Description of Original Activity

This activity comes from Step Forward (Level 5) Unit 10 Lesson 3 Section 2 “Preview and Read” (p 114-115). Students are asked to read an article, answer eight reading comprehension questions on their own, and then pair off with a classmate and answer four more questions. The activity is challenging because of the vocabulary but the subject matter might be boring and not applicable to some students.

Strengths

The strengths of this activity are:

• The activity is relevant because college students need to be able to read and understand technical writing.
• Part D is interactive because students need to work in pairs.

Weaknesses/Adaptation

The weaknesses of this activity are:

• Although students need to be able to read research papers, the specific topic of the article might not be relevant to everyone in the class.
  • Adaptation: Students should find a reputable research article related to their field of study (students should check with teacher after this step). 
• Although Part D asks you to work in pairs, conversation is not a key component of this activity, and students could just as easily do Part D on their own.
  • Adaptation: Students share their research with the class.

Revised Activity (“Conducting Research”)

I wanted to make this activity more challenging and applicable as it is the very last unit in the highest level of this textbook series. After this class, students should be prepared for college in the United States.

Objectives:

Students will be able to…

1. Locate research material for their other classes
2. Read technically challenging texts
3. Summarize and present information in English

Instructions

This will take place over two class periods

1. Class 1: Students locate a reputable research article related to their field of study (Or Teacher chooses articles for Students based on their interests).
2. Class 1: Students read the article and answer the questions such as:
   • Who is the author?
   • What is the author trying to say?
   • What are three vocabulary words you had to look up? Define them.
3. At home: Students prepare a 3-minute summary speech
4. Class 2: Students find a classmate to practice their speech with
5. Class 2: Students present their research findings

Materials

1. Optional: A printed copy of a short research article for each student based on their fields of study/interests
2. Optional: PowerPoint Slides explaining activity since it is a multi-step process
3. Copies of reading comprehension questions for students to fill out as they read their article
   • Who is the author?
   • What is the author trying to say?
   • What are three vocabulary words you had to look up? Define them.

PDF Version