Grade 7 English FAL: Reading Comprehension – Informational Text & Summary Writing – Week 3 Term 4

1. Main Idea

The central point or most important concept that the author wants to communicate in a text or paragraph

2. Supporting Details

Facts, examples, descriptions, or explanations that provide evidence and help explain or develop the main idea

3. Inference

A conclusion reached based on evidence and reasoning rather than explicit statements; “reading between the lines”

4. Summary

A brief statement of the main points of a text written in your own words, shorter than the original

5. Text Features

Elements that help organize and present information in non-fiction texts, such as headings, subheadings, captions, diagrams, and bold text

Hook Activity:

Display an image of a South African wildlife animal (such as a rhinoceros or elephant) and ask learners: “What do you already know about this animal?” Record their responses on the board. Explain that today they’ll read an informational article to learn more facts and practice important reading skills.

Introduction Activities:

• Briefly discuss the difference between reading stories (narrative texts) and reading to learn information (informational texts)
• Show examples of text features common in informational texts: headings, subheadings, bold words, captions, diagrams, and charts
• Introduce the lesson objectives and explain that these skills will help them in all their subjects, not just English
• Activate prior knowledge by asking: “What strategies do you use when you don’t understand something you’re reading?”

Direct Instruction (10 minutes):

Model the Reading Process:

• Use a short informational paragraph displayed on the board about South African wildlife conservation
• Demonstrate the “Think Aloud” strategy: verbalize your thinking process as you read
• Model identifying the main idea: “The main idea is what the whole paragraph is mostly about. I ask myself: What is this paragraph teaching me?
• Show how to find supporting details: “These are the facts and examples that give me more information about the main idea”
• Demonstrate making an inference: “The text doesn’t say this directly, but based on the evidence, I can conclude that…”
• Model summarizing: “In my summary, I’ll include only the most important information in my own words”

Guided Practice (15 minutes):

Shared Reading and Analysis:

• Distribute copies of a 300-400 word informational text about a relevant South African topic (such as “The Importance of Water Conservation in South Africa” or “The Big Five Animals of South Africa”)
• Read the text together as a class using popcorn reading or choral reading
• Pause after each paragraph to discuss:
• What is the main idea of this paragraph?
• What supporting details did you notice?
• Are there any words we need to clarify?
• What text features help us understand the information?
• Complete a graphic organizer together on the board: Main Idea and Supporting Details Chart
• Ask inference questions: “What can we infer about…?” “Why do you think…?” “What evidence supports this?”
• Model creating a one-sentence summary for each paragraph

Independent Practice (15 minutes):

Individual Application:

• Provide learners with a second informational text (different but similar difficulty level) about another South African context topic
• Learners read the text independently and complete a comprehension worksheet that includes:
• Identifying the overall main idea of the text
• Finding 3-5 supporting details
• Answering 2-3 inference questions
• Circling text features and explaining their purpose
• Writing a 3-4 sentence summary of the entire text
• Teacher circulates to provide support and monitor progress
• Use the 3-2-1 strategy as an alternative: Write 3 things you discovered, 2 things you found interesting, 1 question you still have

Consolidation Activity:

• Pair-Share: Learners share their summaries with a partner and provide constructive feedback
• Whole-class discussion: “What strategies helped you understand the text today?”
• Review the key vocabulary terms and their meanings
• Connect to real-world application: “When else do you need to read informational texts?” (textbooks, instructions, news articles, online information)

Exit Ticket:

Learners complete a quick written response on a slip of paper or in their exercise books:

• “Write one reading strategy you used today that helped you understand the text”
• OR “In one sentence, explain what makes a good summary”

📝 Formative Assessment

• Observation during guided practice – monitor learner participation and responses
• Quality of responses during think-pair-share discussions
• Accuracy of completed graphic organizers during shared reading
• Teacher questioning throughout the lesson to check understanding
• Exit ticket responses demonstrating grasp of key concepts

📋 Summative Assessment

• Independent comprehension worksheet (marks allocated for each section)
• Quality and accuracy of written summary
• Correct identification of main ideas and supporting details
• Ability to make appropriate inferences with text evidence

🤝 For learners who need support:

• Provide shorter, simpler texts with clear paragraph structure
• Use partially completed graphic organizers with sentence starters
• Allow use of highlighters to mark main ideas in different colors
• Pair with a reading buddy for support during independent work
• Provide a word bank for summary writing
• Read aloud option for struggling readers
• Break tasks into smaller chunks with frequent check-ins
• Use visual aids and diagrams to support comprehension

🚀 For advanced learners:

• Provide more complex texts with sophisticated vocabulary
• Challenge them to write summaries of different lengths (one sentence, one paragraph)
• Ask higher-order thinking questions requiring analysis and evaluation
• Have them identify the text structure (compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution)
• Ask them to evaluate the author’s use of evidence and reasoning
• Encourage them to research additional information on the topic
• Have them create their own informational text with appropriate features

♿ For learners with barriers to learning:

• Provide texts in larger font size if needed
• Allow oral responses instead of written responses where appropriate
• Use assistive technology or text-to-speech tools if available
• Provide extended time for completion of tasks
• Allow drawing or visual representations alongside written work
• Seat learners strategically for optimal focus and support
• Simplify instructions and check for understanding frequently

✅ What worked well:

[To be completed after lesson delivery – consider: learner engagement levels, effectiveness of modeling, appropriateness of text difficulty, time management, learner understanding of concepts]

🔧 What could be improved:

[To be completed after lesson – consider: areas where learners struggled, pacing adjustments needed, differentiation effectiveness, resource improvements, instruction clarity]

📝 Notes for next lesson:

[To be completed after lesson – consider: concepts needing reinforcement, skills to build upon, assessment insights, individual learner needs, follow-up activities required]