required on the battleground.

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When the other warriors will come to know that you are only a potter, they
will ridicule you. You will get yourself killed on the battleground! It is better
if you leave, and return to your home." The potter understood the king's
advice, and left the palace immediately.

The wise indeed say:

Continue being what you are, else you pay for it.

Your critique:
1. What is the author’s style?

2. What is the tone of the story.

3. Do you like the story?

4. Is the story coherent?

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Reflection:

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Prepared By:

JULIENE JOY CABUNGCAL

TEACHER III