Portuguese Year 4: Before reading: cover, title and pictures
Portuguese, Year 4 (Portugal): Use the title, the cover, the pictures and the shape of the text to guess what a book is about before you read it.
A book gives clues
Before you read, a book already gives you clues. The title, the cover, the pictures, the author's name and the text on the back cover are called the paratext. The shape of the text tells you the genre too: short lines are a poem, paragraphs are a narrative, names followed by speeches are a play. With these clues you can guess the theme, that is, what the text is about.
Reading with a guess in mind
Whoever guesses before reading reads with more attention, because they want to see if they were right. The clues also help you choose a book: in the library you cannot read everything, but you can look at the cover and the back cover. And afterwards you can compare: what did I expect and what happened? If the text says something else, the guess changes, and that is part of reading.
One cover, step by step
An imagined book: «O Gato que Tinha Medo do Escuro» (The Cat Who Was Afraid of the Dark). Step 1: the title speaks of a cat and of fear. Step 2: on the cover, a small cat curled up, with a big moon behind. Step 3: the back cover says he finds out the dark is not so bad. Step 4: the pages have paragraphs, so it is a narrative. Guess: the theme is fear and courage. Now you read to see if you were right.
The guess is not the answer
The usual mistake is to think the guess has to be right. It does not: it is an idea to test. Another mistake is to decide from the cover alone that a book is boring or easy, without reading the back cover or leafing through it. A picture helps you guess, but only the text says what happens. If your guess fails, correct it and keep reading: you have lost nothing, you have learned more.
In the library and in life
You use these clues in the library when you choose a book, at the cinema when you see the poster and the title of a film, and at home when you read the name of a song or a game and imagine what it will be like. Newspapers and magazines also have a title and a picture: take a look at them before you read the whole text.
Test what you learned
In a book, what is called the paratext?
- a) Only the words of the story
- b) Title, cover, pictures, author and back cover
- c) The difficult words at the end of the book
Correct answer: b) Title, cover, pictures, author and back cover — Yes: these clues around the text help you guess the theme before you read.
A book is called «O Urso que Queria Ver o Mar» (The Bear Who Wanted to See the Sea). The back cover says the bear Rui is tired of the forest and sets out to find the sea. What theme can you guess?
- a) How to protect the sea from rubbish
- b) A bear who never leaves the forest
- c) A journey: a bear who leaves home to find the sea
Correct answer: c) A journey: a bear who leaves home to find the sea — Yes: the title and the back cover both point to a journey and to a wish.
Ana guessed that a book was about a lost dog. Reading it, she sees it is about a cat that was found. What should she do?
- a) Correct her guess and keep reading with the new idea
- b) Keep believing in the dog and ignore the text
- c) Stop reading because she was wrong
Correct answer: a) Correct her guess and keep reading with the new idea — Yes: a guess is an idea to test. When the text says something else, the guess changes.
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