F-06.04 Read, Feel, Retell & Create Relationship (Beginning) Stories, Write/Exchange Personal Notices & Letters

WorkLife English: a Competency-Based Reading / Writing Book 3: An Immigration Story, Chapter 9 / “Friendship, Romance, & Love,” pages 115-126 

15 pages

Who It’s For: Who It’s For: Learners & Helpers Who Regard Reading / Writing as an Integral Element of Personal Communication, Even at the Very Beginning of a Connection

Why You Need It: No matter which culture somebody comes from, the process of meeting someone new (at school, work, or in everyday life) usually has a beginning, could have a middle, and may or may not result in a (long-term) relationship.  Here’s a story touching on the feelings people might have at the start of “a New Romance?” Its two alternative endings are both in need of reader understanding & supplementation.  One way of meeting people is by attending events, often announced in print or online.  After first visuals, communication may go beyond the oral to letter / note writing, texting, and more.  Here’s practice material for getting ready for whatever may develop.      

What You’ll / They’ll Do:  

[1] With the color Chapter Opener, retrieve ideas (from your own memory and others’ comments) of how (single) people used to meet others for dating or friendship vs. how they often do so now.  Then in Part One / The Story, read, react to, and notice your own feelings about a two-ending story called “A New Romance?” Think, too, how the story might progress in various cultures. 

[2] In Part Two / Practical Reading & Writing, look over announcements for “meet-up” events like films, readings / lectures, workshops, planned trips, & special-interest clubs.  Match them with explanations. 

[3] In Part Three / the Rules of Writing, review letter-writing conventions.  Look into spelling with doubled consonants (+ ck, tch, dge) and initial / final clusters.   Practice them by writing what you hear.  Later, write your own paragraph about a good friend, a date, a good / bad marriage, or another friendship or love. 

[4]  In Part Four / Communicating in Writing, choose vocabulary from lists and/or add your own words to fill in a form from a “Student Interest Exchange.”   Do the same when composing a personal notice or letter from given or real information.  Exchange these with others. Go where the meeting takes you.