A0 · Practical document
Finding essential information in a form
Read for meaning first. Then return to the text for vocabulary, language choices, and evidence.
Before you read
Build the context out loud.
- What information is on a membership form?
- Where can adults take a class in your city?
First pass: keep moving when one word is unfamiliar. Dotted words open optional help; every word also appears in the vocabulary bank below.
Riverside Community Center
New member: Leila Hassan
Country: Egypt
City now: Madison
Class: English Basics
Schedule: Tuesday and Thursday, 6:00–7:00 p.m.
Place: Room 3
Office: Open Monday–Saturday · Closed Sunday
Welcome, Leila! You are a new memberA person in a group or club.Useful chunks: a new member · club member at Riverside Community Center. Your English classA lesson with a teacher at a set time.Useful chunks: English class · class starts is in Room 3One part of a building. Here, the room has a number.Useful chunks: Room 3 · in the room. Classes are on Tuesday and Thursday. The office is openPeople can go in at that time.Useful chunks: open today · open from nine on Saturday, but it is closedPeople cannot go in at that time.Useful chunks: closed Sunday · the office is closed on Sunday.
Original text written for Thomas’s Classroom Reading Lab.
Words in context
Useful vocabulary and chunks
Learn the word with the partners it naturally keeps.
member
A person in a group or club.
a new member · club memberclass
A lesson with a teacher at a set time.
English class · class startsroom
One part of a building. Here, the room has a number.
Room 3 · in the roomopen
People can go in at that time.
open today · open from nineclosed
People cannot go in at that time.
closed Sunday · the office is closedCheck your reading
Comprehension check
Choose the answer best supported by the text. Check your choices when you finish the whole set.
01Leila arrives for English at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Where should she go?
02Leila needs help on Sunday morning. Can she visit the office?
03Which sentence correctly describes Leila now?
Language in the text
Use be to identify and locate
The form of be changes with the subject. The text uses is for one person, class, or office. It uses are with you and with more than one class.
Leila is one person, so use is.
The class is one thing, so use is.
Classes is plural, so use are.
Check your reading
Language focus check
Use the surrounding meaning, not only the shape of one sentence.
01Choose the correct sentence about Leila.
02Choose the correct sentence about the classes.
03What is the natural question for the room information?
Read like a writer
How a form makes information easy to find
A card has labels and short lines. You can find one fact fast. You do not need to read every word.
Clear labels
The label says what information comes next.
Class: English Basics
Time in one line
The days and the time are together. It is easy to plan.
Tuesday and Thursday, 6:00–7:00 p.m.
From reading to speaking
Build your response
Work through the stages in order. Answer before opening the model.
01GistWhat is this card for?
Useful ways to begin
Compare with a model response
It is a membership card and welcome message for a new community-center student.
02ReactWhat information on a class card is important for you?
Useful ways to begin
Compare with a model response
The day, the time, and the room are important. I need them for my class.
Speak
Take a position
Say four sentences about Leila. Then say four sentences about you as a new member.
Write
Make the reading useful
Make a card for you with six lines: name, country, city, class, day, and room. Write one welcome sentence with is or are.