TOEIC Preparation - Week 8 - Part 7 - Reading Comprehension

Introduction: In today's class we begin our four week study of Part 7: Reading Comprehension. Complete the collaborative tasks below with your partners. 

Warm Up: Poem Analysis

Work with your group members to read the following poem and complete these tasks.

• Step 1: Read the poem with your partners. Each group member should read on stanza paying attention to the rhythm and rhyme. When you finish tell your partners what you think the poem is about. Then continue to the other tasks.

Eye have a spelling checker

It came with my pea sea

It clearly marks four my review

Miss steaks eye can knot sea

Eye strike a key and type a word

And weight four it to say

Weather eye am wrong oar write

It shows me strait a weigh

As soon as a mist ache is maid

It nose bee for two long

And eye can put the error write

It's rarely ever wrong

Eye have run this poem threw it

I am shore your pleased two no

It's letter perfect all the weigh

My checker told me sew

• Step 2: You probably noticed that the poem has many problems with homophones, or similar sounding words and phrases. What homophone errors can you identify? Can you find where these words should go?

• So
• Mistake (2x)
• Or right
• PC
• Knows before
• Straight away
• Cannot see

• Step 3: This poem is an example of irony. What is ironic about this poem?

• Irony: Noun - Something that seems to be deliberately contrary to expectations and the result is often amusing or funny. 

• Step 4: CLICK HERE to read the "corrected" version of the poem. Did you find all of the mistakes? Did this help you better understand the poet's message?

Task 1: Text Type Matching

Go to your Anthology pg. 29 (CLICK HERE): Look at the sample texts. Write the names of the text types in your anthology using the list below.

• General Correspondence
• Notices
• Articles
• Graphical Texts
• Advertisements
• Forms
• Instructions

Task 2: Common Text Types

In this task you will explore some sample text from the TOEIC. Click your group link below and follow the instructions in the document.  

• Group 1: CLICK HERE
• Group 2: CLICK HERE
• Group 3: CLICK HERE

Task 3: Focused Practice - Group Quiz

Take the following group quiz with your partners. All of the texts in the quiz are examples of business correspondence, a common text type in Part 7 of the TOEIC. The quiz has 20 questions but it was divided into two parts for your convenience. Be sure to skim the questions before you start reading.

• Text Types: Business Correspondence 1 - CLICK HERE
• Text Types: Business Correspondence 2 - CLICK HERE

Task 4: Book Practice

Complete the following practice exercises from your book (CLICK HERE).

• Pg. 12 - Task A - Identify Sequence of Events
• Pgs 13-14 Task A - Identify a Target Audience

TOEIC Speaking Pair Practice

Task 5: Think Fast Mini-Speech

This improvisation activity consists of 4 rounds. In each round you or your partner will give a 30 second speech about a specific topic. Try to mention as many reasons and details as you can in the time limit. Do not stop talking until the time is over.

1) What are three objects you never leave home without and why?
2) What is your favorite part of your house and why?
3) What is a holiday that you don't like very much and why?
4) What is something you have never done but have always wanted to try and why?




Task 6: Mini-Test 

In this task you will play the video respond to three questions. The video includes the timer. Remember you have 15 seconds to respond to questions 1 and 2 and 30 seconds to respond to question 3. When you finish, discuss your responses with your partner and say what you did well and what you could improve. When you finish all the exercises, play the videos again and answer the questions you did not answer on the first round. 

Student A

Student B

Student A

Student B

Task 7: Rapid Fire Improvisation 

In this task your listening comprehension, thinking speed, and improvisational abilities will be tested. You will hear a rapid fire list of questions for which you will need to provide a 15 second response. You will hear a beep that signals when when to start and stop your responses. This will help you work on your improvisation skills which can come in handy in this section of the real test. Take turns answering the questions: Question 1 for Student A, Question 2 for Student B, Question 3 for Student A, etc. When you finish, play the video again and answer the questions you didn't answer in the first round.