Unit 2

How Can Someone Make a Difference?

Think Like a Reader

Reading Strategies

Information on page 9 of Literacy in Action is about strategies that effective readers use to help them better understand what they are reading.


A strategy is a plan or method used to help a person understand something. When reading the biographies in this unit, you will practise and use these strategies.
John G. Diefenbaker & Lester B. Pearson Royal London Wax Museum, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Prime Minister John Diefenbaker (1895-1976) fought for fairness. To learn more about him, click here. 

Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson (1897-1972) won a Nobel Prize for his fight for fairness. To learn more about him, click here. 

Reader's Notebook: Biography Ideas

Open

Open Your File

Add your answers to the following two questions to your Reader's Notebook: Biography Ideas file. (You previously saved this file in this format: jsmith_biographyideas in your Documents folder.)

  • Why would you read accounts of real people and their lives?
  • How does reading about the lives of others help you learn about your own values and beliefs?

Crack the Code

Figuring out words that are new or unfamiliar is like solving a puzzle. One strategy that good readers use is looking at the words in the sentences or paragraph near the one you are trying to figure out.

Compound Words


Compound words are made up of two whole words that make a single meaning. The two words give clues to the meaning of the compound word.

Example:
  • In Greek, bio means life
  • graphy – means writing or recording
Therefore, biography means writing about life.

Another example of a compound word is worldwide.

You can tell the meaning of the word from the two individual part of the world. Worldwide means extending or reaching throughout the world.

Sample compound words in this unit are:

  • viewpoint
  • newcomer
  • railroad
  • grandpa
  • granddaughter
Look for other compound words as you read the selections in this Unit and determine meanings from the two individual parts of the word.

Make Meaning

When reading biographies, these reading strategies will help you understand what you are reading.

  • Predicting is looking at the selection before reading, scanning the title, reading the headings, captions, text boxes, and looking at images in the selection to get an idea of what the selection could be about.
  • Pause and Check: After reading a section or paragraph, think about what you have read and check to see if your predictions were correct and what new predictions you can make.
  • Connect: As you read, think about how the biography relates to your life and your experiences or the experiences of people you know or have read about.

Analyze What You've Read

When you've read a biography, think about why the author chose to write about the person and what the author's point of view (their way of thinking about or looking at something) was. Also think if there could be another point of view and how the biography might be written differently.

You must read and do the activities for one of the three biographies of current Canadian individuals who are making a difference:

Kim Kilpatrick: Aiming for Equality, Errol Lee: Rapping for Respect, or Zoe Jenkins, Taking Action for Animals. The biography of Jason Strudwick has been given as a sample of how to complete the activities.