Minding And Finding The Gap.

A sneaky English affair.

The last few years before Matric are hectic to say the least. Each teacher likes to push his subject to the foreground and often inadvertently the boundaries of homework as well. The mind literally boggles. My mind at least...

In the 4th, 5th and 6th form, part of any exam is a Gap text. Approximately thirty lines of text, with a gap every now and then, with a choice of four possible fillers provided.

... It's something everybody knows about and nobody ( 0 )...does: having breakfast and knowing how important that is. (1)...ages doctors and nutritionists have been telling us how essential it is to start your day with a (2)...breakfast because that might energise you for the rest of the day. Fact is (3)..., that nine million Britons breakfast on nothing but a hot or cold drink...

0 .... A: originally B: surprisingly C: actually D: currently
1 ... A: since B: for C: many D: about
2 ... A: wealth B: wealthy C: health D: healthy
3 ... A: however B: well C: anyway D: consequently

For any fan of reading this type of exercise is a walk in the park but unfortunately, most of the kids I help with extra lessons are not fans of reading. In English or German. Sad. When they come across these types of exercises, they have to work everything out with the help of grammar and vocabulary learned throughout the years.

What to my mind seems even more sad, is the fact that they have never been in the grip of a thrilling novel. They have never gone on those wild and exciting mental adventures that are only to be found between the covers of a book.

Let's get kids reading again...

Biggi