**Lesson Plan: English Comprehension**
**Grade Level:** Junior Secondary 3
**Topic:** Reading from Children’s Britannica, Vol. 11, 1981 Edition, p. 135, 233
**Duration:** 60 minutes
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### **Objectives:**
1. **Reading Skills:** Students will improve their ability to read and interpret informational texts.
2. **Comprehension:** Students will practice identifying key ideas, details, and summarizing information.
3. **Vocabulary Development:** Students will enhance their vocabulary by encountering new words in context.
4. **Critical Thinking:** Students will develop skills in analyzing and questioning the text.
### **Materials:**
- Copies of Children’s Britannica, Vol. 11, p. 135, 233 (or photocopies of the pages)
- Notebooks and pens
- Whiteboard and markers
- Highlighters
### **Introduction (10 minutes):**
1. **Warm-Up Activity:**
- Begin with a brief discussion on the importance of reading encyclopedias and informational texts.
- Ask students if they have used encyclopedias before and what kind of information they usually find in them.
2. **Objective Introduction:**
- Explain the objectives of the lesson: to read and understand the passage from Children’s Britannica, to identify key ideas, and to enhance vocabulary.
### **Body (40 minutes):**
1. **Initial Reading (10 minutes):**
- Distribute the photocopies of the selected pages from Children’s Britannica.
- Read aloud the first few paragraphs to model fluent reading and intonation.
- Have students follow along silently.
2. **Guided Reading (15 minutes):**
- Ask students to read the remaining sections of the text silently.
- Encourage them to use a highlighter to mark key information and unfamiliar words.
3. **Discussion and Comprehension Questions (15 minutes):**
- Facilitate a group discussion around the following questions:
- What is the main topic of the passage?
- What are three key pieces of information you learned from the text?
- Identify and explain any new vocabulary words you highlighted.
- Why is this information important or interesting?
- Write the students’ responses on the whiteboard, summarizing their points.
### **Conclusion (10 minutes):**
1. **Summary Activity:**
- Have students pair up and share their summaries of the text with a partner.
- Encourage them to discuss any differences in their summaries and agree on the most important points.
2. **Reflection:**
- Ask students to reflect on what they found challenging about the reading and what strategies they used to understand the text.
- Take a few minutes for students to write down their reflections in their notebooks.
### **Assessment:**
- **Formative:** Observing students during guided reading and group discussion to check for participation and comprehension.
- **Summative:** Collecting students’ written summaries and reflections to assess their understanding and ability to express their thoughts clearly.
### **Homework:**
- **Extended Reading:**
- Assign students to choose another entry from the encyclopedia to read at home and write a brief summary, along with a list of new vocabulary words they encountered.
### **Additional Resources:**
- Online access to digital versions of encyclopedias, if available, for further reading and exploration.
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**Notes:**
- Adaptations can be made based on the students’ reading levels and interests.
- Consider using a projector or an interactive whiteboard to display the text if physical copies are limited.