Portuguese Year 3: Before you read: cover, title and kind of text
Portuguese, Year 3 (Portugal): Use the title, the cover, the pictures and the kind of text to guess what a book is about before you read it.
Read the clues before the words
Before reading, look for clues. The paratext is everything around the text: the title, the cover, the illustrations, the names of the writer and the illustrator, and the short text on the back cover. The kind of text helps too. A fairy tale often starts with «Era uma vez» (“Once upon a time”). A poem or a lengalenga (a traditional rhyme that is chanted) has verses with repeated sounds. A play shows each character's name before what they say. With the clues you can guess the theme.
A guess makes you read with a question
Whoever makes a guess reads with a question in mind: «Will what I thought really happen?» That keeps your attention and helps you understand. The clues also tell you what to expect. If you know the kind of text, you know whether you will find a story with a beginning, a middle and an end, verses to say aloud, or lines to act out. It does not matter if you guess wrong: changing your guess while you read is also understanding.
The bear and the falling stars
An invented book, as an example. Step 1: the title is «O Urso e a Chuva de Estrelas» (The Bear and the Shower of Stars). Step 2: on the cover a big bear looks up at night, and many stars fall. Step 3: the back cover says «Era uma vez um urso que nunca tinha visto o céu à noite.» (Once upon a time there was a bear who had never seen the night sky.) Step 4: «Era uma vez» suggests a fairy tale. Step 5: your guess: «A bear discovers the stars.» After reading, you confirm it or correct it.
Trusting a single clue
The usual mistake is to hold on to one clue and never change your mind. A pretty cover does not promise a good story, and a title such as «A Lua» (“The Moon”) does not say by itself whether the text is a tale, a poem or a play. A guess is an idea waiting to be confirmed. Put several clues together (title, picture, kind of text) and, if the text shows something else, change your guess. That is not a failure: it is reading carefully.
Where you guess every day
You do this when you see a film poster, the box of a game or the first seconds of a TV programme and guess what it is about. You also do it when someone is about to read you a story aloud: you look at the cover and say what you think will happen. People who guess before they read, or listen, do it with more curiosity, and they notice when the text surprises them.
Test what you learned
A text begins with «Era uma vez…» (“Once upon a time…”). Which kind of text is most likely?
- a) A play, with lines for actors
- b) A fairy tale
- c) A news report
Correct answer: b) A fairy tale — Yes: many fairy tales begin like this, with characters and an invented world.
A book cover shows a small fish alone in a huge sea. The title is «O Peixe que Queria Ser Grande» (The Fish that Wanted to Be Big; an invented book). What is the best guess?
- a) A small fish wants to grow, and the huge sea shows how small it feels
- b) A story about a huge shark that eats everyone
- c) You cannot guess anything without reading the whole book
Correct answer: a) A small fish wants to grow, and the huge sea shows how small it feels — It uses two clues: the title (wants to be big) and the picture (small fish, huge sea).
A cover shows a dragon, but the title is «Poemas do Mar» (Poems of the Sea). What do you do?
- a) I ignore the cover, because covers are always wrong
- b) I decide from the picture alone: it is a dragon story
- c) I put the clues together: the title says poems, so a dragon may appear in one of them
Correct answer: c) I put the clues together: the title says poems, so a dragon may appear in one of them — Yes: several clues together give a better guess, and you adjust it while you read.
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