Reading a whole story in a new language · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Read the whole story

Languages · Texts, Media & Translation · ages 10-12
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. You meet an unfamiliar word, but you can still follow the story. What can you try first to work out its meaning?

    • Look up every word before reading any further
    • Read nearby lines for clues to its meaning
    • Skip the whole chapter to avoid that one word

  2. Which story is the best choice for reading on your own in a language you are learning?

    • A story you can follow with a few new words
    • A story you cannot follow with many new words
    • A story chosen only because it has more pages

  3. A story says a bird found a seed, carried it to its nest and ate it. A retelling should keep those events in that order.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Eva's hands are cold. The Spanish sentence Eva se pone guantes means Eva puts on guantes. Which meaning best fits guantes here?

    • Sandals
    • Gloves
    • Scarves

  5. Sara can retell a chapter's beginning and ending, but cannot recall the main events in its middle. She has not reread it yet. Which plan best addresses this gap?

    • Reread the opening to review who the characters are
    • Read the next chapter to see how the story develops
    • Reread the middle, then retell its main events

  6. In Spanish, hablo and hablé must be unrelated verbs because their endings differ.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. Lena knows what each word means in a sentence, but cannot work out what the whole sentence says. It still blocks the story after two rereads. Which next step best targets this gap?

    • Look up each word in the sentence separately
    • Ask a teacher about the sentence's meaning
    • Read the next chapter for more clues about the events

  8. Ben understands the events, but stopping to check every unfamiliar word keeps interrupting his reading. Which plan lets him follow the story and return to those words?

    • Stop to translate every word before reading on
    • Skip all the events that contain a new word
    • Mark nonessential words to check after reading
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Read the whole story W1-mt__TM_JDJS1F-s1

  1. Read nearby lines for clues to its meaning · Nearby lines may give clues. Try a meaning that fits and treat it as a guess until it is checked.
  2. A story you can follow with a few new words · Choose a story whose events you can understand, with most words already familiar.
  3. True · Keeping found, carried and ate in story order preserves what happened.
  4. Gloves · Gloves cover hands. The cold hands and the action of putting something on support that meaning.
  5. Reread the middle, then retell its main events · Sara's gap concerns the middle events. Rereading that part and trying another retelling addresses what she cannot recall.
  6. False · Both are forms of hablar. Their endings mark different tense forms.
  7. Ask a teacher about the sentence's meaning · Lena needs help understanding the whole sentence after rereading. Asking about that sentence targets this gap.
  8. Mark nonessential words to check after reading · Ben can mark words that do not block the events and check them later. Words that block understanding need attention sooner.
Worksheet · LightMySky