4 Explicit meaning

Assessment objectives IGCSE examination

AO1 Reading • Paper 1 all questions
R1 Demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings • Paper 2 all questions
• Paper 3 Section 1 (Directed writing)
• Component 4 Coursework portfolio
(Assignment 3)

Differentiated learning outcomes Resources

• All students must be able to select some key explicit information • Student Book: pp. 16–19
from a text and comment on the meaning of words (Grade E/D). • Worksheets:
• Most students should select appropriate information, and consider 1.4a Explicit meaning (1)
how the meaning of words affects the text (Grade D/C). 1.4b Explicit meaning (2)
• Some students could select the most appropriate and useful • Dictionaries
information, and analyse its effect on the reader (Grade B/A).

Exploring skills
As a class, read through Student Book p. 16, ensuring students understand what
‘explicit information’ means.
Then read the extract from The Salt Road (going through any difficult words in the
Glossary) and set students the five comprehension questions in Q1, which ask for
explicit information.
During class feedback, ensure that students do not include any comments that are
either irrelevant or inferred (rather than explicit). Responses should include:
(a) wigwam in the back garden (paragraph 1)
(b) boxes of yellowed papers, ancient artefacts, dusty objects (ninth line of
paragraph 2)
(c) wild, loud, messy, unbiddable (last line of paragraph 2)
(d) the past, archaeology, artefacts, objects, ancient civilisations (seventh to ninth lines
of paragraph 2)
(e) going to the cinema on Saturday morning (paragraph 1); spending time in her tent
(paragraph 2); playing outside, mutilating and burying dolls (paragraph 3).

Give extra support by guiding some students where to look for specific information.
Give extra challenge by encouraging students to put answers in their own words.

As an extension, students could then be asked to work in pairs on selecting explicit

information to show how Izzy is different from her parents.
During feedback, responses might include:
Key reading skills
Chapter 1

• she is imaginative while they are scientific and studious (paragraph 2)

• she is energetic while they are sedate (paragraphs 2 and 3)
• she is loud while they are quiet (paragraph 2).

Building skills
As a class, run through this section on Student Book p. 18 and reread the extract.
For Q2, arrange students in groups of four. Then hand out Worksheet 1.4a to one pair
and Worksheet 1.4b to the other pair (the examples are the same on both worksheets,

12 • Lesson 4 © HarperCollins Publishers 2013

 but the words that each pair need to explore are different). Using the glossary entries
and dictionaries, ask students to complete the exploration of the words in their chart
then feed back to the other pair in their group. (This offers possible differentiation, as
the vocabulary on the second worksheet is a little more difficult.)

Developing skills
Return to Student Book p. 18 and read the sentence starters leading into Q3. Ask
students to use the sentence starters to write up their findings about three of the
words from Worksheet 1.4a or b. For each chosen word, students should use either
starter 1 and 2, or starter 3.

Give extra support by helping students to begin with starter 1 (referring to the first two
columns of their table), and then use starter 2 (referring to the word again, followed
by the last two columns of the table).

Applying skills
As a class, read through p. 19 of the Student Book, including the sample question
types. Ask students to complete Q4.

Give extra support by helping students with sentence starters, such as: The girl likes
to go outside because... or The phrase, ‘felt small and suffocating’ shows that the
girl likes to go outside in order to...
Give extra challenge by encouraging students to select information carefully, use their
own words, and support their point with a quotation. As an extension, they could
also complete the fifth (summary) question.

Feed back as a class, making sure that students’ ideas are supported by quotations.
Responses should include this information:
1 to escape parents’ arguing; because the house felt oppressive; as a place to let her
imagination free
2 beheaded or scalped them; buried them
3 going to the cinema; imagining things; being loud and messy; playing outdoors
games; mutilating her toys
4 parents are unsociable; out of step with the rest of the world; self-absorbed; pay
little attention to their daughter; trapped.
It may be good to discuss with students why the second type of question is more
difficult than the first type: explanation involves the skill of ‘translating’ explicit
meaning into your own words.
After feedback, ask students to assess their work in pairs, using the Sound progress
and Excellent progress criteria on Student Book p. 19 to see how well they have done.

Towards To achieve the highest marks for reading, students need to select a range of the
A/A* most relevant explicit information. It is important that they can recognise when they
Key reading skills
Chapter 1

are being asked for this explicit information, so that they restrict themselves to it and
consider its purpose. Students will need to pick out the ‘best’ quotations and
analyse their effects on the reader.

© HarperCollins Publishers 2013 Lesson 4 • 13