Major and Minor Supporting details.doc

Reading WorkshopRecognizing Major and Minor Supporting Details Finding the main idea is the building blocks of comprehension in reading, but the main idea does not give all the information you need. Details that develop the main idea may paint a more complete picture or show how the idea relates to other ideas. To read better, you have to be able to make the best use of supporting details.Warm-up Activity:Directions: Read the following story.John smiled happily. It was his birthday. To celebrate it, he and his girlfriend Joan were being taken to dinner by his two best friends, Ted and Harry. John and Joan walked the six blocks to the restaurant at the corner of Main and Third. They met the boys and had a delicious dinner. Imagine the embarrassment of Ted and Harry when they found that they didnt have enough money to pay the bill. John had to save the day by chipping in.sQuestions:1. What is the main idea of this little story? _2. Circle the details you think important:a. It was Johns birthday.b. He and Joan were being taken to dinner by Ted and Harry.c. Ted and Harry were Johns best friends.d. Joan was the name of Johns girlfriend.e. It was six blocks to the restaurant.f. The restaurant was at the corner of Main and Third.g. The dinner was delicious.h. The boys didnt have enough money to pay for the meal.i. John chipped in. Adapted from I.L. Joffe, Opportunity for Skillful Reading, p.124Do you realize that not all details are equally important? Part I Basics of Supporting DetailsSupporting details are those facts and ideas that prove or explain the main idea of a paragraph or an essay. They can be facts, reasons, examples, statistics, or opinions or findings of experts or authorities. While all the details in a paragraph support the main idea, not all details are of equal importance. Major supporting details directly relate to, explain or develop the main idea and are essential to understanding the idea. If a major detail was omitted (left out), the meaning might not be clear since basic information has not been included. Minor supporting details provide additional information, offer an example, or further explain or describe the major details. If a minor detail was omitted, the material might not be as readable but would be just as understandable.FReview the story in the warm-up activity:There are many details in that little story, but only the first three and the last two details are important because they are necessary or indispensable to the plot of that particular story while details d g are minor and incidental to the story, if these details were changed or even eliminated, the basic plot would remain the same. The main idea and its major supporting details form the basic framework of a paragraph.& The structure of a paragraph is illustrated as follows: Main idea Major supporting detail Minor supporting detail Minor supporting detailMajor supporting detail Minor supporting detailPart II Distinguishing Major and Minor Supporting DetailsIn the age of information, you are presented with more reading material than you can possibly digest, so it becomes increasingly important to be able to distinguish major details from minor details.Being able to distinguish between major and minor supporting details helps you: to read effectivelyKnowing the difference between more important and less important details allows you to adjust your rate of reading and your intensity of concentration. You will pay less attention to the less important details and read the more important details carefully and attentively. to think logically You will be able to follow the authors train of thought more easily and get a thorough understanding of the main idea. to decide what is important to remember The good reader is able to extract the “meat” from the material and absorb it.Part III Activity: A Master Hands First Small DisplayDirections: Read the following selections and answer the questions that follow.Selection 1It was the use of the telescope, of course, that opened the modern age of astronomy and made possible the growth of all our current theories. Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe tried to answer some questions about the solar system, but it was Galileo who made the first use of the telescope to observe the heavens close up. Born in 1564, Galileo added greatly to our knowledge of the stars before he died in 1642. By means of his telescope he discovered moons in orbit around Jupiter (木星). Although he saw only four, scientists after him discovered eight more moons. Galileo also discovered that the planet Venus (金星) did not always appear the same size. It was his wise use of the telescope that helped him understand this important fact: that the sun, and not the earth, is the centre of the planets.sQuestions:1.What is the main idea of this selection?_2. Circle the detail or details you think important:a. Galileo was born in 1564 and died in 1642.b. Galileo made the first use of the telescope to observe the heavens close up.c. Kepler and Brahe answered questions about the solar system.d. He discovered moons in orbit around Jupiter.e. Jupiter has totally twelve moons.f. Galileo observed that the planet Venus did not always appear the same size.g. Galileo learned that the earth is not the centre of the solar system.3. Galileos major contribution to our knowledge of the planets wasA. his invention of the telescope. B. his study of Brahe and Kepler. C. his observations about Jupiter. D. his observation that planets revolve round the sun. Adapted from H.S. Wiener, Reading Skills Handbook, Fourth Edition, p.105-106Selection 21The entire body of a tarantula, especially its legs, is thickly clothed with hair. 2Some of it is short and woolly, some long and stiff. 3Touching this body hair produces one of two distinct reactions. 4When the spider is hungry, it responds with an immediate and swift attack. 5At the touch of a crickets antennae the tarantula seizes the insect so swiftly that a motion picture taken at the rate of 64 frames per second shows only the result and not the process of capture. 6But when the spider is not hungry, the stimulation of its hairs merely causes it to shake the touched limb. 7An insect can walk under its hairy belly unharmed.sQuestions:Indicate which sentence or sentences represent the following items.Introductory descriptive details: _ Main idea: _Major supporting details: _ Minor supporting details: _ Selection 31People feel safer behind some kind of physical barrier. 2If a social situation is in any way threatening, then there is an immediate urge to set up such a barricade. 3For a tiny child faced with a stranger, the problem is usually solved by hiding behind its mothers body and peeping out at the intruder to see what he or she will do next. 4If the mothers body is not available, then a chair or some other piece of solid furniture will do. 5If the stranger insists on coming closer, then the peeping face must be hidden too. 6If the insensitive intruder continues to approach despite these obvious signals of fear, then there is nothing for it but to scream or flee.sQuestions:Indicate which sentence or sentences represent the following items.Introductory descriptive details: _ Main idea: _Major supporting details: _ Minor supporting details: _Selection 4Europe seems almost to have been predestined by Nature to become the home of the first world-embracing civilization. No other region of the globe possesses in the same degree such rare geographical advantages. In area, it is true, Europe is not impressive and does not deserve to be called a separate continent, for it is an irregular peninsula thrust out from the great land formation of Eurasia (欧亚大陆). But it lies at the centre of the great Africo-Eurasian land mass, and it faces towards the Americas. The climate, especially in the western half, is variable but not extreme, which makes it ideal for man and for most forms of agriculture. There are no deserts, the soil is generally fertile, and the rainfall adequate. A convoluted coastline and two extensive inlets (the Baltic and the Mediterranean Seas) (波罗的海和地中海) carry the moderating effect of the ocean far inland, and numerous excellent harbors and navigable rivers seem created for the convenience of shipping and the promotion of commerce.sQuestions:1. What is the main idea of this selection?_2. List the geographical advantages of Europe mentioned in this selection._Selection 51We have seen that inequality has been a problem in human societies for a long time. 2Poverty has been explained several ways. 3The personal view blames the poor individuals for their poverty. 4Proponents of this view believe, in effect, that the poor are poor because they are morally or personally defective lazy, apathetic, good for nothing. 5The cultural view also blames the poor individual for his poverty, but not directly. 6Rather, it blames the socialization process, which indoctrinates the children of the poor into a way of life that perpetuates their condition. 7In other words, the poor learn behavior patterns that prevent their upward mobility, patterns that are passed from generation to generation in a vicious circle. 8Finally, the economic view is somewhat noncommittal: it maintains that the poor are poor because they have little or no money. 9They have little money because they are unemployed, underemployed, or kept in low-paying jobs. 10Consequently, they have little purchasing power and are underconsumers. The poor themselves are not at fault; our economic structure is.sQuestions:Indicate which sentence or sentences represent the following items.Introductory descriptive details: _ Main idea: _Major supporting details: _ Minor supporting details: _Selection 6Our data on the kinds of people who are more likely to read magazines are better than our data on the number who do. Surveys show, not surprisingly, that the amount of magazine reading is highly correlated with education. The more educated people are, the more time they are likely to spend reading magazines. We also know that women tend to read magazines more than men do. This is shown by various kinds of data, including the fact that magazines that appeal primarily to women outsell magazines that appeal primarily to men. It may seem strange or out of date to you for anyone in the 1980s to be talking about mens magazines or womens magazines. However, there is little evidence that the sexual revolution is erasing the clear distinctions between mens and womens tastes in magazines. Men are likely than women to read magazines that cover news on business and finance, mechanics and science, sports, outdoor life, and those that include photographs of women in various states of undress. Men also have a higher probability of reading the general newsmagazines. Women, on the other hand, are more likely to read magazines with useful household information (recipes, home decor, child care, and gardening) or fashion and beauty information.sQuestions:1. Circle the word or phrase that indicates the topic.2. What is the main idea of this selection? _3. Underline the sentence or sentences that represent major supporting details.Selection 7Culture and Learning1 Every culture has its own distinctive conventions regarding what should be learned and how learning should take place. In one culture, students may be encouraged to work with their classmates, while in another culture this activity may be prohibited. In some societies, students are discouraged from asking questions, while in others they may be required to do so. 2 Diversity exists not only between cultures, but also within a single culture. In Most British primary and secondary schools, for example, the teacher is the primary provider of required information, and rote learning plays an important role in the acquisition of this information. However, when these students proceed to university, they face a new set of academic norms and expectations. Although memorization is still required, much more emphasis is placed on the critical evaluation of learning and independent research. 3 The analysis of writing by students from different cultures suggests that the thinking and writing process is a culture-specific phenomenon. The ability to write well in one language does not necessarily guarantee an equivalent competence in another language, irrespective of an individuals grammatical proficiency in that language. Although most researchers would argue that writing and thinking are culture-specific phenomena, considerable controversy has been aroused by attempts to provide cognitive profiles for specific cultures. An American study which analyzed the way in which students from different cultural backgrounds structured a paragraph of factual writing argued that at least five cognitive profiles could be distinguished. 4 It may be argued that a similar diversity of cognitive and rhetorical style also exists between academic disciplines. Although standard models for writing reports exist in both Chemistry and Physics, an adequate physics report may not satisfy the requirements of the chemistry sub-culture. The departments of tertiary institutions generally publish study guides which provide detailed writing guidelines. These list the rhetorical, referencing and formatting conventions required by each discipline. Before submitting any written work, students are advised to consult appropriate guides and ensure that their written assignments conform to expectations. 5 There are, in short, three levels of cultural adjustment which face the overseas undergraduate student: adjustment to a different culturally based learning style; adjustments associated with the move from secondary to tertiary education; and the adjustments related to entry into a specific disciplinary sub-culture. Adapted from .au/ielts/demo/reading5.htmlsQuestions:1. What is the main idea of this selection?_2. List the major details that support this main idea._Selection 8The Sounds of SilenceCity dwellers who are accustomed to loud noises hear only silence at first when they go to the country. Then, slowly, away from the steady roar of background noise, they begin to hear the series of sounds that signal the times of day on a farm.Greeting the MorningThe rooster proclaims the days arrival. As the sky gradually lightens, chickens cluck and pigs grunt for breakfast. Cows moo anxiously, waiting to be milked. Inside the farmhouse, family members talk quietly while they eat. Then they push their chairs back from the table with a scrape and hurry off to start their chores.The Days WorkAs the day progresses, tractors grumble across the fields and workers shout orders and questions to one another. Hammers tap nails sharply and saws wheeze as farmhands repair the hayloft. Birds sing arias among the trees and call to each other as they take wing across the fields.Evening FallsAs dark falls, a barn owl hoots and flaps its wings. On the screened porch, the murmur of conversation is punctuated by low laughter. Natures orchestra takes center stage: tree frogs chortle, toads croak, and crickets fill in the gaps with a constant background chirp of legs rubbing together. Tree branches creak and moan, and leaves rustle in the wind. Water in the stream bubbles and babbles over rocks and logs. A farm dog howls at the moon.sQuestion:Summarize the supporting details in each section and then based on your summaries, write an umbrella sentence that reflects the main idea the author is trying to convey.Main IdeaIntroduction:Greeting the Morning:The Days Work:Evening Falls:Adapted from /language/eolang/peonline/course_3/ch01/activities/Selection 9Directions: Read the list of facts on dreaming and then place the facts under the topics they support.Dream Facts1. One third of our lives is spent sleeping. 2. In your lifetime, you wouldve spent about 6 years of it dreaming. That is more than 2,100 days spent in a different world. 3. Dreams have been here as long as mankind. Back in the Roman Era, striking and significant dreams were submitted to the Senate for analysis and interpretation. 4. Everybody dreams. EVERYBODY! Simply because you do not remember your dream does not mean that you did not dream. 5. Dreams are indispensable. A lack of dream activity can mean protein deficiency or a personality disorder.6. We dream on average of one or two hours every night. And we often even have 4-7 dreams in one night.