"Paltr Packaging: Streamlined Order Process for Seamless Deliveries"
Pre intermediate - reading - working dogs
1. Universidad de la Sabana
Master’s Degree in TESOL for Self-directed Learning
Clara Marcela Niño Rosas
November, 2011
2. 1. Be able to talk about a few abilities that dogs can do
for people.
2. Make difference between true and false conclusions
about a text.
3. Be able to choose the best option to explain certain
parts of a text.
4. Guess some word meanings from context.
5. Be able to write one or two paragraphs about working
dogs.
3. Dogs are marvelous pets. Do you have one? They
will run with us, watch the telly, play the ball, or sleep;
they even perceive when we are happy, upset or sick…
There are special people with special dogs that will
make best friends. How can dogs help humans, do you
think?
You will read an article about one of these
wonderful animals which has made best friends with a
woman. After you finish the reading task, answer the
questions related to it.
Let’s revise some related vocabulary first.
9. These dogs are learning
how to help people.
They have a trainer or
handler.
10.
11.
12. “I have polio, and I have a major case. So at this point I have very very
little movement.” For Lee Ann Laraway, polio has placed almost everything in
her life just out of the reach1 of her hands.
But what her hands can't touch, her assistant2 can. Meet Jeannie, a
three-year-old Labrador, who has become Lee Ann's arms and legs. "She is
playful, she is loveable, she is slightly brilliant," Laraway said. Jeannie
understands no fewer than3 72 commands. To understand what that means,
Lee Ann takes me on a shopping trip in San Jose, California. First stop: The
bank, where the dog got cash from the teller. From the bank, we go on to the
drug store, where Jeannie got a chocolate bar for Lee Ann. Then Jeannie
helped pay the cashier, and got change back4 for her friend, who is waiting
in her wheel chair. "When you have a really good working animal, they come
and interact with you all the time," Lee Ann said.
13. Jeannie is an extraordinary animal, but she wasn't born that way. She received
training here at a dog-training center, the Canine Companions for Independence,
where handlers work with especially selected labrador and golden retrievers for hours
every day -- but not every dog will work as they want.
"We train four different types of dogs here," said Ken Kirsh.
"Hearing dogs, service dogs, companion dogs, and facility dogs."
The work is serious business. In the case of hearing dogs, the
animals alert5 their disabled owners to everything from ringing
telephones to doorbells. "When you think of all the things you
have in your hands during the day, if you don't physically have the
ability to pick something from the floor, just think about how a
dog would change your life," says Ken.
Other dogs will work with severely6 disabled patients like eight-year-old Noah
Habib of Mountain View, California, who communicates with a special computer.
“I like it when new people come up to ask me about my dog," he says. "People are
really interested in the dog and will come over and ask to pet her, and ask to play
with her, and ask about what she does, and these are people who come to visit
Noah, and I’m happy he has made friends this way," says his Dad.
14. And back in San Jose, Lee Ann is arriving home with Jeannie and her
groceries. With just one more thing to do -- opening Lee Ann’s front door.
"You can train a dog to do a lot of things," said Lee Ann. "You cannot give
them the heart to do the job, and that is what a good working dog has.”
Adapted from:
http://literacyworks.org/learningresources/2_working_dog_folder/lr_
working_dogs_home.html
15. Please, give answers to the exercises that come in the
next six slides; then check exercises A, B, and C with
the Answer Key; finally, count your correct answers
and complete the feedback and the self-assessment
sections.
16. 1. Jeannie can get Lee Ann a chocolate bar, but she can´t
get the change.
2. All dogs trained in the dog training center are good
workers.
3. Ken works for the dog training center.
4. The dog trainers work with the dogs four hours a day.
5. A dog like Jeannie can understand more than 70
orders.
6. The center trains dogs in four different types of
activities.
7. A trained dog can change a disabled person’s life.
17. 1. What disease does Lee Ann suffer from?
a. paralysis
b. disabled
c. polio
2. Why is Jeannie so important for Lee Anne?
a. Jeannie is her best friend.
b. She’s her arms and legs.
c. She gives her good company.
3. Who is “me” in: “Lee Ann takes me on a shopping trip in San Jose,
California”?
a. Jeannie
b. Lee Ann
c. The article writer
4. Which three places did Lee Anne and her dog visit today?
a. Bank, drug store, and grocery.
b. Bank, drug store and dog training center.
c. Bank, drug store and Noah Habib’s.
18. 5. Why is Noah Habib’s father happy with his son’s dog?
a. Many people come to see their dog.
b. His son has advanced thanks to his dog.
c. Noah has made many new friends.
6. How does Noah communicate?
a. Through his dog.
b. Through his computer.
c. Through his father.
7. Why do people first arrive to Noah’s house?
a. To visit Noah.
b. To look at Noah’s dog.
c. To see what the dog can do.
8. What makes a good working dog?
a. Good training.
b. Good spirits to do the job.
c. Being a golden retriever.
19. 1. Polio has placed almost everything in her life just out of the reach of her
hands.
2. What her hands can't touch, her assistant can.
3. Jeannie understands no fewer than 72 commands.
4. Jeannie helped pay the cashier, and got change back for her friend.
5. The animals alert their disabled owners to everything from ringing
telephones to doorbells.
6. Other dogs will work with severely disabled patients like eight-year-old
Noah Habib.
20. D. What do you think about working
dogs? How do you feel about them?
Would you like to have one…, a
companion labrador, perhaps? What
abilities you would like it to have?
Brainstorm your ideas on a piece of
paper and then write a 100-word
paragraph in which you state them.
21. Polio
Wheel chair
Command
Cashier
Cash
Teller
Working dogs
Disabled
Training center
Labradors
Golden retrievers
Pet (verb)
22. EXERCISE A
1. FALSE. Jeannie can do both things for
Lee Ann.
2. FALSE. Not every dog works as the
trainers want.
3. TRUE.
4. FALSE. They work with the dogs for
hours every day.
5. TRUE.
6. TRUE.
7. TRUE.
EXERCISE B
1. C
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. B
EXERCISE C
1. Very difficult to get or obtain.
2. Helper.
3. More than…
4. Received money when the amount
given to pay was larger than the price
to be paid.
5. To advise or warn.
6. Extremely.
23. There are 21 questions in
exercises A, B, and C. Count
your correct answers, and
give 1 point for each one.
19-21: Well done. You’ve
understood the text, paid
attention to instructions, and
can begin another reading
task.
15-18: You’ve lost important
aspects of the text; it is
necessary that you give a
quick view across the intro-
duction, giving special
attention to the new words,
read the text and review the
answers so that you can
proceed to another reading
task.
0-15: You’ve lost most
information from the text.
You need to start the activity
from the beginning, take
notes of the vocabulary, spare
a dictionary at hand, and
take up the task altogether.
24. ∲ Animal names:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/animals/Animalbabies.shtml
∲ For Kids Toronto, collection of articles:
http://www.toronto4kids.com/Kids/Kids-and-Pets.html
∲ Therapeutic benefits of pets:
http://www.helpguide.org/life/pets.htm
∲ Dogs only, stories:
http://www.petsplace.co.za/SMS.htm
∲ ESL Readings exercises about pets:
http://www.eslflow.com/Petandanimallessons.html
∲ A lot of interactive exercises in vocabulary, stories, and games:
http://www.michellehenry.fr/anim2.htm
25. I paid careful attention to the introduction of the lesson and
objectives
I wrote down the vocabulary instructed at the beginning of the
reading lesson.
I read the text carefully paying attention to the details and
highlights.
I did all the exercises carefully .
I checked the results of exercises A, B, and C.
If I got fewer than 19 points, I reviewed the task as indicated
I completed the self-assessment section.
I looked for more information about animals on the web pages
provided.
NOW I CAN move on to other reading tasks .
