WORKSHEET FOR ADULTS

George Orwell

George Orwell was the pen name of British author Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903–21 January 1950). Noted as a political and cultural commentator, Orwell is among the most widely admired English-language essayists of the twentieth century, though he is best known for two novels he wrote in the late 1940s, the political allegory Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. The latter described a totalitarian dystopia so vividly that the adjective 'Orwellian' is now commonly used to describe totalitarian mechanisms of thought-control.

Eric Blair was born in 1903 in Motihari, Bengal, in the then British colony of India, where his father, Richard, worked for the Opium Department of the Civil Service. His mother, Ida, brought him to England at the age of one. He did not see his father again until 1907, when Richard visited England for three months before leaving again until 1912. Eric had an older sister named Marjorie and a younger sister named Avril. With his characteristic humour, he would later describe his family's background as "lower-upper-middle class."

During most of his career Orwell was best known for his journalism, both in the British press and in books of reportage such as Homage to Catalonia (describing his experiences during the Spanish Civil War), Down and Out in Paris and London (describing a period of poverty in these cities), and The Road to Wigan Pier (which described the living conditions of poor miners in northern England). According to Newsweek, Orwell "was the finest journalist of his day and the foremost architect of the English essay since Hazlitt."

Contemporary readers are more often introduced to Orwell as a novelist, particularly through his enormously successful titles Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. The former is an allegory of the corruption of the socialist ideals of the Russian Revolution by Stalinism, and the latter is Orwell's prophetic vision of the results of totalitarianism. Orwell had returned from Catalonia a staunch anti-Stalinist and anti-Communist, but he remained to the end a man of the left and, in his own words, a 'democratic socialist'.

Orwell is also known for his insights about the political implications of the use of language. In the essay "Politics and the English Language", he decries the effects of cliche, bureaucratic euphemism, and academic jargon on literary styles, and ultimately on thought itself. Orwell's concern over the power of language to shape reality is also reflected in his invention of Newspeak, the official language of the imaginary country of Oceania in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Newspeak is a variant of English in which vocabulary is strictly limited by government fiat. The goal is to make it increasingly difficult to express ideas that contradict the official line - with the final aim of making it impossible even to conceive such ideas. (cf. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis). A number of words and phrases that Orwell coined in Nineteen Eighty-Four have entered the standard vocabularly, such as "memory hole," "Big Brother," "Room 101," "doublethink," "thought police," and "newspeak."

The comprehensive edition of Orwell's work was edited by Peter Davison and published in 20 volumes in 1998.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the  Wikipedia article "George Orwell". You can explore more on the Wikipedia website. The text and the images are used here only for educational purposes.

Questions about the text

1. George Orwell's real name was Eric Arthur Blair.
True.
False.
We don't know.

2. He was born in England.
True.
False.
We don't know.

3. He worked as a journalist.
True.
False.
We don't know.

4. Animal Farm is an allegory of the corruption of the Russian Revolution.
True.
False.
We don't know.

5. In his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four he invented a language called Newspeak.
True.
False.
We don't know.

6. The term Big Brother was invented by him.
True.
False.
We don't know.

Score: 
    

WORKSHEET FOR TEENAGERS

House of Lords

The House of Lords is a component of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also includes the Sovereign and the House of Commons. The House of Lords is an unelected body, consisting of 26 senior clerics of the Church of England (the "Lords Spiritual"), as well as 669 members of the Peerage (the "Lords Temporal"). Lords Spiritual serve as long as they continue to occupy their ecclesiastical positions, but Lords Temporal serve for life. Members of the House of Lords are known as "Lords of Parliament".

The House of Lords originated in the 14th century and has been in almost continuous existence since. It was abolished in 1649 by the revolutionary government that came to power during the English Civil War, but was restored in 1660.

The House of Lords (the "Upper House") was once more powerful than the elected House of Commons (the "Lower House"). Since the 19th century, however, the powers of the House of Lords have been steadily declining; now, the Upper House is far weaker than its parliamentary counterpart.

Under the Parliament Act 1911, most legislation passed by the House of Commons can be delayed, but cannot be rejected, by the House of Lords. Reforms were enacted under the House of Lords Act 1999, which removed the automatic hereditary right of many peers to sit in the Upper House. Additional reforms are contemplated by the current Labour Government, but have not been passed into law.

In addition to performing legislative functions, the House of Lords also holds judicial powers: it constitutes the highest court of appeal for most cases in the United Kingdom. The judicial functions of the House of Lords are not performed by the whole Chamber, but rather by a group of members with legal experience, who are known as "Law Lords". The House of Lords is not the only court of last resort in the United Kingdom; in some cases, that role is fulfilled by the Privy Council.

The full, formal style of the House of Lords is: The Right Honourable The Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament Assembled. The House of Lords, like the House of Commons, meets in the Palace of Westminster.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the  Wikipedia article "House of Lords". You can explore more on the Wikipedia website. The text and the images are used here only for educational purposes.

Questions about the text

1. The members of the House of Lords are elected by the people.
True.
False.
We don't know.

2. Members of the House of Lords are known as "Lords of Parliament".
True.
False.
We don't know.

3. The House of Lords has more power than the House of Commons nowadays.
True.
False.
We don't know.

4. The House of Lords can reject legislation passed by the House of Commons.
True.
False.
We don't know.

5. The House of Lords has also judicial powers.
True.
False.
We don't know.

6. The House of Lords meets in the Palace of Westminster.
True.
False.
We don't know.

Score: 
    

WORKSHEET FOR CHILDREN

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside in north west England, on the north side of the Mersey estuary.

The city is governed by Liverpool City Council, one of five councils within Merseyside. The population of the borough in 2002 was 441,477, and that of the Merseyside conurbation was 1,362,026. Liverpool is the second largest export port of the United Kingdom.

Whilst it has lost most of its manufacturing base, Liverpool is still internationally famous as a port, and the city from where The Beatles originated. In sport terms, it boasts two internationally known football clubs, Liverpool F.C. and Everton F.C.. In the year 2008, Liverpool will become the European Capital of Culture.

Liverpool runs directly into Bootle in Sefton, and Huyton in Knowsley. It faces Wallasey and Birkenhead across the River Mersey.

Inhabitants of Liverpool are officially known as "Liverpudlians", but more commonly known as "Scousers". They are noted for their distinctive accent, called Scouse.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the  Wikipedia article "Liverpool". You can explore more on the Wikipedia website. The text and the images are used here only for educational purposes.

Questions about the text

Now, answer the questions about the text.

Principio del formulario

1. Liverpool has a population of less than half million people.
True.
False.
We don't know.

2. Liverpool is the second largest export port of the United Kingdom.
True.
False.
We don't know.

3. Liverpool is the city from where The Beatles originated.
True.
False.
We don't know.

4. Liverpool has one football team.
True.
False.
We don't know.

5. People from Liverpool are called Liverpudlians.
True.
False.
We don't know.

Score: 
    

Final del formulario

PRACTICE YOUR READING

STEPS TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL READING

1.      Monitoring comprehension

When students are monitoring, they can understand what they are reading. They have strategies to "fix" problems in their understanding as the problems arise. Research shows that instruction, even in the early grades, can help students become better at monitoring their comprehension.

Comprehension monitoring instruction teaches students to:

·         Be aware of what they do understand

·         Identify what they do not understand

·         Use appropriate strategies to resolve problems in comprehension

2. Metacognition

Metacognition can be defined as "thinking about thinking."

Students may use several comprehension monitoring strategies:

·         Identify where the difficulty occurs

"I don't understand the second paragraph on page 76."

·         Identify what the difficulty is

"I don't get what the author means when she says, 'Arriving in America was a milestone in my grandmother's life.'"

·         Restate the difficult sentence or passage in their own words

"Oh, so the author means that coming to America was a very important event in her grandmother's life."

·         Look back through the text

"The author talked about Mr. McBride in Chapter 2, but I don't remember much about him. Maybe if I reread that chapter, I can figure out why he's acting this way now."

·         Look forward in the text for information that might help them to resolve the difficulty

"The text says, 'The groundwater may form a stream or pond or create a wetland. People can also bring groundwater to the surface.' Hmm, I don't understand how people can do that… Oh, the next section is called 'Wells.' I'll read this section to see if it tells how they do it."

3. Graphic and semantic organizers

Graphic organizers illustrate concepts and relationships between concepts in a text or using diagrams. Graphic organizers are known by different names, such as maps, webs, graphs, charts, frames, or clusters. Graphic organizers can:

·         Help students focus on text structure "differences between fiction and nonfiction" as they read

·         Provide students with tools they can use to examine and show relationships in a text

·         Help students write well-organized summaries of a text

Here are some examples of graphic organizers:

·         Venn-Diagrams (29K PDF)*

Used to compare or contrast information from two sources. For example, comparing two Dr. Seuss books.

4. Answering questions

Questions can be effective because they:

·         Give students a purpose for reading

·         Focus students' attention on what they are to learn

·         Help students to think actively as they read

·         Encourage students to monitor their comprehension

·         Help students to review content and relate what they have learned to what they already know

5. Generating questions

By generating questions, students become aware of whether they can answer the questions and if they understand what they are reading. Students learn to ask themselves questions that require them to combine information from different segments of text. For example, students can be taught to ask main idea questions that relate to important information in a text.

6. Recognizing story structure

In story structure instruction, students learn to identify the categories of content (characters, setting, events, problem, resolution). Often, students learn to recognize story structure through the use of story maps. Instruction in story structure improves students' comprehension.

7. Summarizing

Summarizing requires students to determine what is important in what they are reading and to put it into their own words. Instruction in summarizing helps students:

·         Identify or generate main ideas

·         Connect the main or central ideas.

·         Eliminate unnecessary information.

·         Remember what they read.

READING COMPREHENSION

Why is reading important?

There are different reasons why people should read...

 1.  Reading is fundamental to function in today's society. There are many adults who cannot read well enough to understand the instructions on a medicine bottle. That is a scary thought - especially for their children. Filling out applications becomes impossible without help. Reading road or warning signs is difficult. Even following a map becomes a chore. Day-to-day activities that many people take for granted become a source of frustration, anger and fear.

2. Reading is a vital skill in finding a good job. Many well-paying jobs require reading as a part of job performance. There are reports and memos which must be read and responded to. Poor reading skills increases the amount of time it takes to absorb and react in the workplace. A person is limited in what they can accomplish without good reading and comprehension skills.

3. Reading is important because it develops the mind. The mind is a muscle. It needs exercise. Understanding the written word is one way the mind grows in its ability. Teaching young children to read helps them develop their language skills. It also helps them learn to listen. Everybody wants to talk, but few can really listen. Lack of listening skills can result in major misunderstandings which can lead to job loss, marriage breakup, and other disasters - small and great. Reading helps children [and adults] focus on what someone else is communicating.

4. Why is reading important? It is how we discover new things. Books, magazines and even the Internet are great learning tools which require the ability to read and understand what is read. A person who knows how to read can educate themselves in any area of life they are interested in. We live in an age where we overflow with information, but reading is the main way to take advantage of it.

5. Reading develops the imagination. TV and computer games have their place, but they are more like amusement. Amusement comes from two words "a" [non] and "muse" [think]. Amusement is non-thinking activities. With reading, a person can go anywhere in the world...or even out of it! They can be a king, or an adventurer, or a princess, or... The possibilities are endless. Non-readers never experience these joys to the same extent.

6. In line with the above, reading develops the creative side of people. When reading to children, stop every once in awhile and ask them what they think is going to happen next. Get them thinking about the story. When it is finished, ask if they could think of a better ending or anything that would have improved it. If they really liked the story, encourage them to illustrate it with their own drawings or to make up a different story with the same characters. Get the creative juices flowing!

for that teachers  have to motivate their student to read, they have to promote contents with the objective that students particiate. Reading opens new job opprotunities. No stop reading, use your free time in reading....


http://www.learn-to-read-prince-george.com/why-is-reading-important.html