Reading Books, Writing Compositions and Examinations
Primary 6 · English
Reading Books, Writing Compositions and Examinations
Lesson 1 of 6
18 min
Let's begin
Mugisha has a homework question: Which animals live in Akagera National Park? He borrows a thick book about Rwanda's wildlife and starts reading from page 1.
Twenty minutes later he is on page 9, and he has not found one word about Akagera. Uwase looks over his shoulder, turns to the back of the book and puts her finger on a line: Akagera National Park, 54–61.
She found in one minute what Mugisha could not find in twenty. Today you will learn her secret: every book comes with its own map.
A book is more than its chapters. Around them are parts that help you find your way. Here they are, from the front cover to the back.
| Part of the book | Where it is | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Front cover | outside, at the front | the title, the author (the writer) and often the illustrator (the artist) |
| Title page | one of the first pages inside | the title and the author again, and the publisher (the company that made the book) |
| Copyright page | just behind the title page | the year the book was published and who owns the rights to it |
| Table of contents | at the front | the chapters or stories, in order, with the page where each one begins |
| Chapters (the body) | the middle | the main text of the book |
| Glossary | at the back | difficult words from the book, in A to Z order, with their meanings |
| Index | at the very back | topics, names and key words, in A to Z order, with every page where they appear |
| Blurb | the back cover | a short description that makes you want to read the book |
The table of contents and the index both give page numbers, so readers often mix them up. The difference is the ORDER.
Here is part of a real contents page. It comes from The Aesop for Children, a book of fables first printed in 1919. The fables are listed in the order they appear, and the number on the right is the page where each one begins.
A LIST OF THE FABLES (PAGE)
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse ..... 18
The Fox and the Grapes ..... 20
The Bundle of Sticks ..... 20
The Wolf and the Crane ..... 21
The Ass and His Driver ..... 22
The Oxen and the Wheels ..... 22
The Lion and the Mouse ..... 23
The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf ..... 24
Worked example
on which page does The Lion and the Mouse begin?
Step 1 Run your eyes down the list until you see the title. Do not read every line.
Step 2 Slide your finger along the dots to the number on the right.
Step 3 Read the number: 23. So the fable begins on page 23.
Notice that two fables share page 20. A short fable can end halfway down a page, and the next one starts straight after it.
Good readers do not always read every word. They choose a speed that fits the job.
Careful! When you scan, you are hunting for the SHAPE of one word. Say the word to yourself first, then let your eyes jump down the page until they catch it.
A library is a place where many books are kept so that people can read them or borrow them. The people who look after a library are called librarians. In a public library, anybody who lives in the area can join. With a library card you can borrow books and take them home for a few weeks.
The books stand on the shelves in a special order so that they are easy to find. Stories are usually shelved in alphabetical order by the family name of the writer. Information books are often given a number that shows their subject, and they stand on the shelf in number order. Many libraries use a numbering plan called the Dewey Decimal System. Labels on the shelves tell you what is kept where, and a librarian will always help if you ask.
A library is not a bookshop. In a bookshop you buy a book and keep it. In a library you borrow a book, and then you bring it back for the next reader.
When you talk about finding information, you often explain WHY somebody does something. English has a few ways to join an action to its purpose.
| Joining words | What comes next | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to / in order to | the plain form of a verb | Uwase opened the index to find the page. Mugisha went to the library in order to borrow a dictionary. |
| so that | a subject + can, could, will or would + a verb | Keza reads every evening so that she can read faster. |
| because / since / as | a full reason with its own subject and verb | Gatete used the glossary because he did not know the word. |
Worked example
join these two sentences. Ishimwe went to the library. She wanted to read about volcanoes.
Step 1 Find the purpose: she wanted to read about volcanoes.
Step 2 Choose the joiner. To needs only a verb, so it is the shortest.
Step 3 Join: Ishimwe went to the library to read about volcanoes.
Careful! After to and in order to, the verb stays plain: to find, never to finding or to found. And for cannot join a purpose to a verb: for borrow a book is wrong.
Tip
Front for the plan, back for the facts
The contents at the FRONT shows you the plan of the whole book. The glossary and the index at the BACK help you find one word or one fact. If you are hunting for one small thing and you are still at the front of the book, you are in the wrong place.
Do each one, then tap Show answer to check.
You want to know what the word librarian means, and your book has a glossary. Where do you look?
Answer: in the glossary at the back. It lists hard words from the book in A to Z order, with their meanings.
Look at the contents page above. Which fable begins on page 24?
Answer: The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf. Find 24 on the right, then read the title on the same line.
Is this skimming or scanning? Keza runs her eyes down a bus timetable to find the time of the bus to Huye.
Answer: scanning. She is looking for one detail, a time, not the general idea.
Join the sentences with so that: Mutesi returned the book on time. Other pupils could borrow it.
Answer: Mutesi returned the book on time so that other pupils could borrow it. So that is followed by a subject (other pupils) and could.
A library shelves its stories by the writer's family name. The story Magozwe was written by Lesley Koyi. Under which letter will you look?
Answer: K, for Koyi. Stories are shelved by the writer's family name, not by the first name or the title.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Match each part of a book to what it tells you.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
