Lesson Title: Cycle 3, Reading Session: Main Ideas and

Supporting details Materials:

Lesson Objectives:
1. To demonstrate the ability of analyzing main ideas References:
and supporting details in college-level reading https://www.mpc.edu/home/s
material howdocument?id=12798
2. To self-evaluate the needs in reading comprehension
skills.

Productivity Tip: To get the most out of learning, you need to approach all your tasks with
an open mind. Some topics and activities may be familiar but still give it your all. There is
always some new thing you can learn.

A. INTRODUCTION
Reading constantly enhances your reading comprehension and reading rate. The activity
for today will enhance both your reading comprehension and reading rate. Keep today’s
lesson targets in mind as we go through today’s session:
 To accurately identify the main ideas
 To complete answering a reading comprehension practice test within the set time
frame
 To reflect and list the kind of comprehension skills I need to work on

B. LESSON REVIEW/PREVIEW
Activity 1: Pre-Test: Finding the Main Idea
 Instructions: Read the paragraphs and determine the main idea or the central thought
by underlining the sentence that contains the main idea.
1. The ability to follow directions is an important skill that you can use all your life. Scarcely a day goes by
without the need to obey directions. Cooking, baking, driving, taking medications, taking exams and a lot
more truly require the ability to follow directions.
2. Encouragement has the effect of a gentle rain. It brings steady growth. Andrew Carnegie’s genius lies in
developing others and holding fault-finding to a minimum. Anne Sullivan Macy’s constant
encouragement helped Helen Keller, blind and deaf, overcome her disability and become an inspiration
to the world.

3. A person cannot relax and study at the same time. Studying requires a certain amount of tension, concentration,
and effort in specific direction. Of course, the amount of tension varies with different individuals. The point is
that studying is hard work and people who are not prepared to make a proper effort are wasting their time.

4. The greatest writers wrote for their own time and place. You can’t separate Tolstoy and Dostoevsky from the
Russia of their day. You can’t separate Joyce and Yeats from the Ireland of their day. You can’t separate
Faulkner and Fitzgerald from the America of their day. What made their works powerful was that they spoke
about experiences quite unlike any other, experiences that provide insights into the human conditions as they
unraveled these in all their pain and splendor.

5. One day, two men walked through the city of mirrors. One was smiling while the other was frowning. After
leaving the city boundaries, they met at the road. The smiling man uttered, “What a beautiful city! There
was so much happiness seen in people’s faces!” The other man, however, replied,” What happy faces?
All I saw were sad and frowning faces. Indeed, in the city of mirrors, what you are is what you see.

 Check your answers with the Key to Corrections found on the last pages of this module.

C. DEVELOPING THE SKILL

Activity 3: Concept Notes
Instruction: Read the concept notes pre-printed below. While reading, highlight key
information found in the text.

What is the difference between a topic and a main idea?

Topic: The topic is the general subject of a paragraph or essay. Topics are simple and are
described with just a word or a phrase.
Main Idea: The main idea is a complete sentence; it includes the topic and what the author
wants to say about it. If the author states the main idea in his paragraph, it is called a “topic
sentence.” In some cases, the paragraph does not have a topic sentence. The main idea is
only implied.

 Instructions: Read the paragraphs and identify the topic and main idea.
Topic: TV VIOLENCE
Main Idea: Obviously, TV violence has some negative effects. The harmful effects of watching violence on
TV.

Topic: IRRATIONAL; BEHAVIOURS

Main Idea: Explanations of people about irrational behaviours/ mental illnesses in many ways throughout the
years.

 Compare your notes with the Key to Corrections found in the last pages of this SAS
Activity 4: Practice Test (25 mins)
Activity 4.1 Reading Comprehension Test
1. When you are ready, flip to the Reading Test found at the end this SAS.
2. Read the test materials carefully and answer the questions as best as you can. Work
only on questions #1-21.
3. Write the letter of your answers in the “answer sheet” below.
4. Time yourself. After 20 mins, finished or not, stop working and proceed to the next
activity which is checking your work.

1. D 11. B 21. C
2. C 12. A 22.
3. C 13. B 23.
4. A 14. D 24.
5. C 15. A 25.
6. A 16. A 26.
7. D 17. B 27.
8. B 18. B 28.
9. B 19. D 29.
10. B 20. A 30.

Activity 4.2: Checking your work

1. Turn to the reading test answer key and check your work.
2. Give yourself 1 point for every correct answer. Write your score.
3. Study the explanation for answers, especially for answers that you got wrong.
This will guide your thinking for the next practice test.

Write your score here: 18/21

D. THINKING ABOUT LEARNING
Activity 5: My Learning
Think about the following:
1. Which practice score did you show your best performance? I think in this practice score.
2. What do you think made you perform best at that time? The passages are easy and
understandable.
3. What is one activity you can do, outside of the activities in your modules, to enrich your
English language communication skills? Practice talking with other people in English, and
constantly involve in speaking activities within school or other venues.

4. In your chosen profession, what do you think are two ways that good English
communication skills will be relevant?
a. When talking to foreign people.
b. When presenting something from the group/group sharing and in community about health practices.
KEY TO CORRECTIONS
Activity 1:
1. The ability to follow directions is an important skill that you can use all your life. Scarcely
a day goes by without the need to obey directions. Cooking, baking, driving, taking
medications, taking exams and a lot more truly require the ability to follow directions.

2. Encouragement has the effect of a gentle rain. It brings steady growth. Andrew Carnegie’s
genius lies in developing others and holding fault-finding to a minimum. Anne Sullivan
Macy’s constant encouragement helped Helen Keller, blind and deaf, overcome her
disability and become an inspiration to the world.

3. A person cannot relax and study at the same time. Studying requires a certain amount of
tension, concentration, and effort in specific direction. Of course, the amount of tension
varies with different individuals. The point is that studying is hard work and people who
are not prepared to make a proper effort are wasting their time.

4. The greatest writers wrote for their own time and place. The greatest writers wrote about
their own time and place. You can’t separate Tolstoy and Dostoevsky from the Russia of
 their day. You can’t separate Joyce and Yeats from the Ireland of their day. You can’t
separate Faulkner and Fitzgerald from the America of their day. What made their works
powerful was that they spoke about experiences quite unlike any other, experiences that
provide insights into the human conditions as they unraveled these in all their pain and
splendor.

5. One day, two men walked through the city of mirrors. One was smiling while the other
was frowning. After leaving the city boundaries, they met at the road. The smiling man
uttered, “What a beautiful city! There was so much happiness seen in people’s faces!”
The other man, however, replied,” What happy faces? All I saw were sad and frowning
faces. Indeed, in the city of mirrors, what you are is what you see.

Act 2:
1. Topic: TV violence
Stated Main Idea: Obviously, TV violence has some negative effects.
Paraphrase of Main Idea: TV violence can have harmful results.

2. Topic: Irrational behaviour OR mental illness

Main Idea: People have explained mental illnesses/irrational behaviours in many
different ways over the years.