Lesson 1: Welcome to English Class!
Short a
Welcome to English class! My name is Russ. I am a teacher at the Achieve Center
for Adult Education. I teach my students English, but more than that, I prepare them to
continue their education. I believe a good education can help my students achieve their
goals. My goal is that all of my students will be successful here in the United States.
My class has ten students. They come from many different lands. The world is a
big place, yet our small classroom holds the whole world within its walls. That is a picture
of my class. Some students are from Africa: Samsam is from Somalia, Elsa is from
Ethiopia, Angela is from Chad, and Isaac is from Uganda. Others are from Asia: Shoua is
from Laos, Gan is from Thailand, and Lali is from Nepal. Two students are from North
America: Ana is from Mexico and Sandra is from Honduras. Finally, one student, Boris, is
from Russia which is partly in Europe and partly in Asia.
My class has students of all ages. Ana is the oldest at seventy years old. She is
always laughing and making jokes. Gan is the youngest at only eighteen. He went to high
school in the U.S. for a year but didn’t have enough credits to graduate. Sandra has been
in the U.S. for ten years but this is her first opportunity to come to class. Before, she had
to take care of her children while her husband was working. My newest student,
Samsam, is twenty-two and has only been in the United States a few months.
Some students are married with children and some are not. Elsa has the most
children; she has ten. Lali doesn’t have any children. Samsam is married and pregnant
with her first baby. It will be difficult for her to achieve her goals but she is motivated
and really wants to learn.
It is fun to be in a class with students from many different countries. Sometimes I
think I am the student because my students teach me so much. We learn a lot together
about the world and various cultures. Even though we are all very different, we are like
one big family!
Who are the students in the English class?
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Part 1: Vocabulary: Complete each sentence with vocabulary from the text. Use
strategies to understand the words. Write a definition in your own words.
1. I believe a good education can help my students achieve their goals.
My strategy (circle): sound out
break down
, looks like
My definition: _to get or complete something by working hard__
read around
2. My goal is that all of my students will be _successful_ here in the United States.
My strategy (circle): sound out
break down
, looks like
My definition: __when you achieve the results you want___
read around
3. Sandra has been in the U.S. for ten years but this is her first opportunity to come to
class.
My strategy (circle): sound out
break down
, looks like
read around
My definition: _something important that is made available to you
4. It will be difficult for her to achieve her goals but she is motivated and really wants to
learn.
My strategy (circle): sound out
break down
, looks like
My definition: wanting to work hard to achieve something
read around
5. We learn a lot together about the world and various cultures.
My strategy (circle): sound out
break down
My definition: several or many different things
, looks like
read around
Part 2: Main Idea: What is the main idea of the text? Circle a, b, or c.
a. The students in the class come from all over the world.
b. Although the students have many differences, they are like a family.
c. The English class is a fun place to learn.
Fill in the graphic organizer with text evidence that supports the main idea. Write at least
two supporting details from each paragraph in the body of the text.
Introduction Paragraph 1
Topic Sentence(s): ____Welcome to English class!_______
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 3
Supporting Details:
Supporting Details:
Supporting Details:
*the class has 10 students
*Ana is 70 years old.
*Elsa has 10 children
*some students are from Africa
*Gan is 18 years old.
*Samsam is married and
pregnant
Conclusion Paragraph 5
Concluding Sentence: Even though we are all very different, we are like one big family!
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Part 3: Questions:
A. Text Only: Read each question. Write evidence from the text to show how the text
explicitly answers the question. Answer the question in your own words.
Note: Use quotations around the words and sentences you quote (copy) from the text.
1. Who is telling the story?
Text Evidence: “__My name is Russ. ________________”
Summary: __Russ is telling the story.__________________________
2. What is Russ’s goal?
Text Evidence: “My goal is that all of my students will be successful here in the United States.”
Summary: _Russ wants all of his students to achieve their goals in the U.S.__
3. How many students are in the class?
Text Evidence: “__My class has ten students. _____”
Summary: __There are ten students in the class.____________
4. How old is the oldest student in the class?
Text Evidence: “_____Ana is the oldest at seventy years old. ____________”
Summary: ______The oldest student is Ana. She is 70 years old.______________
5. Which students are from Africa?
Text Evidence: “Samsam is from Somalia, Elsa is from Ethiopia, Angela is from Chad, and Isaac is from
Uganda. ”
Summary: _Samsam, Elsa, Angela, and Isaac are from different countries in Africa.___
6. How many countries are represented in Samsam’s class?
Text Evidence: “Somalia, Uganda, Chad, Ethiopia, Nepal, Laos, Thailand, Honduras, Mexico, Russia.”
Summary: _Ten countries are represented in Samsam’s class._______
7. When did Sandra come to the United States?
Text Evidence: “____Sandra has been in the U.S. for ten years __________”
Summary: ___Sandra came to the U.S. ten years ago.___________
Challenge Question: Search the text…
8. What information does Russ tell us about the students in his class? Check each correct
answer. Write a summary sentence.
__Native Country __Age
__Birth Date __Name
__Marital Status
Russ tells us about ____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
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B. Text +: To answer some questions you must find evidence in the text AND think
outside the text. These questions require you to interpret or infer.
Text + = Interpret or Infer
 Interpret means to use point of view to understand the text. What is the point of
view of the author or character?
 Infer means to make conclusions about the text. What does the text NOT say that
I need to add myself?
1. What does Russ mean when he says his classroom “holds the whole world within its
walls”?
Text Evidence: “____They come from many different lands. _________”
My Idea: ___Russ teaches students from many different countries__________
My Interpretation
Russ means __he teaches students from all over the world_____ because
the text says “_They come from many different lands_____” and
I think that means _that the class is like the whole world___.
2. In Russ’s point of view, is this a good thing? How do you know this?
Russ’s point of view: ___yes______
Text Evidence: “It is fun to be in a class with students from many different countries.”
“we are like one big family.”
My Idea: He enjoys the students because they are like a family.__
My Interpretation
Russ’s point of view is _this is a good thing._________________. I know
this because the text says “_we are like one big family______________”
and I think that means he enjoys the students because they are like a family.
3. Russ says that they are all learning more about the world and various cultures in their
English class. How are they learning this?
Text Evidence: ” We learn a lot about the world and various cultures ___”
My Experience: __Students teach each other about their cultures._____
My Inference
The text says “_We learn a lot about the world and various cultures” so
I think that means _ Students teach each other about their cultures __because
in my experience _in my class I learn from other students____.
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Part 4 Word Study: Look at each word in bold. First break the word into syllables.
Then find the base word and the suffix. The base word is the simple form of the word
that carries the meaning. The suffix is the word ending.
1. My goal is that all of my students will be successful here in the United States.
Break down
suc|cess|ful base word success_ suffix ful
Sound out
suc cess ful
Complete: My goal is that all of my students will be successful here in the U.S.
2. Finally, one student, Boris, is from Russia.
Break down
fi|nal|ly
base word final
Sound out
fi nal ly
Complete: Finally, one student, Boris is from Russia.
suffix ly
3. Gan is the youngest at only eighteen.
Break down
young|est
base word young
Sound out
young est
Complete: Gan is the youngest at only eighteen.
suffix est
4. We learn a lot together about the world and various cultures.
Break down
var|i|ous base word vary suffix ous
Sound out
var i ous
Complete: We learn a lot together about the world and various cultures.
5. This is her first opportunity to come to class.
Break down
op|por|tun|it|y base word opportune
Sound out
op por tun it y
Complete: This is her first opportunity to come to class.
suffix ity
6. I believe a good education can help my students achieve their goals.
Break down
ed|u|ca|tion base word educate suffix tion
Sound out
ed u ca tion
Complete: I believe a good education can help my students achieve their goals.
A Closer Look: Suffixes can tell us information about the word’s part of speech. Match
the suffixes from above with the correct part of speech.
1. _ful
____ 2. _est _____ 3. _ous _____ 4. _ity _____ 5. _tion _____
Noun -- N
Adjective -- Adj
Adverb -- Adv
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Verb -- V
Listening Quizzes (Parts 1 – 4 Optional)
Part 1: Letter Sounds: Listen and write the missing letters.
1. ___am
6. m___th
2. ___an
7. Sa___
3. ___at
8. ha___
4. ___an
9. la____
5. th___t
10. cla___
Part 2: Word Families: Listen and write the short ‘a’ words.
1. __________
4. _____________
2. __________
5. _____________
3. __________
6. _____________
Part 3: Sound Match: Listen and circle the words you hear.
1.
can
man
fan
2.
sat
fat
mat
3.
made
mud
mad
4.
same
Sam
sum
5.
has
hat
ham
6.
mass
mat
man
Part 4: Sight Words: Listen and write the sight words.
1. ___________
6. ___________
2. ___________
7. ___________
3. ___________
8. ___________
4. ___________
9. ___________
5. ___________
10. __________
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Part 5: Dictation: Listen and complete the sentences.
1. ___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________________
5. ____________________________________________________________________
6. ____________________________________________________________________
7. ____________________________________________________________________
8. ____________________________________________________________________
9. ____________________________________________________________________
10. ___________________________________________________________________
Part 6: Multi-syllable words: Listen to each word. Break it into syllables. Write the word.
1. ___|____|____
_________________
2. ___|__|____|_____
_________________
3. ___|____|____
_________________
4. ____|__|_____
_________________
5. __|____|____|___|__
_________________
Part 7: Vocabulary: Listen to each vocabulary word and the sample sentence that follows.
What does the word mean? Match it to the correct definition below.
1. A. When you achieve the results you
want
B. To weigh things on a scale
C. To add the money you have
2. A. People from different countries
B. Eating dinner together
C. Wanting to work hard to achieve
something
3. A. Too much of something
B. Strange
C. Several or many different things
4.
5.
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A. Something important that is made
available to you
B. A surgery
C. A form to fill out for a job or service
A. To go to a class
B. To get or complete something by
working hard
C. To take a test
Lesson 1: Listening Script
Part 1:
1. Sam
2. man
3. sat
4. man
5. that
6. math
7. Sam
8. has
9. land
10.class
Part 2:
1. man
2. sat
3. mad
4. mass
5. ham
6. sand
Part 3:
1. man
2. sat
3. mad
4. Sam
5. ham
6. mass
Part 4:
1. it
2. he
3. was
4. for
5. are
6. with
7. to
8. they
9. the
10. of
Part 5:
1. My goal is that all of my students will be successful.
2. They come from many different lands.
3. Some students are from Africa.
4. My class has students of all ages.
5. Sandra has been in the U.S. for ten years.
6. He went to high school in the U.S. for a year.
7. Lali doesn’t have any children.
8. Samsam is married and pregnant with her first baby.
9. It is fun to be in a class with students from many
different countries.
10. We are like one big family!
Part 6:
1. suc|cess|ful successful
2. ed|u|ca|tion education
3. fin|al |ly
finally
4. var|i|ous
various
5. op|por|tun|it|y opportunity
Part 7:
1. successful (A)
2. motivated (C)
3. various (C)
4. opportunity (A)
5. achieve (B)
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Lesson 1: Fluency Tests
Pre-Test:
Name: ______________________________
Date: _______________
Reading Time: _______
Test Score: ___/ 5_
Circle True or False:
1. Russ is a student.
True
False
2. There are eight students in Russ’s class.
True
False
3. Some of the students are from Africa.
True
False
4. Samsam is twenty years old.
True
False
5. Everyone is learning more about the world.
True
False
Post-Test:
Name: ______________________________
Date: _______________
Reading Time: _______
Test Score: ___/ 5_
Circle True or False:
1. Russ wants his students be successful.
True
False
2. Some students are from Asia.
True
False
3. Some students have children.
True
False
4. Samsam is not married.
True
False
5. Russ is learning too.
True
False
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