Thursday, April 30, 2015
Writing Task

Grade Level: 10
Subject: English
Topic: Summarizing

Directions: Read the article below. After reading, Make an outline of the article and write a summary based on the outline you have written. Do the tasks on a separate sheet of paper. Use the guide questions provided in making your outline and summary.



Why Readers, Scientifically, Are The Best People To Fall In Love With
LAUREN MARTIN • JUL 9, 2014 - 1:59PM

Ever finished a book? I mean, truly finished one? Cover to cover. Closed the spine with that slow awakening that comes with reentering consciousness? You take a breath, deep from the bottom of your lungs and sit there. Book in both hands, your head staring down at the cover, back page or wall in front of you. You’re grateful, thoughtful, pensive. You feel like a piece of you was just gained and lost. You’ve just experienced something deep, something intimate. (Maybe, erotic?) You just had an intense and somewhat transient metamorphosis. Like falling in love with a stranger you will never see again, you ache with the yearning and sadness of an ended affair, but at the same time, feel satisfied. Full from the experience, the connection, the richness that comes after digesting another soul. You feel fed, if only for a little while.

This type of reading, according to TIME magazine’s Annie Murphy Paul, is called “deep reading,” a practice that is soon to be extinct now that people are skimming more and reading less. Readers, like voicemail leavers and card writers, are now a dying breed, their numbers decreasing with every GIF list and online tabloid. The worst part about this looming extinction is that readers are proven to be nicer and smarter than the average human, and maybe the only people worth falling in love with on this shallow hell on earth.

According to both 2006 and 2009 studies published by Raymond Mar, a psychologist at York University in Canada, and Keith Oatley, a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto, those who read fiction are capable of the most empathy and “theory of mind,” which is the ability to hold opinions, beliefs and interests apart from their own.

They can entertain other ideas, without rejecting them and still retain their own. While this is supposed to be an innate trait in all humans, it requires varying levels of social experiences to bring into fruition and probably the reason your last partner was such a narcissist.

Did you ever see your ex with a book? Did you ever talk about books? If you didn’t, maybe you should think about changing your type.

It’s no surprise that readers are better people. Having experienced someone else’s life through abstract eyes, they’ve learned what it’s like to leave their bodies and see the world through other frames of reference. They have access to hundreds of souls, and the collected wisdom of all them. They have seen things you’ll never understand and have experienced deaths of people you’ll never know. They’ve learned what it’s like to be a woman, and a man. They know what it’s like to watch someone suffer. They are wise beyond their years.

Another 2010 study by Mar reinforces this idea with results that prove the more stories children have read to them, the keener their “theory of mind.” So while everyone thinks their kids are the best, the ones who read have the edge as they truly are the wiser, more adaptable and understanding children. Because reading is something that molds you and adds to your character. Each triumph, lesson and pivotal moment of the protagonist becomes your own.

Every ache, pain and harsh truth becomes yours to bear. You’ve traveled with authors and experienced the pain, sorrow and anguish they suffered while writing through it. You’ve lived a thousand lives and come back to learn from each of them.

If you’re still looking for someone to complete you, to fill the void of your singly-healed heart, look for the breed that’s dying out. You will find them in coffee shops, parks and subways.
You will see them with backpacks, shoulder bags and suitcases. They will be inquisitive and soulful, and you will know by the first few minutes of talking to them.

They Won’t Talk To You… They’ll Speak To You
They will write you letters and texts in verse. They are verbose, but not in the obnoxious way. They do not merely answer questions and give statements, but counter with deep thoughts and profound theories. They will enrapture you with their knowledge of words and ideas.

According to the study, “What Reading Does For The Mind” by Anne E. Cunningham of the University of California, Berkeley, reading provides a vocabulary lesson that children could never attain by schooling.

According to Cunningham, “the bulk of vocabulary growth during a child’s lifetime occurs indirectly through language exposure rather than through direct teaching.”
Do yourself a favor and date someone who really knows how to use their tongue.

They Don’t Just Get You… They Understand You
You should only fall in love with someone who can see your soul. It should be someone who has reached inside you and holds those innermost parts of you no one could find before. It should be someone who doesn’t just know you, but wholly and completely understands you.

According to Psychologist David Comer Kidd, at the New School for Social Research, “What great writers do is to turn you into the writer. In literary fiction, the incompleteness of the characters turns your mind to trying to understand the minds of others.”

This is proved over and over again, the more people take to reading. Their ability to connect with characters they haven’t met makes their understanding of the people around them much easier. They have the capacity for empathy. They may not always agree with you, but they will try to see things from your point of view.

They’re Not Just Smart… They’re Wise
Being overly smart is obnoxious, being wise is a turn on. There’s something irresistible about someone you can learn from. The need for banter and witty conversation is more imperative than you may believe, and falling in love with a reader will enhance not just the conversation, but the level of it.

According to Cunningham, readers are more intelligent, due to their increased vocabulary and memory skills, along with their ability to spot patterns. They have higher cognitive functions than the average non-reader and can communicate more thoroughly and effectively. Finding someone who reads is like dating a thousand souls. It’s gaining the experience they’ve gained from everything they’ve ever read and the wisdom that comes with those experiences. It’s like dating a professor, a romantic and an explorer.

If you date someone who reads, then you, too, will live a thousand different lives.



Guide Questions:
1. What is deep reading?
2. What characteristics do readers have that make them better in relationships?
3. What can vocabulary contribute to a successful relationship?
4. How can readers understand people easily?
5. Why is being wise important in a relationship?

Rubrics
Criteria
7 – 10
Very Satisfactory
4 -6
Satisfactory
1- 3
Unsatisfactory
Score
Organization
The outline and summary follows a very logical arrangement;

All the important parts of the article are present
The outline and summary follows a  somewhat logical arrangement;

Some important parts of the article are present
The outline and summary does not follows a logical arrangement;

A lot of important parts of the article are missing

Clarity
The outline and summary are easily understood;


All of the assertions of the author were clearly mirrored in the summary;


The summary did not alter the original stand of the article
The outline and summary are somewhat understood;

Some of the assertions of the author were clearly mirrored in the summary;

The summary slightly altered the original stand of the article
The outline and summary cannot be easily  understood;


No assertions of the author were clearly mirrored in the summary;

The summary completely altered the original stand of the article

Grammar and Mechanics
There are no grammatical errors;


Correct punctuation and capitalization are used
There are two to three grammatical errors;


There are some punctuation and capitalization inconsistencies
There are more than five grammatical errors;

There are a lot punctuation and capitalization inconsistencies

Total

Name:                                                                                                 Score:                         
Year and Section:                                                                              Date:                          

General Directions:
  • Answer the following items with the best of your abilities.
  • Use BLACK or BLUE ink only.
  • Each test item is worth one (1) point.

I. Stem-Option. Read and understand each statement or question. Write the letter of the best answer on the blank before each number.

_____1. It is a part of speech that modifies a verb, adjective, or it's like by making its meaning  
              more specific.
                        A. Articles              
                        B. Adverb              
                        C. Noun   
                        D. Pronoun
_____2. Identify the adverb used in the sentence, "The sound he made as he slept was barely
              noticeable."
                        A. Barely                 
                        B. Slept                   
                        C. Noticeable      
                        D. Sound
_____3. The word again was used in the statement, "I changed the schedule again." as what kind
              of adverb? 
                        A. Adverb of Manner               
                        B. Adverb of Place                  
                        C. Adverb of Time               
                        D. Adverb of Degree
_____4.
In the sentence, “Christopher’s lifelong ambition, to become an astronaut, should be within                 his reach if he gets the scholarship.” which cluster of words form an infinitive phrase?                                   A. should be within
                        B. Christopher’s lifelong ambition
                        C. if he gets the scholarship
                        D. to become an astronaut

_____5. “You can’t sit with us.” The pronoun “us” is used as a / an:
                        A. predicate
B. subject
C. object
                        D. verb
_____6. It is a type of thesis statement which aims to evaluate information and examine              
              relationships between sub-ideas.
                        A. Argumentative   
                        B. Persuasive           
                        C. Expository      
                        D. Analytical
_____7. It is the part of an essay of argument that presents the reasons, gathered evidences and
              authorities that sustain the supported proposition.
                        A. Introduction      
                        B. Discussion          
                        C. Argumentation          
                        D. Conclusion
_____8. What should be used in order to have a smooth flow and clear organization of ideas in
               an essay?
                        A. Jargons or registers            
                        B. Transitional Devises          
                        C. Argumentation          
                        D. Content words
_____9. What are the three main parts of an essay?
                        A. Introduction, Body, Conclusion       
                        B. Heading, Body, Summary          
                        C. Title, Body, Conclusion
                        D. Background, Body, Rejoinder
_____10. What expression will you use to present your summarized decision in an argumentative        
                 essay?
                        A. Since                  
                        B. For                      
                        C. Thus                          
                        D. Because

 II. Alternate Response. Circle T if the statement is TRUE and F if OTHERWISE.

T         F          1. Factual statements do not interpret an essay.
T         F          2. Adverbs are words that modifies a noun or a pronoun by limiting its meaning.
T         F          3. There are four types of essays.
T         F          4. Figures of speech are used to awaken the imagination.
T         F          5. Figures of speech can also be called as figurative language.
T         F          6. Rhyme, rhythm and alliteration are examples of figures of speech.
T         F          7. Writers can invent their own figures of speech.
T         F          8. Writers only use figures of speech in composing poems.
T         F          9. "Original copy" is an example of a paradox.
T         F          10. Figures of speech are more evident in prose.

III. Fill in the blanks. Write the letter of the best answer that would complete the sentence.

_____1. I _________ to cook pasta for dinner.
            a. will going                                       c. am going
            b. were going                                     d. should going
_____2. She _________ about to go to sleep when the phone rang.
            a. will                                                 c. has
            b. was                                                 d. had
_____3. 10 million pesos ______ a large sum of money.
            a. is                                                    c. are
            b. were                                               d. has
_____4. A lot of the kids on the streets ________ uneducated.
            a. is                                                     c. would
            b. has                                                  d. are
_____5. My father ____________ retired for 3 months now.
            a. has been                                         c. was been
            b. will be                                            d. would been


Answer key:

I. Stem Option
1. B
2. A
3. C
4. D
5. C
6. D
7. B
8. B
9. A
10. C

II. Alternate Response
1. F
2. F
3. T
4. T
5. T
6. T
7. F
8. F
9. F
10. F

III. Fill in the blanks
1. C
2. B
3. A
4. D
5. A



Objectives
K
(Knowledge)
P
(Process/Skill)
U
(Understanding)
Number of test Items
Define Adverbs
Stem option
1
Alternate response
2
2
Identify the adverb used in a sentence
Stem option
2 – 3
2
Identify the infinitive phrase used in a sentence
Stem option
4
1
Identify the pronoun used in the sentence
Stem option
5

1
Identify different terms regarding essays
Stem option
6, 7, 9
Stem option
8, 10

Alternate response
3

6
Distinguish different ways to interpret an essay

Alternate response
1

1
Discriminate concepts about figures of speech

Alternate response
4 - 10

7
Select the appropriate verb tense for each sentence

Fill in the blanks
1 - 5

5
Total Test Score:      
25


Item Analysis