MEETING 8 – UNDERSTANDING

MAIN IDEAS AND PARAGRAPH

Warming up
❑ Bade kamana?
❑Nyuwun sewu.
❑ Rancak bana!
Those are our local languages in Indonesia. Do your parents
speak their local language with you?
What would life be if everyone spoke the same language?
Here are some key words found in the text
document
(Don’t use the dictionary or
endangered translators to check the meaning.
ethnic groups
Use the contexts in the vocabulary
extinction preview activity in your book p. 58
linguist to help you guess the meaning of
mother tongue each word.)
native language
Revitalize
 Reading Skills

Using headings to understand the

main ideas
Using headings to understand the main ideas
Many academic texts present information in a
different order than a typical article in a newspaper
or on a website. In these cases, rather than reading
the text from the beginning to end, you can first use
the headings to find the information you need to
understand the general meaning.
(Boyle and Warwick P.58)
 Reading Skills
Using headings to understand the main
ideas

Look for Predict the general

headings meaning
Languages die with elders
◦ But preservation is only half the battle. If the Lakota language is to survive, it must be passed on to
subsequent generations. Today, only a few thousand fluent speakers remain, most of them in their 60s
and 70s. Each year, as many as 200 of them die, taking the language with them.
◦  Before the arrival of Europeans, as many as 250 languages were spoken across what is now the
continental United States. Today, dozens are critically endangered and 50 are extinct. Wukchumni, a
language that once flourished among California's Yokut people, is now spoken by only one person, an
81-year-old woman.
◦ The decline in language is largely due to a long-standing U.S. government policy that required many
Indian children to be placed in boarding schools, where they were punished for speaking their native
languages. By the mid-20th century, languages began dying.
◦ Source: https://www.voanews.com/usa/native-americans-work-revitalize-traditional-languages
Let’s read
the text in
your book
pp. 60-61
Do the
exercises
pp. 58-59
 Writing Skills

Understanding Writing a topic

a paragraph sentence
 What is a paragraph?
❑has one central/ main idea – topic sentence ( at the
beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the paragraph)
❑ has supporting details
❑ has a concluding sentence
❑ has a writer’s purpose: to describe, to narrate, to explain, or
to persuade
Example of a good paragraph
◦ The rules of conduct during an examination are clear.  No books, calculators or
papers are allowed in the test room.  Proctors will not allow anyone with such
items to take the test.  Anyone caught cheating will be asked to leave the room. 
His or her test sheet will be taken.  The incident will be reported to the proper
authority.  At the end of the test period, all materials will be returned to the
proctor.  Failure to abide by these rules will result in a failing grade for this test.
◦ Source:
https://www.cuesta.edu/student/resources/ssc/study_guides/reading_comp/307_read_main_idea.html
Examples of good topic sentences
• Grass-fed beef is a delicious, sensible, and healthy alternative to conventional
beef.
• Moderate exposure to violent content in video games does not contribute to a
general increase in violence in society.
• It is wise to invest in early childhood education programs because they provide
cognitive benefits well beyond preschool.

◦ Source: https://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Write_in_English/WL7_topic_sentences.html
Compare
Sentences that lack a specific focus:
• Grass-fed beef is delicious and nutritional.
• Video games are not as bad as people think.
• Early childhood programs need more financial support.

Source: https://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Write_in_English/WL7_topic_sentences.html
assignment
◦Think of a topic and write a topic sentence. Upon
finishing it, please upload into the e-learning.
◦Do the online exercise of UNIT 6 on
macmillanskilfull.com
•Using headings to understand the main ideas
• understanding a good paragraph
• writing a topic sentence

That’s all for now. Good bye.