IEP READING REVIEW

IEP READING STRATEGIES

REVIEW

In this review lesson, we're going to:

• look at the different question types

• provide tips to answer those questions

• practice those question types

Before we begin, there are three basic skills common to all the question types. They are:

• Skimming

• Scanning

• Summarising

Multiple Choice

Skim the TV programmes to find out what time you can watch a programme about the countryside.

• 18.15

• 18.30

• 19.30

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the Blanks

Multiple Select

Who was married to Mary Queen of Scots?

• King of France

• Lord Darnley

• Earl of Bothwell

Multiple Choice

When did Mary die?

• 1567

• 1577

• 1587

• 1566

Multiple Choice

How old was Mary when she became Queen?

• 6 days

• 6 months

• 6 years

• 60 years

Before you look at any questions, go through the text quickly and highlight (1-2 mins only)

• Names

• Figures (numbers)

• Dates

• Times

• Capitalised nouns

• Places

• In doing the above you are basically skimming the text

QUESTION TYPES

MATCHING HEADINGS

SKILLS

• understanding the aim of a section

• identifying the difference between a main idea and supporting points

• understanding aims of paragraphs and sections

• understanding general content of paragraphs or sections

TIPS

• Read the first paragraph before you read the headings

• Summarise the main idea - put it in your own words

• Look at the headings, is there a clear match? If yes, match

• If there are two possible matches, go to the keywords in the headings and see if you can find those synonyms in the text.

PRACTICE

Multiple Choice

A greenhouse is a house made of glass. It has glass walls and a glass roof. People grow tomatoes and flowers and other plants in them. A greenhouse stays warm inside, even during winter. Sunlight shines in and warms the plants and air inside. But the heat is trapped by the glass and cannot escape. So during the daylight hours, it gets warmer and warmer inside a greenhouse, and stays quite warm at night too.

• i. Temperatures on earth

• ii. What is a greenhouse

• iii. How is earth a greenhouse

• iv. Plants that grow in a greenhouse

• v. Earth’s atmosphere

Explanation

• The passage is about the greenhouse effect so the first paragraph explains the meaning of the word greenhouse. This is shown in the topic sentence and explained in the following sentences. The first paragraph does give information about plants in a greenhouse (iv) but this is only an example of how a greenhouse is used and not the aim of the paragraph.

• Remember look for the main idea, not supporting details

Multiple Choice

Earth’s atmosphere does the same thing as the greenhouse. Gases in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide do what the roof of a greenhouse does. During the day, the Sun shines through the atmosphere. Earth’s surface warms up in the sunlight. At night, Earth’s surface cools, releasing the heat back into the air. But some of the heat is trapped by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That is what keeps our Earth a warm and comfortable 59 degrees Fahrenheit, on average

• i. Temperatures on earth

• ii. What is a greenhouse

• iii. How is earth a greenhouse

• iv. Plants that grow in a greenhouse

• v. Earth’s atmosphere

EXPLANATION

• The second paragraph explains that the earth functions the same way as a greenhouse due to gases in the atmosphere. This is shown in the topic sentence. There is information about the temperatures on earth (i) but only to explain the greenhouse effect. Also there is information about earth’s atmosphere (v) but only as it relates to the greenhouse effect.

• Don't get sidetracked by supporting ideas - concentrate on the main idea.

TRUE-FALSE-NOT GIVEN / YES-NO-NOT GIVEN

SKILLS

• identifying specific information in the passage (scanning)

• scanning and understanding information (T/F/NG questions)

•  understanding the opinions of the writer (Y/N/NG questions) 

TIPS

• yes / true = the same information/idea is found in the passage

• no / false = the opposite/contrary information is found in the passage

• not given = the information is not found in the passage 

• paraphrase the statements before trying to locate the answers.

DO NOT -

• write True /T for a YES answer or vice versa

• write False /F for a NO answer or vice versa

• Spell True and False correctly (not ture or flase)

PRACTICE

Multiple Choice

The Thames Tunnel was the first tunnel built under a river

• True

• False

• Not Given

Explanation - second line

"It was the first subaqueous tunnel ever built"

Multiple Choice

The Thames Tunnel was the Eighth Wonder of the World

• TRUE

• FALSE

• NOT GIVEN

EXPLANATION - line 2

"many people claimed it was the Eighth Wonder of the World" it was a claim NOT a fact

Multiple Choice

People were drawn from all over the world to see the Thames tunnel.

• TRUE

• FALSE

• NOT GIVEN

EXPLANATION - Line 3

"people came from far and wide to see..."

Multiple Choice

The tunnel was used more by the Middle and Upper classes.

• TRUE

• FALSE

• NOT GIVEN

EXPLANATION

The passage does not give this kind of information at all

Multiple Choice

People were able to travel by sea or land in those days.

• TRUE

• FALSE

• NOT GIVEN

EXPLANATION - line seven

"In the age of sail (sea) and horse-drawn carriages (land)

Multiple Choice

The aim of the tunnel was to make a profit as a tourist attraction.

• TRUE

• FALSE

• NOT GIVEN

EXPLANATION - line 10

"The aim had been for the tunnel to be used by wheeled vehicles to transport cargo so that it could bring in a profit..."

Multiple Choice

Statues of the tunnel could be bought as souvenirs.

• TRUE

• FALSE

• NOT GIVEN

EXPLANATION

There is no mention that statues of the tunnel were sold as souvenirs

Multiple Choice

The tunnel is no longer used as a pedestrian walkway to cross the river.

• TRUE

• FALSE

• NOT GIVEN

EXPLANATION - last line of text

"...the tunnel became part of the London Underground railway system which continues to be its use today"

Matching Paragraph Information (Matching Features)

SKILLS

•  identifying specific information 

• scanning for information 

TIPS

• paraphrase the information in the question

• find the information in the passage

• answers do not come in order 

• the answer requires you to use a letter (A, D, C, D…) – read instructions carefully to check

• not all paragraphs may be used

PRACTICE

Multiple Choice

An employee is asked to leave work straight away because he has done something really bad.

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

EXPLANATION - B

If the employer can prove that the employee's behaviour was illegal, dangerous or severely wrong, the employee can be dismissed immediately: a procedure known as summary dismissal.

Multiple Choice

An employee is pressured to leave his job unless he accepts conditions that are very different from those agreed to in the beginning

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

EXPLANATION - E

There is another kind of dismissal, known as constructive dismissal, which is slightly peculiar because the employee is not actually openly dismissed by the employer. In this case the employee is forced into resigning by an employer who tries to make significant changes to the original contract. This could mean an employee might have to work night shifts after originally signing on for day work, or he could be made to work in dangerous conditions

Multiple Choice

An employer gets rid of an employee without keeping to conditions in the contract.

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

EXPLANATION - D

One of these types is wrongful dismissal and involves a breach of contract by the employer. This could involve dismissing an employee without notice or without following proper disciplinary and dismissal procedures.

Multiple Choice

The reason for an employee's dismissal is not considered good enough.

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

EXPLANATION - C

Another type, unfair dismissal, is when an employee is sacked without good cause. 

Multiple Choice

The reasons for an employee's dismissal are acceptable by law and the terms of the employment contract.

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

EXPLANATION - A

A fair dismissal is legally and contractually strong and it means all the necessary procedures have been correctly followed

Multiple Choice Questions

SKILLS

• scanning for specific Information

• understanding information in the passage 

TIPS

• paraphrase the information in the question and options

• locate the precise information in the passage

• answers come in order

• answers are usually letters (A,B,C or D) – read the instructions carefully to check

PRACTICE

Multiple Choice

This test can predict Alzheimer's

• two or three years before the illness begins

• two or three years from the start of the symptoms

• a decade before

EXPLANATION

Second sentence "before symptoms start"

Multiple Choice

This is the first blood test which can...

• cure Alzheimer's

• estimate the start of the disease

• diagnose the disease

EXPLANATION

2nd Paragraph - last sentence "until now none has had the sensitivity to predict its onset"

Multiple Choice

Mapstone believes that

• this test will help people understand Alzheimer's

• people want to know about their health

• people want power

EXPLANATION

Paragraph 3 "they believe that knowledge is power - particularly when it comes to your own health."

Matching Sentence Endings 

SKILLS

• locating information in the passage

• understanding information 

Every match must be:

• logical - it must make sense

• grammatical - it must be gramatically correct

• textual - the same idea can be found in the paragraph

TIPS

• read through the sentences and then read through the possible endings

• If there is a logical and grammatical match, then look to see if the same idea is present in the text.

• Think of paraphrases/synonyms for the words in the statements

• Answers are usually letters (A-G) and there are usually more endings than you need.

PRACTICE

Multiple Choice

Researchers with differing attitudes towards telepathy agree on...

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

EXPLANATION

The answer is in the first paragraph, lines 7-9; “Sceptics and advocates alike do concur on one issue, however, that the most impressive evidence so far has come from the so-called ‘ganzfeld’ experiments, a German term that means ‘whole field’.”

Multiple Choice

Reports of experiences during meditation indicated

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

EXPLANATION

The answer is in the first paragraph, beginning in the ninth line; “Reports of telepathic experiences had by people during meditation led parapsychologists to suspect that telepathy might involve ‘signals’ passing between people that were so faint that they were usually swamped by normal brain activity. In this case, such signals might be more easily detected by those experiencing meditation-like tranquillity in a relaxing ‘whole field’ of light, sound and warmth.”

Multiple Choice

Attitudes to parapsychology would alter drastically with...

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

EXPLANATION

The answer is in the second paragraph, fifth line; “Answering such questions would transform parapsychology. This has prompted some researchers to argue that the future lies not in collecting more evidence for telepathy, but in probing possible mechanisms.”

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

SKILLS

• Quickly skim the text for the general meaning.

• Identify keywords.

• Scan for specific information.

• Recognise synonyms and paraphrasing.

TIPS

• Read the questions first, then the text. It’s important that you understand what is being asked in the questions before looking at the text. You will then know the main ideas to look out for as you skim read.

• The answers will be in order in the text. So, once you've found the answer to question 1, you’ll know that the answer to question 2 will come soon after, and so on

TIPS

• Don’t go over the word limit stated for your answers, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER.’

• Use only the actual words from the text for your answer. You may need to change the tense of any verbs you use to ensure your answer is grammatically correct.

TIPS

• Most questions will contain synonyms or paraphrasing of the text, that is, the meaning will be the same but the wording slightly different.

PRACTICE

TABLE COMPLETION

TIPS

• Read the instructions carefully. Note that in the sample task you may use your own words if you wish, based on the information in the reading text. In other cases you will be instructed to use the words from the reading text only. Note also that here you may write only three words or fewer.

TIPS

• Look at the table and especially any headings. Decide which is the most useful way to read the table. In this case you need to read it horizontally to answer the questions. Glance at the other information given in the table to get an idea of what information you will be searching for when you read.

TIPS

• Look at the first row under the headings. Decide what key ideas you will need to search for as you skim the reading text. Decide also what information you will need to complete the first gap. For example, in the sample task you will skim for a paragraph or section discussing icebergs not being plotted because something was scattered all over the ship. What was that something?

TIPS

• Skim the text for the appropriate paragraph or section.

• Read that section more carefully and decide on the best word or words to fill the gap. Remember that you will need to use the appropriate form of any verbs.

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