Developing reading skills by responding to Murakami's 'After Dark' | English

Starter quiz

What is context?

the background information about a text ✓

the opening chapter to a novel

the last page of the book which summarises it
Match each word to its definition.

predict

⇔

to declare what you think will happen based on available evidence ✓

clarify

⇔

to make more clear and comprehensible ✓

summarise

⇔

to provide the key ideas about something ✓
Match each sentence to the perspective being used.

Meticulously, I scoured the box.

⇔

first person ✓

Ensure you consider your safety.

⇔

second person ✓

Her dreams necessitated sacrifice.

⇔

third person ✓
What is important to include in a summary?

the who, what, where, when of an event or story ✓

a repetition of the methods used

an analysis of language methods
What is a utopia?

the worst possible place to live

a place of the past

a perfect society ✓
What does 'ominous' mean?

suggesting that something wonderful might happen

suggesting that something unpleasant might happen ✓

suggesting that a place is safe

Exit quiz

How can the title of a piece of writing help you in your comprehension of it?

It may give clues to a mood or theme within the text. ✓

It will tell you about the author's life.

It explains exactly what the text will be about.
How can the date that a text was published help you make predictions about the text?

It may help you to predict some of the themes. ✓

It may help you to visualise possible settings for the text. ✓

It will help you know how the author was feeling when they wrote the text.
When reading an unfamiliar text, what is the most productive method to support your comprehension?

Writing an analysis paragraph.

Noting down questions that come to your head as you read. ✓

Looking up definitions for all of the words you do not know the meaning of.
Active reading is about ...

skimming a text.

analysing all the words in a text.

being fully engaged as you read a text. ✓
'After Dark' by Haruki Murakami is written from which perspective?

first person

second person

third person ✓
Match each word to the impression it creates of the city in Murakami's 'After Dark'.

squirm

⇔

The city is dangerous. ✓

pulsing

⇔

The city is busy. ✓

elusive

⇔

The city is ominous. ✓

Worksheet

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

We can use context to help us make predictions about the text.
We can use other words in the sentence to help us clarify meaning of words or sentences you do not understand.
Considering the questions that arise as we read and looking for hints at the answers, deepens our understanding.
To demonstrate our comprehension, we need to be able to summarise what we have read.
Picking out relevant quotes can demonstrate our comprehension of a text.

Common misconception

When we read something for the first time, we are able to take in all of the important information.

We may need to read something over and over again to fully comprehend it. Using active reading strategies can also help us to fully engage with a new text.

Keywords

Comprehend - to understand something completely
Decode - to discover the meaning of
Context - background information that helps something to be fully understood
Perspective - a point of view
Genre - a style or category of art, music or literature