Technical English in Nutrition: Unidad 2

Technical English in nutrition
Reading Strategies
Unidad 2
U2 Reading Strategies
Reading Strategies
reading strategies
.
Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 2

Índice
Presentation ............................................................................................................ 4
2.1 Strategies before reading .................................................................................. 6
2.1.2 Establishment of purpose (Activation of prior knowledge) .............................. 6
2.1.1.1 Skimming (Quick reading for general ideas) ................................................ 9
2.1.12 Scanning (Quick reading for specific information) ...................................... 11
Keep clue words in mind when you find the section most likely to contain the info,
you are ready to begin scanning eg telephone directory-clue word is last name,
looking for baseball scores clue word is baseball. ................................................. 13
2.1.2 Action planning (making predictions and asking questions) ......................... 13
2.2 Strategies during reading ................................................................................ 17
2.2.1 Monitoring or supervision (Determination of relevant parts of the text and
strategies to support the review: underlining, taking notes, etc.) ........................... 18
2.3 Strategies after Reading .................................................................................. 21
2.3.1 Identification of the main idea ....................................................................... 22
2.3.2 Elaboration of summary................................................................................ 24
2.3.3 Formulation and reply of questions .............................................................. 27
2.4 The interpretation of the content of the text (Extraction of global meaning)..... 32
Reading Comprehension of text ............................................................................ 32
Actividades ............................................................................................................ 37
Closing of the unit.................................................................................................. 38
Bibliography........................................................................................................... 39

Presentation
Welcome to the next and final unit of this English Course where we will be seeing the
reading strategies, before, during and after. What to look for in each step such as in the
pre-reading activating back ground knowledge, looking for general ideas, specific
information, making predictions as well as asking questions. Strategies during reading will
include monitoring relevant parts of the text and ideas to support the review. Strategies for
after reading will include identification of the main idea, summary and asking and
answering questions. The final part will be the interpretation of the content of the text
(Extraction of global meaning).The aim is to understand and interpret the content of the
reading in order to perform the translation of such text.

Specific competence
Distinguish the reading strategies for the comprehension of scientific texts in English by
analyzing their classification.
Achievements
 Strategies before reading.
 Strategies during reading.
 Strategies after reading.
 The interpretation of the content of the text (Extraction of global meaning).

2.1 Strategies before reading
The following is the explanation of the strategies and use of each one of them.
2.1.2 Establishment of purpose (Activation of prior knowledge)
The following is the explanation and the use of prior knowledge.
There are several strategies for pre-reading such as the (five) 5 P’s of reading or the
THIEVES pre-reading. They’re very good but I think too long and we’re going to try to keep
it short and simple (KISS). We’re only going to see four points which are:
Prior knowledge
Skimming
Scanning
Planning
So… what is prior knowledge?
What we already know about a topic before learning more about it is prior knowledge (or
background knowledge). It is what we have in our brain already before we learn more.
A good example of this is that you may know what the word prior means (before), and
knowledge has to do with information. Your brain begins to make meaning (activating) of
this by trying to connect it to words that you already know.
The purpose of brainstorming is to activate the student’s background knowledge of a topic

or topics through movements and conversation. Other ways of doing this would be by
asking wh-questions (what, where, when, why, who, how), through drawings or simply by
talking.

Background knowledge will be unique to each person and experience. Why is background
knowledge important? It helps us to prepare our brains to read.
It tells our brain to focus.

Gives us a chance to review, question and predict.
Guides our brains as we read.
Reading can clarify or provide new details.

We’ll be more aware of changes if our brain was focused on these ideas.

How do I use background knowledge correctly? It’s very easy; ask yourself, what do I
already know about this? Your answer, your background knowledge! If nothing comes to
mind you will have to train your brain how to think by looking at smaller parts of the text to
see if there is something that you already know. Some examples of questions to ask
yourself, if what you’re reading is a textbook or article:
What kind of text is this?

What does the title tell me?
What topic is this text about?
What do I know about this topic?
What did I learn when I read the last section?
What is my purpose for reading this text?
Remember that just like everything the more you practice the better you will be at
it. Think of your background knowledge every time you read! Make it a custom
every time you read.

Examples:
If you see a Math book with the title “Geometric Shapes” you might say to yourself that you
don’t know anything about this topic but you might be wrong, what do you know about
shapes? Think of examples. If you did you have activated your background knowledge
(circles, squares and triangles) and as you read try to find out what does Geometric mean
and what are geometric shapes?
Let’s look at another example if you see a book title: Rebound, The odyssey of Michael
Jordan. Ask yourself questions about this topic such as:
Who is Michael Jordan?

What sport did he play?
What team did he play for?
What is he known for?
If you were able to answer any of these questions, you just activated your background
knowledge!
What comes to mind when you see the title “Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone” by J.K.
Rowling? Ask yourself:
Who is Harry Potter?
Are there other books, has the book been adapted to other forms (play, movies)?
How many people have read it?
Do people like it?
If you were able to answer any of these questions, you just activated your background
knowledge!
2.1.1.1 Skimming (Quick reading for general ideas)

The following will give the meaning and the use of skimming.
What is Skimming?
Skimming refers to looking only for the general or main ideas and works best with non-
fiction (or factual) material. Running your eyes over the text, noting important information,
it’s not essential to understand each word when you are skimming. When skimming, your
overall understanding is reduced because you do not read everything. You read only what
is important to your purpose. Skimming is used to quickly gather the most important
information or ‘gist’.
How to Skim? To skim effectively, there has to be a structure. Working quickly…
1. Read the title if there is one.

2. Read the introduction or the first paragraph if there is one.
3. Read the first and last sentence of every paragraph.
4. Notice any pictures, charts, or graphs.
5. Notice any italicized or boldface words or phrases.
6. Read the summary or last paragraph if there is one.
What skimming looks like?

Let your eyes run along the pages.
Choose what to read.
Fast reading in order to get the general idea of the text.
It might be what you already do when you are on the internet
What to read while skimming?
Keywords (ignore the details).

Bold words.
Heading or titles.
First and last sentence and sometimes in the middle of the paragraph or page.
Because skimming is done at a fast speed with less-than-normal comprehension, you

should not skim all the time. There are many times, however, when skimming is very
useful.
First read several of the paragraphs this will help you to identify the topic of the article, the
subject, a little of the authors style, the authors viewpoint, and so on. Leave nothing out,
but read at your top speed. Authors usually give an introduction in the first few paragraphs,
this helps to get an overall picture of the article.
Leave out material once you have the general overview of the article, you should begin to
leave out material right away so by the 4th or 5th paragraph you are only reading the key
sentences to get the main idea and skip the rest of the paragraph, picking up one or two
important words, phrases, or numbers.
Find the main ideas to try to get the main idea of every paragraph plus a few facts, you will
not get all the facts but you may get some sometimes, the main idea is not in the first
sentence, sometimes it is in the middle or the end of the paragraph. This may take extra
time to find, some paragraphs may not have a main idea, and the final paragraphs often
summarize the story or article so they are worthwhile to read. What is read is more
important than what is left out. Read the first few paragraphs in detail to get a good idea of
what information will be discussed. Once you know where the reading is headed, begin to
read only the first sentence of each paragraph. Topic sentences give the main idea of the
paragraph.
READ FAST. The purpose is to get the author’s main idea at a very fast speed… don’t get
too caught up in details.
2.1.12 Scanning (Quick reading for specific information)
The following will give the meaning and the use of scanning.
What Is Scanning?
Looking for a specific fact or piece of information without reading everything, because you
already know what you are looking for. You scan when you look for your favorite show
listed in the cable guide, for your friend’s phone number in a telephone book, and for the
sports scores in the newspaper. For scanning to be successful, you need to understand
how your material is designed as well as comprehend what you read so you can locate the
specific information you need. Scanning also allows you to find details and other
information in a hurry.

How to Scan?
Because you already scan many different types of material in your daily life, learning more
details about scanning will be easy. Establishing your purpose, locating the appropriate
material, and knowing how the information is structured before you start scanning is
essential. Keep the concept of key words in mind while scanning.
How to scan
1. State the specific information you are looking for.

2. Try to anticipate how the answer will appear and what clues you might use to help
you locate the answer. For example, if you were looking for a certain date, you
would quickly read the paragraph looking only for numbers.
3. Use headings and any other aids that will help you identify which sections might
contain the information you are looking for.
4. Selectively read and skip through sections of the passage.
What scanning looks like?
Searching for keywords.

Doing less reading and more searching.
Looking for specific words, numbers, names and dates.
When to Scan?
You scan when your aim is to find specific pieces of information. If you were doing the
research for an oral presentation, you could scan the index of books, web sites, and
reference materials. You would discover whether they contain any information you want
and the pages where the information can be found. In the past, you probably scanned
without knowing you were doing it.
What to read while scanning?
Keywords numbers, names (specific to what you are searching for).

Headings or titles.
Note the arrangement of info Alphabetical Non-Alphabetical Prose-look at title, subtitle,

and illustrations, once known general organization easier to understand.

Keep clue words in mind when you find the section most likely to contain the info,
you are ready to begin scanning eg telephone directory-clue word is last name,
looking for baseball scores clue word is baseball.
Scan quickly the purpose is to locate info quickly, a high rate of speed is essential with
clue words in mind, try to scan as much of the printed matter as you can in the least
amount of time don’t get distracted by unrelated words or info if you find yourself beginning
to read words or paragraphs, stop reading and begin to move your eyes in a scanning
pattern read more careful once you find the cue words.
Make accuracy your goal, accuracy is just as important as speed, need specific info once
found info you need to check that you are correct, high speed is only useful if you find the
exact info you need. Goal is 100% accuracy.
Remember it’s important to quickly find the information you need. You don’t need to
understand every word, or read every word remember it’s important to quickly find the
information you need. Your eyes should quickly scan the document for the information you
seek.
2.1.2 Action planning (making predictions and asking

questions)
The following will give the definition and use of action planning.
Action planning is a strategy of making predictions and being able to ask questions as well
as those questions being able to be answered.

Reading strategies
Strategy Sentence starters

for response
This reminds me of . . .
Making Connections I connected to this when . .
 text to text _____ made me remember a time when . . .
 text to self This relates to my life because . . .
 text to world _____ makes me think about . . .
This illustration makes me think about . . .
Strategic readers connect what This makes me think about..
they know with what they are This part makes me remember . . .
reading. I really had a strong connection to this part
Always explain WHY you made the connection because . . .
(because...). This is like . . .
This is familiar to me because . . .
This is similar to . . .
I think this will be about _____ because . . .
I think _____ is going to happen next
because... I predict that . . .
Predicting
because..
Strategic readers think about _____ make me think that _____ will happen.
what’s going to happen and make I’m guessing this will be about ___ because...
predictions based on what they
Since ____ happened, I think ___ will happen.
know and what they have read.
My predictions were right/wrong because . . .
Always explain WHY you predicted something
(because...).
From the text clues, I can conclude
that . . .
Based on what the text says and what I know,
Inferring
I think . . .
Strategic readers “read between the This information makes me think . . .
lines” and make an educated guess This evidence suggests . . .
based on what their prior knowledge
That is probably why . . .
and evidence in the story.
Although the writer does not come
Always explain WHY you inferred something
(because...). right out and say it, I can figure out
that . . .
I wonder . . .
I would like to ask the author . . .
Who?
Asking Questions
What?
Strategic readers ask When?
themselves questions before, Where?
during, and after reading to Why?

better understand the author How?
and the meaning of the text. This makes me wonder about . .
Always try to infer a possible answer to a
question (maybe...).
I could really picture . . .
The description of ____ helped me visualize .
..
Visualizing
I created a mental image of . . .
Strategic readers picture what is
In my mind I could really see . . .
happening as they read. Always explain When it said ____, I could
what visualizing help you understand/infer
about the story/characters. imagine . .
If this were a movie .
I had to slow down when . . .
I wonder what ____ means.
Monitoring and I need to know more about . . .
This last part is about . . .
Clarifying I was confused by . . .
I still don’t understand . . .
I had difficulty with . . .
I ____ (name strategy) to help me understand
Strategic readers stop to think about
this part.
their reading and know what to do I can’t really understand . . .
I wonder what the author means by
when they don’t understand. I got lost here because . . .
I need to reread the part where . .

Text Structure
Use these prompts to help yourselves understand basic information.
What is the title of this text? Who is the author?
Is this book fiction or nonfiction? How do you know?
What is the genre of this story? How do you know?
Who is telling the text?
Who are the main/secondary characters? Why are they important to the story?
Could the characters exist in real life?
Where/when does the story take place? How do you know?
How does the story begin/end?
In order, what are the major events in the text?
What is the problem/conflict in this text? How is it resolved?
Making Predictions
Before reading, use these prompts to help yourselves think about what you are reading
before you begin.
Think about the title/genre/author/pictures/setting.

What do you think the text/book will be about?
What makes you think that?
What challenges do you think the characters might face?
What clues from the text helped you make your prediction?
What information from your own life helped you make your prediction?
How do you think the story might end? Why do you think that?
Were your predictions right? How do you know?
Do you want to change your prediction now that you have read the text?
Inferring Prompts
Use these prompts to help yourselves move beyond the text to understand what the
author is implying.

What is the message/lesson of this text?

What can you figure out that the author didn’t put in words?
What is the mood/tone of the text?
Why did the author choose that setting?
How was the setting important to the text?
Why do you think the character _______?
How did the character feel when ______? How did you know that?
What do the character’s actions/choices tell you about him/her?
When the character said______ what did he/she really mean?
Asking Questions
Use these prompts to help yourself to think about what you still want to know.
What questions do you still have?
What would you like to ask the author/one of the characters?
What would you like to know more about?
If you reread the book/story/passage what would you be trying to understand or figure out?
2.2 Strategies during reading

The following will define and the use of strategies during reading.
"During" strategies help you make connections, monitor your understanding, generate
questions, and stay focused. The ultimate goal here is for you to fully understand what you
are reading! Here are some strategies to help you.

2.2.1 Monitoring or supervision (Determination of relevant parts

of the text and strategies to support the review: underlining,
taking notes, etc.)
The following will explain the monitoring and the use of it.
Click and clunk (During reading)
In this stage students read the text and monitor comprehension as they search for meaning
in a text (click), as well as observe for areas of misunderstanding (clunk). Students read the
entire text and are taught to record the areas of misunderstandings and to use the following
Fix-up strategies to find the meaning of unknown words or concepts:
To fix-up, students:
1. Reread the sentence without the word - think about what word meaning would
make sense.
2. Reread the sentences before and after the clunk, looking for clues to determine the
word meaning.
3. Identify key elements in the word (e.g. prefixes, suffixes, part of a word).
How do you take notes?

Taking notes is much more effective than underlining the text. Read the book once but read
your notes multiple times, as much as you need. There are specific steps to take on note
taking for a piece of information and it is really easy!
1. Read the whole piece first, from start to end and underline the main idea. The main
idea is what the whole paragraph is about.
2. Highlight or underline the two supporting points in the paragraph. These points give
you more information about the main idea.
3. In your own words, write down the main idea and two supporting points on your sheet
of paper. By putting your notes in your own words it makes it that much more
meaningful. You have to ask yourself do I understand what I’m reading. If you
answered yes……. Keep going! If you don’t understand, stop and fix it!
4. What is the most important person, place or thing?
What is the most important idea about the person, place or thing?
Identify word parts that may aid in understanding. In other words, break down the word to
look for smaller words.
Comprehension strategies help students self-monitor the information gathered from their
reading. These strategies provide students with the tools that enable them to solve reading
problems throughout life.
Some of the research-based strategies include:

Monitoring comprehension
Using graphic organizers
Answering and generating questions
Recognizing text structure
Summarizing - Note taking Identifying confusing parts
Teaching tip to ensure that a reading strategy becomes a regular part of a your thinking,
know how to use it.
Key Steps:
Introduce only one strategy at a time.
Provide repeated practice using short articles or excerpts.
Model the activity as a way to explain it to yourself.
When a strategy is to be used individually, practice as a whole class to compare various
ideas of how it can work.
Provide guided practice and feedback over a period of time.
Provide self-reflective time on effectiveness of strategies.
Use strategies repeatedly.
What do good readers do?
Good readers skip, skim, and scan text continually, based on their purpose. They also
reread, slow down, and reread again if it suits their purpose. Good readers know a
purpose will help them focus their reading. They also know that purpose determines how
they read the material. Good readers approach assigned texts with a result in mind. They
consider what they will have to do with the information after reading.
How do you ‘hold thinking’ so that you can remember and reuse what you read?
Having a lot of different tools not only helps keep the interest high, but also helps you have
different options for remembering what you have read. Give yourself something to look for
and write as you read. Model different ways that readers mark text and hold their thinking
while they read, remember that taking notes is much better way to remember than marking
the text. Remember to always ask yourself the wh-questions about the text, question,
question leads to answer, answer!
Challenge yourself questioning the Text

Quote Connection (Reminds me of)
Question (I wonder)
Confusion (I don’t understand, fix it and understand it)
Offer yourselves a choice in ways to respond to the text. If you ask yourself only to make a
connection and you do not have enough background knowledge, you may not be able to
respond. By giving choice you meet more of your needs. Active Readers are involved in
their reading - they do something while they read.
1. Mark one quote in the text and have a conversation about the quote by connecting it to
prior knowledge.
2. Write a question that doesn’t have a simple answer.
3. Visualize what is read.

4. Determine what is important in the text.

5. Make inferences while reading
6. Know strategies to use when you get stuck.
Be sure that you understand that ALL readers get stuck and that there are ways to get
“Unstuck”
1. Trust the author. Don’t panic if at first the text doesn’t make sense. The author will
slowly reveal clues.
2. Ask questions. Quite likely someone else may have the same question. Someone else
may be able to clear up the confusion.
3. Slow down. Give yourself time to read, reread and paraphrase what you’ve read.
4. Its okay to go back. Sometimes readers go back and reread confusing parts of text.
Read as many times that you need so that you can fully understand.
Learn Comprehension During Reading
So that you can monitor your understanding by…
Knowing when you understand

Knowing when you don’t understand
Knowing how you know
Knowing what to do about it
Knowing the speed at which to read – making adjustments
2.3 Strategies after Reading

The following will explain the after reading strategies and the use of it.
After reading strategies
The after-reading phase of the process occurs when the reader finishes reading the written
text. The reader takes time to think about what he knew before the reading and what he
learned or what connections he made during the reading, and then he links this
information together to build new knowledge. This step expands prior knowledge, builds
connections, and deepens understanding:
Discussing accuracy of predictions

Summarizing the key ideas

Connecting and compare information from texts to experience and knowledge
Explaining and describing new ideas and information in own words
Retelling story in own words including setting, characters, and sequence of
important events
Discussing and comparing authors and illustrators
Reflecting on the strategies that helped the most and least and why
"After" strategies provide students an opportunity to summarize, question, reflect, discuss,

and respond to text.
2.3.1 Identification of the main idea
The following will explain the Identification of the main idea and the use of it.
Main Idea: is the central message or meaning of a text. The main idea is also known as
the central idea. You need a complete sentence in order to state the main idea. The main
idea is the "key concept" being expressed. Details, major and minor, support the main idea
by telling how, what, when, where, why, how much, or how many. Locating the topic, main
idea, and supporting details helps you to better understand the text.
Imagine yourself overhearing a conversation in which your name is repeatedly mentioned,

but you can’t hear what’s actually being said. When you ask your friends what they were
saying, they tell you they were talking about you. So…YOU are the TOPIC.
Obviously, in this situation, you would want to know exactly what they were saying about
you. You’d continue to press your friends for what they had said. Finally, your friends tell
you they said, “Jose Jose is a fantastic singer!” NOW, you have the MAIN IDEA!
In an article, essay, speech, etc., a SUPPORTING DETAIL is a fact, description, example,

quotation, anecdote, or other items of information used to back up a claim, illustrate a
point, or explain an idea.

Every paragraph has a key concept or main idea. The main idea is the most important
piece of information the author wants you to know about the concept of that paragraph.
When authors write they have an idea in mind that they are trying to get across. This is
especially true as authors compose paragraphs. An author organizes each paragraph's
main idea and supporting details in support of the topic or central theme, and each
paragraph supports the paragraph preceding it. A writer will state his/her main idea
explicitly somewhere in the paragraph. That main idea may be stated at the beginning of
the paragraph, in the middle, or at the end. The sentence in which the main idea is stated
is the topic sentence of that paragraph. The topic sentence announces the general theme
(or portion of the theme) to be dealt with in the paragraph. Although the topic sentence
may appear anywhere in the paragraph, it is usually first - and for a very good reason. This
sentence provides the focus for the writer while writing and for the reader while reading.
When you find the topic sentence, be sure to underline it so that it will stand out not only
now, but also later when you review.
The first thing you must be able to do to get to the main idea of a paragraph is to identify
the topic - the subject of the paragraph. Think of the paragraph as a wheel with the topic
being the center - the central core around which the whole wheel (or paragraph) spins.
Your strategy for topic identification is simply to ask yourself the question, "What is this
about?" Keep asking yourself that question as you read a paragraph, until the answer to
your question becomes clear. Sometimes you can spot the topic by looking for a word or
two that repeat. Usually you can state the topic in a few words.
What is a topic sentence?
A topic sentence is often, but not always, in the first sentence in a paragraph.
It tells the MAIN IDEA of the paragraph.
It also tells what the author wants to SAY ABOUT the topic.
A topic sentence will tell the main idea of the paragraph as well as what the author wants to
say about the topic.
Find the Main Idea of Each Paragraph
The main idea of a paragraph points out the most important thing the author has to say
about the idea. The first step is to read the passage once and as you read think about the
general main idea of each paragraph. The main idea of a paragraph generally can be
found in the first or last sentence, so look there if you are having a hard time determining
the paragraph’s main idea. Once you have determined the main idea, you may want to
circle, underline or write the main idea next to the paragraph in the text booklet to allow for
quick reference once you begin to answer your questions. Remember that writing notes is
always the best way to remember!
Stated Main Idea
A stated main idea can be found among the words in the passage. The sentence
containing the main idea is called the topic sentence. Details may help you to determine a
main idea and topic sentence in a passage.
2.3.2 Elaboration of summary

The following will explain the elaboration of summary and the use of it.
What is a summary?
A summary is a short version of the text that needs to be clear and written in your own
words. It should cover all the main points in short and well organized sentences, its
function is to inform, describe and explain the text.

Don’t get specific with details, dates or figures; it needs to be short and to the point not
wordy. Maintain good paragraph structure, so it should include a:
Topic sentence
Identifies the title, author and speaker
Supporting sentence
Try to follow (the main points) the same order as the original
Concluding sentence
You should not use any direct quotes

Always use your own words
Always be objective in your summary
You should not give your own opinion
Shoe extended support for each point
A summary should be used to:
Sum up the information while giving a mental picture

Present clear information
State the main points without going into details
Refer to the body of the work, the content should show clarity and move in a
logical manner
Give examples of points of view on the subject
Close by rereading the text and bringing everything together
Guidelines
Read the text
Take notes of key words, main points, arguments and the topic sentence
Form a brief outline of the text
Use the outline to do the summary of the text, the content should show clarity
and move in a logical manner
Use your own words to cover the ideas
Use key words and give it a title
Use simple and understandable English
It must be written in the third person and above all, objective!
Do not give examples, illustrations or quotes

Remember that there is no specific length that it has to follow, just that it must be brief and
to the point.
What it’s NOT!
A topic sentence is not a simple fact.

Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.
This is a detail.
This could be used in the body of the paragraph.
A topic sentence is not a question.

Who invented the light bulb we use today?
This could be used as an “attention grabber.”
A topic sentence tells you what the main idea of the paragraph will be. We will call this the
“subject” of the paragraph. A topic sentence tells you what the author is going to say about
the subject. We will call this the “controlling idea” of the paragraph.
The main idea is the “key concept” that being expressed. Details, major and minor,
support the main idea by telling how, what, when, where, why, how much, or how
many. Locating the topic, main idea, and supporting details help you to better understand
the point(s) the writer is attempting to express. Being able to identify the relationship
between these will increase your comprehension.
The bulk of an expository paragraph is made up of supporting sentences (major and minor
details), they will help you to explain or prove the main idea. These sentences present
facts, reasons, examples, definitions, comparison, contrast and other pertinent
details. They are the most important because they will help to sell the main idea.
The last sentence of a paragraph is likely to be a concluding sentence. It is used to sum up

a discussion, to emphasize a point, or to restate all or part of the topic sentence so as to
bring the paragraph to a close. The last sentence may also be a transitional sentence
leading to the next paragraph.
General ideas that state the main idea of a text
Reasons
Points in an argument
Points of a comparison
Further elaboration of the main idea

Signal words
Major details
First, second, third,
One
Another
Furthermore
Moreover
Next
Also
Finally
Not all major & minor details have signal words

Minor details
For example
An example is
For instance
To be specific
That is
This means
Case is point
To illustrate
The main idea answers the question, “What is the author’s one most important point about
the topic?”
2.3.3 Formulation and reply of questions

The following will explain the formulation and reply of questions and the use of it.
Formulation can be defined as the way that you express your thoughts and ideas, creating
or preparing something. When we prepare our questions we have to formulate them!
Getting things done with the power of questions

Recent studies actually show that we are much more motivated to act if we ask ourselves
questions rather than giving ourselves commands. The question we ask ourselves is why?
Why is it that questions inspire action? It turns out that:

A question is like a challenge, we can’t stop thinking about it.

Questions spark ideas, we try to come up with new and better ideas.
Questions are shareable; you get other people involved to help you in answering.
Questions are not intimidating, rather they help you to change and self-improve.
Try to start off your questions with “How might I…..” or “What if…..”
Types of Questions
Display Questions
These are designed to check the background knowledge and to check comprehension. They
focus on the meaning of language structures and items, and the teacher should already
know the answer.
What does ….. mean?

When do we use …..?
What comes after …..?
What’s the opposite of …..?
Where’s the stress in …..?
Referential Questions
These require the learner to provide an expanded amount of information, give an opinion,
explain or clarify, these types of questions allow for the learner to think while answering.
They focus on content rather than language, they allow for ‘follow-up’ or ‘probe’ questions,
and the answers are not necessarily known by the teacher.
 What do you think about …..?

 Have you ever….when/where …..?
 If you had …..what…..?
 What kind of …..?
 How do you …..?
The best type of questions are referential questions those that are ‘divergent’ or ‘open-
ended’ in that they are very broad, may have multiple answers, and require a much higher
level of thinking from the learners.
Open-Ended/Divergent Questions
These are ideal for the development of skills such as inferring, verifying, predicting, and
summarizing, as well as eliciting more language. Open-ended questions that probe and
elicit expanded thinking and processing of information are useful for involving students in
deeper learning, in giving their ideas in their own words. Divergent questions have multiple
possible answers and encourage students to be creative and express insight in the subject
matter. If working in groups, the students have the opportunity to learn from a different
variety of perspectives.
Closed/Convergent Questions
These have a much more narrowly defined correct answer which can be recalled from
memory and actually require little reflection or originality. Closed questions are common in
conventional exams. Closed-ended questions such as those requiring a Yes/No response,
or simply one answer from a few possible options (multiple choices) may be useful for
quickly checking their comprehension. Convergent questions have one acceptable right
answer; students are required to repeat a certain response based on predictable wisdom.
Low Risk Questions
These have no right or wrong answer. Examples include asking students’ for their own
opinions about something, or simply asking what comes into their heads when you
introduce an idea or thought. These types of questions are mostly effective in initiating
discussions.
Purposes of Questions
Questions can:
1. Help diagnose the students understanding of the material

2. Engages the students to keep their attention and to reinforce their participation.
3. Provides a way to review, restate, emphasize, and to summarize what is most
important.
4. Stimulate discussion and creative and critical thinking.
5. Determine how the students are thinking.
6. Help students to retain material by putting their thoughts into words.
Research has shown us that the following uses of question-asking were the most efficient
during guided problem solving in an introductory programming course:
1. Facilitate students’ comprehension and decomposition of a problem

2. Encourage planning of a solution before implementation
3. Promote self-explanations
4. Expose gaps or misconceptions in knowledge.
The purposes of questions vary at different stages during a lesson; referential questions
often form the basis for brainstorming a topic, generating interest, and introducing topic-
related vocabulary during the beginning. Students’ responses could be detailed as a mind-
map on the board, or in the form of a “what we know / what we would like to know/ what
we know now” context to get creative and the blood flowing.
During discussion, questions focusing on form, function, meaning, concept, and strategies
all may all be termed as “guidance questions,” and are different from comprehension
questions in that learners are not necessarily obligated to provide correct answers. The
overall aim of these questions is to gradually raise awareness of language and skills and
to help learners develop strategies for learning in a focused way.
Effective Questioning
Effective questions are very meaningful and understandable to students. Depending on

the level of comprehension of a topic, students may be able to handle questions of
different levels of difficultly. Effective questions challenge the students but are not too
difficult. Students will definitely benefit from answering easier questions before difficult
ones.
“Does everyone understand?” “Any other questions?” Most students will not reply, and
even if they do, their answer is only a report of their own assessment of their
comprehension.
Examples of ineffective questions:

1. Too vague. Students are unsure of what is being asked and may abstain from
attempting to answer.
2. Too loaded. Students may guess at what you want them to say instead of telling
you what they think.
3. Too general. “Does everyone understand?” “Any other questions?” Most students
will not reply, and even if they do, their answer is only a description of their own
comprehension.
4. Too closed. Yes/No questions or other closed-ended questions and are dead ends
for discussions and deeper engagements.
Here’s how you can design effective questions:
Determine the key concept you want students to learn.
Put the question through the following filters:
Does this question draw out and work with pre-existing understandings that
students bring with them?
Does this question raise the prominence of the key concepts the students are
learning?
Will this question stimulate peer discussion?
Is it clear what the question is about?
Working backwards, think of one or two questions that, when answered, lead up to
the first key question you designed, and so on.
Prepare to start your discussion with the last questions you created and work your
way toward the key questions that address the course learning outcomes.
Minimize the use of “yes / no” questions except when checking meaning and
understanding or encouraging weaker students.
Ask a balance of referential and display questions.
Personalize questions where possible.
Make sure that students clearly understand questions.
Strategies to use when students respond
Reinforcement: The instructor should reinforce the students’ responses and

questions in a positive way in order to encourage future participation.
Probing: The initial response of students may be superficial. Probes are very
useful in getting students involved in the critical analysis of their own and other
students' ideas.

Adjust/Refocus: When a student provides a response that appears out of context,

the instructor can encourage the student to tie her response to the content being
discussed.
Strategies for responding to student questions
All strategies begin with this important step: Listen to the student's question. Then proceed
with one of the following strategies:
Answer the question yourself.

Redirect the question to the class.
Attempt to help the student answer his own question.
Refer the student to a source where she can find the answer.
No matter which strategy you use you should return to the student after addressing
the question and decide whether the response has satisfied the student.
If you don't know the answer to a student question never fake an answer. Admit
that you cannot answer the question and get back to them with the correct answer,
remember that you are a human being and that you don’t have all the answers.
2.4 The interpretation of the content of the text (Extraction of

global meaning)
The following will explain the interpretation of the text and the use of it.
Interpretation is the action of explaining, reframing, or inferring how you understand what
you are reading, with written words and not spoken words. Analyze the text for the original
meaning.
Reading Comprehension of text
The student will do the following exercises of reading and understanding the text by
answering follow up questions in regard to the text.
Exercise 1
Mr. Jones's shop sold food. Mr. Jones and a young man worked there. The young
man's name was George. A man came into the shop on Monday. He was a funny

man. Mr. Jones was in the office. It was behind the shop. The funny man looked at
George and said, "I want a small table, please." George said, "We don't sell tables
in this shop. We sell food. “The man smiled and answered, "A small, brown table."
He took a picture out of his bag and showed it to George. It was a picture of a small,
brown table. George put his mouth near the man's ear and said, "We do not have
tables in this shop! Food! Not tables!" The man smiled and answered, "That's good.
Thank you." Then he sat down on a chair and waited. George was not happy. He
went into the office and spoke to Mr Jones. Then he and Mr. Jones came out again.
Mr. Jones was angry. He looked at the man and said, "What do you want?" The man
smiled and answered, "I want a loaf of brown bread, please. Haven't you got any
bread in your shop?" Mr. Jones said, "Yes, we have." He looked at George, and then
he went and got a loaf of brown bread from a big box and gave it to the man. Stories
for Reading Comprehension Book 1, L.A. Hill, Longman, 1989
Look at these questions. Find the right answers. Then write the questions and the answers:
1 Did Mr. Jones work in George's shop?
a) No, he didn't. b) Yes, he did.
2 Who worked in Mr. Jones's shop?
a) A funny man did. b) George did.
3 Did the shop sell tables, or food?
a) It sold food. b) It sold tables.
4 Did the funny man ask George for some food?
5 Did the funny man ask George for a table?
6 Did George show him a table?
7 Whose office did George go into then?
a) Mr. Jones's b) The funny man's.
8 Did Mr. Jones speak to the funny man?
9 Was Mr. Jones happy, or angry?
a) He was angry. b) He was happy.
10 Did the funny man ask Mr. Jones for a table, or some food?
a) A table. b) Some food.

Exercise 2
Gladys was at school in a small, quiet town in England. She was sixteen years old,
and her father and mother were poor, and their house was very small. Maisie was
Gladys's friend. She went to that school as well. Gladys said, "Maisie, I'm going to
find a very rich man and I'm going to marry him. Then I'm going to have a beautiful
house and a large garden, and a lot of clothes, and a lot of money. “Maisie smiled
and said, "Where are you going to find a very rich man, Gladys? There aren't any in
our town." But Gladys was a very pretty girl. Her eyes were blue, and her hair was
black and soft. She went to London, and then she went to America. She found a tall,
very rich man there, and she married him. She was twenty-two years old then. Then
she and her husband went to England. They went to Gladys's old house, and Maisie
came there. Gladys said, "I've married a very rich man, Maisie, and I've got a
beautiful house and a large garden and four gardeners. And I've bought a lot of
clothes and I have money as well. My husband's got a plane too, and he flies it!"
Maisie said, "A lot of people have got planes and fly them,
Gladys." “In their house? " Gladys asked.
Comprehension Book 1, L.A. Hill, Longman, 1989
1 Were Gladys's father and mother rich?
a) No, they were not. b) Yes, they were.
2 Did Gladys want to work in her small, quiet town?

a) No, she did not. b) Yes, she did.
3 Who did Gladys want to marry?

a) A rich man. b) A tall man.
4 Were there any very rich men in Gladys's town?

a) No, there were not. b) Yes, there were a lot. c) Yes, there were some.
5 Did Gladys marry in London, or in America?

a) In London. b) In America.
6 Was her husband a short man?

a) No, he was tall. b) Yes, he was.
7 Where did Maisie see Gladys again?

a) In America. b) In London. c) In their small town.
8 Whose house did they meet in?

a) Gladys's old house. b) Maisie's house.
9 Who flew the plane in this story?

a) Gladys did. b) Gladys's husband did.
10 Where did he or she fly it?

a) In the garden. b) In the house.
Exercise 3
Alan Smith's father bought him a small shop, and Alan sold milk, butter, cheese, eggs
and other things in it. His shop was in a small town, and it was open on Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday morning, but it was shut
on Sunday afternoon and on Monday. Alan went to some farms on Monday and
bought their best butter and cheese and eggs from the farmers, but he bought his
milk in the town. A truck brought it to his shop in the morning. Alan and his wife
worked in the shop, and they sold
a lot of their food, because it was good and clean. A fat woman came into the shop
on Saturday. She bought some eggs and some butter, and then she said to Alan's
wife,
"Your eggs and your butter are dear today. Why are Saturday and Sunday dearer
than Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday?" Alan's wife was unhappy. She
looked at the fat woman, and then she looked at Alan, but she did not give an answer.
Then Alan smiled and said, "Our food is not dearer on Saturday and Sunday! It is
cheaper on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday!"
1 Was Alan's shop open on Monday?

a) No, it wasn't. b) Yes, it was.
2 Was Alan's shop shut on Saturday?

a) No, it wasn't. b) Yes, it was.
3 Was Alan's shop open or shut on Sunday morning?

a) It was open. b) It was shut.
4 Who sold Alan cheese?

a) His father did. b) The farmers did.
5 Who brought Alan's butter to his shop?

a) A man in a truck did. b) Alan did.
6 Who brought milk to Alan's shop?

a) A man in a truck did. b) Alan did.
7 Why did a lot of people buy food from Alan?

a) Because he and his wife worked in the shop.
b) Because the food was clean and good.
8 Who answered the fat woman's question?

a) Alan did. b) Alan's wife did.
9 Was the answer an angry one, or a nice one?

a) It was a nice one. b) It was an angry one.
10 Was the food in the shop dearer on Friday or on Saturday?

a) It was dearer on Friday. b) It was dearer on Saturday.
Artículos de nutrición
 Identifying the effect of shelf nutrition labels on

consumer purchases: Results of a natural
experiment and consumer survey
articulo 1.pdf
 Unhealthy Nutrition Decree Revisited
articulo 2.pdf

Actividades
La elaboración de las actividades estará guiada por tu docente en línea, mismo que
te indicará, a través de la Planeación didáctica del docente en línea, la dinámica que tú y
tus compañeros (as) llevarán a cabo, así como los envíos que tendrán que realizar.
Para el envío de tus trabajos usarás la siguiente nomenclatura: NITN _U2_A#_XXYZ,

donde NITN corresponde a las siglas de la asignatura, U2 es la unidad de conocimiento,
A# es el número y tipo de actividad, el cual debes sustituir considerando la actividad que
se realices, XX son las primeras letras de tu nombre, Y la primera letra de tu apellido
paterno y Z la primera letra de tu apellido materno.
Autorreflexiones
Para la parte de autorreflexiones debes responder las Preguntas de Autorreflexión
indicadas por tu docente en línea y enviar tu archivo. Cabe recordar que esta actividad
tiene una ponderación del 10% de tu evaluación.
Para el envío de tu autorreflexión utiliza la siguiente nomenclatura:

NITN_U2_ATR _XXYZ, donde NITN corresponde a las siglas de la asignatura, U2 es la
unidad de conocimiento, XX son las primeras letras de tu nombre, y la primera letra de tu
apellido paterno y Z la primera letra de tu apellido materno.

Closing of the unit
In this unit the student will acquire the necessary knowledge to be able to develop the
strategies before reading to establish the purpose, skimming, scanning as well as the
action planning. Strategies during reading such as monitoring-finding the most relevant
parts of the text and strategies to support the review. Strategies after reading such as
identification of the main ideas, the summary and the formulation of questions. Finally
reaching our long and awaited goal of being able to interpret (reading comprehension of
the text) and thus being able to translate the given text from English to Spanish. Learning
a foreign Language is by no means an easy task for anyone let alone being able to
translate it! I would hope that this long and difficult endeavor has been well worth the time
and the effort that all of you have put to it. Congratulations to all of you on this long, difficult
road that you have chosen to take but I can honestly say well worth it and I hope all of you
share my sentiments as well!
“Ask the right questions, and the answers will always reveal themselves”
Oprah Winfrey

Bibliography
Basic
• Azar Betty and Hagen Stacy, Basic English Grammar, Pearson Education Co., 2006.
• Swan Michael, Walter Catherine, how ENGLISH works, Oxford, 1997
• Murphy, R., English Grammar in Use, Cambridge, 2003.
• Stories for Reading Comprehension Book 1, L.A. Hill, Longman, 1989
Complementary
• Eastwood, John, Oxford Practice Grammar, Oxford, 1999.

• McCarthy, M. and O´Dell, F., English Vocabulary in Use, Cambridge, 2002.
• Swan, Michael, Practical English Usage, Oxford, 2005.
• Thomas, B. and Matthews, B., Vocabulary for First Certificate, Cambridge, 2007.
• Vince. Michael, First Certificate Language Practice, Macmillan, 2009.
• Azar Betty and Hagen Stacy, Basic English Grammar Workbook, Pearson Education
Co., 2006
• Swick Ed, English Grammar for ESL Learners, McGraw Hill, 2005
• Walker Elaine, Grammar Practice, Longman, 2000
• Murphy, R., Basic English Grammar in Use, Cambridge, 2002.
• Umstatter Jack, English Brainstomers, A Wiley Imprint, 2002
• Side Richard, Wellman Guy, Grammar and Vocabulary for Cambridge Proficiency,

• Pearson Education 2000

• Cambridge Dictionary of American English (2001). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
• Collins Cobuild Active English Dictionary (2003). London: Collins Cobuild.
• Longman Active Study Dictionary (2004). London: Longman/Pearson.
• Macmillan Essential Dictionary for Learners of American English (2003). Oxford:
Macmillan Education.
• Blackburn GL, Bistrian BR, Maini BS, et al: Nutritional and metabolical
assessment of the hospitalized patient. JPEN 1977;1:11-22 (III.3)
• W.K.and Hoeger,S. Principles and Labs for Physical fitness and wellness,
Morton Publishing Company. 1994.
• Lohman,T.G., Roche, A.F., Martorell, R. Anthropometric standarization

reference manual. 1988.
• Chernoff R. Normal aging, nutrition assessment and clinical practice. NCP

2003;18:12-20.
• Chumlea WC, Roche AF, Steinbaugh ML. Estimating stature from knee
height for persons 60 to 90 years of age. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1985; 33: 116-
• De Groot CP, Perdigao AL, Deurenberg P. Longitudinal changes in

anthropometric characteristics of elderly europeans. SENECA Investigators.
Eur J Clin Nutr 1996; 50 (Supp 2): S9-S15.
• Alibhai SMH, Greenwood C, Payette H. An approach to the management of

unintentional weight loss in elderly people. CMAJ 2005
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(http://www.novapdf.com)
• Cornoni-Huntley JC, Harris TB, Everett DF. An overview of body weight of

older persons, including the impact on mortality. J Clin Epidemiol 1991;
44:743-753.
• Beck AM, Ovesen L. At which body mass index and degree of weight loss
should hospitalizad elderly patients be considered at nutritional risk? Clin
Nutr 1998; 17:175-198.
• American Academy of Pediatrics. Comité de Nutrición. Valoración del estado

nutricional. En: Barness LA, ed. Manual de nutrición pediátrica. 3ª Edición.
Elk Grove Village, Illinois. American Academy of Pediatrics, 1993, 221-
228.
• Anttila R, Siimes M. Serum transferrin and ferritin in pubertal boys: relations

to body growth, pubertal stage, erythropoiesis, and iron deficiency. Am J

Clin Nutr 1996, 63:179-83.
• Forslund A, Johansson A, Sjödin A, Bryding G, Ljunghall S, Hambraeus L.

Evaluation of modified multicompartment models to calculate body composition
in healthy males. Am J Clin Nutr 1996; 63:856-62.
• Frisancho AR. Anthropometric Standards for the Assessment of Growth and

Nutritional status. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1990.
• Goran M, Nagy T, Treuth M, Trowbridge C, Dezenberg C, McGloin A, Gower

Visceral fat in white and African American prepuberal children. Am J
Clin Nutr 1997; 65:1703-08.
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(http://www.novapdf.com)
• Lemieux S, Prud’homme D, Bouchard C, Tremblay A, Després J. A single

threshold value of waist girth identifies normal-weight and overweight subjects
with excess visceral adipose tissue. Am J Clin Nutr 1996; 64:685-93.
• Secker Donna and Jeejeebhoy Khursheed. Subjective Global Nutritional

Assesment for children. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85, Nº 4,
1083-1089, April 2007

Technical English in Nutrition: Unidad 2

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Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 2

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 3

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 4

 Strategies during reading.

 Strategies after reading.

 The interpretation of the content of the text (Extraction of global meaning).

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 5

2.1 Strategies before reading

2.1.2 Establishment of purpose (Activation of prior knowledge)

The following is the explanation and the use of prior knowledge.

So… what is prior knowledge?

The purpose of brainstorming is to activate the student’s background knowledge of a topic

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 6

It tells our brain to focus.

Reading can clarify or provide new details.

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 7

What kind of text is this?

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 8

Who is Michael Jordan?

2.1.1.1 Skimming (Quick reading for general ideas)

How to Skim? To skim effectively, there has to be a structure. Working quickly…

1. Read the title if there is one.

What skimming looks like?

Keywords (ignore the details).

Because skimming is done at a fast speed with less-than-normal comprehension, you

2.1.12 Scanning (Quick reading for specific information)

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 11

1. State the specific information you are looking for.

What scanning looks like?

Searching for keywords.

What to read while scanning?

Keywords numbers, names (specific to what you are searching for).

Note the arrangement of info Alphabetical Non-Alphabetical Prose-look at title, subtitle,

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 12

2.1.2 Action planning (making predictions and asking

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 13

Strategy Sentence starters

during, and after reading to Why?

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 15

What is the title of this text? Who is the author?

Is this book fiction or nonfiction? How do you know?

What is the genre of this story? How do you know?

Who is telling the text?

Could the characters exist in real life?

Where/when does the story take place? How do you know?

How does the story begin/end?

In order, what are the major events in the text?

What is the problem/conflict in this text? How is it resolved?

Think about the title/genre/author/pictures/setting.

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 16

What is the message/lesson of this text?

2.2 Strategies during reading

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 17

2.2.1 Monitoring or supervision (Determination of relevant parts

Click and clunk (During reading)

How do you take notes?

4. What is the most important person, place or thing?

Some of the research-based strategies include:

Challenge yourself questioning the Text

Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México | DCSBA 20

4. Determine what is important in the text.