Reading Comprehension Week Two: Reading about Thanksgiving

First half of class: Review the discussion of 3id in Morocco and Oman (students will not have viewed the four websites on 3id in Oman but that’s not a problem). Has anyone heard of the American holiday, Thanksgiving? What do you know? (Record on board) Introduce the reading, “A British Guide to Thanksgiving.” Could Thanksgiving be similar to 3id Al Adha? How do you think? (Record on board). Tell the students to read together in pairs and to pay attention to ways that Thanksgiving is alike and different from 3id Al Adha. When finished, conduct a discussion and note the similarities and differences on the board.

First half of class, Cont’d Tell the students that like 3id Al Adha, Thanksgiving is a family feast in the United States. It’s also a time when there is stress because of the preparation for meals and family members who are difficult to be with. Americans love to tell stories about Thanksgiving, and we’re going to read a few. There are four different stories. Put the students in groups of 3 or 4 and give each group one story. Students are to read the stories and create a summary, which they’ll share with the class.

First half of class, cont’d. Give the students time to read together as they wish, aloud or separately, and then allow them to discuss (they may go outside for a few minutes to meet but must return by specific time). Ask for the summaries of the first story; have one group tell the story and then ask the other groups for missing details, to correct inaccurate information, etc. This can be through spoken English; no need to write everything down. Ask the students if they have similar 3id stories. What funny or strange things might happen during 3id? Write these on the board and ask a student to copy the list (we’ll use these to write the following week in Paragraph Writing class).

Second half of class Dismiss the students who came the first week. Have the students who are in class for the first time stay and take the same Reading Comprehension Assessment as the first week. 1. Leila Abouzeid. Students read silently and answer the questions 2. Driss Chraibi. Read the passages aloud to the students and they answer the questions. 3. Laila Lalami. Read with the students, pausing to discuss interesting and important points; get student ideas as you read. Students answer the questions after each passage silently. Collect all the papers.