How Teachers Learn | Prose 1|English 8th | Tulip Series |(John Holt)

 

WORKING WITH THE TEXT:

SUMMARY IN ENGLISH

The writer went to visit a five-year-old girl named Nora at her house one weekend. They quickly became friends when Nora asked him to read her a book called "Hop on Pop." At first, the writer didn't know how to help Nora when she was trying to read. He just sat there and watched her trying to figure out the words in the book. The first few pages were easy for Nora, but then she started having trouble. The writer suggested that she skip the words she couldn't figure out and move on. But then something strange happened. Nora misread a word that she had read correctly before. The writer was puzzled by this and realized how hard it must be for young children to remember new words. He remembered when he tried reading a language he didn't know and how difficult it was for him to remember the words he had read. He thought it would be even harder for a child to learn new words. He believes that children from homes without books have a harder time learning to read because they don't have books to practice with. A teacher once told him that children should get used to looking at words before trying to read them. The best way to do this is to leave a book lying around and let the child flip through the pages. This is the first step in learning to read.

Glossary:

S.No	English Phrases	Urdu Translation
1	Another five-year-old child	ایک اور پانچ سالہ بچی
2	taught me more	مجھے زیادہ سکھایا
3	When teaching themselves to read	جب خود کو پڑھنا سکھا رہے ہوتے ہیں
4	The problems they meet	جن مشکلات کا وہ سامنا کرتے ہیں
5	ways they solve	انہیں حل کرنے کے طریقے
6	visiting her family	اس کے خاندان کا دورہ کرنا
7	soon friends	جلد ہی دوست بن گئے
8	nothing to do	کچھ کرنے کے لئے کچھ نہیں
9	book in her hand	اس کے ہاتھ میں کتاب
10	help her read it	اسے پڑھنے میں مدد کرنا
11	sat on the sofa	ایک سوفہ پر بیٹھے
12	beginners	نو سائیں
13	not clear	واضح نہیں
14	supposed to do	کرنے کے لئے فرض ہے
15	sat still	ٹھہرے رہنا
16	hard thing	مشکل بات
17	teacher	استاد
18	explaining and helping	بیان کرنا اور مدد کرنا
19	first few pages	پہلے چند صفحات
20	not know	نہیں جانتے
21	figure it out	حل کرنا
22	skip it	اسے چھوڑ دو
23	badly stuck	بہت پریشان
24	tell her the word	الفاظ بتانا
25	odd thing happened	عجیب سی بات ہو گئی
26	previously	پہلے
27	feeling puzzled	حیران ہونا
28	annoyed	پریشان
29	supposedly	قدرتی طور پر
30	forgotten	بھول گئے تھے
31	sheet of printing	پرنٹنگ کی شیٹ
32	occurred most often	زیادہ سے زیادہ بار آتے ہیں
33	amazingly difficult	حیرت انگیز طور پر مشکل
34	jumble of strange shapes	انوکھے شکلوں کا گڈبڑ
35	concentrating	توجہ دینے
36	teaching themselves to read	خود سکھنے کی پڑھائی
37	problems they meet	انہیں مسائل سے کیسے نمٹنا پڑتا ہے
38	ways they solve	انہیں کیسے حل کرتے ہیں
39	soon friends	جلد ہی دوست بن گئے
40	help her read it	اسے پڑھنے میں مدد کریں
41	went to work	کام شروع کر دیا
42	good for beginners	نو سیکھنے والوں کے لئے اچھی کتاب
43	hard thing for a teacher to do	استاد کے لئے مشکل کام
44	explaining and helping	بیان کرنا اور مدد کرنا
45	she did not know	اسے معلوم نہیں تھا
46	figure it out	اسے حل کرنا
47	suggested how she might figure it out	سمجھانے کی کوشش کی
48	still couldn't get the word	ابھی بھی وہ الفاظ سمجھ نہیں سکی
49	skip it	اسے چھوڑ دو
50	badly stuck	بہت پھنس گئی
51	misread a word	الفاظ کو غلط پڑھنا
52	supposedly learned	مانا جاتا تھا کہ وہ سیکھ چکے ہیں
53	paying attention	دھیان دینا
54	making an effort	کوشش کرنا
55	a stupid behavior	احمقانہ رویہ
56	an experience	تجربہ
57	common word	عام الفاظ
58	at a glance	ایک نظر میں
59	unlettered homes	بے خطی گھروں
60	formal instruction	رسمی سکھائی
61	a very good reason	ایک بہترین وجہ
62	disadvantaged children	محروم
63	turn over	پلٹنا
64	pages	صفحات
65	interested in	دلچسپی رکھنا
66	suggestion	تجویز
67	helpful	مددگار
68	sensible	منطقی
69	necessary	ضروری
70	first step	پہلا قدم
71	particular letters	خاص حروف
72	groups of letters	حروف کے گروہ
73	get familiar with	آشنا ہو جانا
74	sound of talk	بات چیت کی آواز

Q1. Who was Nora? How did she become a friend of the teacher?

Ans: Nora was a five-year-old girl. The teacher met her when he visited her family one weekend. That's how they became friends.

Q2. How did the teacher observe Nora while she was learning?

Ans: Most of the time the teacher sat quietly and watched her, but when she seemed to be struggling, he would either give her some hints or tell her to skip the word. But if she really wanted to know the word, he would tell her.

Q3. What odd thing happened with Nora? Why was the teacher puzzled?

Ans. While Nora was reading, something odd happened. She read a word wrong that she had read correctly before. This made the teacher feel confused because she had read it correctly before.

Q4. Was Nora a lazy child? How do you know?

Ans. No, Nora was not lazy because she tried really hard to learn. She was paying close attention when she was reading.

Q5. How should a teacher understand the problems of children?

Ans. To understand the learning problems of children, a teacher must try to see things from their point of view. For a child who has only seen a word for the first time, it can be hard to remember it.

Q6. What experience popped into the teacher’s mind after Nora’s learning problem?

Ans. The memory that came to the teacher's mind was of a sheet of paper in an Indian language he didn't know. The words looked like jumbled up letters to him. He remembered how hard it was for him to understand them and realized it was the same for Nora.

Q7. Why are children from unlettered homes at a disadvantage?

Ans. Children from unlettered homes are at a disadvantage because they don't have exposure to the shapes of words and letters from a young age. Since there is no one at home to help them, they find it harder to learn.

Q8. How did the teacher learn from Nora?

Ans. The teacher learned about the problems children face by observing Nora while she was reading and learning. From that experience, he learned how to help children with similar problems when teaching.

 LANGUAGE WORK:

1. In the text, the author keeps using the American expression, ‘to figure out’. Which of the following word or phrases is closest in meaning to the expression as it is used in the passage?

(a) To guess             (b) to recognize           (c) to reason out         (d) to decide

Ans. The phrase "to figure out" usually means "to understand." However, in the passage, the teacher helps the child recognize words by suggesting she figure them out. So in this context, the phrase "to figure out" can also mean "to recognize."

2. The second sentence of each of the sentence is written below:

(a)    He loaned me some clothes. I lent them.

(b)   He sold me an old piano.  I purchased it.

(c)    He chased me.  I ran away.

(d)   I gave him a glass of water.  He received it.

(e)    We conquered the enemy. They were defeated.

3.  Some suffixes (like -al, -ial, -ish, -py, -ous, -ine, -ly etc.) are added to nouns to form adjectives. e.g. orient-oriental; nation-national: child-childish, friend-friendly. Now form adjectives from the following nouns by using suffixes. Use your dictionary if you cannot quickly think of the right word.

Alphabet, Angel, Shape, Book, Man, Government, Minister, Elephant, Tiger, Day, College

Answer:

Word	Adjective (with suffix)	Example
Alphabet	Alphabetical	An alphabetical list, alphabetical order, alphabetical sorting
Angel	Angelic	An angelic face, angelic voice, angelic behavior
Shape	Shaped	A shaped cake, shaped like a heart, shaped like a diamond
Book	Bookish	A bookish person, bookish knowledge, bookish hobby
Man	Manly	A manly attitude, manly voice, manly appearance
Government	Governmental	Governmental policies, governmental decisions
Minister	Ministerial	Ministerial duties, ministerial office, ministerial responsibilities
Elephant	Elephantine	Elephantine size, elephantine strength, elephantine memory
Tiger	Tigerish	Tigerish aggression, Tigerish roar, Tigerish behavior
Day	Daily	Daily routine, daily tasks, daily schedule
College	Collegial	Collegial atmosphere, collegial relationship, collegial spirit.

4. Here are some examples how you can write a message on the given conversation: 

  Example 1.

Message Dec 12, 2022 Dear Asif Khalid called and said he has been asked to complete a project at the office and will be late for dinner at Ahdoo's. He will be there in one hour. Rauf

Example 2.

Message Dec 12, 2022 Dear Asif, Khalid had called me that he will be 1 hour late for dinner, which you and Khalid have planned to have at Ahdoo’s at 9 pm. He will be late because he has to complete an assignment at the office. Rauf

GRAMMAR WORK:

I. Fill in the blanks by using the past participle forms of given verbs:

Write         Rent        Forget      Break        Cook

1.    I am living in a rented house.

2.    It is not safe to sit in a broken chair.

3.    Some people do not like cooked vegetables.

4.    The headmaster wanted a written report.

5.    That is a forgotten quarrel.

II.   Using the words and phrases given, make sentences like in the example given below:

Example: we/ the doors/ have/painted/ shall.

We shall have the doors painted.

1. made/ I/ a new suit/ had.

I had made a new suit.

2. she/ heard/ has never/ spoken/ French.

She has never heard spoken French.

3. respected/ makes/ his knowledge/ him.

His knowledge makes him respected.

4. I/ your names/ heard/ called.

I heard your names called.

5. work/ we/ want this/ quickly/ done.

We want this work quickly done. 

Let's Talk

Can you recall someone who has at some time in your life been kind and helpful to you? What was the situation? How did the person help you? What difference do you think it has made to your life? What did he or she say and do for you? What do you think you have learned? What is that person doing today? When did you last see him or her? Will you meet again? Imagine such a person and a situation and share it with your class.

Example:

I remember when I was in grade 7, there was one teacher who had a particularly profound impact on my life. His name was Mr. Sajjad and he taught Maths. He was a very kind and benevolent teacher who had immense patience for his students and believed in each one of us. One day, I was having difficulty understanding a particular concept in Maths. I was struggling to understand the concept and didn’t know how to go about it. Mr. Sajjad noticed my struggle and he spent an entire hour helping me understand the concept. He patiently worked through the problem with me and explained each step till I finally grasped the concept. Not only did I understand the concept better, but I felt more inspired to work harder and give my best in the subject. Mr. Sajjad taught me the importance of hard work, dedication and perseverance. He also motivated me to set goals for myself and strive for excellence in whatever I do. I did get a chance to meet him again last year. We had a short but pleasant conversation about our time together in the past. I hope to meet him again someday and thank him for everything that he has done for me.

Let's Write

Here are some statements about the way young children learn. Read through them carefully and then write a short account of how children learn to read. Join up the statements, rearranging the order if necessary, to make longer, more varied sentences, adding words like although', 'but', 'for', 'for instance', 'however', 'just as', 'also', 'therefore', 'even though', 'so that', 'in order that', etc.

(a) Young children find it very difficult to learn to read.

(b) They do not easily recognise words.

(c) Adults can recognise words easily.

(d) Adults often find it just as difficult to recognise words in unfamiliar alphabets.

(e) A Tamil reader may find Telugu script puzzling.

(f) A Hindi reader may not easily recognise individual Tamil words.

(g) Children need plenty of practice in looking at printed words.

(h) They need not be able to read them at first.

(i) Familiarity with the shape of letters and words is the first important step.

 (j) When children begin to read they should have books with plenty of pictures.

(k) The books should be designed carefully.

(l) Children should, if possible, be able to work out what unfamiliar words mean rather than always be told by the teacher.

 

Example:

Young children find it very difficult to learn to read, just as adults often find it as difficult to recognise words in unfamiliar alphabets, such as a Tamil reader finding Telugu script puzzling and a Hindi reader not easily recognising individual Tamil words. However, familiarity with the shape of both letters and words is the first important step so that they need plenty of practice in looking at printed words-even though they need not be able to read them at first. In order to do this, they should have books with plenty of pictures, which are carefully designed so that they can, if possible, work out what unfamiliar words mean rather than always being told by the teacher. Therefore, it is important for a teacher to be patient in helping children to learn, providing them with plenty of support and guidance, whilst also allowing them sufficient time to read and practice what they have learnt. This can be achieved through careful selection of resources, questioning techniques and activities to further engage them with the material, as well as allowing them time to practice out loud and discuss their reading. Furthermore, children should be encouraged to read out loud to familiar listeners, such as family and friends, in order to give them the confidence to read and become better readers. This can also help with their pronunciation, intonation and pauses, improve their understanding of the meaning behind the words, and enable them to practice looking at words and understanding their meaning.