Get Ready to Read

Readers think about their own experiences with a topic before they read a text. They ask questions like, “What does this make me think of?” or “What do I already know about this topic?” Think about the questions below or discuss them with a partner.

• Who or what does the word “genius” make you think of?
• Who is the smartest person you know? What makes her or him smart?
• Agree or disagree with this statement: Being smart means being good at reading, writing, and math.
• Look quickly at the the reader for The Many Faces of Genius. What do you think the topic of this text will be?

Reading Strategy

Readers check their understanding of a text while they read. One strategy is to stop after each paragraph and try to retell the main idea in your own words.

Try this strategy as you read The Many Faces of Genius.

Vocabulary

Find these words in the text. Use the context to choose the best meaning.

1. The __________________________ is a prize awarded to people who do important work in literature, medicine, and science, or for world peace.

2. A __________________________ is a very smart person.

3. The business that makes movies, TV shows, and plays is called __________________________.

4. __________________________ means to change your behaviour so it is easier to live in a particular situation.

5. __________________________ means to create a piece of music or writing.

6. __________________________ means to deal with problems and try to come up with solutions.

7. To __________________________ is to find the size, amount, or value of something.

8. __________________________ means to form a mental picture of something.

Check Your Understanding

The text has four paragraphs. Find the paragraphs that match each of the main ideas below.

1. It is difficult to define intelligence.

2. There are different ways to be smart.

3. Intelligent people don’t always do well in school. There are many examples of geniuses who struggled in school.

4. You can find out about your strengths by taking a quiz on the Internet.

 Are these details true or false?

5. People who are logic smart are good at reading maps.

6. People who are people smart are good at understanding how others are feeling.

7. People who are word smart are good at explaining things.

8. People who are body smart know their strengths and weaknesses.

9. People who are self smart tend to make good personal decisions.

Answer these questions using a complete sentence. The answers are not in the text. You must draw conclusions based on what you have read.

10. What kind of intelligence do you think Albert Einstein was strongest in?

11. What kind of intelligence do you think Winston Churchill was strongest in?

12. What kind of intelligence do you think Whoopi Goldberg is strongest in?

13. What kind of intelligence do you think you are strongest in?

Spelling

A consonant is any letter that is not a vowel. Some words have silent consonants. This means that you do not pronounce them. Common silent consonant patterns include wr, gh, kn, and mb. Arrange a date to be tested on your ability to spell these words.

One way to learn to spell a new word is to look for the tricky parts. Silent consonants can be tricky. Cross out the silent consonants in these words.

1. bomb

2. wrist

3. ghost

4. plumber

5. know

6. wrong

7. knee

8. writer

9. thumb

10. knife

Colons

Insert colons in these sentences.

1. People have five senses vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

2. The tongue can only taste five things sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savoury.

3. I.Q. tests measure many things general knowledge, math, reasoning, memory, puzzle-solving, reading, and analyzing shapes.

4. I.Q. tests have many problems they are unfair to people from different cultural backgrounds, they don’t measure all the ways a person can be smart, and some people don’t do well on tests because they get nervous.

5. Leonardo da Vinci came up with many ideas for inventions a parachute, a glider, a bicycle, a life jacket, and many kinds of weapons.

6. The smartest animals tend to be the ones with a backbone apes, dolphins, dogs, and crows.

7. Neuroscientist a person who studies how the brain is structured and how it works.

8. Psychologist a person who studies human behaviour and the mind.

Simple Sentences: Identifying the Verb

In the last chapter, you learned that a complete simple sentence needs a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. You studied the different kinds of subjects: people, places, and things. In this chapter, you will study verbs.

 Underline the verbs in these sentences.

1. Butterflies fly over 4,000 kilometres from Canada to Mexico every fall.

2. I ate six hot dogs in two minutes.

3. Marilyn Bell swam across Lake Ontario.

4. The sun will burn out in about 5 billion years.

5. People will live on Mars one day.

6. It will rain tomorrow.

7. My grandma has 23 grandchildren.

8. Where are my pants?

9. The longest town name in the world is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

10. You should drive a riding lawnmower up and down on a hill, not sideways.

11. Tourists can stay in an ice hotel near Quebec City.

12. A big earthquake may hit British Columbia sometime soon.

Writing

An opinion paragraph shares what you think or feel about something. It should:

• Start with a topic sentence that says your opinion
• Include details, such as facts and examples, that prove your opinion
• End with a concluding sentence that reminds the reader of your opinion
• Use linking words like: first, second, third, for example, in addition, also, as a result, for this reason

Below is an example of an opinion paragraph. Organize the information from this paragraph on the Back Up Your Opinion worksheet. Remember that an opinion statement often contains the word “should” or “must.” An opinion can be backed up with facts and examples to convince others to agree.

Adult basic education should be free for all students. First, people who access adult basic education tend to have a low income. If adult basic education costs money, the people who need it most will not be able to afford it. Second, it is cheaper to provide free education than it is to deal with the results of lower literacy rates. Lower literacy leads to more health problems, more crime, and more families in need of welfare. Third, high school graduation rates are low among Aboriginal people. This is the result of hundreds of years of government policies that have tried to destroy Aboriginal communities. Adult basic education programs give people a second chance to finish their high school diploma. The government owes Aboriginal people this second chance. For these reasons, British Columbia should invest in free adult basic education.

Writing Task

Imagine that the government of British Columbia has announced a new award: The Smartest Person in the Province Award. You have decided to write a paragraph to suggest the government give the award to the smartest person you know. Remember that there are many ways of being smart! Follow the TOWER method to write your paragraph.

• Think of the names of some people you know who might deserve the award. Choose one person. Brainstorm all the reasons you think they deserve to win.
• Organize your best ideas on a Back Up Your Opinion worksheet.
• Write a first draft of your opinion paragraph.
• Edit your paragraph, with the help of your instructor and The Many Faces of Genius opinion checklist.
• Rewrite your paragraph. You may wish to type it on a computer. Finally, hand it in to your instructor.

Ask your instructor for a copy of the worksheet and checklist, or print copies from the links above. For printable versions, see Appendix 1 and Appendix 2.

Attributions

Albert Einstein
Image by skeeze is in the public domain.

Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Golberg by Daniel Langer is used under a CC BY SA 2.0 license.

Adult education
Image by ClkerFreeVectorImages is in the public domain.

Gold medal award
Image by ClkerFreeVectorImages is in the public domain.