Activities to enhance reading comprehension

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Activities to enhance reading comprehension
Taken and adapted from www.edhelper.com/

• Alajuela English Advisory
• Ronald Vargas Chavarría
• 2008

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• Main idea

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Read the paragraph and the main idea for the
paragraph. Underline the details that support the
main idea

• Main Idea A new school is being built.They are
  building a new school. It is near my house. Every
  day, I watch the workers. They drive huge
  tractors. I watch them push a ton of dirt. They
  have a big crane. It helps them place tall beams.
  The workers build walls. They are using brick.
  Every day, it looks more like a school. Mom says
  I will go there in the fall!

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Read the paragraph and then write the main idea
of the paragraph

• My favorite dress is yellow. It has a white
  ribbon that ties in the middle. It has lace by
  the neck. It also has lace at the bottom. I wore
  it for my aunt's wedding. I was the flower girl.
  Mom said I looked as pretty as the bride!The
  main idea in this passage is____________________
  _____

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Read the paragraph and then select the main idea
for the paragraph

• It was backward day at school. The students had
  to do things backward. Some of them wore their
  T-shirts backward. They took a test before they
  studied the lesson! Dessert was served first
  instead of last. They tried to walk home
  backward, but they bumped into each other and
  fell down.

• The main idea in this passage is

A Dessert is supposed to come last. C It is hard to do things backward.
B The students had a backward day. D Students failed their tests.
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Write the main idea of the paragraph and then
underline the details that support the main idea.

• I have a dog whose name is Shelby. I've had
  Shelby for five years. She is very pretty with
  long brown hair. She has turned into my best
  friend. She plays with me, sleeps with me, and
  goes on walks with me. I am so glad to have her
  around. I love her.The main idea in this
  passage is_____________________________

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Read the paragraph. Write the topic, the main
idea, and two details that support the main idea.

• John held the ball in his hands. He bounced it
  slowly on the ground. Once. Twice. He crouched
  low and then jumped. The ball flew into the air.
  Up, up, up, it went. Then down, down, down, into
  the basket. "Yes!" he yelled. "Nothing but net!"

Topic (1-2 words)
main idea (one sentence)
detail 1 (piece of information)
detail 2
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• Vocabulary

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• The voters were so upset about the outcome of the
  election that a skirmish broke out and the police
  had to break it up.Using the explanation clue,
  the word skirmish in this sentence means

 fight  hurricane
sunshine creature
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• We shopped at the emporium, which is as large as
  the shopping center, for shampoo and bath
  soap.Using the comparison clue, the word
  emporium in this sentence means

 amusement park  large store
 bathroom library
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• Our country's highest politician, the president,
  has the job of making sure our country stays
  safe.
• In this sentence, the word politician means
•   man  boss  golfer  elected person

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• Mom and Dad were trying to decide how to update
  the family room. They couldn't agree on most
  things like what furniture to buy. Finally, after
  many discussions, they at least agreed on what
  hue they wanted the walls to be painted.
• Write a synonym for the word hue.

Synonym
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• Write a word to complete the sentence.
• We climbed the ________ to have a picnic. I
  liked eating my hot dog.

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• Circle the word that does not belong.

knowledge learning wisdom incomprehension
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• Although Mary was willing to play in the snow,
  Jack was reluctant because he was so cold.Using
  the antonym clue, the word reluctant in this
  sentence means

 ready  not willing
willing excited
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Multiple Meaning
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Read the sentence. Pick the choice that uses the
underlined word in the same way as in the
original sentence.

• Lack of money drove Joyce to sell the farm.

A. The blizzard drove Marlene to decide to stay home and be alone on Christmas.
B. Dad drove us to the mall but Mom said she would take us home.
C. The family drove three hours to see the ocean.
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• The employee put a caution sign up so no one
  would slip on the wet floor.

A The messenger handed the slip of paper to the teacher.
B The man will slip on the wet floor if he's not careful.
C We need a permission slip in order to go on the trip.
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• Inference

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Complete We can guess that sam is a _____
bird, rooster, dog, cat

• Sam lay half in his pet house. He lifted his nose
  and sniffed the still air. The sky was changing
  from deep blue to yellow. Down the street a
  rooster crowed. Sam yawned, got up, and stretched
  his four long, black legs. Sam began to bark.

T F STATEMENT
X Sam is waking up
X Sam is going to sleep
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• Who is Sam?
• a bird, a rooster, a dog, a cat
• When is this happening?
• sunset, dawn, noon, during the night
• Where does this story take place?
• Country, city, village, town
• Why did Sam get up?

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• Sequencing

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Fill in the blanks to put the group of sentences
in order. The first step is numbered for you.
The plant burst into flower.
The rain watered it, covering it with mud.
1 A seed fell to the soft ground.
The seed quickly grew into a tall plant.
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• Summarizing

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• I am so proud of my aunt. She quit smoking! Today
  marks the 90th day from when she quit. The family
  is going out to dinner to celebrate. We will go
  to her favorite restaurant, La Taliano.My aunt
  had smoked for twenty years. Recently, she was
  told by her doctor that she had better quit.
  There are many health risks associated with
  smoking. She told me she wanted to live a long
  time to see me grow up. I'm in third grade right
  now.She gave up cigarettes on a Friday night,
  and so far, has never looked back. I know it
  hasn't been easy. I am making her a special card
  to tell her how much I love her.

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Read the paragraph and answer the questions.

• Who is the story about?
• _______________________
• Why did the aunt quit smoking?
• _______________________
• How did the aunt quit?
• _______________________

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Thank you!

• If the child is not learning the way you are
  teaching, then you must teach in the way the
  child learns
• Rita Dunn