Portuguese Year 2: Choosing a book and guessing what it is about
Portuguese, Year 2 (Portugal): Genre, title, cover and pictures are clues: they help you guess the theme and choose a book with reasons.
The clues before reading
Before you read, or hear a book read aloud, it already tells you a lot. The genre: if it starts with «Era uma vez» (Once upon a time) and has kings, fairies or wolves, it is a fairy tale; with lines and rhymes, a poem; with playful repetition and rhyme, a rhyme for children (lengalenga). The paratext is everything around the text: title, author's name, cover and pictures. With these clues you anticipate the theme, that is, what the text will be about.
Guessing prepares your head
Whoever guesses before reading is already looking for answers («Will it really be about a dragon?»), and that helps you follow the text and remember it. It is also what you do in the library: you cannot read every book, so you use the clues (title, cover, pictures, genre) to decide which one to take home. And you can say why: «Escolhi este porque gosto de animais.» (I chose this one because I like animals.) The same works when someone reads to you: look at the cover while you listen.
A book in the library
An invented book: the title is «O dragão que tinha medo do fogo» (The dragon who was afraid of fire) and the picture shows a small dragon crying next to a candle. Step 1, genre: a dragon suggests a fairy tale. Step 2, title: a dragon afraid of fire is strange, since dragons breathe fire. Step 3, picture: he looks sad and alone. Step 4, you anticipate: it will be about overcoming fear. Step 5, you choose and give a reason: «Gosto de dragões e quero saber como o medo acaba.» (I like dragons and want to know how the fear ends.) After reading, you check your guess.
Guessing is not always being right
Many people think that if the guess was wrong, they read badly. No: anticipating is a guess, not an answer. If the book turns out to be about friendship, not fear, you correct your idea and you know more. Another mistake is choosing only by the cover, or because the book is big or colourful. The cover gives clues, but also look at the title, the genre and one page, and give reasons of your own: «É curto.», «Gosto de poemas.», «Tem animais.» (It is short. I like poems. It has animals.)
Where you choose and anticipate
In the school library, in a bookshop, when you pick a film from its poster or a series from its title. Also when someone reads you a story and shows the cover: before hearing it, you already think about what will happen. There are books from all over the world, translated into Portuguese: tales with animals, princes and magic exist in many cultures, with different details. Notice those differences with curiosity and respect: each people tells its stories in its own way.
Test what you learned
Before opening a book you look at the title, the cover and the pictures. What are these clues for?
- a) To know the whole story without reading it
- b) To find out the ending
- c) To guess the genre and the theme, and to choose the book
Correct answer: c) To guess the genre and the theme, and to choose the book — Yes: the clues help you guess what kind of text it is and what it is about, and give you reasons to choose it.
A cover says «Era uma vez um lobo que tinha medo do escuro» (Once upon a time there was a wolf who was afraid of the dark) and shows a small wolf hugging a lamp. Which guess fits best?
- a) A tale about a wolf who overcomes his fear
- b) A text with facts about what wolves eat
- c) A counting rhyme with lots of repetition
Correct answer: a) A tale about a wolf who overcomes his fear — Yes: «Era uma vez» points to a tale, and the wolf, the fear and the lamp point to the theme.
You guessed that a book was about fear, but when you read it, it is about friendship. What does that mean?
- a) That you read it wrong
- b) That your guess was a clue, and now you correct it and know more
- c) That the book is wrong
Correct answer: b) That your guess was a clue, and now you correct it and know more — Yes: anticipating is a guess; reading confirms it or corrects it.
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