1 MAIN IDEA

The MAIN IDEA is the main reason the story was written. Example:
While reading text, ask yourself the question: - I see bubbles rising. I hear my own breathing. There are
- What was this text mostly about? fish swimming above me. I feel the seaweed swaying. Can
How do I find the MAIN IDEA? you infer where I am and what I am doing?
A paragraph has two essential components: Answer: Scuba diving in the sea.
1. The main idea is expressed in the topic sentence. - I hear screaming. My stomach feels funny. Can you see
2. Additional sentences provide supporting details. my hair blowing? I’m feeling excited! Can you infer where I
Example: am and what I am doing?
Niagara Falls is one of the most beautiful sights in North America. It Answer: I’m on a roller coaster ride!
is on the Niagara River halfway between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. ACTIVITY 3:
Niagara Falls is located on the American and Canadian border. The 1. Miss White has recess duty. Jacob finds a frog, picks it up, and
American Falls is 167 feet high. On the Canadian side, the runs over to show it to Miss White. Miss White screams, jumps, and
Horseshoe Falls is 161 feet high. runs as fast as she can into the school. What can you infer in the
Main Idea: Niagara Falls is one of the most beautiful sights in passage?
North America. 2. I have quite an exciting job that allows me to work with lots of
ACTIVITY 1: exotic animals. I work hard from the early morning to the end of the
Directions: Identify the main idea in the paragraph below. Write the day because a lot of critters depend on me. I am in charge of feeding
sentence on your activity notebook. animals, cleaning habitats, and making sure all the animals are
1. Jimmy didn't have any money, but he wanted to show Jane that happy and healthy. What is this person's occupation?
she meant a lot to him, so he decided to make her a Valentine's Day 3. Caroline took a math test yesterday. She is not sure how she did.
card. He got some nice, thick cardstock paper and folded it in half. The test was hard! Mrs. Fisher is giving back the tests now. Caroline
He cut it into the shape of a heart and drew a cherub on the front of watches as her friends get their papers back. Some smile and some
it. Then, he wrote a thoughtful message on the inside. When he gave frown. Caroline bites her lip. She is worried. Mrs. Fisher smiles as
it to Jane, she was so touched that she cried and her tears stained she gives Caroline’s paper back. Caroline peeks at the grade, and
the front of the card. Thinking the card ruined, Jimmy was so she smiles at Mrs. Fisher. How do you think Caroline did on the
offended that he broke up with her calling her a "crybaby" as he left. test?
The moral of the story is that young people shouldn't date.
2. There are many types of lethal venom in the animal kingdom, but 4 KARMA (THE FOUR WIVES)
perhaps no stranger carrier than the platypus. The platypus is one of Once there was a man who had four wives. According to the
few venomous mammals. Male platypus carry a venom cocktail in social system and circumstances of ancient India, it was possible for
their ankle spurs. This venom incapacitates victims with excruciating a man to have several wives. Also, during the Heian period in Japan,
pain. Stranger still, the platypus is the only mammal that uses about a thousand years ago, it was not unusual for a woman to have
electroreception. That means that the platypus uses its bill to sense several husbands. The Indian had become ill and was about to die.
the electricity produced by the muscular movements of its prey. At the end of his life, he felt very lonely and so asked the rst wife to
Electroreception is a sixth sense different from seeing, hearing, accompany him to the other world.
smelling, tasting, or feeling. Perhaps most odd, the platypus is the ‘My dear wife,’ he said, ‘I loved you day and night, I took
only mammal that lays eggs rather than giving birth to live young. care of you throughout my whole life. Now I am about to die, will you
What an odd creature indeed. please go with me wherever I go after my death?’
He expected her to answer yes. But she answered, ‘My

2 USE APPROPRIATE STRATEGIES FOR UNLOCKING

dear husband, I know you always loved me. And you are going to
die. Now it is time to separate from you. Goodbye, my dear.’
UNFAMILIAR WORDS He called his second wife to his sickbed and begged her to follow
1. Context Clues him in death. He said, ‘My dear second wife, you know how I loved
Learning the meaning of words from the context of your reading you. Sometimes I was afraid you might leaveme, but I held on to you
material can be the most useful strategy to increase your vocabulary strongly. My dear, please come with me.’
comprehension. Using the context that surrounds an unknown word The second wife expressed herself rather coldly. ‘Dear
help husband, your first wife refused to accompany you after your death.
2. Word Structure How can I follow you? You loved me only for your own selfish sake.’
Analyzing the word’s structure and properties is a vocabulary Lying in his deathbed, he called his third wife, and asked her to follow
strategy that you can use to figure out the word’s meaning. him. The third wife replied, with tears in her eyes, ‘My dear, I pity you
3. Visual-Aural Association and I feel sad for myself. Therefore I shall accompany you to the
Thinking of the picture of the look-alike word and/or image will help graveyard. This is my last duty to you.’ The third wife thus also
you remember the word and its meaning. refused to follow him to death.
4. Dictionary Three wives had refused to follow him after his death. Now
The best way to improve your vocabulary is to carry a pocket he recalled that there was another wife, his fourth wife, for whom he
dictionary to look up new words as you encounter them. didn’t care very much. He had treated her like a slave and had
ACTIVITY 2: always showed much displeasure with her. He now thought that if he
Directions: Identify the meaning of the underlined unfamiliar words asked her to follow him to death, she certainly would say no.
using the strategies above. But his loneliness and fear were so severe that he made the e- ort to
1. Lizards can regenerate faster when their tails are cut. ask her to accompany him to the other world. The fourth wife gladly
2. Most of America's Founding Fathers did not believe in women's accepted her husband’s request.
suffrage. Only men could vote in the United States until 1920. ‘My dear husband,’ she said, ‘I will go with you. Whatever happens, I
3. Edward Elric and his brother have been studying alchemy ever am determined to be with you forever. I cannot be separated from
since he was a child. you…‘
4. Paul was bedridden when he had a leg accident before. ACTIVITY 4:
5. Ana is looking after her obstinate brother who runs back and Directions: Answer what is asked in the following. Use a graphic
forth. organizer. Do this by group.
“What do you think the first to fourth wife represent in a man’s
3 MAKING INFERENCES life?”
Inference is a decision reached on the basis of evidence in the
reading and your own background knowledge. 5 SHAKUNTALA
• Take what you know and make a guess! Legend is a story that has been passed down for generations,
• Draw personal meaning from text (words) or pictures. especially one that is presented as history but is unlikely to be true.
• You use clues to come to your own conclusion. Myth is a traditional story about heroes or supernatural beings, often
What does this image tell me? attempting to explain the origins of natural phenomena or aspects of
Your schema is what you already know human behavior.
about a topic. Think about a schema as SHAKUNTALA
a file folder in your mind Shakuntala was a beautiful maiden who was the adopted
Schema + Text Clues = Inference daughter of Sage Karnva. She lived with him and her pet deer, in his
hermitage in the forest. One day, Dushyanta, the king of Hastinapur,
came hunting in the forest. He saw the beautiful deer and shot an
arrow at it. Shakuntalsa found her deer whimpering in pain and tried
to comfort it. Shakuntala loved the animals of the forest and her
affection for the animal touched Dushyanta's heart and he asked her • Maintain your focus
to forgive him for his cruelty. She forgive him but asked him to stay in • Understand opposing viewpoints
the forest for a few days to tend the wounded deer. They fell in love • Refer to facts
and King Dushyanta married Shakuntala and gave her a wedding • Use analogies:
ring his name on it. The king then left for his king-dom after promising • Be critical
to return soon and take Shakuntala back with him. 3. Feature of story
One day , Sage Durwasa came to Shakuntala's door. He While the distinction between published features and news
repeatedly asked for water, but Shakuntala was lost in thoughts of is often clear, when approached conceptually there are few hard
Dushyanta and paid no attention. The sage was insulted and got very boundaries between the two. It is quite possible to write a feature in
angry. Known for his temper, he cursed Shakuntala saying that the the style of a news story, for instance. Nevertheless features do tend
person whom she was thinking about would forget her. When to take a more narrative approach, perhaps using opening
Shakuntala heard the cause, she was frightened and begged the paragraphs as scene-setting narrative hooks instead of the delivery
sage to forgive her. The sage said that he could not the back the of the most important facts.
curse but he could change, if she showed Dushyanta something he 4. Editorial writing
had given her then he will remember again about her. An editorial is an article that presents the newspaper’s
Due to the curse Dushyanta forgot Shakuntala. After days of opinion on an issue. It reflects the majority vote of the editorial board,
waiting for him to return, Shakuntala decided to go to the capital to the governing body of the newspaper made up of editors and
meet him. On the way, as Shakuntala was crossing a river, her business managers. It is usually unsigned. Much in the same manner
wedding ring fell into the water. A fish swallowed the ring. When of a lawyer, editorial writers build on an argument and try to persuade
Shakuntala arrived at the palace, the king did not recognize her. He readers to think the same way they do. Editorials are meant to
asked her to prove her identity but Shakuntala didn't have the ring to influence public opinion, promote critical thinking, and sometimes
show him, as it was lost. She wept and told the king about the time cause people to take action on an issue. In essence, an editorial is
he had spent with her in the forest but he couldn't remember an opinionated news story.
anything. Feeling sad she left the palace. Editorials may also be in the form of editorial cartoons
Ashamed to return to her father's home, she started living typically, a newspaper’s editorial board evaluates which issues are
alone in another part of the forest where she gave birth to a son. She important for their readership to know the newspaper’s opinion.
called him Bharata. Bharata was a brave boy. He grew up among the Editorials are typically published on a special page dedicated to
animals of the forest and would play with wild animals. them, called the editorial page, which often also features letters to
One day at the king's palace, a fisherman brought him a the editor from members of the public; the page opposite this page is
ring. He told the king that he had found the ring in the stomach of a called the op-ed page and frequently contains opinion pieces by
fish that he had brought it straight to him. As soon as the king saw writers not directly affiliated with the publication.
the ring, the curse was broken and the king remembered Shakuntala. ACTIVITY 5:
He was very upset and hurried at once to her home in the forest to Directions: Choose one among the types of journalistic writing and
look for her, but could not find her. In despair, he returned to his write one.
palace.
Few years passed. The king again went hunting in the
forest. There he was surprised to find a boy playing with a lion cub.
7CAMERA SHOTS: Framing
The boy fearlessly held open the mouth of the cub and said, " O king 1. HIGH ANGLE
of the jungle! Open your mouth wide, so I can count your teeth." The In order to shoot a high angle, the camera must be placed above the
king went up to the boy and asked him about his parents. The little actors, or objects, looking down. This is also called Bird’s Eye view.
boy replied that he was the son of king Dushyanta and Shakuntala. This angle is used to make the actor or objects appear insignificant
Dushyanta was very happy to have found Shakuntala and asked the or weak.
boy to take him to his mother. The family was united and Dushyanta 2. EXTREME CLOSE-UP
took Shakuntala and Bharata along with him to Hastinapur. Bharata An Extreme Close-Up shot (also known as ECU or XCU) is when the
grew up to become a great king. subject exceeds the boundaries of the frame. It is used to create
tension when the subject is a person or show lots of detail on an
ACTIVITY 5: object.
Directions: Answer the following questions. 3. CLOSE-UP
1-10 A Close-Up shot (also known as CU or a tight shot) frames a

6 TYPES OF JOURNALISTIC WRITING person’s face, cuts off at mid-neck and generally shows the entire
head. It is used to show emotions and highlight details on the
Journalism is a form of writing that tells people about things that subject.
really happened, but that they might not have known about already. 4. MEDIUM CLOSE-UP
TYPES: A Medium Close-Up (also known as MCU) frames the head and
1. News writing upper torso, often cutting off at mid-chest. It is close enough to read
News writing follows a basic formula; there are key facial expressions but gives a polite distance. It also reveals a bit of
elements every news story follows. While styles can diverge more the surroundings.
dramatically depending on the kind of story a feature story may look 5. DUTCH ANGLE
and sound very different than a hard news one all news stories are In order to film a Dutch Angle, the camera has to be titled to the right
cut from the same mold. The first element of news writing is, of or the left. A Dutch angle is used to signify suspense or to
course, to deliver the news. foreshadow something about to happen.
Most people have heard of the 5 W’s, even if they’ve never 6. MEDIUM SHOT
taken a journalism class. The W’s in question, as you probably know, A Medium Shot (MS) is a happy medium between a close-up (CU)
refer to the Who, What, When, Where and Why that every story and long shot (LS). It is generally the most common type of shot
should address. Depending on what the story is, how and when you used. Zooming in from a MS to a medium close-up (MCU) generally
answer those W’s may change. If, for example, you’re reporting on a creates emphais.
drive-by shooting in a city, we likely start with where the crime 7. LONG SHOT
happened (what street or area of town for the local paper) and who A Long Shot (LS) frames the subject from the feet up or slightly
was involved. further away (to show motion). It captures not only the subject(s) but
2. Column Writing also the environment. It is more useful for filming action than
Column writing is very different from other forms of writing emotion.
because unlike straight news and feature writing, columns have 8. WIDE SHOT
dedicated readerships. A columnist develops a following because his In a Wide shot (WS) the camera is far away from the action to give
readers feel they can gain knowledge, insight and entertainment from an overview of the environment. It is generally used to show the
reading his writings. It’s a great honor to be given a regular column audience where the story is taking place (establishing shot).
but remember; to do it well requires a great amount of dedication to 9. LOW ANGLE
the craft. To film this shot, the camera is placed lower than the person or
Column writing is the hardest type of writing of all because it object to be filmed. A low angle is being used when you want to
requires good thinking. depict the power or importance of an individual object.
To write a good column requires more than just the ability to 10. RULE OF THIRDS
articulate an opinion. Your opinions must make sense, provide The Rule of Thirds divides the picture plane into nine equal parts by
insight and be convincing. And you must do all this in an entertaining placing two eaually spaced horizontal lines (imaginary) and two
way. Shaping a powerful argument takes practice and requires both equally spaced vertical lines (imaginary) over the image.
breadth and depth of knowledge as well as the ability to critically ACTIVITY 5:
analyze a particular issue. Directions: Produce photos using all the camera types. Do this by
• Write with conviction group.
7ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
A sentence is written in active voice when the subject of the
sentence performs the action in the sentence.
Example: Liz played the piano.
The girl was washing the dog.
A sentence is written in passive voice when the subject of the
sentence has an action done to it by someone or something else.
The subject receives the action.
Example: The piano was played by Liz.
The dog was being washed by the girl.
ACTIVITY 7:
Direction: Decide whether the following sentences are written in the
active or passive voice.
1) Thomas feeds his dog.
2) The dog is fed by Thomas.
3) The family went to the beach.
4) The letter was written by Marshall.
5) The game had been won by the blue team.
6) The problem was solved.
7) The stunt man risked his life.
8) The fire was extinguished.
9) The car was being cleaned by its owner.
10) It gets cold here during the winter.
ACTIVITY 8:
Directions: These are all written in passive voice. Change each
sentence into active voice.
1. The football was kicked by Luke.
2. The knife was left on the table by Julie.
3. The milk had been knocked over by a cat.
4. The car had been driven into a wall by a naughty child.
5. The windows had been washed.
Directions: These are all written in active voice. Change each
sentence into passive voice.
1. The actors had performed the play by Shakespeare.
2. A stone smashed the window.
3. The boys pushed the tree over.
4. James climbed the ladder.
5. Sam baked a big cake.