UNIT I

Reading and Thinking

Strategies Across Text
Types
The Importance
of Reading and
Writing
1. What materials do you usually read?
 books (fiction, nonfiction)
 magazines, journals, periodicals
 comics
 academic literature (case studies, term papers,
dissertations, textbooks)
2. Did you like the last reading material that you
read?
3. How many books do you usually read in a month?
4. If you do not like reading, what factors
made you dislike it? Tick your answer.
 Difficult words
 Insufficient time
 Lack of reading materials
 Others (pls. indicate)
5. What was the last composition that you
have written?
6. Did you like the theme of the last material
you wrote? If not, choose your reason from
the choices below:
 Uninteresting topic
 Not confident with my grammar
 Unsure of some word spelling
 Other (pls.indicate)
7. What do you dislike about writing?
READING
• “Reading skills serve as a
foundation for writing”
(Kondrat, 2009).
• “Reading makes a full man”
(Francis Bacon)
WRITING
• “Writing improves the
effectiveness of the person’s word
usage in both written and oral
speech” (Kondrat, 2009).
• “Writers are not born, they are
made”
IMPORTANCE…

Proficiency in reading enables

you to acquire a market of ideas,
while effective writing shares
your opinions, thoughts, and
feelings in printed forms.
IMPORTANCE…
Mastery of language, which involves
reading and writing is the key to
global competitiveness. These skills
play significant roles in your life
because they help you to be well
equipped in any undertaking in the
changing times.
IMPORTANCE…
Mastering writing is essential as it is
the primary basis upon which your
intellect, work, and learning are
judged.
From reading, one can his enhance
his mind and translate this into
writing.
IMPORTANCE…
According to Defining Literacy Up author
Donald Block, literacy is far more than
the ability to sound out a few words of
one syllable. This means that being
literate helps determine a person’s
survival in society by helping him
understand, solve, and learn from
problems through reading, in which end
process is reflected into writing.
 Time to Read 

“The Gift of Magi”

O. Henry, pseudonym of William Sydney
Porter, original name William Sidney
Porter, (born September 11,
1862, Greensboro, North Carolina,
U.S.—died June 5, 1910, New York, New
York), American short-story writer
whose tales romanticized the
commonplace—in particular the life of
ordinary people in New York City.
• His stories expressed the effect of
coincidence on character through humor,
grim or ironic, and often had surprise
endings, a device that became identified
with his name and cost him critical favor
when its vogue had passed.

Short stories:
The Gift of Magi
The Last Leaf
• Pre-reading: Unlocking of Difficulty
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Imputation Sniffles Sterling
Parsimony Mendicancy Agile
Shabby Vestibule Whirled
Instigates Coax Airshaft
Sobs Dully Pluck
Group 4 Group 5 Group 6
Cascade Prudence Quail
Ransacking Ravages Peculiar
Meretricious Mammoth Wriggled
Sly Truant Laboriously
Intoxication Fob Patent
Group 7 Group 8
Idiocy Adornments
Trance Tresses
Discreet Ardent
Scrutiny Coveted
Lamely Nimble
• After reading:
1. Who are the two main characters in
story? What do they look like?
2. Describe where they live. Do you
think they live a prosperous life?
3. How did the characters feel when
they had to give up their most prized
possession to purchase a gift for each
other?
4. Do you think it is right to sell your
favorite possession just to buy
something for a loved one? Why or
why not?
5. If you were either of the two
protagonists in the story, what
present would you give your partner
for Christmas?
Time to Write 
Write a short summary
of the story “The Gift of
Magi” by O.Henry
 LOTD
Learning of the
Day
???