Reading Comprehension About Coronavirus (+ PDF Worksheet)

This is a reading comprehension about coronavirus worksheet. The focus is on training students to predict the content of the text. A PDF version of the worksheet is downloadable.

• At the pre-reading stage, the students are invited to look at the picture and the title to predict what the text is about. The teacher then asks them to check their answers. Once the checking is done, the teacher introduces a list of words and asks them to cross out the words that they think are not mentioned in the text. They then check their answers and are invited to complete the first and second columns of a KWL chart:
  • 1. What they already know about the topic;
  • 2. What they want to know about it.
• At the while-reading stage, the learners are invited to read the text and do some comprehension tasks. These include:1. Answering comprehension questions,
  • 2. Answering a true or false exercise,
    3. Completing sentences about the text.
• At the post-reading stage, and as a follow-up, the teacher asks the students to complete the last part of the KWL chart (i.e., what they learned from the text.) They also complete a chart about life before and after Covid 19 and write a short paragraph to describe life before and after the pandemic.

Reading comprehension about coronavirus

• Objectives/Standards: Making predictions, using prior knowledge, generating questions, and making connections (between the text and students’ lives).
• Level: Intermediate
• Materials: sheets of paper and pens, a picture representing coronavirus.
• Timing: 50 minutes

Deadly Virus

(1) Coronavirus is a newly discovered virus. It causes a disease called Covid-19 that was first identified in Wuhan in December 2019. Scientists declared that the virus is contagious and can spread from person to person. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared this disease to be a pandemic with cases reported in over 200 countries.

(2) The Covid-19 disease can be transmitted through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when a sick person coughs or sneezes. Most people infected with Covid-19 experience minor to moderate respiratory infections and recover without requiring special treatment. Many, especially children, are asymptomatic. A lot of Covid-19 symptoms are similar to the flu. You may have a dry and itchy cough, fever, lots of sneezing, and even shortness of breath.  However, older people or those with serious health conditions like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, or allergies are more likely to develop severe symptoms. Fortunately, several vaccines are now available and can reduce the risks of getting and spreading the virus.

(3) The best way to slow down the spread of Covid-19 is to follow hygiene and social distancing rules. Here are some things you can do to protect yourself from the virus: wash your hands regularly or use hand sanitizer outdoors, sneeze into your elbow to prevent the droplets from going everywhere, avoid touching your face, and frequently disinfect your objects. You should also avoid crowded places or keep two meters between you and other people and self-isolate yourself if you have symptoms.

(4) The pandemic has changed our notion about health. People, nowadays, tend to give much more attention to their health, nutrition, and well-being. Healthy diets are important for supporting immune systems. Good nutrition can also reduce the likelihood of developing more serious complications from Covid-19.