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ELA 4: How to Make Predictions About a Text 36 Views


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Description:

You could try judging books by their covers, but we've heard that's a bad idea. We've got a few other strategies for you in today's video.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

[Dino and Coop singing]

00:14

You've probably heard the expression "Don't judge a book by its cover." [Woman in a library]

00:17

All it means is…don't jump to conclusions! [Boy jumps off a cliff]

00:20

Like this guy…sure he may look intimidating, but once he finishes chatting about how much [Angry looking old man]

00:23

he loves to snuggle his kitten, Mrs. Fluffington, well…you might have a whole new opinion [Old man smiling]

00:27

on him.

00:28

So you shouldn't make assumptions when meeting new people…but…what about when you're [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

00:31

meeting new books?

00:32

Well, turns out, people aren't books!

00:34

Yup, we were surprised, too. [Boy and a book separated by a not equal sign]

00:36

But we can make all sorts of good predictions about a book, just based on its cover. [Book with an apple on the cover]

00:40

When we make a prediction, we're making a guess! [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

00:43

So if we make a prediction about a book, we're probably guessing what it'll be about.

00:47

And you might ask: why not just read the book? [Woman in a library with her hands up]

00:49

After all, that's a sure-fire way to answer that question…

00:52

The thing is, we're not trying to make 100% accurate predictions about what happens in [Boy in a lab coat holding the Apples book while it is on fire]

00:56

the book, or trying to figure out the entire plot without reading it.

00:59

We're just doing the sort of thing most readers do before reading a book...y'know, trying [Boy looking at the book in a library]

01:03

to get a general idea of what the book's about.

01:05

And it'd be nice to know whether or not a book lines to with your interests and tastes.

01:09

If you love comedies with silly characters, you're probably not going to want to crack [Boy thinking of someone falling over]

01:13

open a book about filing your taxes…

01:15

Unless it's like…a clown filing his taxes. [A clown sat a desk holding paperwork]

01:18

But even then…snoozetown, USA.

01:20

One of the most helpful parts of a book for making predictions is the synopsis. [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

01:24

If you flip open to the book's jacket, it'll usually give a quick summary of what happens

01:28

in the book…

01:29

…and it won't spoil the ending. [The book is opened to reveal the synopsis]

01:31

Unlike our "friend" who spoiled the ending of The Hunger Games… [Boy looks annoyed]

01:35

We're not still angry, or anything…but we are volunteering them as tribute.

01:38

Anyway.

01:39

A synopsis will not only tell us who the main characters are, but also give us some idea

01:44

of the book's genre…

01:45

… whether it be a Western…

01:46

…or a detective story.

01:47

Hopefully it's not both.

01:48

Horses can really mess up a crime scene. [Horses trotting around a crime scene]

01:50

We can also use the author's bio to make our predictions.

01:53

Although an author's bio won't necessarily give us the author's entire life story –because [A book titled 'The Author's Life Story' appears]

01:57

yeesh, that'd be one long bio…

01:59

…they do shed at least some light on who the author was, and when they were writing.

02:04

So, for instance, a writer who lived in the 1700s would be really unlikely to have many [1700s writer saying a man on the moon is nonsense]

02:08

sci-fi elements in their story.

02:10

Unless they were a secret time traveler… [Doctor Who's Tardis]

02:12

Hey, you never know what secrets Shakespeare had hidden in those puffy sleeves. [Shakespeare next to the Tardis]

02:15

The better you get at analyzing book covers, the easier it'll be to make solid

02:19

predictions about a text.

02:20

So we guess the expression should be changed to "Don't judge a book by its cover…unless

02:24

you want to make predictions about the contents of an actual book." [Woman in the library with her hands on her hips]

02:27

…Rolls right off the tongue…

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