Lesson 3: Reading Skills & Measurement Conversion

1. Lesson 3: Reading Skills & Measurement Conversion Practical English: American Culture & Cuisine

2. Goals • Improve reading skills. • Know the origin of hamburgers and potato chips. • Convert different measurements.

3. Warm Up Discussion • Do you have any questions regarding the homework reading?

4. Skimming (1/3) • Skimming is a reading skill that can help you find main ideas in an article. • When you read the newspaper, you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text. • Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. • People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. • Use skimming when you want to see if an article may be of interest in your research.

5. Skimming (2/3) • There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. • Some people read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summarizes and other organizers as they move down the page or screen. • You might read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first sentence of each paragraph. • This technique is useful when you're seeking specific information rather than reading for comprehension.

6. Skimming (3/3) • Skimming works well to find dates, names, and places. It might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts. • Examples: • Tommy is about to take a test. When preparing for the test he skims the chapters assigned as homework to get the main ideas. • When Tommy read a novel, he only wanted to know what happened to a child after s/he was kidnapped. Tommy skipped pages that didn’t mention the kid’s name and slowed down on the sections where he saw the name.

7. Skimming Exercise #1 (1/2) • Turn to the Sandwich article in your textbooks. • Skim the article for main ideas. • I will now ask you a few questions. • If you cannot recall the answers, skim the article to locate the answers.

8. Skimming Exercise #1 (2/2) • When were sandwiches first eaten? • 1718. • From which country did sandwiches originate? • England. • Who invented the sandwich? Why? • Earl of Sandwich. He was gambling but did not want to stop to eat, therefore he asked someone to prepare a simple snack of some bread and meat. • What is the modern meaning of sandwich? • Nowadays, sandwich can refer to any item with layers.

9. Skimming Exercise #2 (1/2) • Turn to the Hamburger article in your textbooks. • Skim the article for main ideas. • I will now ask you a few questions. • If you cannot recall the answers, skim the article to locate the answers.

10. Skimming Exercise #2 (2/2) • From which country did hamburgers originate? • Russia. • Who brought the hamburger to the USA? • German immigrants. • Where is the first place that hamburgers were sold? • St. Louis World’s Fair. • Which fast food restaurant started the fast food hamburger? • White Castle. • How many hamburgers do Americans eat on average per week? • Three (3) hamburgers.

11. Skimming Exercise #3 (1/2) • Turn to the Potato Chip article in your textbooks. • Skim the article for main ideas. • I will now ask you a few questions. • If you cannot recall the answers, skim the article to locate the answers.

12. Skimming Exercise #3 (2/2) • Who is the inventor of potato chips? • George Crum. • Who brought french-fried potatoes to the USA? • Thomas Jefferson brought the recipe. • For what reasons did the inventor invent potato chips? • It was because a guest complained of the too-thickly cut French fried potatoes.

13. Common Measurements • In the USA Americans do not normally use the metric system for recipe ingredient measurements. • Instead, Americans use a system called “Standard.” • We will review some common measurement amounts for American recipes and their metric equivalents.

14. Common Abbreviations • TB = Tablespoon • Tsp = Teaspoon • C = Cup • P = Pint • Qt = Quart • G = Gallon • Oz = Ounce (only used for wet ingredients) • Lb = Pound (usually used for meat)

15. Common Measurement Conversions • 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon • 8 ounces = 1 cup • 2 cups = 1 pint • 2 pints = 1 quart • 4 quarts =1 gallon • 1 gallon = ___ quarts = ___ pints = ___ cups = ___ ounces • 1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups = 128 ounces

16. Common Volume Measurement Equivalents (for Dry Ingredients) • 1 tsp = about 5 milliliters • 1 TB = about 15 milliliters • 1 C = about 237 milliliters • 1 P = about 473 milliliters • 1 Qt = about 946 milliliters • 1 G = about 3.8 liters • 1 Oz = about 30 milliliters • 1 Lb = about 454 grams

17. Special Measurements • Pinch (use two fingers to grab a seasoning) • Drop (a single “drip” of a liquid) • Dash (Small amount “shaken” from a container)

18. Now Practice • Turn to the Metric & Standard Conversion worksheet in your textbooks. • Work with a partner to complete the answers. • Please recall the measurements you learned today because in the future you will need to use the Standard measuring system to write recipes for an English cookbook project.

19. Let’s Cook • Turn to the Hamburgers recipe in your textbooks. • Choose a leader for today’s recipe. • The leader will give pairs of students a task to complete. • Follow the recipe to prepare hamburgers.