Describing the Purposes The Steps in Designing a Set of English Reading Materials for Biology

No Topics Learning Materials 5. Alzheimer’s Disease • Short text about “Alzheimer’s Disease” • Language focus: Coordinating Conjunction 6. Bio-technology • Short texts “How nanotech can meet the poor’s water needs?” and “Nanoparticles killed women, study claims” • Language focus: Subordinating Conjunction 7. Natural Disaster • Short texts “Florida’s Coast: What’s At Stake” and “Wildfire’s on the Rise with Global Warming” • Language focus: Simple Present Tense 8. Global Warming • Short texts “The Greenhouse Effect” and “Save Energy and Money at Home” • Language focus: Simple Past Tense c. The Specification of the Learning Purposes After selecting the topics and the learning materials, the writer specified the learning purposes basic competences. The specification was aimed to make the learning purposes measureable. The specific learning purposes were called learning indicators. The learning indicators of each topic are presented on Table 4.6. Table 4.6 The Learning Indicators of the Designed Materials Unit Topics Learning Indicators 1. Biology as Science Learners are able to: • answer questions about specific details and inferences of the text • find main idea of the text • identify the communicative purpose of the text Unit Topics Learning Indicators • use some words related to the text • identify verbs used in the text • list important points from a text • express their ideas related to the topic in written way 2. Reproduction Learners are able to: • answer questions about specific details and inferences of the text • find main idea of the text • identify the communicative purpose of the text • match some words in the text with their meanings • use some words related to the text • identify adverbs used in the text • express their ideas related to the topic in written way 3. HIV-AIDS Learners are able to: • answer questions about specific details and inferences of the text • find main idea of the text • identify the communicative purpose of the text • use some words related to the text • identify nouns used in sentences • list important points from a text • express their ideas related to the topic in written way 4. Mercury Learners are able to: • answer questions about specific details and inferences of the text • find main idea of the text • identify the communicative purpose of the text • find the meanings of words used in the text • match some words in the text with their synonyms • identify adjectives used in the text • use appropriate adjectives in sentences • express their ideas related to the topic in written way 5. Alzheimer’s Disease Learners are able to: • answer questions about specific details and inferences of the text • find main idea of the text • identify the communicative purpose of the text • find the meanings of some words used in the text