A Student’s Workbook and a Teacher’s Book are included in this curriculum and the exercises are based on the biblical book of Ruth. The five lesson plans are intended for Christian students at a pre-intermediate level of English in a classroom setting. The emphasis is on introducing and practicing a variety of reading strategies to help students read more effectively and interactively.
The workbook guides the students as they read with questions, direction, and instruction on how to identify the main idea, author’s intention, character development, and progression. The reading strategy of observation-interpretation-application is foundational for effective reading. The skill of identifying the situation-problem-solution in narrative is taught as the students are encouraged to discover the ever-changing scenarios of story plot and character development. Students are introduced to the strategies of characterization, paraphrase, summary, and cause and effect that enhance their understanding and involvement with the passage.
There are two sections in each lesson that discuss post-reading activities. First is interpretation. Research using both outside sources and cross-references within the Bible are discussed. Avoiding plagiarism and learning to paraphrase offer students the opportunity to make the passage their own. Asking questions that take the student beyond the immediate text and seeing the big picture is encouraged. Application is the second part of post-reading. In this section students are given the opportunity to interact with the passage and the characters through reflection, identification, discussion, and written work.
The biblical account of Ruth in the New International Version is included in the appendix. The Teacher’s Book also contains answers, ideas for additional practice, and explanation of each lesson.