5

L • E • S • S • O • N

PUTTING IT ALL
TOGETHER

SECTION SUMMARY
This lesson reviews what you learned in Lessons 1–4: active
reading strategies, finding the main idea, defining words from
context, and distinguishing between fact and opinion. In the
practice exercise, you’ll get to use all of these reading com-
prehension skills together.

I
f you want to become good at basketball, you can practice your drib-
bling, work on your jump shots, and run through your lay-ups over
and over until your arms and legs ache. But you won’t become really
good unless you can successfully combine all of these skills on the court.
Similarly, when you read, you need to use a number of different reading
strategies at the same time. Putting together the strategies that you’ve
learned so far will take your reading skills to the next level.

WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED

These are the reading strategies you’ve learned so far.

Lesson 1: Becoming an Active Reader. You learned that active reading is

the key to reading success. Active readers use five specific strategies to under-
stand what they read:

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 –8TH GRADE READING COMPREHENSION SUCCESS–

■ skimming ahead and jumping back

■ highlighting key words and ideas SECTION 1 PRACTICE
■ looking up unfamiliar vocabulary words
■ recording questions and reactions Now it’s time to use all of the above skills at once. (This
■ looking for clues will become more natural as your skills improve.) Read
the passage below carefully. If you come across unfamil-
Lesson 2: Finding the Main Idea. You learned that the iar words circle them, but don’t look them up until after
main idea is different from the subject. The main idea you’ve answered all of the questions. Take as much time
makes an assertion about the subject. This idea is gen- as you need and remember to read actively. (The sentences
eral enough to hold together all of the ideas in a pas- are numbered to make the questions easier to follow.)
sage. It is the thought that controls the whole passage,
and this thought is often expressed in a topic sentence. Bicycles
The other sentences in the passage provide support for (1) Today, bicycles are so common that it’s hard
the main idea. to believe they haven’t always been around. (2)
But two hundred years ago, bicycles didn’t even
Lesson 3: Defining Words from Context. You learned exist, and the first bicycle, invented in Germany
how to figure out what unfamiliar words mean from in 1818, was nothing like our bicycles today. (3)
their context—the surrounding words and ideas. You It was made of wood and didn’t even have ped-
looked for clues in the sentences around the unfamil- als. (4) Since then, however, numerous innova-
iar word. tions and improvements in design have made
the bicycle one of the most popular means of
Lesson 4: Distinguishing between Fact and Opinion. recreation and transportation around the world.
You learned that a fact is something known to be true (5) In 1839, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a Scot-
while an opinion is something believed to be true. Main tish blacksmith, dramatically improved upon
ideas are often opinions. Good writers use facts to sup- the original bicycle design. (6) Macmillan’s
port their opinions. machine had tires with iron rims to keep them
from getting worn down. (7) He also used foot-
operated cranks similar to pedals so his bicycle
If any of these terms or strategies are unfamil- could be ridden at a quick pace. (8) It didn’t look
iar, STOP. Take some time to review the term or much like a modern bicycle, though, because its
strategy that is unclear. back wheel was substantially larger than its front
wheel. (9) In 1861, the French Michaux broth-
ers took the evolution of the bicycle a step fur-
ther by inventing an improved crank mechanism.
(10) Ten years later, James Starley, an Eng-
lish inventor, revolutionized bicycle design.
(11) He made the front wheel many times
larger than the back wheel, put a gear on the

32 LESSON 5 • LearningExpress Skill Builders

 –PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER–

pedals to make the bicycle more efficient, and 3. Which of the following would be the best title
lightened the wheels by using wire spokes. (12) for this passage?
Although this bicycle was much lighter and less a. Bicycles Are Better
tiring to ride, it was still clumsy, extremely top b. A Ride through the History of Bicycles
heavy, and ridden mostly for entertainment. c. Cycle Your Way to Fitness
(13) It wasn’t until 1874 that the first truly d. The Popularity of Bicycles
modern bicycle appeared on the scene. (14)
4. Which sentence best expresses the main idea of
Invented by another Englishman, H.J. Lawson,
paragraph 3?
the “safety bicycle” would look familiar to today’s
a. Macmillan was a great inventor.
cyclists. (15) This bicycle had equal-sized wheels,
b. Macmillan’s bike didn’t look much like our
which made it less prone to toppling over. (16)
modern bikes.
Lawson also attached a chain to the pedals to
c. Macmillan’s bike could be ridden quickly.
drive the rear wheel. (17) With these improve-
d. Macmillan made important changes in bicy-
ments, the bicycle became extremely popular
cle design.
and useful for transportation. (18) Today they are
built, used, and enjoyed all over the world. 5. An innovation, as it is used in Sentence (4), is
a. a new way of doing something.
Questions b. a design.
c. an improvement.
1. Highlight the passage. Which words and ideas
d. a clever person.
should be underlined?
6. Revolutionized, as it is used in Sentence (10),
most nearly means
a. cancelled.
b. changed drastically.
2. The main idea of this passage is best expressed
c. became outdated.
in which sentence?
d. exercised control over.
a. Sentence (1): Today, bicycles are so common
that it’s hard to believe they haven’t always 7. The word prone, as it is used in Sentence (15),
been around. means
b. Sentence (13): It wasn’t until 1874 that the first a. lying down.
truly modern bicycle appeared on the scene. b. unbalanced.
c. Sentence (4): Since then, however, numerous c. incapable of doing something.
innovations and improvements in design d. likely to do something.
have made the bicycle one of the most popu-
lar means of recreation and transportation
around the world.
d. Sentence (18): Today they are built, used, and
enjoyed all over the world.

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 –8TH GRADE READING COMPREHENSION SUCCESS–

8. Which of the following sentences from the pas- 10. Macmillan added iron rims to the tires of his
sage represents the writer’s opinion? bicycle to
a. Sentence (1) a. add weight to the bicycle.
b. Sentence (6) b. make the tires last longer.
c. Sentence (9) c. make the ride less bumpy.
d. Sentence (16) d. make the ride less tiring.

9. Sentence (8), “It didn’t look much like a mod- 11. The first person to use a gear system on bicycles
ern bicycle, though, because its back wheel was was
substantially larger than its front wheel,” follows a. H. J. Lawson.
which pattern? b. Kirkpatrick Macmillan.
a. fact, fact c. The Michaux brothers.
b. fact, opinion d. James Starley.
c. opinion, fact
12. Starley’s addition of wire spokes made the bicycle
d. opinion, opinion
a. lighter.
b. less likely to tip over.
c. more efficient.
d. safer.

Skill Building until Next Time

1. Review the Skill Building sections from each lesson in this section. Try any Skill Builders you
didn’t already do.
2. Write a paragraph or two about what you’ve learned in this section. Begin your paragraph with
a clear topic sentence and then write several supporting sentences. Try to use at least one new
word you learned this week as you write.

34 LESSON 5 • LearningExpress Skill Builders