II.

READING AND WRITING SKILLS

QUARTER 1

Pre-assessment

Directions: Click the link below and read the essay written by Alfredo Gonzales Jr. After
reading, create an analysis of the piece by following the format below.

Philippine Literature: The Will of the River by Alfredo Gonzales Jr.

(bihirangpanitikangpilipino.blogspot.com)

1. Title/Author

2. Setting

3. Theme/Concept

4. Summary

5. Reflection

EXERCISES:

A. Context Clues

Direction: Read each sentence below and identify the type of context clues used.

__________1. I saw a man vaping his e-cigarette. He was inhaling and exhaling the vapor from
the device.

__________2. Contactless payment technologies, unlike traditional modes of payment, make

use of smart cards to connect wirelessly to e-readers for more efficient payment.
__________3. Signing an online petition, sharing a status message, or liking a post are
increasingly regarded as actions falling under slacktivism, a digital form of activism with little
involvement.

__________4. Some parents are anti-vax -- that is, anti-vaccinations -- because they believe
these chemicals may trigger autism in students.

__________5. Some people like making duck faces, or pressing their lips together in the shape
of a duck’s bill, when they take selfies.

__________6. “Watch this video to discover the meaning of life!” “This beggar’s response will
restore your faith in humanity!” and “See how one wonan made a million pesos from her living
room” are types of headlines called click baits.

__________ 7. Advances in neuromorphic technology have excited many scientists. These

systems that mimic the human nervous system show much promise in the field of medicine.

*These words are taken from Oxford Dictionaries’ Words of the Year for 2014.

B. Denotation and Connotation

Direction: Write a sentence for each word in the series that follows. Make sure your answers
reinforce each word’s connotations.
For example:
“House, home, shanty”
The house is really clean.
She wants to go home because it brings her peace of mind.
He likes to go outside rather than to stay in their shanty because it makes him feel more alive
and free. 

1. Stroll, trudge, loiter

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2. Turmoil, anarchy, hubbub

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3. Tour, pilgrimage, vacation

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4. Enemy, antagonist, opponent

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5. Dress, attire, vestment

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C. Reading Comprehension
Direction: Read the following question and choose the best answer. Write your answer on the
space provided before each number.

_____1. Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such
as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a
place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism
is cosmopolitan distribution. 
Based on this passage, which of the following statements is false?
a. Endemism requires an organism be unique to a defined geographic location. 
b. An organism that is endemic to Australia can be found in India. 
c. An organism that is indigenous to Australia can be found in India. 
d. An organism that is endemic cannot have a cosmopolitan distribution. 

_____2. Search Engine Optimization a.k.a. SEO is vital for a website to stay successful for a
long time. The world of the internet continues to evolve so website owners must stay in the game
by making updates while practicing effective SEO. Great content and correct SEO are the blood
of a website because without them, a site could die.
The paragraph is mainly about what?
a. The importance of Search Engine Optimization
b. The life of a successful website
c. The secrets of making a website successful
d. How to apply Search Engine Optimization

_____3. There are around 2 million Filipinos without jobs today. That includes graduates and
undergraduates. According to a survey, there will be another half-million to graduate this year
without possible job placements. Unemployed people complain about job shortage. Many go to
the cities to apply to some companies but end up going home with nothing. Unemployment rate
increases each year even though there are many job fairs.
The paragraph states that…
a. Unemployment in the Philippines is common
b. Unemployment rate in the Philippines is seriously increasing
c. Unemployment in the Philippines must be solved
d. Unemployment solutions for Filipinos

_____4. My brother said, “I just freed myself from a very loquacious history professor. All he
seemed to want was an audience.” 
a. pretentious 
b. grouchy 
c. talkative 
d. worried 

_____5. There is no doubt that the idea of living in such a BENIGN climate was appealing. The
islanders seemed to keep their vitality and live longer than Europeans. 
a. tropical 
b. not malignant 
c. kind 
d. Favorable

_____6. It is difficult to imagine a SURFEIT of talent in one individual, yet Leonard Bernstein
simply does not have the time to make complete use of his talent as conductor, performer, writer,
and lecturer. 
a. excess 
b. variety 
c. superiority 
d. lack 
_____7. There is a large demand all over the United States for plants INDIGENOUS to the
desert. Many people in Arizona have made a good business of growing and selling cacti and
other local plants. 
a. native 
b. necessary 
c. foreign 
d. alien
D. Evaluation

Direction: Select one reading strategy discussed in this lesson. In the blanks below, discuss how
to apply this strategy in your own words. Use the following questions to guide your reflection:

 Why did you choose this strategy?

 When should this strategy be used?
 Can it be applicable for all reading materials?
 What are the advantages and limitations of using this strategy?
 Do you think this strategy is the most effective? Why?

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Reading and Writing Skills (techniques to develop critical reading skills)

Directions: Research the following and explain each based on your own understanding.

1. Keeping a reading journal

2. Annotating the text
3. Outlining the text
4. Summarizing the text
5. Questioning the text
6. Determining Explicit at Implicit Information
7. Defining Claims
8. Distinguishing Between the Types of Claim
9. Identifying the Context of Text Development
10. Critical Reading as Reasoning
11. Identifying Assertions
12. Formulating Counterclaims
13. Determining Textual Evidence

A. Read the text below and answer the question that follow.

“Financial Planning, Pinoy Style” by Randell Tiongson

It is a common observation that financial literacy is not very high in our beloved nation, which
makes it very difficult to do financial planning. To make things worse, the citizens of this nation,
and the nation itself have very low savings rates. The Philippines has a savings rate of less than
20 percent while it is estimated that the Filipinos themselves have a savings rate below 10
percent. Reports from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas say that of about 36 million Filipinos with
bank accounts (with a total of over P5 trillion), 23 million of us have balances below P5,000.
Filipinos are not much of an investor, which is why our investment market, although performing
extremely well, is not as big as it should be. The rate of Filipinos with insurance is likewise low
at less than 20 percent of the household heads.

Here’s another disturbing statistic, it is believed that only about 10 percent of Filipinos actually
prepare for retirement. Because of all these, a big majority of the population ends up financially
dependent on their children during their old age. An SSS (Social Security System) study said that
over 70 percent of Filipinos during retirement are living with and are being supported by their
children.

There are many issues abound with context to your question. We can’t argue the fact that income
opportunities in this nation are really a big problem, but I believe that our financial woes go
beyond just income. I have personally been a witness to many individuals who had relatively
good income and yet failed miserably with regard to being financially secure. For instance, the
increase in the average of income employed by the BPOs and our dear OFWs was not a
guarantee to see many of them with a financially secure future.

While the results or the symptoms may seem economic in nature, I believe that our problems are
largely behavioral and cultural. It is said that personal finance is 80 percent behavior and only 20
percent skill, a notion that I agree with. In our case, we have big issues with both the 80 percent
as well as the 20 percent.

A big behavior issue is that we spend much more than we should and we save far less than what
we are supposed to. Don’t you even wonder why our nation now has the record number of malls
and it seems that many malls are being built monthly, maybe even weekly? The stark increase in
the number of shopping malls through the last 10 years only shows that the income of Filipinos
is improving; and yet the increase in savings among us is grossly disproportional.

To make things worse, a big cultural issue that you pointed out is that Filipino parents expect
their children to support them financially. While supporting parents financially is very noble, the
impact of such actions to many Filipinos results in not being able to save enough for their old
years and making themselves dependent on their children in the future; a vicious cycle indeed. A
skill issue among many of us is we do not really know how to properly invest and we borrow too
much.

Here are my tips for you:

Increase your cash flow. You can do this by earning more money and spending less money.
Your biggest asset is yourself. If you constantly invest in your competence and abilities, your
income will surely grow. Be disciplined in spending, reduce unnecessary expenses, avoid too
much “wants” and evade buying too many “stuff.” Having budgets and sticking to it is your best
strategy in better handling your finances. As your cash flow improves, you will begin to generate
more savings.

Reduce or eliminate debt. Borrowings, especially unnecessary borrowing such as consumer debt
(credit card debt, personal loan, hulugan, etc.) is very costly because of the interest you pay.
Also, it is difficult to have a good level of savings when you owe too much as you end up paying
debt against saving money.

Take baby steps in savings and investing. Often, we think we always think too big when it
comes to saving and investing. In reality, big savings is really just small savings done very
regularly. The same goes for investing. You may want to enroll in an auto-debit program of your
bank so you will have forced savings. Some banks like BDO and BPI offer auto debit
arrangements that go into an investment account like a mutual fund or a unit investment trust
fund.

Review your finances periodically. It is prudent that you inspect what you expect. Regularly
check your progress vis-à-vis your goals. Always check your spending, ideally on a daily or
weekly basis. Review your savings level also, maybe twice a month or once a month. Look at
your investment progress and performance at least on a quarterly basis so you can make changes
if need be. Regular reviews not only keep you informed, it also motivates you when you actually
see progress.
Communicate with family. This is perhaps the most difficult task of all. Respectfully discuss
financial matters with affected members of the family. Let them know that while you really want
to help members of the family, you are also limited by your resources and your personal
obligation to prepare for your own future. Limits or budgets are a good way to objectively set
expectations. Other members should also be given the obligation to provide assistance. It is
unfortunate that many families rely on just one member (the one who earns the most), but that
shouldn’t be the case. Reliance on just one or two members of the family results in a scrounging
dependence by other family members. Communication done with utmost respect and a lot of
love will solve many issues of family members. Remember, you need to do this so that you will
not be a burden to your children in the future.

Financial planning “Pinoy style” is a bit tricky, but it is not rocket science. The only way for this
country to really move towards a financially peaceful future is to start planning today.

1. Inferring from the Text: What are some other inferences about financial literacy can you
make based on the given text? Write them below.

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B. In your own words, answer the questions below:

1. How would you define reading?

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2. What is the difference between explicit and implicit claims?

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3. What is the most important characteristic of a claim?

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4. What are the differences between a claim of fact, policy, and value? Give an example of each.

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5. What are the differences between assertions of fact, convention, preference, and opinion? Give
an example each.

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6. What is the purpose of counterclaim?

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7. Why is evidence needed in making a claim?

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