2.5: Reading Strategies: BC Festivals

One way you can build your reading skills is to build your vocabulary. Your vocabulary is the group of words that you know.

You can build your vocabulary by keeping track of words that are new to you. You might see new words in newspapers or hear them on TV. Find out what they mean. Then remember and use your new words.

Learning new words helps you because_______.

• You will understand more difficult readings
• You will be able to express yourself more clearly
• You will be able to retell things in your own words

Vocabulary

Identify which words below are new to you.

• Tradition
• Celebrate
• Journey
• Kilometre
• Mammal
• National
• Championship
• Ceremony
• Festival
• Sculpture

Open or print this worksheet.

Choose three words from above that you need not know. Add each word to the middle of its own "word" box on the worksheet.

Look up your three words in the dictionary. Sometimes a word has more than one meaning. The most common meaning will be given first. Under "dictionary definition," write down the most common meaning for your three words.

For each word, complete all of the other boxes on the worksheet.

Word Attack Strategy

Often, we can figure out a new word without looking in a dictionary. We can use our word attack skills.

One word attack strategy is to look for a suffix. A suffix is part of a word. It is put at the end of the word to change the meaning. In this section, you will learn about these suffixes: -er, -or, -ar, and -est

word patterns

When you see the suffix –er, –or, or –ar at the end of a word, it often means “a person who”

For example:

• A baker is a person who bakes
• An actor is a person who acts
• A liar is a person who lies

Questions

• What is a visitor?
  • A visitor is a person who _______.
• What is a racer?
  • A racer is a person who ________.
• What is a sculptor?
  • A sculptor is a person who ______.

word patterns

The suffix –est means “the most”

For example:

• Fastest means the most fast
• Strongest means the most strong
• Lightest means the most light

Questions

• What does longest mean?
  • Longest means the most ________
• What does oldest mean?
  • Oldest means the most _________
• What does largest mean?
  • Largest means the most ________

Use Your Strategies

Think about any festivals you have been to. What did they celebrate? What kinds of events were there? Now, reread the reading All Together Now: BC Festivals from the previous section, 3.2

Check Your Understanding

The subject of the reading is festivals of British Columbia. The reading is divided into six paragraphs. Each paragraph is about a different, but closely related topic

Find the Topic

• What is the topic of the second paragraph?
  • Whales
  • Festivals in British Columbia
  • The Pacific Rim Whale Festival
• What is the topic of the third paragraph?
  • Bathtubs
  • Nanaimo's World Championship Bathtub Race
  • Vancouver Island
• What is the topic in the fourth paragraph?
  • The Dragon Boat Festival in Vancouver
  • Dragons
  • China
• What is the topic of the fifth paragraph?
  • The Vernon Winter Carnival
  • Sculptures
  • The Rocky Mountains

Fill in the Blanks with a Word That Makes Sense

The following words are your word bank...

• Cultures
• Journey
• Jail
• Serious

• The Pacific Rim Whale Festival celebrates the ______________ of the grey whale.
• The World Championship Bathtub Race started as a silly event but is now a _______________ sport.
• The Dragon Boat Festival celebrates the many different ______________ of the people in Vancouver.
• At the Vernon Winter Carnival, people are put in ________________ to raise money.

Grammar

If we learn the rules about capital letters, we can help our readers understand what we write. You already know to use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence. This helps our readers understand that we are starting a new idea. Here are some more rules about capital letters...

grammar rule

Use a capital letter for...

• Names of people
• Titles of books, movies, newspapers, and so on
• Places and landmarks
• Days of the week and months of the year
• Holidays and special events
• The word "I"

Why Do These Words Have Capital Letters?

Match each word to the correct capital letter rule from the box above.

• Arctic
• Mexico
• Expo 86
• Rocky Mountains
• Nanaimo
• March
• Vernon Winter Carnival
• Dragon Boat Festival
• China
• February
• Pacific Rim National Park

These Sentences are Missing Capital Letters

Rewrite these sentences and add capital letters where needed

• albert ostman said he was kidnapped by a sasquatch.
• ginger goodwin hid on alone mountain near comox lake.
• there is a movie about bill miner called the grey fox.
• are you going to the kamloopa powwow?
• yes, i am leaving on friday, and i will be back on sunday.

Writing

Think of a festival you know about. Create a poster or ad to let people know about the event. If you want to, you can invent your own festival.

Include:

• The name of the festival
• Details about the events
• The dates
• The address

You can make up the details, such as where and when the next one will take place.

When you have finished.

• Check that you used capital letters correctly.
• Use the dictionary to check your spelling.
• Hand it in to your instructor.

Attribution

BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English - Course Pack 3 by Shantel Ivits is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.