E n g L i s h jenni Currie Santamaria

Count Nouns
a, an, the, number, or (no article)
count noun
verb
A(n)
The
One
car
is
fast.
The
Four
cars
are
clean.
(no article)
Cars
are
safe.
Noncount Nouns
the or no article
noncount nouns
verb
The
juice
is
fresh.
(no article)
Juice
is
sweet.
B.
Identify count and noncount nouns
Find count and noncount nouns from the passage, and place them in the 
correct columns.
Count Nouns
Noncount Nouns

---

176
|
Better Reading English
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Read the tips again. Answer the questions.
1. 
According to the passage, why is it important to establish healthy food 
routines when children are young?
2.
What are three healthy food routines?
HOUSEHOLD CHORES
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
This passage is from the book 
Raising a Self-Disciplined Child
,
 
by Robert 
Brooks, PhD, and Sam Goldstein, PhD. The book is about how to help your 
child become more responsible, conident, and resilient. This passage offers 
advice on how parents can get their children to help with the household chores 
without having to nag or punish.
B.
Words to know before you read
Match the words to their definitions.
____
1.
practical 
a. willing to be helpful by doing what 
someone asks for
____
2.
tedious 
b. intending to punish
____
3.
eager 
c. boring and long
____
4.
nagging 
d. useful and reasonable
____
5.
procrastination 
e. delaying something that should be 
done; to put off
____
6.
punitive 
f. to annoy with repeated requests
____
7.
strategy 
g. very excited and interested
____
8.
cooperative 
h. a careful plan
C.
Reading strategy
Read the text. Then answer the question.
This passage can be understood as a response to parents’ frustrations and 
questions about getting children involved in household chores. What is the 
parents’ question the authors are addressing?

---

Children and Parents
|
177
II. READ
Read the text. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to look 
them up.
As a practical matter, even if we are careful to express to our children that we 
need their help for the household to run more smoothly, many responsibilities 
still seem boring or tedious. How many of us are eager to clean our room, clear 
the dishes, or take out the garbage? These are the kinds of activities that result 
in procrastination or “forgetting,” which leads to nagging and punitive forms of 
discipline. Parents often ask, “What can we do so that our kids complete these 
chores without our nagging?” These are steps you can take to help to get 
things done and prevent discipline problems.
1.
Talk about why the tasks have to be done. Discuss with your children why 
certain activities are important and what would occur if they weren’t done.
2.
Have a family meeting about what needs to be done. Sit down as a family, 
and list the household responsibilities. Often differences of opinion arise 
about what responsibilities are important. These differences can serve as 
the basis for further dialogue among family members. Some chores judged 
important at one point may later be discarded. Once a list of 
responsibilities is complete, your family can review which items must be 
done by certain members of the household and which can be done by any 
family member.
3.
Figure out who does what, when, and for how long. When your list of 
responsibilities is done and prioritized, your family can develop a system 
for how these responsibilities should be delegated and for what length of 
time. Some families design a rotating schedule so that chores among 
family members change every week or month.
4.
Agree on a way to remind everyone of chores. Even with the aid of a 
written list and rotating chores, children (and even parents) may forget to 
meet their responsibilities. Discuss what the family should do if anyone, 
including parents, neglects to fulill a responsibility.
Whatever the strategy you use, involve your children in understanding why 
everyone in the family needs to help and how the work can be distributed fairly. 
While parents can reserve the inal say, children will appreciate their role in 
family life if they believe their views are being heard. When this occurs, they are 
more likely to be cooperative and responsible, and you will have helped to 
develop self-discipline.
Source: