Reading: Skimming (Reading for Gist): A2 Lesson 2: Identifying if a Short Text is a Story, an Invitation, or an Email

Reading: Skimming (Reading for Gist)

A2 Lesson 2: Identifying if a Short Text is a Story, an Invitation, or an Email

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What is the Text's Purpose?

Last lesson, we learned to skim for the main idea. Today, we will learn to skim to find a text's purpose. Why did the person write it?

By looking for special clues, you can quickly tell if a text is a Story¹, an Invitation², or an Email³.

Part 1: How to Spot a Story

auto_stories

Look for: Characters (people's names), past tense verbs (walked, went, was), and time words like Yesterday, First, Then.

Purpose: To tell you what happened.

Example:

Yesterday, my family went to Kep. We walked on the beach and saw the big crab statue. It was a fun trip.

Part 2: How to Spot an Invitation

mail

Look for: Keywords like invite, party, join us. It must have details for When (date/time) and Where (place).

Purpose: To ask you to come to an event.

Example:

You are invited!

For: Sophea's Birthday Party

When: Saturday, June 21st at 4:00 PM

Where: My house near the Old Market, Kampot

Part 3: How to Spot an Email

email

Look for: Special formatting like To:, From:, and Subject:. It has a greeting (Hi Dara,) and a closing (Thanks,).

Purpose: To send a message using a computer or phone.

Example:

From: Vanna
To: Chenda
Subject: English Homework

Hi Chenda,

Can you help me with question 5?

Thanks,
Vanna

Your Turn to Identify the Text!

Practice Quiz

Read the short text and choose the correct type.

Text 1: "Hello Class, Please remember to bring your books tomorrow for the test. From: Your Teacher"

What is it? (Story / Invitation / Email)

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Answer: Email. It has a greeting, a message, and a closing (From:).

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Text 2: "Please join us for a movie night! When: Friday, 7 PM. Where: My house. We will have popcorn!"

What is it? (Story / Invitation / Email)

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Answer: Invitation. It asks you to "join us" and gives a "When" and "Where".

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Story (*noun*)
   ភាសាខ្មែរ: រឿង (Reuang)
   A text that tells about events, often using past tense verbs. ↩ back to text
2. Invitation (*noun*)
   ភាសាខ្មែរ: ការអញ្ជើញ (Kaa anh-joengh)
   A message that asks someone to come to an event like a party. ↩ back to text
3. Email (*noun*)
   ភាសាខ្មែរ: អ៊ីមែល (Ee-mel)
   A digital message with a "To:", "From:", and "Subject:" line. ↩ back to text

Homework Task

Be a Text Detective!

Your teacher will give you three very short, simple texts on paper. Skim them quickly and look for the special clues we learned today.

Your job is to write "Story," "Invitation," or "Email" at the top of each paper. Be ready to explain which clues helped you decide!