Includes indexes.

"Welcome to National Geographic Learning's new Reading and Vocabulary Focus series. The series delivers memorable reading experiences, develops essential reading skills, and showcases a wide variety of high-utility vocabulary. The passages take readers to exciting new places where they can apply the skills of successful academic readers. While engaged with the content, readers encounter target vocabulary that is ample, diverse, and presented with a fresh, pragmatic view of what the term vocabulary item truly means.

A comprehensive, three-part vocabulary development program builds student confidence as learners encounter new or unfamiliar words in academic texts:
Academic Vocabulary sections develop the language that students will encounter in academic readings.
Multiword Vocabulary sections identify words that are commonly grouped together and then prompt learners to work with them in different contexts to develop reading fluency.
Topic Vocabulary is presented as a reading preview strategy to enhance learner comprehension of the text.
After each reading, learners are taught an essential reading skill and then apply that skill meaningfully to the reading.
Connect the Readings at the end of each unit practice critical thinking skills as learners are guided to compare, contrast, and synthesize information from the two readings." (Book Cover)

CONTENTS:

Inside a unit

Series introduction

U1 THE BODY IN MOTION
Reading 1: A Natural Way to Run
READING SKILL: Connecting Visual Materials to a Text
Reading 2: The Runner's High
READING SKILL: Connecting Ideas with Signal Words: this, these, and such
Unit Review

U2 TIME
Reading 1: Spring Forward, Fall Back
READING SKILL: Understanding the Writer's Perspective
Reading 2: In Search of an Accurate Calendar
READING SKILL: Creating Time Lines Unit Review

U3 WATER
Reading 1: Drinking Water
READING SKILL: Recognizing Implicit Conditions
Reading 2: The Bottled-Water Debate
READING SKILL: Supporting Details in a Persuasive Text Unit Review

U4 TRAVEL
Reading 1: Extreme Diving
READING SKILL: Finding Out Why
Reading 2: Disaster Tourism
READING SKILL: Understanding Connectors of Contrast
Unit Review

U5 ANIMAL-HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Reading 1: Humans and Cattle: A Shared History
READING SKILL: Inferring Meaning from the Text
Reading 2: Taming the Wild
READING SKILL: Understanding Processes

U6 ARCHITECTURE
Reading 1: Safer Homes in Earthquake Zones
READING SKILL: Understanding Information in Tables
Reading 2: Urban Architecture in the 21st Century
READING SKILL: Taking Notes
Unit Review

U7 GENETICS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Reading 1: Sibling Personalities
READING SKILL: Analyzing Sentence Purpose
Reading 2: Epigenetics
READING SKILL: Relating Supplementary Material to the Text Unit Review

U8 INVENTIONS
Reading 1: The Golden Age of Islamic Invention
READING SKILL: Scanning
Reading 2: Origami: The Practical Applications of a Familiar Art
READING SKILL: Cohesion: Following Topic Chains Unit Review

U9 ROBOTICS
Reading 1: Robots to the Rescue
READING SKILL: Reading as Test Preparation
Reading 2: Humanoids
READING SKILL: Active Reading
Unit Review

Vocabulary Index

Credits

For high-beginner to intermediate ESL learners.