• Their purpose is usually to sell something or to give information.
• They are clear and simple.
• There are not too many words on them because people do not have time to read posters.
• They are attractively laid out.
• They use colour and different fonts and lettering sizes.
In the activity on the next page you will answer questions on the posters above and draw up your own poster.
1. Discuss the following questions with your partner:
(a) What is the purpose of each of the posters on the previous pages?
(b) Where would you expect to see these posters?
(c) Do these posters have all the elements mentioned in the box above? Explain your answer.
2. Now you are going to each make your own poster on A4 paper. Discuss ideas with your partner. You can choose to make any kind of poster. Do not simply copy a poster that you have seen before.
3. Use the checklist on the following page to help you with your poster.
4. Put up your posters in class for others to see.
Different ways of reading
We are going to remind you of the different ways you can use to read, depending on what your purpose is. These are scanning, skimming, reading to understand, reading word for word and reading to study. You will use these for the rest of your life!
Reading strategies
1. You scan when you know what you are looking for, for example a number in a telephone book.
2. You skim when you glance through at headings or first sentences of paragraphs when you want to get an idea of what the text is about.
3. You read to understand when you read for pleasure or interest.
4. You read word for word when the text is difficult and you are having trouble understanding it. This is not a good idea because you do not get the meaning of the sentences or paragraphs as a whole.
5. When you read to study you read very carefully so that you can understand, catch any meaning that is not obvious, and to remember what you have read.
There are five steps to reading to study:
• Do a survey: Skim through to get a general idea.
• Ask questions about what you are reading and try to find the answers in the text.
• Read slowly and carefully.
• Recall and from memory write down the main points.
Review your questions, answers and main points and check if they are correct.
1. Without reading the article below closely, skim it to find out what it is about.
How a camera works
The camera is an important invention. Think what life would be like without it!
With a simple camera, the photographer sees the same image that the camera does but he or she can adjust it by turning dials or pressing buttons. The way a camera works is very simple. A camera like the one in the picture has three elements: the lens (optical element), the film (chemical element) and the body of the camera (the mechanical element). To take a photo one has to combine these so that a clear image can be recorded.
A lens is a curved piece of glass or plastic. It takes the rays of light bouncing off an object and brings them together so that they form an image of whatever is being photographed. It does this by slowing down the light. The speed of light can change. It travels faster through air than through glass. When light enters the curve of the lens at an angle, one part of the light ray will reach the glass before another and so will slow down first and bend towards the centre of the lens.
The angle at which the light enters the lens changes when the photographer goes closer to or further away from the object being photographed.
As you can see the image of a closer object forms further away from the lens than does the image from an object that is further away. When you focus a camera, you turn the lens, moving it closer to or further from the film surface where the image will be captured. You can use different lenses, depending on what kind of photo you want to take.
2. Now read the article to understand it.
3.Scan the text to find the three words optical, mechanical and chemical. Work out from the context what they mean.
4. Scan the article to find answers to the following questions:
(a) What are the three elements of a camera?
(b) What is a lens?
(c) What is the mechanical element of a camera?
(d) What element is the film?
5. Having read the article to understand it, see how much you have understood by answering the following questions:
(a) What forms the image on the film?
(b) Mention an interesting fact about the speed of light.
(c) Explain in your own words what happens when the photographer moves closer or further away from the object he or she is photographing.
(d) How does one bring the object one is photographing into focus?
6. Show that you have thought about the article by writing two or three sentences explaining how the invention of the camera has affected our lives.
7. Think of an example of when you yourself would use each of the following ways of reading. Do not use the examples given above. Also say why you would use that way.
(a) skimming
(b) scanning
(c) reading to understand
(d) reading word for word
(e) reading to study
Another spelling rule
English has many rules about spelling. You need to learn them all. Here is one more:
You know that when we change a word from singular to plural, we add an‘s’, for example ‘one book’ becomes ‘two books’.
