TOPIC 1

INTRODUCTION TO READING IN THE PRIMARY

SCHOOL. DEFINITION, AIMS AND PURPOSE OF
READING AND TYPES OF READING.

SYNOPSIS
This topic provides you with an overview to the Introduction to Reading in the Primary
School. It discusses the definition of reading, the aims and purposes of reading. It
also provides a brief overview of the different types of reading: reading aloud,
intensive reading and extensive reading. Reading readiness and factors influencing
reading will also be even some coverage.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you will be able to:
give the definition of reading
understand the aims and purposes of reading
know the different types of reading

reading aloud

intensive reading

extensive reading

understand reading readiness

identify the factors influencing reading.

Framework of Topics
Introduction to Reading in the Primary School

definitions of
reading

aims and
purposes of
reading

types of
reading

17

reading
readiness

factors
influencing
reading

Definition of Reading
There are a number of definitions for reading. The first definition is learning to
pronounce words. In the second definition relates to learning to identify words and
getting their meanings. The third definition looks at deriving meaning from a text. All
these definitions reflect long-standing views of reading. The current literacy research
supports a more comprehensive definition of reading which includes all of the above
definitions. This comprehensive definition looks at reading being a complex cognitive
process of decoding symbols for the intention of constructing or deriving meaning
from a text read. In other words, reading is a complex interaction between the text
and the reader which is shaped by the readers prior knowledge, experiences,
attitude, and language community which is culturally and socially situated.

Aims and Purposes of Reading

Everyone knows reading is important, but have you ever asked yourself why is it so
important? People read for various reasons. Through reading, you discover new
things, new information, new ways to solve a problem, and new ways to achieve
something. Reading is also essential for self improvement. You understand the world
more, and you get to understand more on a topic that interests you through reading.
People read in different ways for different purposes and reasons. A number of
us have intimate affairs with reading while some read because they are required to
do so. Reading is a pleasurable activity for those who have developed the reading
habit from a young age, most likely through the efforts of their parents. Others may
read for knowledge and for sourcing information, such as reading information on a
medicine bottle and filling out application form for a job. In some cases, having good
reading skills is vital and a requisite for a job especially when the job demands
reading and responding to reports and memos. On the other hand, having poor
reading skill will hamper ones performance in executing the same tasks.
Reading inevitably also helps to improve ones language skills. When a
persons reading improves, the snowball effect will also be felt in other areas likes an
increase in ones repertoire of vocabulary and spelling skill. In short, reading
develops the mind.

18

The way you deal with each text is influenced by the purpose of your reading.
Quickly scanning a page to find someones telephone number is very different from
perusing a legal document. You probably notice big differences in the speed you use
too. Did you find in some cases you read silently while in others you read aloud?
What are the reasons that led you to articulate what you read? The purpose or the
aims of your reading will provide answers to the two questions above.

Reading for meaning

The major purpose of reading is the construction of meaningcomprehending and
actively responding to what is read. Whatever your reasons for reading (excluding
reading for language learning), it is not very likely that you were interested in the
pronunciation of what you read, and even less likely that you were interested in the
grammatical structures used. You read because you wanted to get the message from
the writingwhat the writer intended to convey to readers. The transfer of meaning
from the writers mind to the readers is not quite as simple as we think because the
reader and the writer might not have a common shared assumption and schemata
(Nuttall, 1996).
Making sense of a text
The text functions like a do-it-yourself construction kit. The message in the writers
mind is the perfect piece of furniture. The process of separating this into its
component parts and packing them into a box with instructions to reassemble is a
little like the process of putting thoughts into words and organizing them into a
coherent text. A reader tackling a text resembles the homemaker unpacking his do-ityourself kit and trying to work out how the pieces fit together.
This means that the reader has to make sense of what the writer tries to
convey through his writing. In the process of trying to derive meaning from the text,
the reader may bring his own experiences and prior knowledge to the task.

19

Exercise 1

There are many advantages of reading. In your study group, discuss how reading
helps in your career development. Share your views with other course mates.

Types of Reading
There are several types of reading and they all have different purposes.
Reading Aloud
Reading aloud is an instructional practice where teachers, parents and caregivers
read texts aloud to children. The reader incorporates variations in pitch, tone, pace,
volume, pauses, eye-contact, questions and comments to produce a fluent and
enjoyable delivery. Reading aloud is a powerful way to engage children in literacy
process. Reading aloud to children builds and supports their listening and speaking
abilities and enhances their overall language development.
Intensive Reading
Intensive reading, also known as analytical reading, involves close reading of the text
to understand meaning in greater detail. Intensive reading involves learners reading
in detail with specific learning aims and tasks. This is carried in the classroom
through skimming and scanning a text for specific information to answer true or false
statements, fill gaps in a summary, match headings to paragraphs and reorder
jumbled paragraphs.
In short, intensive reading is reading with care and concentration to extract
specific meaning of information from the text.
Intensive reading has two key advantages. For low-level readers, intensive
reading is possibly the fastest way to build vocabulary. For more able readers,

20

intensive reading of difficult texts forces learners to develop strategies to deal with
such texts which are too hard to read comfortably.
Extensive Reading
Unlike intensive reading where close scrutiny of the text is required to fulfil specific
goals, and sometimes using specific strategies to achieve those goals, extensive
reading is reading for general knowledge and pleasure. There is no pressure for
detailed understanding or comprehension of the text.
Moving away from reading for the purpose of securing specific information or
for assessment, there is minimal teacher interference in the reading process. Since
reading is for pleasure, and away from the eagle-eyes of the teacher, students have
a choice of selecting the materials they want to read and do it at their own pace.
Through extensive reading, the reading habit can be nurtured. For this to
happen, there should be a wide selection of reading materials to cater to the varied
interests and levels of the students. As such, graded readers are often
recommended. An example of an extensive reading programme carried out in
Malaysian schools is the NILAM programme. Other extensive reading programmes
include Sustained Silent Reading (SSR), Drop Everything and Read (DEAR), and
Free Uninterrupted Reading (FUR). All these recreational reading programmes have
the common aim to provide opportunities for students to read books of their choice
for pleasure, silently at a designated time.
Teachers play important roles in ensuring the success of extensive reading
programmes in schools. They being the role models must also read extensively. They
must ensure the books available are of suitable levels and interests of the students
under her charge.

Reading Readiness
Reading readiness can be defined as the point in time when a child is ready to learn
to read and the transitional time the child moves from being a non-reader to a reader.
Reading readiness differs from one child to another. Some children may be ready to
read before the age of 5 and some are ready when they are 7 or 8 years old. There
are many factors that influence reading readiness. Most of these factors are

21

developmental and cannot be altered even with intensive interference from the
teacher until the time is right.
How do you know that your child is ready to learn to read? Some noticeable
readiness exhibited are physical maturity, mental maturity, and an appetite for
learning. A child is physically mature when he is able to hear and distinguish between
different sounds, and focus and track letters and word on a printed page without eye
strain or discomfort. A child is considered mentally matured when he/she has some
general knowledge about the world around him, that is, the child is able to distinguish
one object from another. At this point it makes sense to learn the word of an object if
the child knows the physical object. For example, it is only proper to teach the word
cat only if the child knows what a cat is. A child must also be able to understand that
sounds are represented by letters and groups of letters make words. Children who
have an appetite for learning want to learn how to read, and this process usually
advances fairly quickly, with our without the assistance (or instructions) of others.
We learn to read by reading (Smith cited in Nuttal, 1996). How true these
words hold when we nurture the reading habit and allow that habit to mature. We can
be assured that once the reading habit or skill is developed there is no holding back
for childen to pursue and take on reading adventures of discovery on their own. The
speed with which the development can be so profound that it spills over to other
language skills unnoticed.
Such is the power of reading and importance of developing this essential
language skill from a young age.

Factors Influencing Reading

Competence in reading involves a variety of simultaneous interacting processes. For
learners of English as a second language or other language, these processes are
further complicated by a range of factors. Some factors that influence reading are the
learners first language literacy, the degree of proficiency in English and background
knowledge of the learner.
First language literacy influences the speed and manner of reading in English.
Essentially, if the learner reads well in the primary or first language, that ability is
transferable to English. Students level of language proficiency in English is another
factor that affects reading. Those who are proficient find reading an enjoyable activity,
22

but those who are not will find it difficult to make meaning out of a text read. Native
speakers of English have at least five years of experience using oral English
language before they begin to read while second language English readers may
have only superficial oral English fluency when they begin learning to read.
The lack of oral English proficiency has enormous impact on learners ability to read.
They may face problems with relating the printed word with oral knowledge and using
it, understanding concepts in print, and predicting what will be encountered in print.
Thus, it is fundamental for English language teachers to maintain an integrated
approach to reading and engage students in the oral use of language surrounding
the topic that is being read. Paying attention to uses of content related vocabulary in
reading text chosen is of equal importance.
The background knowledge of a reader also affects his comprehension of the
text read. An interesting requirement is that reader and writer should share certain
assumptions about the world and the way it works. If the writer expects the reader to
have a basic understanding of chemistry, the text will not be readily understood by
anyone who lacks this. The kinds of assumption we make about the world depend on
what we have experienced and how our mind organize the knowledge we have from
our experiences. This prior knowledge is called our schema (plural; schemata). This
mental structure built upon our experiences is abstract because it does not relate to
any particular experience, although it derives from all other experiences we have
had. For example, if you are given a passage on whales to read and you have no
prior knowledge about whales, you will find the passage difficult to comprehend.
Hence, having prior knowledge on a subject related to the reading text is a big
advantage to the reader. It will in one way or another assist the reader to
comprehend or interpret the text to a certain extent. Thus, to promote extensive
reading among students, it is fundamental the text selections be based on students
prior knowledge, cultural background and interests. Also during the pre-reading
stage, it is essential that background knowledge is activated to assist the children to
comprehend the text later.

23

Tutorial Task:
Identifying presuppositions
Study the following short texts and identify the type of text, the presuppositions that
underlie the text and the assumptions the writer makes about the reader.
a. Rubber futures closed the morning easier at the lows and mostly from 0.70 to
0.80 pence per kilo down on yesterday. Turnover was 188 lots of 15 tonnes,
including 26 kerb trades and two options. (from a newspaper business page)
b. It was a puppy. A tiny rickety puppy, mangy, starved; a loose ribby bundle on
the ground. It made no noise. It tried to lift itself up. It only collapsed again,
without complain, without shame.
Taken from Nuttal (1996).

Reference:
Nuttal, C. 1996. Teaching reading skills. Oxford: Macmillan Education.

24

TOPIC 2

THEORETICAL MODELS OF READING AND

APPROACHES TO TEACH READING

SYNOPSIS

Topic 2 provides you with an overview of the different models of reading, (bottom-up,
top-down and interactive reading models) and the approaches to teach reading. The
reading models provide insights to the ways different readers approach reading. This
topic also discusses various approaches to teach reading.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you will be able to:

define the meaning of the three theoretical models of reading

distinguish the application of the three reading models

identify the various approaches to teach reading.

FRAMEWORK OF TOPICS

THEORETICAL
MODELS OF
READING

BOTTOM-UP

TOP-DOWN

25

INTERACTIVE

Theoretical Models of Reading

According to the literature surrounding reading theory there are three primary models
which readers use: bottom-up, top-down and interactive models of reading. These
models have been used to explain the cognitive processes that occur as readers
interact with the text. These reading theories will be discussed in turn.

Bottom-up reading model

The central idea of the bottom-up reading model is that reading is a process of
decoding a series of written symbols into aural sounds. Meaning is then derived from
the blending of sounds. The diagram below describes this process.

print

discriminating
every letter

matching phonemes
and graphemes

blending
sounds

discriminating
every letter

pronunciation

meaning

(Cambroune, 1979)

Using this model, readers process each leatter as it is encountered. The letters or
graphemes are then matched to a phoneme of the language. The phonemes are then
blended together to form words. Meaning is then derived at the end of the process. A
typical reading programme that adopts this model is the phonics approach.
Text processing is linear whereby the incoming data or information has to be received
before the higher level mental stages can transform and recode the information.
Schemata is hierarchically organised from the most specific at the bottom to the most
general at the top.
This model is also known as outside-in (Cambourne, 1979) or part-to-whole model.

Top-down reading model

26

In the top-down model, the reading process is a reverse of the bottom-up model.
Here, reading is conceptually driven. Readers use their background knowledge to
make predictions as they read the text. The following diagram illustrates this model of
text processing.

past experience,
language intuitions and
expectations

selective aspects of
print

meaning

sound, pronunciation if
necessary

(Cambroune, 1979)

From this diagram, it can be seen that the model emphasises the reconstruction of
meaning rather than the decoding of form. The interaction of the text is central to the
process and the reader brings to this interaction his/her knowledge of the subject at
hand, his/her knowledge and expectations about how language works, interest,
motivation and attitude towards the subject or content of the text. In other words, the
reader hypotheses or makes an assumption of the text and uses his/her background
knowledge to confirm the hypothesis or assumption or reject the propositions.
As with the bottom-up model, the top-down model also employs a linear text
processing approach.
This model is also known as inside-out model, concept-driven model and whole-topart model.

Exercise 1

What kind of readers are most likely to adopt the top-down reading
approach? Why do you think so?

Exercise 2
In groups of 3, discuss how you use bottom-up reading approach for Year One
pupils. Present your discussion in class.

Interactive reading model

27

The interactive model, like the top-down model, is also reader-driven. It views the
reading process as an interaction between the reader and the text. Stanovich (1980)
claims that readers process text, not by linear processing as advocated in the two
earlier models, but by utilizing information provided simultaneously from several
different sources, and that they can compensate for deficiencies at one level by
drawing on knowledge at other levels. These sources include all those described in
the two earlier models of text processing, that is phonological, lexical, syntactic,
semantic and discourse knowledge. In other words, the interactive model views
reading as a cyclical pattern whereby textual information and the readers mental
activities occur simultaneously executing both top-down, bottom-up processing.
When the reader employs the interactive model, he is seen as using his expectations
and prior knowledge to guess the content of the text while contributing the bottom-up
processing to ensure that new information is also utilized.

** A note to teachers
With the insight that there is more to comprehension that the words on the page
provides, these theoretical models help explain the way our background knowledge
guides the comprehension process and the implications for second language
reading. Eskey and Grabe (1988) suggested two general implications for ESL
reading. First, that a strong, bottom-up foundation of basic identification skill is
paramount. Second, reading for meaning, that is ultilising the top-down approach
should also be well developed because reading is not just limited to decoding skills.

Approaches to teach reading

28

Reading ability is best developed in association with writing, listening and speaking
activities. Even in those courses that may be labelled reading, your goals can be
best achieved by capitalizing on the interrelationship of skills, especially the readingwriting connection. It is a mistake to rely on one approach to teach reading because
a method that works for one child may not work at all for another. Good teachers
have recognised that children learn in different ways and need different strategies. In
this module you are introduced to three methods to teach reading. They are using
sight word, language experience and phonics method.

Sight Word Approach

Sight word acquisition is an important building block in the construction of a childs
ability to read. What is sight word?
Sight words are words that appear so often in a text that readers are able to read by
sight without having to decode them. Sight words are also words that cannot be
decoded and must be memorised by sight. Knowing these high frequency words and
being able to recognise non-decodable words by sight are extremely important skills
for reading fluency. In order to read well, children need to read sight words very
quickly. Memorisation of sight words is necessary and few words at a time are highly
recommended.

The objectives of teaching sight words are to:

enable pupils to associate the appearance of each sight word with its
sound/pronunciation (sight to sound correspondence)

read sight words in context

recognise sight words quickly and effortlessly. (rapid recognition)

Exercise 1
Based on your experience, what kind of practice can you do to achieve
the above objectives? Work in your study group.

Language Experience Approach

29

Language experience approach is suitable for all levels of learners. By using the
Language Experience Approach (LEA) to teach beginning readers how to read,
pupils can connect their life experiences with learning written words. The unique
factor about this approach is that the pupils own words are recorded or used as they
describe the event or activity. This allows them to interact with the text and gain
knowledge and understanding through their experience.
The LEA can be used with individual pupils or group. While it is most commonly used
with young emerging readers, it is also effective for teaching struggling readers.

Procedure to use the learning experience approach

1. Have the pupils choose an experience that they would like to write about. For
groups, this should be a shared experience such as a field trip or an activity that
the whole class had participated in. For individual pupils, it could be anything that
the pupil feels is important or interesting, such as a family activity, a story about
their pet or favorite toy, or even a television show or movie that they enjoyed. The
language experience approach can also be used to create fictional stories.

2. Discuss the experience with the pupils. This helps them to clarify what they want to
write about, organize their thoughts, and come up with specific, descriptive
vocabulary.

3. Write the story down as the pupils dictate it. For groups, have pupils take turns
dictating sentences describing their experience. Record what they say on large
chart paper, repeating the words as they are written. For individual pupils, this can
be done on a single sheet of paper, or it can be made into a book. The writing
should be done in neat, large print rather than cursive, to make it easier for the
pupils to read.
Try to stick to the pupils' own words exactly as they are spoken with a minimum of
correction for grammar or sentence structure. It is important for pupils to see their
own words in print, because they have a personal connection to the words.

4. Read the text aloud. Point to each word as you read it aloud. After reading the text
to the pupils, have them reread it aloud. With a group, call on individual pupils to
read sentences, or have them read chorally as a group while pointing to each
word. Pupils can illustrate their individual texts and read them aloud to the class.
30

Since the words that the pupils dictate are familiar and are used in a meaningful
context, pupils will be able to read more difficult vocabulary than they might
ordinarily be able to if they simply saw it printed in a book.

Phonics Approach
An alphabetic, phonic approach to teaching reading has been used for centuries. In
the 19th century, this kind of approach began to be called phonics. Since then it has
been further developed and modified. Today a phonics approach is used in varying
degrees in most reading instructions. This approach has been included in the KSSR
syllabus.
A phonics approach teaches the relation of the letters (graphemes) to the sounds
(phonemes) they represent. The theory behind the phonics approach is based on two
assumptions: most languages have consistent phonemes (sound) to grapheme
(letter) corelation. Once children have learned the relationships of the letters to the
sounds, they can pronounce printed words by blending the sounds together. Knowing
these relationships helps early readers recognize familiar words accurately and
automatically and "decode" new words.
Though this approach has been well received, there are some grey areas which
makes it not a complete model or a stand alone approach to teach early reading. For
instance, a child can use phonics to work out that b-a-t means bat because the
letters represent their most common sounds; but phonics is of no help in reading eye
as there is no correspondence between the letters and the sounds the letters
represent. Furthermore, English has its many irregularities, therefore it makes it
harder for ESL learners to identify unfamiliar words. The use of phonics assumes that
once readers know how a word is pronounced, they will associate it with a spoken
word they already know and therefore understands it. However, the problem may
arise especially with intermediate pupils who may come upon a new word which they
have not heard of. So working out how a word might be pronounced is not going to
guarantee understanding.

Phonics may be useful and helpful at the initial stages of developing reading but it
needs to be supported by other methods as the readers reading proficiency
develops.
Exercise 3

Systematic and explicit phonics instruction significantly improves

kindergarten and first grade children's word recognition and spelling.
31

Do you agree with the quote above. Justify your answer.

References

Cambourne, B. 1979. How important is theory to the reading teacher? Australian

Journal of Reading, 2: 78-90
Eskey, D.E. & Grabe, W. 1988. Interactive Models for Second Language Reading:
Perspectives on Instruction. In P. Carrell, J. Devine & D. Eskey. (Eds.),
Interactive approaches to second language reading (pp. 223-38). New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Stanovich, K. 1980. Toward an interactive-compensatory model of individual
differences in the development of reading fluency. Reading Research
Quarterly, 16:32-71.

32

TOPIC 3

READING SKILLS IN THE MALAYSIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
&
SELECTING, ADAPTING AND PRODUCING ACTIVITIES &
MATERIALS FOR DEVELOPING READING ALOUD AND
COMPREHENSION SKILLS

SYNOPSIS
Topic 3 introduces you to the key concepts and issues related to teaching reading in
the Malaysian English primary curriculum. The module provides insight into the
nature of reading skills, strategies for metacognition, and describes characteristics of
effective reading pedagogy in the primary school context.
This will be followed by a section on selection, adaptation and production of activities
and materials for various reading activities.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you will be able to:

define the purpose of reading activities in the primary classroom

articulate and deepen primary pupils appreciation and understanding of

reading

identify the learner characteristics that enable effective reading

differentiate types of activities and questions that enable higher order thinking
in reading

reflect on what you have learnt.

33

FRAMEWORK OF TOPICS

Reading skills in the Malaysian primary school

English language curriculum

Reading Skills

Reading
Comprehension Skills

Reading Aloud Skills

Session Notes: During this module it is expected that course participants will
self-study and be prepared to do these activities in the tutorial in groups or pairs
to construct additional meaning with classmates.

Preview: Reading Survey

Fill out the reading survey below1.

Be prepared to discuss answers with the class.

Survey from Unit 10 Teaching Reading: sfs.scnu.edu.cn/chendm1/PPT/Unit%2010.ppt.

Module 3 adapts several materials from this PPT source accessed from the world wide web July, 2012.

34

Reading Activity Chart2

Task

Work with a partner, fill in the chart below with what you already know about

reading.
Once complete, discuss answer together in group.
Add any new information you hear in class.
Next, discuss the question that follow the reading chart.

Exercise:

Reading Activity Chart

Adapted from Unit 10 Teaching Reading.

35

Reading
Activities
Aspects

Reading Aloud

Silent Reading

Skimming

Scanning

Comprehension

Objective

Technique

Usually a group
activity

Usually an individual
activity

How & why do I

do it?

Problems with
the activity

Question: What makes effective readers? What skills do effective readers use?

Reading Activity Chart

Check and review your answers below.

36


Reading
Activities
Objective

Technique

Answers may vary.

Reading Aloud

Silent Reading

Reading aloud is
used to practice
enunciation, stress,
intonation and
reinforce what has
been learnt in class.
Reading aloud allows
pupils to hear
contents several
times and rephrase
their English
pronunciation and
enunciation internally
and in spoken
language.

Silent reading can

be used for a variety
of purposes, including
reading for specific
information,
enjoyment, and selfstudy.

Scanning

Comprehension

Skimming is
used to check
readers get the
main idea, or
gist of a text.

Scanning
means to read
to locate
specific
information.

Comprehension is
used to check
readers
reconstruction of
texts that have been
read.

Skim a
newspaper
report if you
wish only to
understand the
main events

Move your
eyes across
sentences and
entire
paragraphs,
noticing only
the clue words
to locate an
answer.

Teachers ask for

reconstruction of
meaning, inferences
predictions, and
conclusions to be
made inside the
lessons to show
pupils cognitive
process.

Usually a group
activity

Usually an individual
activity

Look for the

most important
ideas.

Questions to follow
up, and discussion.

However can be used

in class or in groups
to achieve learning
outcomes.

Read for main

ideas.

Scan for a
specific word,
phrase, name,
date, or place
name, etc.

Silent reading gives

pupils the choice to
select what they want
to read, that brings
joy and interest to our
pupils.

How & why

do I do it?

Skimming

Skip facts and

details.
Read the title or
legend of
graphics.
Read the
beginning and
last paragraph
or summary

Problems
with the
approach

Teacher needs to be
sensitive to pupils
who cannot read
aloud well.
Reading aloud can
make readers
nervous and therefore
does not accurately
represent student
reading ability.

Teachers cannot tell

what the student has
learnt or read without
a system of
evaluation and
checking to ensure
pupils are actually
learning from what
they read.

I can learn to
skim without
actually
understanding
any of the text.
Difficult for the
teacher to
determine what
the student
knows.

What do effective readers do?

37

Use the arrow

scanning
pattern
straight down
the column.
Focus on the
first letter of
each line.

I can learn to
scan without
actually
understanding
the meaning in
the text.
Difficult for the
teacher to
determine
what the
student knows.

What would you do

if you were the main
character in this
story?
Comprehension can
be shown by asking
pupils to write in
their own words or
draw a picture of the
story sequence in
lower primary.

Some pupils can

read, but do not
understand what
has been read.
This is really difficult
for the teacher to
ascertain.
Therefore, teachers
must ask for
reconstruction of
meaning,
inferences,
predictions and
conclusions to be
made inside the
lesson. Pupils must
not be allowed to
just repeat verbatim.

Effective readers

read silently and aloud

have a clear purpose in reading
read phrase by phrase, rather than word by word
concentrate on the important bits, skim the rest, and skip the insignificant parts
use different speeds and strategies for different reading tasks
perceive the information in the target language rather than mentally translate them
guess the meaning of new words from the context, or ignore them
use background information to help understand the text.

Exercise: Skimming & Scanning

Task

Read the Readers Digest article, Extraordinary uses for dishwashing soap, to
practice skimming for information.
Answer the skimming questions that follow.
Next, read the New York Times article, Marriage trends in the United States, to
practice scanning for information.
Answer the scanning questions that follow.

38

Extraordinary Uses for Dishwashing Soap3

1. Kill weeds kindly
Be gentler to the environmentnot so much to weedsby using a natural plant killer
rather than harmful herbicides. Mix 1 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid with 1 cup of
salt and 1 gallon of white vinegar. Pour the solution on weeds sprouting in the cracks
and crevices of sidewalks, front walks, and patio pavers.
2. Wash away ants
Outdoor ants can be just as annoying as indoor ants, particularly if they've invaded
the crevices in your patio where you eat. Get rid of them with a simple 50/50 solution
of water and white vinegar with a dash of dishwashing liquid. (You can substitute
glass cleaner for the vinegar if you want.) Spray the affected area with the mix, wait a
few minutes, then happily return to your picnic.
3. Add life to your locks
If your hair isn't looking so lovely, try mixing a dollop of dishwashing liquid into your
shampoo. It fights grease in hair, as well as on dishes!
4. Clean your blender
Forget about taking your blender apart to wash it thoroughly. Instead, fill it partway
with warm water and dishwashing detergent, cover it, and run it for a few seconds.
Empty it, rinse it, air-dry it, and call it a day.

Skimming Questions

What are 4 additional uses for dish soap?

What are the main ideas behind this article?

How can I clean my blender with dish soap?

Exercise: Scanning
Marriage Trends in the United States4

ANN ARBOR, Mich. Jessica Schairer has so much in common with her boss,
Christine Faulkner, that a visitor to the day care center they run might get them
3
4

Readers Digest: http://www.rd.com accessed July 2012.

New York Times accessed July 2012.

39

confused.
They are both friendly white women from modest Midwestern backgrounds who left
for college with conventional hopes of marriage, motherhood and career. They both
have children in elementary school. They pass their days in similar ways: juggling
toddlers, coaching teachers and swapping small secrets that mark them as friends.
They even got tattoos together. Though Ms Faulkner, as the boss, earns more
money, the difference is a gap, not a chasm.
Ms Faulkner is married and living on two pay checks, while Ms Schairer is raising her
children by herself. That gives the Faulkner family a profound advantage in income
and nurturing time, and makes their children statistically more likely to finish college,
find good jobs and form stable marriages.
Ms Faulkner goes home to a trim subdivision and weekends crowded with childrens
events. Ms Schairers rent consumes more than half her income, and she scrapes by
on food stamps.
I see Christines kids theyre in swimming and karate and baseball and Boy
Scouts, and it seems like its always her or her husband whos able to make it there,
Ms Schairer said. Thats something I wish I could do for my kids. But number one,
that stuff costs a lot of money and, two, I just dont have the time.
But striking changes in family structure have also broadened income gaps and posed
new barriers to upward mobility. College-educated Americans like the Faulkners are
increasingly likely to marry one another, compounding their growing advantages in
pay. Less-educated women like Ms Schairer, who left college without finishing her
degree, are growing less likely to marry at all, raising children on pinched paychecks
that come in ones, not twos.
It is the privileged Americans who are marrying, and marrying helps them stay
privileged, said Andrew Cherlin, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University.
About 41 percent of births in the United States occur outside marriage, up sharply
from 17 percent three decades ago. But equally sharp are the educational divides,
according to an analysis by Child Trends, a Washington research group. Less than
10 percent of the births to college-educated women occur outside marriage, while for
women with high school degrees or less the figure is nearly 60 percent.
Motherhood outside marriage now varies by class about as much as it does by race.
It is growing fastest in the lower reaches of the white middle class among women
like Ms Schairer who have some postsecondary schooling but no four-year degree.
Married couples are having children later than they used to, divorcing less and
investing heavily in parenting time. By contrast, a growing share of single mothers
have never married, and many have children with more than one man.

Scanning Questions
40

What are the names of the women in this story?

Who is a single mother?

What does Andrew Cherlin from Johns Hopkins University say about
marriage?

What percentage of births occur to women with college degree?

Now, take a break before you move on to the next topic.

Reading Comprehension: The Process5

Skill
5

Be prepared to discuss the reading comprehension process.

Next, read the skills, examples and complete the task that follow.
Example

Question Types

This section adapted from google web search July 2012.

41

Main ideas and

supporting details

Main Idea: The main message the author is conveying to the

reader.
Supporting Details: The information that "backs" up the main
message.

Inference,
predicting and
drawing
conclusions

Inference is using all the clues in the text and arriving at a

conclusion of what will happen. There may be some degree of
truth in the decision made. Inferring is reading between the
lines.
Inference and prediction are NOT the same. Inference allows
for many more questions than prediction.
Predicting is making an educated guess on what will happen
based on your background knowledge. Predictions are
answered at the end of the story.

What are the main ideas in this

text?
Who are the main characters?
What details support the main
ideas?

What clues lead you to think

that?
How does that character feel?
Why did the author write this
story?
What would you do if you were
the main character?

Predicting Questions

What is happening in the story?

What will happen next?

What else could happen?

Drawing conclusions is using evidence in the story to draw

logical conclusions about what happened. The author often
gives away hints during the story and this makes it exciting to
read. When we draw a conclusion, we take the clues the
author has given us and use it with what we already know from
our experience to help us understand what is happening in the
story.

Sequencing

Sequencing refers to the identification of the components of a

story, such as the beginning, middle, and end, and also the
ability to retell the events within a given text in the order in
which they occurred.

The ability to sequence events in a text is a key

comprehension strategy, especially for narrative texts. The
ordering of events in a story, along with connecting words such
as once upon a time, then, later, afterwards, and in the end,
are good examples of textual features.

What happens first? (Once

upon a time). How do you
know?
Where is the middle of the story
(then, later, along with)?
How does the story end (In the
end)?

Teacher may organize a lesson that pre-teaches transitional

vocabulary to showcase sequencing in reading.

Cause and effect

Synthesizing

Cause and effect is to demonstrate to children that our

actions have measurable results and they need to make a link
between actions and effects.

We teach cause and effect every time we help a young child

recognize a relationship between two things, or when we
demonstrate that one event is the result of another.

Synthesizing recognizes that the thinking process evolves

during the learning process. The reader's thinking changes as
they gather more information. New information makes the
reader re-evaluate and increase what they know.

Synthesizing is closely linked to evaluating. Basically, as we

identify whats important, we interweave our thoughts to form a
comprehensive perspective to make the whole greater than

42

What happens if you go outside

in the rain without an umbrella?
What happens if you dont eat
lunch?
"If you drink your milk, you will
grow big and strong!"
"If you clean up your toys, you
can go play outside."
Ask for a prediction, inference
and then when the pupils realize
the story changed they can
revise their reading schema.
Reflection can also be another
way to synthesize information

after the lesson.

just the sum of the parts.
Reflection: KWL:
See Vygotskys (1978) zones of proximal development for
further information.

Evaluating

Evaluating and determining importance has to do with

knowing why youre reading and then making decisions about
what information or ideas are most critical to understanding the
overall meaning of the piece.

What I know
What I want to know

What I learnt from this story

What is the most important

information in the story?
What order do events occur in
this story?
Draw me a timeline of events to
show what you think is most
important.

Comprehension Task

Return to the New York Time article, Marriage trends in the United States, and
answer the following comprehension questions.

Questions

In your own words, write down the main point that the article is making.

What is happening to marriages in the United States with women who do not
have college degrees?

Compare marriage trends in the United States with those in Malaysia. Are they
similar or different? Why do you think so?

43

Practical example: Main Ideas

44

Example: Main Ideas

45

Inferring Reading between the lines

Task

Read the text below and then answer the questions that follow.
It was 3.15 p.m. Miss Hindon left the room. She was not gone long. When
she returned ten minutes later, she saw that the board was not the same.
Who erased the notes she had written?
Miss Hindon looked at her pupils. Ban Min was reading a book. Dannys
head was on his desk. Jamri was drawing a dragon. The others sat very still.
No one would tell Miss Hindon who had erased the board. She had a plan.
Who wants to go for recess? she asked. Ban Mins hand was dirty. Jamri
had pencil smudges on the side of his hand. Miss Hindon knew who had
erased the board.

Questions
1. Who erased the board?
2. What clue told Miss Hindon the person who had erased the board?
3. At what time did Miss Hindon return to the class?
4. How did you get the answer to question 3?
5. What is an inference? How do we make an inference?
6. Proficient readers make inferences. Why is making inferences important for
effective reading?

46

Example: Predicting Outcomes & Drawing Conclusions

Predicting outcomes and drawing conclusions are two specific types of
inferencing skills. In both instances, the reader has to make use of information
and clues from the text and combine these with his previous knowledge to either
make a prediction or to draw a conclusion.

Predicting Outcomes
The prediction equation

Drawing Conclusions

47

Task: Predicting & Drawing Conclusions

A text is provided below. Formulate as many questions for predicting and

drawing conclusions as you can.

Malik was returning home late after visiting a friend when he suddenly realized
that he was being followed by a small group of men. He knew that they were a
gang of robbers. He ran dodging in and out of alleys trying to shake them off.
Just when he thought he was running out of breath, he spotted a graveyard. He
heard the clock strike twelve. Quickly he ran into the graveyard, found an open
grave and jumped in! He hid there and waited. Nothing happened. Everything
was quiet and still.
Nearby he heard the sound of crickets. In the distance, an owl hooted. He
decided to take a peek.
At that moment, the robbers saw his head above the edge of the grave. They
surrounded him.
What are you doing here? they asked.
This is my grave, replied Malik, I just came up for a breath of fresh air.
The robbers..Malik..

From: Longman Primary English, Pearson Education Asia Pte.

Ltd.

My questions
-

48

Cause and Effect

There are several cause and effect patterns. Writers may explain causes only,
effects only or a cause and effect chain.

1) Causes only
This type of explanation focuses on two or more causes of one effect.
Example:
cause

good
eating
effect

good
health

cause

exercise

2) Effects only
This type of explanation focuses on two or more effects and one cause.
Example:

strength

effect
gymnastics

cause
effect

good
coordination

3) Effects only
49

In this explanation one cause leads to an effect, which causes another effect, and so
on.

cause

effect

cause

practising
soccer

your skills
improves

you get to play

on the school
team

Reading Aloud 5
Definitions

Reading Aloud Benefits

enunciation: 1) To articulate or
pronounce (words), clearly and
distinctly
2) to state precisely or formally
pronunciation: the act, instance or
manner of pronouncing sounds
intonation: the pattern or melody
of pitch changes in connected
speech, especially the pitch patter
of a sentence
rhythm: a pattern of beat, accent
evident in speech forms. Flow,
pulse, cadence of speech. In
music, rhythm, the beat.6

encourages independent reading

increases the quality and quantity
of independent reading
helps pupils with pronunciation
creates interests in books
is useful for pupils to read
independently
improves listening and provides
pronunciation practice
enables teachers to model good
reading
helps pupils internalize language
and structures they will apply to
their own reading one day.

Reading Aloud Self-study

6

Definitions, Dictionary.com, July 2012.

50

Task

To find reading aloud activities please consult Google and YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/

Search for read aloud activities with key words such as: enunciation,
pronunciation, intonation, or rhythm.

Now, take a break before you move on to the next topic.

51

Criteria for Evaluating Text for Reading Development

Read the following text and answer the questions that follow.

Why teachers need to assess texts?

Even if you have little control over the choice of textbooks, it helps to be aware of
their strong points and limitations so that you can exploit them effectively, supplement
them if necessary and perhaps argue the case for their replacement.
The three main criteria for evaluating texts for reading development:

suitability of content

exploitability

readability

Suitability of content
The most important criterion is that the text should interest the readers. It is possible
to develop reading skills on a text that bores you or the readers but interesting
content makes the learners task far more rewarding. EFL readers are increasingly
offered well written gripping stories, presented to look like real paperbacks, which
attract pupils to read out of class.
Find out what pupils like
One way to double check is to find out what pupils actually read, bearing in mind that
books read in the L1 may tell you more about reading tastes than those in the foreign
language. Find out which books are borrowed most often from the library: this is
usually a good indicator of preferences. Keep an eye on what pupils read in class. If
pupils want to read this material, half the battle has been won. You can take care of
text with literary merit once pupils already enjoy reading.
Selecting texts for classroom study
It is often better to begin with material chosen chiefly for enjoyment (intrinsically
motivating) until reading skills improve. And even if you are training pupils
specifically to read, for instance, university level medical texts, you may get better
52

results if you use simpler and more motivating materials to begin with. School
textbooks often provide simple models of academic discourse; it is useful to have a
collection of them on subjects suited to the class.
Exploitability
Also known as facilitation of learning, exploitability is the most important criteria after
interest (intrinsic motivation). Pupils learn by focusing on the meaning and purpose
of the text. The focus of a reading lesson is how language is used for conveying
content for a purpose. We want pupils to develop the ability to extract the content
from the language that expresses itto become effective readers.
Simulating real-life purposes
Authentic texts can be motivating because they are proof that the language is used
for real-life purposes by real people. How can the text be used in a foreign language
environment? In the case of functional texts, this is straightforward: a travel
brochure, magazines, newspapers, etc. Text of this kind lend themselves to
outcomes of integrating many skills.
Readability
This often refers to the combination of structural and lexical difficulty. It is important
for the teacher to assess the right level for the pupils you teach; to do this you must
assess the pupils themselves.
Many teachers have to cope with classes where the gap between the strongest and
weakest pupils is very wide. A library for extensive reading should cater for the full
range of levels of pupils in the class. Most teachers, however, work in circumstances
where it is not possible to provide differentiated materials for regular classroom use.
We shall assume you will have to compromise by choosing material that suits most of
the pupils in the class, and that you compensate for this by giving individual attention
to pupils who are behind the others, or are capable of handling more difficult
materials. Be prepared ahead of time with strategies to teach reading to both the
advanced and emerging readers in the classroom.

53

Structural difficulty
Readability also involves structural difficulty, which is harder to assess. New
grammatical forms (tenses, structural words, etc) often cause no problems if the text
is comprehensible in other respects. A more likely cause of structural difficulty is
sentence length and complexity. Experienced teachers can usually assess whether a
text is structurally about the right level without using formal methods. But it is also
possible to work out its readability index. This is a way of assessing a text by giving
it a kind of score. To make use of it, you first need to work out the readability index of
texts that you know are suitable for the students. This gives you a yardstick against
which to measure the readability of texts you are considering using.
Calculating the readability index
Typically, measuring readability is based on counts of average word length and
sentence length. The assumption is that if you pick a typical stretch of 100 words of
text, the more syllables there are in it, the more difficult it will be. This is because
more syllables = longer words, and longer words tend to be less familiar. Similarly,
the fewer the sentences in the 100word stretch, the more difficult it is, because
fewer sentences = longer sentences, and thus more complex ones. To assess
books, the viable methods suggest you choose three typical 100-word passages from
the near the beginning, middle and end and average the count of these.
Cloze as an indicator of readability
A readability index is useful because it enables you to compare new texts with
familiar ones which you know are at the right level. An alternative measure is the
cloze test; it does not permit you to make comparisons, but is often favoured
because it needs little computation and is useful in an extensive reading program.
A text for classroom use should be such that a typical student could score about 45
percent on a cloze extract; it would be challenging but not too difficult to read with
support from the teacher. For independent reading (self-study), texts need to be
easier; students should be advised to choose books on which they score at least 60
per cent.

54

Reading Development Questions

What are the three criteria that teachers should use to evaluate the value of a
reading text?

What should teachers consider when selecting reading materials for the
class?

What are authentic texts and why are they important in teaching reading?

What is readability index?

How do I calculate the readability index in a text?

What is readability and why is it important in teaching reading?

Example: Cloze Test

In cloze tests, the words are deleted systematically. The interval at which words are
deleted is usually between every fifth and every ninth word. However, if every
seventh word has been deleted in the first few sentences, then every seventh word
must be deleted for the rest of the text. The most common purpose of the cloze test
is to measure reading comprehension.

55

Task

The cloze test contains a passage with 12 gaps which you have to complete
from a selection of words or phrases in the box.

Read the passage, then fill in the gaps with one of the words or phrase.

outlet
which
while
extent

source
unlikely
keen to
reaches

off
along
due to
sought

Cambridge Cloze Test7

How do you turn something from yellow to green? Your art teacher would tell you to
add blue, but American Kevin Newman would disagree. He would point to the pair of
water heaters installed in his garage, which, 1)________with a hose and some
chemicals, turn the fast-food by-product yellow grease into green biodiesel.
Yellow grease is waste cooking oil from restaurant fast food fryers. It is a marginally
valuable commodity, 2)__________its use as an additive in animal feeds and
cosmetics, but it can only be sold if it 3)_________a certain standard. In the past, a
lot of yellow grease went to waste, to the 4)_________that restaurants had to pay for
it to be taken away.
This was ideal for home-brewers like Kevin Newman, who picked up gallons of
grease from their local fast food 5)________, and turned it to clean fuel at a cost of
about $1 a gallon. These days, governments are 6)_________ find alternatives to
petroleum, and waste vegetable oil has become highly 7)__________after. Thats
great news for the restaurants, 8)________ can sell to the highest bidder.
Its good for the environment too, as the fuel is renewable, local, and gives
9)___________ far less pollution than petroleum. It isnt great for Kevin though, as he
loses his cheap 10)________of yellow grease to the bigger companies. It's
11)_________ to make much difference to the general public either. Biofuels may be
cheap, but currently only 150 million gallons of them are produced per year,
12)_________diesel consumption is a staggering 38 billion gallons.

Cambridge cloze test, adapted from: http://www.examenglish.com/ECPE/ECPE_cloze.htm, July 2012.

56

Cloze Test Answers

How do you turn something from yellow to green? Your art teacher would tell you to
add blue, but American Kevin Newman would disagree. He would point to the pair of
water heaters installed in his garage, which, along with a hose and some chemicals,
turn the fast-food by-product yellow grease into green biodiesel.
Yellow grease is waste cooking oil from restaurant fast food fryers. It is a marginally
valuable commodity, due to its use as an additive in animal feeds and cosmetics, but
it can only be sold if it reaches a certain standard. In the past, a lot of yellow grease
went to waste, to the extent that restaurants had to pay for it to be taken away. This
was ideal for home-brewers like Kevin Newman, who picked up gallons of grease
from their local fast food outlet, and turned it to clean fuel at a cost of about $1 a
gallon.
These days, governments are keen to find alternatives to petroleum, and waste
vegetable oil has become highly sought after. Thats great news for the restaurants,
which can sell to the highest bidder. Its good for the environment too, as the fuel is
renewable, local, and gives off far less pollution than petroleum. It isnt great for
Kevin though, as he loses his cheap source of yellow grease to the bigger
companies. It's unlikely to make much difference to the general public either.
Biofuels may be cheap, but currently only 150 million gallons of them are produced
per year, while diesel consumption is a staggering 38 billion gallons.

57

Module Reflection

What I learnt:

What I want to learn / know more about:

What I think about what I learnt:

58

Extension Activity
KBSR Year 6
Task Summary
You have just completed part of the module on reading skills. The next section is
designed for you and a partner to use the materials provided to create a micro
teaching lesson.
Procedure

Read the KBSR Year 6 text below.

With a partner, select ONE of these activities: skimming & scanning,

comprehension or reading aloud.

Create a micro reading lesson based on the text provided.
Present the lesson in class.

59

60

Reference
Dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com downloaded from the World Wide
Web, July 2012.
Unit 10 Teaching Reading, sfs.scnu.edu.cn/chendm1/PPT/Unit
%2010.ppt. PPT downloaded from the World Wide Web, July 2012.
KBSR Malaysian primary school textbook year 6, access from IPGKBL campus.
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com downloaded from the World Wide Web,
July 2012.
Nuttal, C. 2005. Teaching Reading Skills. Macmillan Books: Oxford.
Readers Digest: http://www.rd.com downloaded from the World Wide Web, July
2012.

61

Appendix

71

72

73

74

TOPIC 4

STAGES OF A READING COMPREHENSIONS LESSON &

STAGES OF A LITERACY HOUR

SYNOPSIS
Topic 4 looks at how a reading comprehension is carried out in the classroom. The topic
begins with outlining the stages of the lesson and the purposes of each of the stage. This
will be followed by a discussion on some possible activities that can be carried out at
each stage. The second segment of this topic looks at the activities that are carried out
during the literacy hour.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you will be able to:

name the three stages of a reading lesson

demonstrate an understanding of the purposes of these stages
distinguish the types of activities that can be carried out in each stage
determine the purpose of the literacy hour
identify the stages of a literacy hour
plan the activities that are carried out at each stage of the literacy hour
demonstrate an understanding of the criteria for grouping pupils for guided
reading.

75

FRAMEWORK OF TOPICS

Topic 4a

STAGES OF A READING
LESSON

pre reading

Topic 4b

shared reading

while reading

post reading

STAGES OF A LITERACY
HOUR

word/sentence level
work

76

guided
reading/independent
work

plenary

Topic 4a : Stages of a Reading Lesson

What is reading?
Reading is a complex metacognitive process where understanding is derived through
the intricate interplay of words and ones prior knowledge. All efficient readers use
various strategies to help them comprehend a text. In the same light, teachers dispense
various strategies to help pupils develop reading comprehension in the classroom. For
the same reason, a reading lesson is divided into three distinct stages with specific
strategies set for each stage to develop reading comprehension.

Stages of a Reading Lesson

A typical reading lesson comprises three basic phases of pre-reading, while-reading and
post-reading. All these phases have their own aims and thus the activities in each of
these phases or stages vary depending on the purpose or aim of that phase. We shall
deal with each phase in greater detail below.
Pre-reading
This phase usually has one or more of these functions:
to generate interest in the topic
to introduce vocabulary, language or concepts related to the text
to help pupils see the relationship of ideas
to activate previous knowledge related to the text
to relate text to personal lives
Generally, this stage is to prepare learners for the reading passage they will be reading.
It is very important that the learners are provided with a lot of pre-reading support so
that the learners are confident enough to read effectively and efficiently.
Among the activities that can be carried out at this stage are:

looking at the title/picture to predict or speculate about the content of the text
the teacher giving background information of the content
providing learners with some relevant material to read about the content/topic
learners writing questions about the topic they would like to get answers in text to
come
further discussion of the topic
77

pre-teaching, revising essential linguistic items lexis and syntax.

Before closing this segment, there are some important points to remember about prereading activities. They are most important at lower levels of language proficiency and
at the earlier stages of reading instruction. As pupils become more proficient at using
reading strategies, the teacher will have to reduce the amount of guided pre-reading
and allow pupils to do the activities themselves.

Thats a brief introduction of the pre-reading stage. Now, lets take a look at what is
entailed in the while-reading stage.

While-reading
This stage chiefly deals with the reading activities learners are expected to do while
reading the text. The aim is to help learners develop the reading sub-skills necessary to
extract message or meaning from the text. However, it must be noted that the activities
carried out at this stage are not meant to be used as a form of assessment. Instead,
they are to help learners to read and develop the necessary skills which they can apply
in any reading situations. Hence, the activities must be carefully planned to fit their
purposes.
Some of the purposes for carrying out this stage of the reading lesson are to:

get the main idea

obtain specific information
understand most or all of the message the writer is trying to convey
enjoy a story.

Lets now look at some of the activities that can be carried out at this stage:

identifying main idea and supporting details

looking for examples to illustrate ideas
identifying different words that refer to the same idea
looking at relationships between sentences in one paragraph
recognizing transition words or a change in ideas
writing main idea for paragraphs
making and check predictions
marking/checking/arranging items in pictures
putting pictures (or other things, e.g. paragraphs, words, events, etc.) in order
78

completing/drawing pictures based on descriptions

completing texts (gap filling)
following a route e.g: on a map
completing charts, grids transfer information from text
identifying true/false statements
answering multiple choice questions, or Wh-questions
matching headlines to news articles
matching descriptions to pictures
making decisions based on information from the text.

That concludes the segment on while-reading. Its time to look at the last stagethe
post reading stage.

Post-reading
Before ending the reading lesson, it is good to allow the pupils to reflect upon what they
have read and to make connections to their life experiences, or knowledge of the world.
It is also a time for them to conceptualise what has been taught or learnt in the text. At
this stage, the pupils interest in the text can be heightened and enriched. For these
reasons, the activities planned for this stage should answer the said goals.
Among the activities that we can engage pupils in are:

asking opinions
making generalizations
discussing moral values of the text
researching on a topic related to the text
doing extension activities like crafts or poster drawing.

Lets now see how these stages work in a reading lesson.

79

Situation: Imagine you are going to use the reading text Chocolate. (page 10) The
following strategies can be used for each stage of the lesson. Remember this is just a
sample.

Pre-reading tasks
a) Bring some chocolates to the class maybe a small bag of chocolate that can be
shared.
b) Put the pupils into pairs and give each pair a copy of a set of questions.
They need to ask each other these questions.
Questions
1. Do you like chocolate cake? Chocolate ice-cream? Chocolate bars? Hot
chocolate drinks?
2. How much chocolate do you have every week?
3. Do you eat more chocolate now than when you were younger?
4. Do you think its bad that some children eat a lot of chocolate?

c) The teacher monitors while the pupils discuss the questions together. The
first three questions are the most important, so stop after everyone has done
those.
d) Do a whole class feedback on the first three questions. You could also tell
the class your answers to these questions.
**A note to teachers:
As far as possible, use realia in the class. This generates a lot of interest. At the
same time you can see the pupils reaction to chocolate-are they excited about
80

eating some? Why is that so? It is also essential to personalize your lesson.
Pupils are always more interested in a topic if they can relate it to their own lives.

While-reading tasks
Task 1
a) Tell the pupils they are going to read about a woman, Maria, who loves chocolate
very much. Draw their attention to question 1 in the worksheet and ask them to read
the choices.
b) Give each pupil their own copy of the text, ask them to read it fairly quickly and to
decide who Maria is writing to.
c) Let pupils to compare their answers before asking for suggestions.
d) Give feedback to (c).

**A note to teachers:

Always remind pupils that they can read the text again more slowly and as many times
as they want.

Task 2
a) Tell the pupils they are now going to read the text in more detail to understand each
paragraph.
81

b) Pupils read the summaries of the paragraphs in question 2 of the worksheet.

c) Check answers: ( e1 a2 d3 b4 f5 c6 ).

**A note to teachers:

Do an example first. Ask all pupils to all read the first paragraph. They then decide
which summary is for this paragraph. They should all agree it is the introduction so they
draw a line from An introduction to the problem to Number 1.

Task 3
a) Get pupils to read the text another time and answer Questions 3 of the worksheet.
b) Pupils compare their answers. If there are any differences, they should try to
provide the reason.
c) Check answers. They are all true except for c.
Make sure pupils understand the reasons for the answers preferably get
pupils to explain them.
(a) She has an older and younger sister, (b) If the children have chocolate
(c) Shes still talking about her children, (d) She gets headaches.
(e) She feels better and happier, but, guilty too.
(f ) I try to speakbut nobody understands.
Post-reading tasks
Based on the text you have read, Maria asks, What can I do? (paragraph 5). In pairs
or small groups, ask pupils to brainstorm ideas to help Maria. What can she do? How
can her family help? Encourage them to come up with four or five ideas.

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Chocolate

I know that I have a problema big problem. It may sound funny

but its very bad for mefor my health and for my life. Whats the
problem? I cant stop eating chocolate!

I started eating chocolate as a child of course; me and my sisters all ate a lot
of different kinds of chocolate. However, my sisters and I are adults now and Im the
only one who still eats it a lot. My elder sister can have a bar of Tobblerone and
make it last a week. My younger sister is happy with one box of chocolates a year
for Mothers Day. My parents dont eat any chocolate at all. Me, I need it every day,
and lots of it too.

So, how much do I eat? Well, I have about 10 bars of chocolate a day. My
first bar is at 8 oclock in the morning, and then I have my last one just before I go to
bed. Sometimes if theres no chocolate in the house I drive to the nearest shop that
sells it (about 2 kilometres away) and buy some more. I even drive out late at night
if I need some chocolate. If the children (and this is terrible, I know) have chocolate
in the house I take it. When Sarah was eight, someone gave her a box of
chocolates for her birthday. I took the box and then, when she was out playing, I ate
some. Then I ate some more. I finished the whole box! A few days later she said,
Wheres my box of chocolates? and I said, I dont know. I know that was very
bad. At Christmas we got a giant family-sized bag of chocolate sweets, I ate the
whole bag on my own in two days!

I know eating a lot of chocolate is bad for my health. Theres a lot of sugar in
all types of chocolate. Theres also a lot of fat. I think thats why I have many spots
on my face, and Im a little overweight too. Sometimes I try to stop but if I dont have
any, I get very bad headaches. However, as soon as I have some chocolate I feel
better and happier too. I know that its also very bad to take and eat chocolate thats
not mine but I cant stop myself.

What can I do? Even at night I dream about chocolate. My favourite dream is
falling down a hole and landing on a big pile of chocolate bars! I really do want to
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stop, or start to eat less. At the supermarket theres always chocolate for sale while I
wait to pay for my shopping. At the station (bus, train, underground) theres
always chocolate for sale in machines. Everywhere I look theres chocolate for sale!
I try to speak to my family but nobody understands. They all like chocolate but
nobody wants to eat 10 bars a day, and nobody understands why I do.
6

I need help! Please tell me what I can do to stop eating chocolate 8.

Worksheet
1. Read the text written by Maria, a woman who loves chocolate. Who is she writing
to?
A. Her mother
B. A newspaper
C. A magazine problem page
D. A company that makes chocolate
2. Read the text again and match a summary with a paragraph.
Summary

Paragraph

a) Maria is the only one who loves chocolate

in her family

b) This becomes a problem for Maria

c) Maria wants help

d) The description of the problem

e) An introduction to the problem
f) Why the problem is difficult to stop

4
5
6

3. Are the following sentences True or False?

a) Maria is the middle child in her family.

b) She is a mother.

c) Sarah is one of her sisters.

d) Cheryl feels ill if she stops eating chocolate.

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e) She feels both good and bad after eating chocolate.

f)

Taken from : http://www.esl-galaxy.com & www.englishmedialab.com

Its very easy to buy chocolate.

So, that was a complete lesson with different activities for the three stages of a reading
lesson.
Now, heres something for you to do.

Tutorial Question
You wish to use the following text in your class. Suggest one pre-reading, one whilereading and one post-reading activity you could carry out. Discuss your answer with
your lecturer during the interaction session.
Can you imagine a school youd want to go to?
Like, for instance?
Like a school, Sam said, where youd never have to do anything
you didnt want to. If you didnt feel like maths, you could read. If you didnt
feel like reading, you could play ball.
Boring, Benjy said.
What do you mean boring?
Benjy pretended to throw up as he looked at the gooey macaroni
and cheese that was the days lunch. After a while, he said, youd get
bored doing anything you wanted to. Itd be like summer all year long. I
mean, summers OK up to about the first week in August, but then, you
know what, I start wanting somebody to tell me what to do even if I dont
want to do it.
The trouble with you, Sam said, is you havent got much
imagination.
What the hell does that mean?
It means, Sam said, theres always something to do. Theres
never any reason to be bored. Watch.
My Brace! My Brace! Sam howled. Ive lost it!
Theres nothing wrong with your teeth, Benjy whispered. You dont
85

10

15

20

have a brace. If Sam wasnt a friend of mine, Benjy was thinking, Id figure
him to be the biggest jerk in creation. And you know what? He is the
biggest jerk in creation.
Reward! Reward! Sam was yelling. I lost my braces, I lost my
dental appliance. Its in the macaroni or somewhere in the ice cream.
Reward! Reward!
The food line stopped. Some of the kids already at their tables
looked at their tray, grimaced, and pushed them away.
Mr McEvoy, the head of the middle school, a tall, thin, balding man
who prided himself on his ability to remain calm, or at least appear calm,
whatever the provocation, walked briskly over to Sam. You really did not
have to tell the whole world, he said. Now, are you sure you lost your
brace?
Sam, trying not to grin, nodded affirmatively. Benjy, who had moved
several steps away, was looking fixedly at the ceiling.
Wait a minute, Mr McEvoy said, You dont have a brace! I
remember your mother saying that at least your teeth are perfect. He
began to make noises in his throat.
Jees, Sam thought, Mr McEvoy sounds like hes growling. He
sounds like like a dog.
Sam! Mr McEvoys voice was loud, but it sounded strangled. This
is a joke, isnt it?
Benjy moved farther away from Sam, who kept his head down.
Well, said Sam, it just came to me, you see, Mr McEvoy.
The head of the middle school, the growls coming faster and
deeper, shut his eyes for a few seconds and then, enunciating each
syllable with great care said, You already have an appointment for
detention with me this afternoon, Sam. It will be a long appointment. And
you will have a very long composition to write on why pupils must not act
like baboons in the school cafeteria.
All right! Mr McEvoy tried to make his voice carry throughout the
cafeteria. All right! No brace, no dental appliance fell into any of the food.
One small boy thought he was being funny. He was not being funny. And
he is going to be very sad. Continue your lunch!
The kids at the table looked suspiciously at their food trays, and
some began to poke around in the macaroni. The food line started moving
again, but most of the kids judging by how little macaroni they took, didnt
seem to be hungry.
Terrific, Benjy said to Sam. Terrific, if thats what you call
imagination, Id rather have a toothache.
Some days nobodys got a sense of humour, Sam said, annoyed
at Benjy and annoyed at himself.
Adapted from: This school is driving me crazy

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25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

Now, take a break before you move on to the next topic.

Topic 4b : Stages of the literacy hour

This topic concerns a special programme launched by the Ministry of Education in 2002
to develop literacy, specifically, the reading skill among the primary school pupils. You
will be given a brief overview of the English Hour. This will be followed by a detailed
description of the stages of the English hour and the activities that can be carried out at
each stage of the hour.

The Literacy Hour

Before we begin to talk about the stages of a literacy hour, let us take a brief look at
what is meant as the literacy hour and the objectives of this special hour allocated for
developing literacy among our pupils.
The literacy hour or the English Hour as it is called in Malaysia is an adaptation of the
Literacy Hour used in the UK. It is an innovative effort by the Ministry of Education to
improve the teaching and learning of English in Malaysian schools. It was introduced in
2002 as part of a revised English language programme.
The focus of the English Hour is to develop language through story books. The purpose
is to move away from the traditional whole-class teacher-centred approach to
developing literacy, especially reading, through a more student-oriented approach.
Here, it is hoped that active participation will increase the pupils interest and motivation
to read. Pupils learning is also enhanced when they are engaged in text-based
activities.

Now that we know the aim of the programme, let us look at the stages of the English
Hour and what is carried out at each stage of the hour.

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Stages of the English Hour/Literacy Hour

The English Hour comprises four sections or steps.

The lesson starts with the whole class working on a shared text (15 minutes)
where the teacher models effective reading. The teacher will read from a big
book or more preferable a text projected on a screen. Pupils will listen and may
join in the reading by repeating some parts of the text but the whole text is mostly
read by the teacher.

Then comes a short period of word level or sentence level work (15 minutes).
The teacher can use this part of the lesson to teach and consolidate phonic
knowledge which the children can then apply in their reading and writing or on
spelling or sentence construction. Grammar work can also be conducted but only
one or two grammar items at a time.

Twenty minutes of the lesson is for independent work and guided reading
where pupils apply their literacy skills in meaningful tasks individually, in pairs or
in groups. While the pupils are engaged in their work, the teacher will work with
pupils in small groups on their reading. The text should be one that the pupils
have little difficulty in reading.

The final 10 minutes of the lesson is the plenary session which allows teachers
and children to reflect on and assess what has been learnt and to think about
how to develop what they have learnt further.

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That is an overview of the English Hour. Let us look at the stages in more detail, the
types of activities that can be carried out at each stage and the value of these stages
and actvities.

i.

Shared Reading

Shared reading is an interactive reading session which creates a risk-free

environment for the pupils allowing them to focus on the enjoyment of the story. It is
an integral part of any literacy programme as it provides a high degree of interaction
between the teacher and the pupils. Also, it increases their awareness on how
written texts work.

In a shared reading session, the teacher and pupils sit together around a big book
or a reading source big enough for every child to read clearly. This is most essential
so that all the pupils can join in the reading. During the session, the teacher does
most of the reading and the pupils follow with their eyes, actively listening and at
certain points of the story joining in the reading.

Through the shared reading session, pupils can see how reading is done in a
positive, supportive and interactive environment. When it is carried out consistently,
its benefits are enormous for both the teacher and the pupils. The following are
some of them.

a) For the teacher

it enables the teacher to model fluent and expressive reading

it provides opportunities for the teacher to use some skills in context that
are meaningful to the pupils
it allows the teacher to demonstrate strategies that make meaning out of
print
89

it furnishes the teacher with ideas for discussion

it enables the teacher to demonstrate strategies and the use of cues to
work out meanings of unfamilair words.

b) For the pupils

it helps pupils to develop and share their knowledge and the

conventions of a text

it stimulates and inspires children to be actively involved in reading

it stimulates imagination and provides ideas for writing
it stimulates and fosters reflective and critical thinking
it allows children to work on the text at their own level and enjoy it
it allows children to enjoy reading in a community of readers
it allows children to experience success and satisfaction as they become
more familiar with the text
it can build sight word knowledge and reading fluency.

After looking at the advantages of shared reading, now lets move on to the activities
that can be carried out during the shared reading session. Among the activities that can
be carried out during shared reading are:

predicting (words, actions, events, etc.)

working out tricky words using various strategies and clues
recognising and demonstrating the use of writing conventions like full stops,
capital letters, etc.
looking for words of a particular type in the text, and grouping them e.g.
rhyming words, words ending with a particular sound, etc.
reading and re-reading the text (choral reading)
conducting oral cloze
asking brief questions during the reading process to determine pupils'
comprehension level
relating the story to the pupils' similar experiences
masking key words or specific letters depending on the objective of the
lesson
retelling the story in their own words.
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The list above is not exhaustive. So do not restrict yourself to only the ones mentioned
above.
As with every reading lessons, the shared reading session is made up of the three
stages of pre-reading, while reading and post reading. Lets look at what is carried out
at each stage.

Pre-reading
The teacher introduces the story by talking about the title and the cover. By directing the
pupils to the illustration on the cover, the teacher can ask the pupils to predict the
content of the story. While many teachers tend to focus only on the front cover, the back
cover may hold as much picture clue and information to what will happen in the story as
the front. For those reasons, the back cover should not be sidelined. Conducting a
picture walk through the book, stopping at some significant event or picture, pointing out
a character may also give the pupils some clues to the story. Asking probing questions
may also heighten curosity and interest in reading the story.
While reading
The first reading is purely for enjoyment. The teacher can run a finger over the words as
she/he reads them aloud while the pupils follow the reading with their eyes. It is
essential to model the reading with realistic reactions with the use of appropriate voice
modulation or tone. The teacher can pause at any point from time to time to involve the
pupils in predicting the next word or phrase or what will happen next. Let the reading be
carried out at a natural pace and probably slowing down when the teacher wants the
pupils to join in the reading. On the second and subsequent readings, invite the pupils
to join in the reading especially at points when familiar words or phrases and repeated
structures appear.

Post reading
The teacher can check the pupils prediction at this stage. Giving opportunities for the
children to talk about their predictions is very powerful and engages them in active
participation. At this point the teacher can build connections of the story by activiting the
pupils prior knowledge to the events, the actions of the characters, or the theme or
main idea of the story.

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That sums up the procedure. Let us now look at the second stage of the literacy hour,
the word/sentence level work.

ii.

Word/sentence level work

The types of exercise carried out at this stage are very much dependent on the text. For
example, with one text the teacher may ask the children to find verbs on a particular
page. With another, the teacher may get the children to work on providing synonyms for
some words, for example, small may be replaced by tiny or little. At another session the
teacher can ask the pupils to rewrite sentences from the text changing its tense from
present to past or vice versa. Other activities might include asking the pupils to pick out
all the saying verbs from the dialogue and replacing them with other said words like
shouted, exclaimed, cried, whispered, yelled, etc.
The sky is the limit. The varieties of activities that can be created for this stage of the
lesson is certainly sky-high. With a little bit of imagination and a dose of creativity, any
teacher would be able to design interesting and challenging activities that enhances
learning.

Now, lets take a look at what entails in the guided reading segment.

iii.

Guided Reading
In guided reading, the teacher does not read nor does he or she reads with the
children. As the phrase implies, the teacher works in small groups (four to six) to
assist the pupil(s) to make meaning out of print following an orderly sequence of
steps. These pupils are placed in homogenous groups where they share similar
instructional needs.
During the guided reading session, through the teachers coaching, prompting,
and questioning the pupils use various strategies to figure out individual words or
work out what a combination of words (a sentence) means.
Listed below are some strategies children use or learn during the guided reading
session.

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cross-checking: using more than one source of information to confirm a

prediction in order to construct meaning
searching: making use of more than one source to derive meaning. The
reader may look at the pictures, look for familiar words, or sentence
patterns
predicting: the reader uses his background knowledge and what is known
in the story to guess what will happen next, what the text means or
determine what the character may say or do next. The reader may also
ultilise the illustrations to anticipate the meaning
skipping a word and moving on: the reader may skip the unfamiliar word
and move on in order to read more into the text to get into the context and
then returns to the unknown word and uses the extended context to figure
out the meaning of the word
rereading: the reader returns to the beginning of the sentence and rereads
it making use of the sense of the sentence up to that point to figure out its
meaning
sounding it out: the reader uses his knowledge of graphophonics to sound
out the word
appealing: the reader makes no hesitation to ask for help
leaning on Margaret: the reader leans into the child next to him or her and
listens to what the child says.

Adapted from Saunders-Smith, G. (2009) The ultimate guided reading how-to

book. California:Corwin.

Let us now look at group dynamics, the selection of text and the teaching sequence for
this segment.

Grouping
Teachers work with small groups of pupils of homogenous abilitychildren who know,
use and need to learn the same concepts, skills and vocabulary (Saunder-Smith, 2009).
Each group must be small enough to receive intensive support from the teacher. Since
children progress at different rates, membership in a group is not permanent. The
groups will change as the childrens competencies change.

Text selection
Either fiction or non-fiction books can be used in a guided reading lesson. Selecting the
right text is very crucial. It should be appropriate to the pupils learning needs, interest
93

and experience. A general rule to follow is selecting a text at a level where the pupils
can read or work through 90-95 percent of the words and at the same time the text
offers opportunities for new learning, or 5-10 percent of unfamiliarity. Each child must
have a copy of the text.

The teaching sequence

The teacher begins guided reading by introducing the text briefly. The teacher can carry
out a picture walk, explain or discuss special features or potential challenges the pupils
may need help in such as names of characters or technical terms. The pupils then read
the text. They take responsibility for their own reading. The teacher monitors each
member of the group, prompting and encouraging them to use the strategies they have
learnt. The teacher can move alongside the pupil to check how they process the text.
The teacher only intervenes when necessary. At this point, the teacher can take down
notes of each individuals progress.
The next step is returning to the text. The purpose is to teach specific skills and to do
vocabulary work. Here the teacher may also discuss other problem-solving strategies to
assist the children to unravel meanings out of problematic words.
A reminder though that guided reading is best carried out for emergent and early
readers although transitional readers may still need some guidance.

Whats up next? Independent work! Let us walk through the penultimate activity.

iv.

Independent work
Various independent work can be designed to get the pupils engaged in an activity
while the teacher attends to small groups of pupils during the guided reading
session. Some examples of independent work include writing a short poem or
paragraph. Writing a description of a person based on a photograph. Rewrite the
story read from a different point of view, compile a word bank of saying words
from the stories they have read, draw simple cartoons with simple dialogues based
on the stories read, etc.
Again, the choice of activities is unlimited.

We have come to the last activity in the list. Lets take a look at what can be
carried out.
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v.

Plenary
The English hour ends with a review of the days lesson. In this session, the pupils
reflect on their learning and talk about what they have done and how they have
done it. The pupils can also talk about what they enjoy most.

Thats the tutorial on the English Hour. Lets put all that you have learnt into practice.

Tutorial question

1. Pick a story book. Design a word/sentence level activity you would carry out with
your pupils.
2. Plan a grouping list of your pupils who need guided reading. List the criteria for
the selection. Next, pick a book/story you would use with each group. Explain
your choice of the text.
3. Design an independent work activity for the independent readers in your class.

Reference
First Steps: Reading Developmental Continuum and Reading Resource Book
(1997) Rigby Heinemann.
Saunders-Smith, G. (2009) The ultimate guided reading how-to book. California:
Corwin

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96

Topic 5

Techniques for Teaching Vocabulary

SYNOPSIS
Topic 5 provides you with an array of techniques for teaching vocabulary. The different
ways of tackling vocabulary provide insights to the different ways pupils can learn
words.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you will be able to:

define the meaning of vocabulary

distinguish what determines the effective teaching of vocabulary
identify the various techniques suitable to teach vocabulary.

FRAMEWORK OF TOPICS
Techniques for teaching vocabulary

4a

word
attac
k
skills

4b

contextua
l clues

visuals

mime,
action &
gestures

dictionary

Selecting, adapting and producing activities and

materials for developing vocabulary
Techniques for teaching vocabulary

frequency

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context

games

All languages are made of words. Without words, there will be no languages and words
are coined in various ways: from borrowing from other cultures to blending parts of two
words to adding meaningful parts to existing words. In fact, as you are reading this line,
new words are being coined somewhere. So is the acquisition of new words. We are
constantly learning new words and learning new meanings for old words. For example,
the rapid evolution of ICT in the last twenty years has brought forth new meanings to
otherwise common everyday words. A mouse is no more the pest that we screech when
we see one nor cookie is the flavourful crunchy snack we have with a nice cup of coffee.
Similarly, familiar words are also adapted and expressed with specialized meanings.
Wine connoisseurs will be able to distinguish the quality of the liquor and describe it as
being dry or smooth. But for someone who is unfamiliar with wine-tasting terminology
may find the terms perplexing. Learners learning a new language will experience similar
bewilderment when they are confronted by words that are totally unfamiliar or being
used in ways that for them are novel and obscure.
So, learning a new language is learning the vocabulary of that language. Imagine how
frustrating it is for someone learning a new language not being able to find the words in
that language to express himself or herself. And learning vocabulary is a rather complex
process. A teacher teaching vocabulary needs to bear in mind some principles of
learning and teaching vocabulary. Among these principles are:

developing word attack skills

frequent exposure and repetition
meaningful presentation
presentation in context
inferring meanings from context

Let us go through some of these principles.

1. Developing word attack skills

Developing word attack skills is necessary to help the pupils to become
independent and fluent readers. Knowing word attack skills enables the pupils to
make sense of an unknown word while reading. Word attack skills rely on the
ability to recognize the sounds that make up words and to put those sounds
together (phonemic awareness). More advanced word attack skills involve using
98

context, prefixes or suffixes or a dictionary to determine what a word means.

Here are some examples of word attack skills:

Segmenting the component parts of words

Blending these parts into new words
Recognizing syllable patterns
Recognizing symbols for consonant sounds
Recognizing symbols for vowel sounds
Recognizing symbols for tone and other suprasegmental features
Recognizing capital letters (upper case) and knowing when to use them
Recognizing punctuation and how it affects reading for meaning and
expression
Recognizing the use of space to mark word breaks and paragraphs
Using the above skills simultaneously with comprehension and critical
reading skills

Lets look at some examples of these word attack skills.

a)

segmenting the component parts of a word:

Oral segmentation helps pupils to separate words into sounds. These exercises begin
with a focus on syllables, which are easier to distinguish than individual sounds.
Segmentation activities prepare children for spelling, for which they segment words into
individual sounds in order to write them out.
Example:
sat = /s/ /a/ /t/

Developing this phonemic awareness skill will have significant impact on the childs
development in reading.

99

At a higher level, segmentation is breaking up the components of a word according to

its meaningful parts or adding prefixes and suffixes to a root word.
For example, the word movers can be broken up into three meaningful parts or
morphemes as illustrated below:
movers =
move + er + s, where move is a verb, the er changes the verb to a noun
(person) and the addition of s indicates plurality.

b)

Blending

Blending is when individual sounds are combined to make words. This phonemic
awareness skill helps children to hear how sounds are put together. Developing this
important skill will lead children towards decoding words independently when they read.
For example, when you blend the sounds /b/ /a/ /t/ , they become the word bat. And
when you blend the syllables /ba/ /na/ /na/ together, they make the word banana.

Blending and segmentation form the two most essential phonemic awareness
instruction activities that provide children with engaging opportunities to discriminate
sounds.

c)

Common syllable pattern

For beginning or emergent readers, it is a good idea to introduce words that have
similar syllable patterns. Repetition of the same pattern will help the learners to
consolidate the concepts of word patterns and at the same time help them to develop
phonemic awareness.
Below are some examples of common syllable patterns.

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Syllable Patterns
1. A closed syllable ends in at least one consonant;
the vowel is short.

Examples:
pan
shot
magnet

2. An open syllable ends in one vowel; the vowel is

long.

so
tiger
he

3. A vowel-consonant-e syllable ends in one vowel,

one consonant and a final e. The final e is silent and
the vowel is long.

make
pipe
shine

4. A vowel-r syllable has an r after the vowel; the

vowel makes an expected sound.

car
dirt
turtle

sail
boat
feet
moon
boy

puzzle
bubble
candle
contraction
projection

(Vowels that are followed by r do not make the

common long or short sound)
5. A vowel pair syllable has two adjacent vowels. Each
vowel pair syllable must be learned individually.

6. A final stable syllable has a consonant-l-e

combination or a non phonetic but reliable unit such
as tion. The accent usually falls on the syllable
before the final syllable. Final stable syllables have
unexpected but reliable pronunciations.

d. Recognizing symbols for vowel sounds

The following is a procedure you may use to develop recognition of symbols for vowel
sounds.
This activity could be conducted as board work for the vowel sounds : ea and oa.

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Procedure:
1. Write the following words as a column on the board. Highlight the target sounds.
rear
leaf
mean
ears
2. Point to rear. Pause and ask what the word is.
Expected response : rear.
Repeat for leaf, mean, ears.
3. Replace ea with oa in each word
roar
loaf
moan
oars

4. Point to roar. Pause and ask what the word is.

Expected response : roar.
Repeat for loaf, moan, oars.

5. Change the list to:

rear
loaf
mean
ears

6. Point to rear. Pause and ask what the word is.

Expected response : rear.
Repeat for loaf, mean, ears.)

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7. Change back to the original list:

rear
leaf
mean
ears
Repeat steps 26 until pupils are competent with distinguishing the two vowel sounds.

Exercise 1

Work with a partner to segment the component parts (prefixes and suffixes) for the
following words.

2.

unusually
projector
international
disoriented

CONTEXTUAL CLUES

Contextual clues are hints that the author gives to help define a difficult or unusual
word. The clue may appear within the same sentence as the word to which it refers, or it
may follow in a preceding sentence. Because most of our vocabulary is gained through
reading, it is important that teachers teach pupils to recognize and take advantage of
contextual clues to assist them to decode challenging words when they read.
Types of contextual clues.
There are at least four kinds of contextual clues that are quite commonly found in a text.
Synonym

Using a word with the same meaning that is found in the same
sentence.
e.g.
My opponent's argument is fallacious, misleading plain wrong.

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Antonym

Using a word or group of words that has the opposite meaning

which reveals the meaning of an unknown term.
Although some men are loquacious, others hardly talk at all.

Explanation

Example

The unknown word is explained within the sentence or in a

sentence immediately preceding it.
The patient is so somnolent that she requires medication to help
her stay awake for more than a short time.
Specific examples are used to define the term.
Celestial bodies, such as the sun, moon, and stars, are governed
by predictable laws.

Try the following exercise on contextual clues. The answer is overleaf.

Exercise 2.1

Read the following sentences and define the word in bold based on the context clue.
Then identify which of the four types of clues is used.
1. The girl who used to be very vociferous doesn't talk much anymore.
2. Pedagogical institutions, including high schools, kindergartens, and colleges, require
community support to function efficiently.
3. He was so parsimonious that he refused to give his own sons the few pennies they
needed to buy pencils for school. It truly hurt him to part with his money.
4. His pertinacity, or stubbornness, is the cause of most of his trouble.
5. Rather than be involved in clandestine meetings, they did everything quite openly.
6. Ecclesiastics, such as priests, ministers, and pastors, should set models of
behaviour for their congregants.
7. The girl was churlish rude, sullen and absolutely ill-mannered.

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8. Because the conflagration was aided by wind, it was so destructive that every
building in the area was completely burned to the ground.
Taken from Irwin L. Joffe's Opportunity for Successful Reading, 3rd ed., 153-55

ANSWER KEY TO CONTEXTUAL CLUES EXERCISE

1. Type of context cluecontrast
definition of vociferoustalkative; outspoken
2. Type of context clueexample
definition pedagogicalhaving to do with teaching
3. Type of context clueexplanation
definition of parsimoniousstingy; tightfisted
4. Type of context cluesynonym
definition of pertinacitymulish; stubborn
5. Type of context cluecontrast
definition of clandestinesecret; hidden
6. Type of context clueexample
definition of ecclesiasticsmember of the clergy
7. Type of context cluesynonym
definition of sullenrude
8. Type of context clueexplanation
definition of conflagrationfire

Exercise 2.2
Work out the answer for the following questions.
Context clues: Synonyms
1. The book of logic contained many conundrums - mind-exercising puzzles.
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Using the synonym clue, the word conundrums in this sentence means
pictures
answers
stories
puzzles
2. Jackie was filled with mortification, or shame, because of her careless remark.
Using the synonym clue, the word mortification in this sentence means
proud
confident
shame
happy
3. His rancor, or hatred, of his brother has caused him to live his life as a lonely person.
Using the synonym clue, the word rancor in this sentence means
love
tolerance
generous
hatred
4. The events for the conference were listed in chronological order. They began with
the first event of the day and ended with the closing ceremonies in the evening.
Using the synonym clue, the word chronological in this sentence means
out of order
messed up
broken
in order
5. There was crazy pandemonium as people were trying to leave the rock concert.
Using the synonym clue, the word pandemonium in this sentence means
silence
order
craziness or chaos
peace
6. The man was sent to the penitentiary, or prison, for stealing cars.
Using the synonym clue, the word penitentiary in this sentence means
paradise
prison
hotel
heaven

Exercise 2.3
Read the following poem and guess who the poet is.

Sweet Surrender
Whether you're just a kid
or some rich, famous queen
A dozen, to me
means not twelve, but thirteen.

When people get married

they give me a call
and the gift I make for them

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is usually tall.
I'm rolling in dough,
but I'm not very wealthy.
I make marvelous treats,
but they're not very healthy.

But I make many things

for all types of folks.
All I need's sugar, flour, some milk and egg
yolks.

Who Am I?

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3. Visuals
A picture speaks a thousand words. As a teacher you have great armory of materials
around you to help your pupils learn new vocabulary. What other way can it be more
effectively learnt if not through visuals.
Here is a list of some of the possible visuals you have around you to teach vocabulary:
carrier bags, wallets and other kinds of containers, mobile phones, items of jewellery,
bank notes, items of clothing, cigarette packets, sweet wrappers, parts of the body,
family photographs, reading materials and items of furniture, brochures, menus,
recipes, catalogues, comics, videos, TV, CDs, DVDs, etc.
Using flash cards as visuals
Flash cards are versatile visuals usually used for drills. They can be used to introduce
nouns, new words or used as substitution word cards in different contexts. Flash cards
used can be displayed in the word wall to facilitate and reinforce further learning or used
as references.
A word of caution on the use of visuals:

Don't over-use them; use them just enough to achieve your aim.
Know exactly why you are using them.
Plan exactly how you are going to use each one.
Vary the kinds of visuals that you use, to bring as much variety as possible in the
lesson.
Flashcards must be seen by everyone in the class
Avoid 'confusing' or 'cluttered' pictures with the vital detail somewhere in the
middle.

Word Walls
Designate a part of the classroom wall as the word wall. On this wall the teacher can
display words taught each week. These words may help children to learn rhyming word
families (at, hat, fat, cat, that, etc.), while others do not follow phonetic spelling patterns.
The purpose is to help children learn to spell high frequency and vocabulary words and
begin to use them in their writing
The pictures below are some samples of word walls.
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109

Exercise 3.1
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using visuals to teach vocabulary?

4.

Mimes, actions and gestures

A lot of teaching English is about acting.

Keeping your energy high and being creative with your lessons will make your pupils
more attentive. Outside of role-play activities, you can use gestures and mime in many
different ways to teach vocabulary. These can aid your pupils in communicating,
understanding, and participating during your lessons.
The use of teacher's gestures in the learning of English can have an effect on
memorisation; but to make the most of this effect, teachers should make sure that the
pupils reproduce the gestures while repeating the words. Thus, they will be more active
in their repetition and reinforce its trace in memory. Also, the three ways of learning will
be solicited: auditory modality will be provided by the teacher's voice and the repetition,
visual modality will be exposed through the visualization of gestures, and kinesthetic
modality will appear thanks to the reproduction of gestures. All this will enable every
pupil to make the most of the three modalities proposed to reinforce their memorisation.

Below are some examples of activities.

4.1

Giving Directions

Using particular gestures or expressions in the classroom will lead your pupils to
associate them with a particular thing or action. For example, if you always use the
same gesture when you say Please stand up. The pupils will become accustomed to it
and stand up when you use that gesture even if you occasionally leave out the oral
instruction. You can have gestures when you want the pupils to repeat something after
you, make groups, or sit down too. This can be especially handy when you want to
communicate something to your pupils in a noisy setting. For instance, if you say
Please turn your desks to make groups of four. The pupils will begin moving around
and making noise as they rearrange their desks so they may miss your verbal
instructions to sit down but if you also gesture for them to sit down, at least some pupils
will see it and react accordingly which will cause the remaining pupils to follow suit.

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4.2

Word meaning

Using gestures and mime is important when it comes to words too. You can use them to
elicit certain words and phrases from students. If you teach very young pupils, it is also
common to associate gestures with words to help pupils remember vocabulary better.
Using the same gesture every time you say a particular word or phrase will help these
pupils associate the two.

4.3

Mime games

Activities and games which use gestures and mime can be fun for the whole class. If
you have just finished a section on feelings, make a list of feelings on the board and
have the pupils choose a slip of paper from a hat. Each slip of paper should contain a
sentence such as You are happy. The pupils should keep their sentences a secret.
Have one volunteer at a time mime his/her sentence while the rest of the class
tries to guess it. This would be a good review activity. To check individual
comprehension, you can use the same basic idea but instead turn it into an interview
activity where the pupils have a sheet of paper with all the emotions listed as well as
their secret emotion. The idea is that the pupils go around the classroom miming and
guessing emotions in pairs and getting a pupil signature for each emotion. When you go
through the worksheet as a class you can have some pupils read aloud from their
worksheets sentences like Jane is sad. and ask Jane to mime being sad for the class.

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Exercise
Try the mime task below with your study group before executing it to your pupils.
Body Parts Vocabulary Gestures
Cultural Differences
Student A
Within the time limit your tutor tells you, try to describe as many of the gestures below
as you can to your partner. You can only describe the gesture to your partner and
correct them if they make the same gesture, you cannot move your hands yourself.
Gesture
Point your first finger towards your chest
Hold up your first two fingers in a V shape, with
your palm facing the other person
Put the palm of your open hand on your heart
Hold your thumb and first finger at the edge of
your mouth and pull it across your lips as if you are
zipping it shout
Put your index finger near the side of your head
and twist it round
Hold up ten fingers and fold the fingers down one
by one
Tap something wooden with your knuckles
Make a cutting gesture with an open hand across
your throat, with your palm facing down

With your first finger, pretend you are drawing a

cross on your ribs more or less where your heart is
Hold out your first two fingers and your thumb and
rub them together
Point your thumb to the floor with your fingers
folded into your palm
Touch the end of your nose with the end of your
thumb, open your hand and move your fingers up
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Meaning
I/ me
two, peace
victory
I promise/ I am
touched= I feel
moved
Shut up! = be
quiet

Country

crazy

Europe and
the Americas
most places
Japan
Britain
most places

10, 9, 8
1, 2, 3
I hope
dead

most places

UK

stop (talking),
for example
when giving a
presentation

US

fired from your

job
cross my heart=
I promise
money

Japan

bad
go to hell
a childish insult

most places
Japan
Europe and
America

UK
many places

and down like you are playing a trumpet

Hold out the index fingers of both hands and then
touch the length of the two index fingers together
Tip your head to the left and draw air into your
mouth through your teeth, making a hiss
Make an L shape with your thumb and first finger
and put it on your forehead
Put both hands around your throat, open your
mouth and stick out your tongue

they are a
couple
not sure

Turkey

you are a loser

US

choking/ you
choked= you
failed badly,
maybe because
of being
nervous
Put your index finger along the side of your nose,
Dont be nosy=
pointing up, and then tap the side of your nose three Mind your own
times
business= Its
my private
business
Pull down the bottom eyelid of your left eye with
Be careful
your left index finger.
Roll your eyes around
Oh my god= Not
again! = I cant
believe it
Put an open hand under your chin with the tops of
I dont care
your fingers touching your chin and your fingers
pointing towards your throat. Pull your hand out
away from your neck and towards the person you
are speaking to

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Japan

USA

UK

France
America
Italian

Student B
Within the time limit your tutor tells you, try to describe as many of the gestures
below as you can to your partner. You can only describe the gesture to your partner
and correct them if they make the same gesture, you cannot move your hands
yourself.
Gesture
Look at someone and raise your eyebrows

Meaning
Hello
No

Hold up your thumb with the rest of your hand

closed

I like you
OK
very bad insult

Put your palms together and bow

Hello
Sorry

Put your first finger on the side of your head

and tap your head a few times

Mad, you should

think about it or a
signal to
remember
Time out = lets
take a break

Hold up your right hand vertically and put your

open left hand over the top horizontally to make
a T sign
Move both hands as if they are mouths
Hold up an open hand and make a circle from
your first finger and thumb

Hold up only your thumb and little finger and

point your thumb towards your mouth

You are talking a

lot about nothing
Okay

you are gay

Drinking = drunk

Country
almost all
countries,
Turkey
Japan
USA
many other
places
Thailand
many places,
especially in
Asia

USA and
many other
places
UK and USA
USA and
many other
places
Turkey
Australia

Hold out your hand in front of you with your palm

facing down. Twist your hand from the wrist
from side to side like you are screwing
something
Hold up only your thumb and little finger

So-so = not bad

many
countries

China

Point your index finger towards your nose

I/ me
Nose

Japan
most other
places
Italy and other
places

Touch your finger tips with your thumb and kiss Delicious
the ends of your thumb and fingers

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Flick back your head and raise your eyebrows

No

Hold up only your little finger

Woman

Hold up your fingers and thumb with them all

touching, then move your fingers and thumb in
and out

Its very crowded

in here = There
are many people
= Its full
Be quiet

Spain and
most of Latin
America

Sarcastic
applause = That
was very bad
I hope/ I wish

UK and USA

Whatever!= I
dont care

America and
now young
people in UK

I did a very good

job=
congratulations
to me= I am
proud of myself

UK

Breathe on the end of your fingers

Clap your hands very slowly
Cross your first two fingers, so that your middle
finger is over your index finger
With the thumb and first fingers of both hands
pointing up in V shapes, join the thumbs to make
a the shape of the letter W towards the person
you are speaking to
Breathe on the end of your fingers then polish
your fingernails on your shirt

5.

Turkey,
Greece
Japan

Saudi Arabia

UK

Dictionary

Exploring dictionary entries can be one important and effective component of

understanding a word deeply. The entries can also help pupils determine the precise
meaning of a word. Dictionaries can also provide helpful information about the history
of a word and reinforce the interrelationships among words in the same meaning
families. For example, a discussion of run-on entries illustrates how one words
entry can include information about related wordsthe entry for entrap also includes
entraps and entrapment. The usage notes in dictionaries often explain subtle but
important differences among wordsusually the appropriateness of one word over
another in a
particular context. Words for which the dictionary is essential may be entered in a
students vocabulary notebook. Dictionaries can also contribute to an interest in and
attitudes toward words that teachers and the students explore. The usage notes in
dictionaries reflect a powerful and consistent research finding: every word/concept
we know, and the degree to which we really know it, depends on the relationship of
that word/concept to other words/concepts. The thesaurus, another resource for word
learning, also helps learners make fine distinctions among concepts and words. This
differentiation of learners conceptual domains is the essence of vocabulary
development and growth.

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Example 1:
You can ask pupils use dictionaries to complete grids or spidergrams of word
families, to show common derived forms:
person

crime

verb

robber

robbery

rob

_______

_______

murder

hijacker

_______

_______

_______

rape

_______

Example 2:
The pupils can use dictionaries to decide which word or expression in a group is the
odd one out, in terms of style:
word

meaning

flee

run away

retreat

turn tail

occur

crop up

happen

take place

supervise

monitor

keep an eye on

oversee

6.

Games

Learning new vocabulary words can be a challenging task for many pupils. One way
to overcome this challenge is to play games that will make learning new words fun by
creating a competitive environment. When pupils compete with one another they tend
to put forth more effort and, as a consequence, learn more.

You can find out more on how you can utilize games for teaching vocabulary using
the link below.
Read more: Classroom Vocabulary Games | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/list_5939778_classroom-vocabulary-games.html#ixzz22JkFdvfr

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The following are some examples of games to teach vocabulary.

6.1 Taboo (aka Hot Seat)

Divide the class into Teams A and B. Team A sits in a group on one side of the
classroom, Team B sits on the other side. Bring two chairs to the front of the room so
that when seated, a student is facing his or her respective team and their back is to
the blackboard or white board. One member from each team sits in their team's chair.
The teacher writes a word, phrase, or sentence on the board. The pupils in the chairs
mustn't see what's written on the board. Once the teacher yells 'go', the teams have
one minute, using only verbal clues, to get their seated teammate to say the item
written on the board. The only rule (or taboo) is that they MUSTN'T say the item
written on the board, in full or part. The first pupil in the hot seat to utter the word
scores a point for their team. When the round is over, two new team players are
rotated into the hot seat and a new item is written up. The team to score the most
number of points wins.
Variation: To ensure a slightly quieter and less chaotic game, the teams can take it in
turns. Rather than two pupils in the hot seat, only one member from each team plays
at a time. The teacher as usual scribbles a word on the board and gives the team one
minute to get their teammate to say the item. If the hot-seated player manages to say
the word, the teacher quickly writes another item on the board and so on until the
minute is up. The team scores a point for every item they manage to say within one
minute.

6.2

Memory Challenge

Put the pupils into pairs or small groups. Give them a time limit (e.g. 3 minutes) and
ask them to write down as many words, phrases, and/or expressions as they can
from the last lesson on topic X. The pair or group that can remember the most items
wins.
Variation: To add a spelling accuracy component, teams can also earn an extra point
for each correctly spelt item.

6.3

Last One Standing

Give the class a topic (e.g. food, clothes, animals, things in a kitchen) and ask them
to stand up, in a circle if possible. Clap out a beat and say, one, two, three, followed
by a topic-related word. After the next three beats, the next student in the circle gives
a word related to the topic, and so it continues. Anyone who can't think of a word or
repeats a word already said has to sit down and it's the next person's turn. The
winner is the last one standing.

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6.4

Pictionary

Divide the class into Teams A and B. Team A sits in a group on one side of the
classroom, Team B sits on the other side. One member from each team goes to the
board. The teacher flashes them a word, phrase, or expression written on a piece of
paper. The students have one minute to get their respective team to say the item only
by drawing pictorial clues on the board. Written words, verbal clues, or gestures are
forbidden. The first team to say the word scores a point.
Variation: The teams review their notes from prior lessons, and collectively come up
with a list of items the other team will have to draw.

6.5

Bingo

The teacher writes up 10 words, phrases and/or expressions on the board. Each
pupil chooses any 5 of the items from the board and writes them down. The teacher
then selects one of the items at random (bits of paper from a hat, for example) and
offers a brief definition or synonym of the item but does not say the word itself. If a
pupil thinks they have the word the teacher described, they tick it. When a pupil ticks
all of their words, they shout BINGO!! The first pupil to shout BINGO wins the round.
Additional rounds can be played with different sets of words.

6.6 Outburst
Divide the class into Teams A and B. The teacher assigns each team a particular
topic (e.g. sports, vehicles, things in an office) which is to be kept secret from the
other team. Each team meets for 5 minutes in private and collectively draws up a list
of ten items related to the topic. After the lists are made, the game begins. The
teacher tells Team A the name of Team B's topic. Team A then has one minute to try
to guess the items on Team B's list (hence producing a noisy outburst). The members
of Team B must listen and tick the items which Team A manages to guess. For every
word Team A guesses correctly, they score a point. For every word they miss, Team B
gets a point. After the points are recorded, it's Team B turn to guess Team A's list.
Additional rounds can be played with different topics assigned by the teacher. The
first team to score X number of points wins.

6.7

Concentration

Divide the class into small groups. Each group is given a set of cards which are
spread out on the table face-down. The sets are made up of two kinds of cards: word
cards + definition/picture cards. Pupils in turn pick up a card, turn it over, and try
matching it to its corresponding card. If there's no match, the cards are returned to

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their original place on the table and play passes to the next pupil. If a match is made,
the pupil keeps the pair and tries to make another match. Once all the cards are
matched, the winner is the player who has matched the most number of cards.
Variation: Rather than using word + definition/picture cards, pupils can match the
first and second half of common phrases, expressions, idioms or other multi-word
lexical items; e.g. "have" on one card, "a good time" on the other card.

6.8

Scrambled Letters

Write up eight words with their letters shuffled (e.g. eicscen for science) on the board.
When the teacher says 'go', the pupils, individually or in pairs, endeavor to untangle
the words as quickly as they can. The first pupil or pair, to do so wins. The teacher
can then quickly run through each of the scrambled letter groups on the board,
eliciting information about each word or concept. Tip: Don't make them too difficult.
Variation: Phrases, expressions, and idioms larger than 2 words can also be used
(e.g. "you're having when time flies fun" for "time flies when you're having fun".)

6.9

Q&A

Write up two separate word lists on the board; an A list and a B list. Assign half the
class the A list and the other half list B. Each pupil takes each word from their list and
contextualizes it into a coherent question. Ideally, the question should demonstrate
some understanding of the word (e.g. Is your family very hospitable?, NOT What
does hospitable mean?). If pupils need help, they can consult the teacher, their
notes, or their textbook. When the pupils have finished writing their questions, As and
Bs pair up and exchange their list of questions. The pupils read each question and
write an answer to the question on the same piece of paper. In their answer, they
need to use the same word that is underlined in the question. After the answers are
written, the papers are exchanged again and read by the original pupil.
Example:
Student A's question:
Student B's answer:

Are there any skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur?

Yes, Kuala Lumpur has several skyscrapers.

6.10 Categories (aka The Alphabet Game)

Divide the class into 3 or 4 teams and assign a secretary for each group. On one side
of the board, write down six categories related to the current topic you are teaching
(e.g. countries, sports, jobs, movies, furniture, verbs, things that are round). To start
the game, the teacher randomly selects a letter of the alphabet and scribbles it onto
the board. Each team must then work together to quickly find a word for each of the
six categories that starts with the chosen letter. The first team to complete all six

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categories shouts "stop!" The class then stops writing, and a member of the team
goes to the board to fill in the categories. The teacher then checks each word with
the class and also elicits what other teams had for each category. If the quickest
team has filled in each category correctly, they earn one point for their team. The
teacher then chooses a different letter and another round is played. The first team to
score X number of points wins.

Exercise:
Think of a game to teach vocabulary using these pictures.

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We have come to the end of the first segment in this topic. Take a break before
moving on to segment 5b.

5b.

Selecting, adapting and producing activities and materials for

developing vocabulary

The first things to think about when teachers select, adapt and produce activities and
materials for developing a vocabulary lesson, are the who and the what. That is who
your pupils are their level of English (or whatever the second language is), level of
content knowledge, and their requirements. What refers to what vocabulary you will
teach, and what materials to use. The who feeds into the what.

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There are two types of vocabulary, core and fringe. Core vocabulary is composed of
high frequency words that are very versatile. In contrast, fringe vocabulary is
composed of words that occur infrequently and lack versatility. Let's compare and
contrast core and fringe vocabulary:
Characteristic
Number of
words
Frequency of
use
Applicability
across
environments
Applicability
across topics
Types of words

Core Vocabulary
Small number of words

Fringe Vocabulary
Very large number of words

High frequency

Low frequency

Applicable to all
environments

Applicable to limited environments

Applicable to all topics

Applicable to limited topics

Includes a variety of
parts of speech
Usefulness in a Approximately 80% of
single
the words in a sample
message
of 100 total words will
be core, but many of
the core words will be
used repeatedly, so the
number of different
words is small.

1.

Includes mostly proper names and other

nouns
Approximately 20% of the words in a
sample of 100 total words will be fringe.
The number of different words will be
large, as fringe words are repeated with
much lower frequency than core words.

Frequency
High-frequency words are the words that appear most often in printed materials.
The word to be learnt should appear in various context to reinforce understanding
the meaning to be stored in the long term memory.
Ideas for Teaching High-Frequency Words

Have students create rebus sentences, using high-frequency words such as

the, is, and in.
Write high-frequency words on cards. Have students form sentences using a
pocket chart.
Have students keep lists of words they can read and write. When they have
trouble with a word, they can refer to their notebooks.

107

2.

Point out similarities between new words and those students can already
decode.

Context

For meaningful learning, vocabulary must be taught in context, whether spoken or

written. If it is written, the context should preferably be an authentic text and where
the content is fully exploited. Why is contextualized learning so important? Simply
because when we come across a new word in a text, it is often in an appropriate
context and there are often other clues in the text that are provided by the author to
help the reader work out the meaning of the word.
Sometimes the clues given are explicit while at times it might need the reader to infer
meanings. In such a situation, there will be sufficient clues provided to enable the
reader to figure out the meaning of the unfamiliar word.
However, research has shown that sometimes contextual clues can pose a problem
in learning a new word against direct instruction (Fukkink and de Glopper in Dymock
and Nicholson, 2010). Yet, all agree that having contextual clues are a lot more
helpful than an absence of them.

Before we leave this topic, lets take a look at some effective teaching tips to expedite
the learning of vocabulary.

Teaching Tips for Effective Instruction

Teach words in a meaningful context, using authentic literature.
Teach only a few words per reading selection.
Relate each word to students' prior knowledge.
Group each word with other related words.
Have students use the word to express their own ideas and experiences.
Expose students to the word in a variety of contexts.

Exercise:
Read this paragraph and answer the questions that follow.

108

We, Americans, are a charitable and humane people: we have institutions devoted to
every good cause from rescuing homeless cats to preventing World War III. But what
have we done to promote the art of thinking? Certainly we make no room for
thought in our daily lives. Suppose a man were to say to his friends, "I'm not going to
PTA tonight (or choir practice or the baseball game) because I need some time to
myself, some time to think" Such a man would be shunned by his neighbours; his
family would be ashamed of him. What if a teenager were to say, "I'm not going to the
dance tonight because I need some time to think" His parents would immediately
start looking in the Yellow Pages for a psychiatrist. We are all too much like Julius
Caesar: we fear and distrust people who think too much. We believe that almost
anything is more important than thinking.
(Taken from: Carolyn Kane, "Thinking: A Neglected Art,", Newsweek, 14 December
1981)

Task:
Notice that the author uses various forms of the same word--think, thinking, thought-to link the different examples and reinforce the main idea of the paragraph.
Can you understand the meaning of the words in bold? What facilitates your reading?

Thats the end of this topic. Take a break before you move on to the next topic.

References:
Carreker, S. (1999) Teaching reading: Accurate decoding and fluency, in J.R. Birsh
(Ed.) Multisensory of basic language skills (pp. 141-182). Baltimore: Brookes;

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Moats, L.C. (1995). Spelling: Developmental disability and instruction. Baltimore:

York Press
Moats, L.C. (2000). Speech to print: Language essentials for teachers. Baltimore:
Brookes.
Nicholson, T. & Dymock, S. (2010) Teaching reading vocabulary. Wellington: Nzcer
Press.
Thornbury, S.( 2002). How to teach vocabulary. Pearson ESL
Wallace, M.J. (1982). Teaching vocabulary. UK: Heinemann
http://store.busyteacher.org/esl-books/classroom-management-secrets

110

TOPIC 6

Testing and Evaluation of Reading Skills

SYNOPSIS
Topic 6 introduces the key concepts surrounding testing and evaluating of reading
skills in English. As you know, reading tests come in a variety of forms, but before
reading skills can be evaluated, it is recommended that pupils develop competency in
the target language. That is, it is not useful to test in the second language those basic
skills which the pupils have not yet developed in their native language (mother
tongue).
The module provides insight into developing reading tests that include skimming,
scanning, multiple-choice tests and holistic reading skills. Specific test skills may
focus on pronouns, using context to guess the meaning, cloze activities, and
recognition of unfamiliar words. Teachers should also include authentic text in their
classroom teaching such as: comic books, magazines, newspaper, and novels to
increase motivation in the classroom. However, we must always be aware of the
target audience to select appropriate reading material that will in turn produce reliable
reading tests.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you will be able to:

define the purpose of reading tests in the primary classroom

identify the learner characteristics that enable effective reading

differentiate types of activities, methods and questions that enable

metacognition of reading to occur

articulate and deepen primary pupils learning and understanding of reading

through reliable testing

Learn the five reading powers of metacognition by using holistic and formative
assessment approaches.

111

FRAMEWORK OF TOPICS

Types of Reading Tests

holistic reading tests

discrete feature tests

Session notes: During this module it is expected that course participants will
self-study and be prepared to do these activities in the tutorial in groups or pairs
to construct additional meaning with classmates.

Preview
1. What types of evaluations can you use to assess reading skills? Brainstorm
and write down as many as you can think of.

2. What has been the most effective form to test reading skills with your primary
school pupils?

3. How do we create effective reading tests?

112

Discrete feature test for reading

This test is mainly concerned with testing vocabulary. This is because it is thought
that vocabulary tests can be a good predictor of pupils reading ability. Another
reason is that the syllabus for KBSR and KSSR spells out vocabulary items that
pupils need to master at each stage of their reading development. By including
vocabulary items in tests of reading can also be intrinsically motivating for pupil to
recognize they are learning a second language, and secondly, vocabulary tests can
encourage them to learn even more words. However, we must remember that test of
vocabulary for reading are essentially test of recognition. Most of us can recognize
many more words in our listening and reading tests than we can use in our speaking
and writing. Samples of discrete feature reading tests are as follows.
Example 1: Tests of vocabulary focusing on speed recognition and visual
discrimination
Part A
There are five items below. In two minutes mark in the space provided whether
the two words given on each line are the same (S) or different (D).
1. mark make

____________________________

2. slate slate _____________________________

3. bark barn ______________________________
4. gate late ______________________________

113

Part B
With a partner create additional discrete features vocabulary tests below.
5. house - mouse

_(D)___________________________

6.

_____________________________

7.

______________________________

Part C
Next, check your answers with other groups in class

Example: Using contextual clues to understand unfamiliar words

When creating tests, teachers need to be careful to select words that your pupils do
NOT know. If this is the case then it will be a test of word knowledge for some and a
test of ability to use contextual clues for others. You also need to make sure that
there are clues in the context and that none of the other words prevent your pupils
from being able to use the clue(s) you have given. Also, be sure the clue fits in ONE
word and not several words in the test.
Task 1
Fill in each of the blanks with one of the words given in brackets.
1. We went to the supermarket yesterday and bought a large ___________ from
him. (a. car b. pumpkin c. coat d. hat)
2. After the badminton match was over, both the players left the
_______________.

(a. field

b. office

114

c. cinema

d. court)

Part B
Use an original text and continue to create contextual clues below.

Task 2
Circle the word which can replace he underlined word in context.
1. One day a lady called Sakina went to a rich friends party. When Sakina
entered the house; nobody offered her a seat or gave her anything to eat.
a.

bought

b. gave

c. asked

This was because Sakina did not wear any glamorous clothes. She only
wore a simple dress.
a. beautiful

b. old

c. torn

2. Self-study

Continue to create the story of Sakina at the party

Use the example above as a template

Include underlined words that can be replaced in the story context.

My story of Sakina

Holistic reading tests

115

When choosing texts we must select texts that are familiar to the pupil and truly test
reading comprehension and not just prior knowledge. To do so authentic texts are
recommended that provide a more realistic and reliable means of assessment and
also help to motivate pupil by demonstrating how the target language is used in reallife situations. We should not focus our questions on information contained in
individual sentences. Rather, we ask questions which require pupils to look at ideas
from different parts of the text together, for example, by asking questions about main
points, cohesion and predication of outcomes. Finally, we should make sure that our
test really tests reading and not something else, for example, the pupils general
knowledge.
There are various holistic testing formats that a teacher can design to assess the
pupils reading skill.
Below are some common tests.
1

Multiple choice tests

This is a form of assessment where the pupil is given a choice of a few options to
select the best answer to the question. It is an effective and efficient way to test
reading comprehension. The example below illustrates multiple choice testing.

Mother burnt while saving baby

Kuala Lipis : A mother suffered burns on her body and legs when she rushed into her
burning house to save her sleeping baby. Rahimah Salam, 37, was walking to a
nearby sundry shop when she heard cries of fire coming from the direction of her
house.
Taken from Tan et al. Reference PMR English, 2005.

1.

Where was the victim when the

fire broke out?
A
B
C
D

Sleeping with her baby.

Going to a sundry shop.
Working at a sundry shop.
Walking home from the sundry shop.

116

2.

Which of the following

statements is TRUE?
A
B
C
D

The victim was burnt all over her body.

The news was reported in a local newspaper.
Someone started the fire in Rahimahs house.
The mother was buying food at the sundry shop.

Task : With a partner use the text below to create 3 multiple

choice questions.

This is a story of a special four-year-old girl Loke Kim Hee who wants to follow
her neighbours children to the nearby kindergarten. But she can only do so if
she undergoes a hole-in-heart surgery.
Kim Hee suffers from a heart problem from birth. Her condition was
detected when she was two weeks old. According to her mother, Lee Sook
Fong, her daughters condition is getting worse. She is often short of breath
and her fingernails are now slightly blue. Kim Hee needs to undergo a
corrective heart surgery to close the hole in her heart as soon as possible. But
Sook Foong who earns RM800 a month as a seamstress is unable to raise the
RM56 000 needed for the operation. Sook Foong is appealing for donations
from the public so that her daughter can lead a normal life. Those who wish to
donate can do so by sending crossed cheques, money order or postal order
payable to New World Publishing, 48 Jalan Murni, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.
Please write Kim Hees Fund on the reverse side of your cheque.
Taken from Tan et al. World of English Easy Link, 2004

Text completion

This form of assessment requires the learners to understand of the content of the
stimulus. The pupil may be expected to complete the sentence with a word, a phrase
or a sentence. It might test the learners overall comprehension of the stimulus,
specific area or the learners attitudes, beliefs, motivations, or other mental states.
Example 1
Read the short dialogue and complete the sentence.
Lisa : Do you want to go cycling with me after school?
Devi : No I cant. I dont really like that form of exercise.
Devi does not enjoy _______________ .

117

Example 2
Read the text and complete the sentences that follow.
Beauties in charity car wash
Penang: Eighteen young ladies taking part in the Miss Teen Princess 2001
converged at the car park of the Tanjung Pinang Shopping Complex for a
charity car wash which raised RM2,300.
The event, which was jointly organized by the RodaAct Club and the
management of the Tanjung Pinang Shopping Complex, was to raise funds
for the Handicapped Children Welfare Society and the Bakti Orphanage.
Taken from Tan et al. World of English Easy Link, 2005

1. The main purpose of the car wash was ____________________________ .

2. ________________ and _______________ benefitted from the proceeds of
this event.

Example 3
Read the following advertisement and complete the sentences that follow.
Write one word or phrase in each space.
New Vogue Theatre
Forthcoming Attractions
Monday 8 January for 2 weeks
MY FAT FRIEND
Charles Lawrences popular comedy
^^^
Wednesday, 24 January
Saturday, 27 January
Shanghai Festival Ballet
Presents
SWAN LAKE
^^^
Monday, 29 January for one week only
Tim Danbys thrilling mystery
RUN AND KILL

118

1. The Shanghai Festival ballet will perform on ________________ evenings.

2. ______________will be the most amusing play.
3. If you like dancing, you should see_________________.
4. The Shanghai Festival ballet will perform on ________________ evenings.
5. ______________will be the most amusing play.
6. If you like dancing, you should see_________________.
7. The play written by _________________ is very exciting.

Task : Use the theatre advertisement to create four text

completion questions below.

119

Example:
The Shanghai Festival ballet will present ______________.
1.
2.
3.
4.

120

Cloze Test

In cloze tests, the words are deleted systematically. The interval at which words are
deleted is usually between every fifth and every ninth word. However, if every
seventh word has been deleted in the first few sentences, then every seventh word
must be deleted for the rest of the text. The most common purpose of the cloze test
is to measure reading comprehension. When designing a cloze text, always leave the
first sentence intact to introduce the context. This text can be turned into a multiple
choice question.
The example below uses the 7th word deletion.
Slowly the train pulled out of the station and disappeared around the corner
taking Swee Ching along to pursue her dreams.
I was glad to send Swee Ching off. It had been her burning desire to
continue her (1) _____after she completed her Form Five. But (2) ____ had
not been kind to her.
As soon as she had finished her SPM, she enrolled at a private (3)
____ to study accountancy. Unfortunately her (4) ____ were shattered midway when both her (5) ____ were killed in a road accident.
Taken from Tan & Tan, PMR Kertas Model Cabaran Bahasa Inggeris 2000

Task : Using the text below, create YOUR own version of a cloze
test based on every fifth or ninth word deletion. Be sure to
include an answer key
Slowly the train pulled out of the station and disappeared around the
corner taking Swee Ching along to pursue her dreams.
I was glad to send Swee Ching off. It had been her burning desire to
continue her studies after she completed her Form Five. But fate had not been
kind to her.
As soon as he had finished her SPM, she enrolled at a private college to
study accountancy. Unfortunately her dreams were shattered midway when both
her parents
were killed in a road accident.
Cloze
Test Answers
Left alone with two younger sisters, Swee Ching had to find a job to
support them and herself. She worked hard at an office during the day and
helped out at a noodle stall at night. She was determined to see her two sisters
complete their education. Whenever she could, she would read her accountancy
notes to keep in touch with her studies.
Ten years has gone by. Both her sisters have graduated from universities
and are successful in their careers. It is time to pursue her dreams, and pick up
from where she left off.
Swee Ching has just left for Penang to enroll at a private college. She will
begin her paper chase continuing from where she left off ten years ago.
121

Open ended questions

This type of question should tests a whole range of reading comprehension skills. It
may range from identifying main ideas, supporting details, inferring skills, cause and
effect to the pupils personal reaction or interpretation of the text.
Example
Read the text and answer the questions that follow.
Late one evening Sarah saw a mouse running into the cupboard in the kitchen.
She wanted to catch the mouse. So she looked for a mouse trap and some food.
She found the trap but she couldnt find anything to put inside it. It was late and
all the shops were closed. So Sarah drew a picture of some cheese and put it in
the trap.
The next morning the picture of the cheese was gone but there was another
picture. The picture showed a mouse.
Why did Sarah need to catch the mouse?

What word would you use to describe the mouse in the story? Why?

True/False questions

When we construct such a test we must be sure that our statement is clearly true or
false and not partly true and partly false. To make the test more challenging we do
not lift (copy and paste) statements from the text. This is to ensure that pupils do not
merely match the words of the statements with the words of the text. We should
paraphrase clearly, otherwise pupils can answer with the correct item without
understanding the text. Also there should be more true statements than false ones.

122

Example
Read the text and answer the questions that follow. Put a tick () in the right
column, T for true and F for false.
It is often easy to recognize Muslim countries because of their beautiful buildings. These
often have domes, arches and minarets with decorations on them.
There are no priest in Islam. An imam leads the prayers. Worshippers stand in rows and
follow the movements of the imam. They all face the direction of Mecca.
Most mosques have a minaret, a tall slender tower. The call to prayer is made from this
tower. Once the minaret was also used to act as a lighthouse to guide travellers in the
dark.
True

False

1. Domes, minarets and arches are beautiful

parts of Muslim buildings.
2. An imam is a Muslim priest.
3. The call to prayer is made from the
minaret.
4. Minarets no longer act as lighthouses.
Answer key:
1. T
2. F
3. T
4. T

That is a brief introduction on the two types of commonly used tests to assess pupils
reading comprehension: discrete feature tests and holistic tests.
Next, we move on to an important section that we need to adhere to when designing
tests.

123

Designing test questions

What should we test? How should we test? What types of test should we administer
and what levels of thinking should our questions be? These are important questions
we have to ask ourselves so that our questions have validity and reliability.
The Table of Specifications is essentially a blueprint for designing reading test. As
the name implies, it specifies the content of the test. Its basic purpose is to ensure
that all intended outcomes are measured and that the test includes the appropriate
number of items for each measured item.
The table of specifications allows the test objectives to be identified quickly and
explains the reading skills, context and level to be tested in the reading classroom. 9
Below is an example of a table of specifications for testing the reading skill.
Section
A

Skill
Reading for main
ideas

Format

No. of Items

Marks
10

5
MCQ

Reading for
details
B

Reading to make
inferences

5
open
ended

10

By looking at the Table of Specification, we can tell that this test is made up of two
sections and each section carries ten marks. Then the two sections test different
reading skills and the types of questions will also vary. There will be 15 questions all
together in this test.
The table above is a very simple Table of Specification. In more comprehensive ones,
you may find the levels of thinking order questions specified, whereby there will be a
spread from lower order to higher order thinking questions and the number for each
item specified. The scope of the questions may also be determined.

Ridwan Mohamed OSMAN (2012). Educational evaluation and testing. African Virtual University, downloaded from the World
Wide Web August 2012.

124

Task : My table of test specifications

You are asked to prepare questions for a monthly test for the reading section in your
school:

Draw a table of test specifications.

Come up with the objective of reading items that you seek to test.

Be sure that your test items correspond to the table of specifications that
you have set.

This ends the section on designing questions using discrete feature test and holistic
testing.
The following section is an example of an assessment which may be used informally
and as a formative type of assessment that can be utilized in the primary school
classroom. It is essential that the teacher adapts and organizes these suggested
activities so that they are appropriate to the second language reading and vocabulary
level of pupils in their classroom.

Five Reading Powers

The Five Reading Powers is a type of holistic and formative assessment to be used
after the pupils have become familiar with reading comprehension strategies taught.
Here, the pupils are to apply metacognition skills to their reading.
According to Gear (2011) in order for our pupils to become better readers they must
first become better thinkers. The Reading Powers teach pupils not what to think
rather how to think. The Reading Power approach respects pupils thinking by
teaching them that their thoughts, their connections, their images, their questions,
and their insights are the most important things when it comes to constructing
meaning in reading. By teaching pupils that reading is not just words on a page, but
about our thinking, feeling, and imaginations we can bring those words and books to
life in our lives. For teachers, the Reading Power templates provide the language

125

and format for pupils to learn how to think and talk about their experience with
reading, all of which inspires pupils intrinsic motivation and metacognition in our
reading classroom.
Using the five Reading Powers10
Below is an excellent example to have pupil practice using metacognitive strategies
while they read. The reading powers include five critical moments of metacognition:
1. Connect: What does this story remind me of?
The ability to make connections between the story they are reading and their own life
experiences. This increases what they know and allows them to assemble new
information in a logical way.
2. Question: What am I wondering about this story?
The ability to ask both literal and deep thinking questions while they read allows
pupils to explore the story, deepen meaning, comprehension and enhance the
learning experience.
3. Visualize: What pictures can I make in my head from this story?
The ability to use words in a text to create mental images, or a movie in the mind
while they read.
4. Infer: What am I thinking about this story that isnt actually written?
The ability to look for clues within the text and picture them while they read and to
use these clues to fill in what is not written directly in the text.
5. Transform: How has my thinking changed because of this story?
The understanding that books have the capability of transforming the way they view
themselves, others, and the world; the ability to identify the things in a book that
matters most to them.
10

This section has been adapted from Adrienne Gears book: Reading Power, chapter 8, page 115.

126

Lower proficiency pupils and the five Reading Powers

The five Reading Powers are designed to teach metacognition skills to pupils with an
already well-developed lexicon of English vocabulary and reading proficiency skills.
For pupils with a lower proficiency, the teacher may decide to initially introduce only
ONE or TWO of the reading powers in class. For instance, over the course of one
month, the teacher may focus on two reading powers: making connections and
asking questions.
Two months later, the reading class can use four reading powers: making
connections, asking questions, visualization and inferences. In the third month, the
pupils focus on integrating the five reading powers: making connections, asking
questions, visualization, inferences and transformation of thought. In this way, the
pupil with lower proficiency can develop the five reading powers over time and not
feel overwhelmed with the number of new skills to be learned during the English
class. It is critical that teachers be sensitive to their pupils needs to implement the
Reading Powers strategy effectively.

Reading Powers Questionnaire

The following questionnaire is a good indicator for teachers to determine if your
pupils have developed on awareness of their thinking and metacognition. Secondly,
you can adapt and hand out this questionnaire in class with your pupils as a form of
self-assessment of their own reading skills (powers). The questionnaire will provide
you with insight to guide your teaching, and will help you establish which strategies
you may need to focus on. For example, if most of your class is regularly making
connections, then you may not need to spend much time on the connection strategy.

127

Reading Powers Questionnaire

1. What parts of the body do you use when you read?
2. What things did you need to learn in order for you to be able to read?
(E.g: I need to know the alphabet)
Circle the best answer for you:
1. When I read, I make connections between what I am reading and my own
experiences, other books and the world around me.
Always

Often

Sometimes

Never

2. While I am reading, I ask myself questions about the story.

Always

Often

Sometimes

Never

3. While Im reading, I make pictures in my head about what is happening in the

story.
Always

Often

Sometimes

Never

4. While Im reading, I fill in words or pictures in my head that the author didnt
include.
Always

Often

Sometimes

Never

5. While Im reading, my ideas, thoughts, and opinions about what Im reading

will change.
Always

Often

Sometimes

128

Never

Assessment of Reading Powers

In order to engage in a formal assessment of each of the reading powers, the teacher
can use the Comprehension Assessment. This can be used as an individual
interview with each pupil after a strategy is taught, or as a whole-class assessment.
You may want to choose one story to read aloud and then have the pupils write their
responses. For lower primary pupils, you may need to read the questions aloud and
leave time in between for the pupils to write their responses.

129

Comprehension Assessment
Name:

Grade:

Book:

Date:

Reading Power
Connect

Question
Can you tell what connecting is?
Can you tell me some different ways you
can make a connection (thinking feeling,
prior knowledge)
Give me an example of a connection you

Question

made to this story.

Can you tell me the difference between a
quick question and a deep-thinking
question? Give me an example of each
from this story and then try to answer

Visualize

them.
Can you tell me what visualization is?
Can you tell me about a part in this story
where you visualized? Tell me about
some other senses you used besides

Infer

what you saw.

Can you tell me what inferring is? What
are you doing when you infer? What
things help you to infer? Give me an
example of inferring from this story. Give
me a maybe thought you had on this

Transform

page.
Can you tell me what transforming is?
When does thinking change when you
are reading? Give me an example of
how your thinking. changed when you
read this story.

130

Pupils Response

The Reading Power criteria enclosed on the next page outlines a five-point scale that
ranges from Exceeding to Not Yet Meeting levels of achievement according to the
reading powers comprehension strategies. This will also help you determine what
level pupils are reading at in your classroom

131

Reading Powers Rubric

Exceeds

C
O
N
N
E
C
T

- fully understand
the strategy of
connecting to text
and how to use
these personal
connections
cognitively, orally
and in written form
to enhance
understanding of
what he/she is
reading

Fully Meets

Meets

Minimally Meets

Not yet Meeting

- understand the
strategy of connecting to
text, and is easily able
to make personal
connections to the
stories he/she is reading
to enhance his/her
understanding

- is learning how to make

personal connections
with the text his/she is
reading in order to make
better sense of the story;
can express simple
connections orally and in
written form with no
prompting

- has been introduced to

the during-reading strategy
of connecting to text and is
beginning to understand
how connections can help
enhance understanding of
the story; can make a
connection when
prompted, but it is not
always meaningful to the
story.

- is not yet able to make (or

requires support when
making) personal
connections to stories
he/she is reading in order
to better understand the
text.

- connects to self, other

text, and the world with
prompting.

- makes connections that

are relevant and enhance
comprehension

- connects to self,
other text, and the
world without
prompting.

132

- makes connections that

may be more literal than
inferential

Q
U
E
S
T
I
O
N

V
I
S
U
A
L
I
S
E

- is easily able to
ask him/herself
thoughtful
questions, both
literal and deep
thinking, during the
reading process,
and understand fully
how these
questions, answered
or not, can lead to a
greater
understanding of the
text

- is able to ask
thoughtful questions
during the reading
process, and
understands how the
process of asking and
answering questions
while reading can help
him/her better
understand the text
evidence of both literal
and inferential (deepthinking) questioning is
present

- is learning the strategy

of asking him/herself
questions while reading,
and is demonstrating a
beginning understanding
of how the answers to
these questions can help
enhance understanding
of the text; questions are
generally literal with
some evidence of
inferential

- is learning to ask
him/herself simple
questions about the story
he/she is reading, and
demonstrates minimal
understanding of how this
strategy can be used to
enhance comprehension of
the text

- is not yet able to ask

him/herself questions
about a test while reading,
nor to demonstrate an
understanding of how this
reading strategy may help
him/her understand the
text better

- can easily and

naturally combine
the words in a text
with his/her won
background
knowledge to create
mental images while
reading, as
demonstrated in
both oral, written
and drawn
responses.

- is able to use the

words in a text to create
mental images while
reading, demonstrates
this in both written and
drawn responses
-incorporates some of
the senses to mental
images
-fully understands how
visualizing while reading
can help to enhance

- is learning to use the

words in a text to create
mental images while
reading and is attempting
to use this strategy while
reading independently as
demonstrated by oral,
written and drawn
responses
-attempts to incorporate
more than one sense
when visualizing.

- is beginning to use the

words in a text to create a
movie in the mind while
reading, and demonstrates
a beginning understanding
of this strategy as
demonstrated in oral and
drawn responses
-is not yet able to utilize
more than one sense
unless prompted

- is not demonstrating
competence or
understanding of
visualizing
(creating mental images of
what is happening in a
story while reading) unless
there are pictures or
illustrations to support
him/her

133

I
N
F
E
R

-is easily able to

incorporate the
senses to mental
images
-fully understands
that visualizing while
reading will help
enhance
comprehension and
bring reading to life

understanding of the
text

- demonstrates
complete
understanding of the
difference between
a fact and an
inference. While
reading, is
competent in looking
for clues within the
text and pictures,
and combines these
clues with his/her
own background
knowledge to help
fill in and interpret
the text

- understands the
difference between fact
(something that is
written explicitly in the
text) and an inference
(something that is
implied in the text);
while reading, is able to
look for clues in the text
and in pictures and is
learning to infer
meaning form them by
reasons with I think
or Maybe

- is beginning to
demonstrate an
understanding of the
difference between fact
and an inference, and is
learning how to look for
clues in both pictures and
text what will help him/her
to make these inferences
and make better sense of
the text.

134

- demonstrates a
beginning understanding of
what an inference is and,
with support is learning to
look for clues within the
text and pictures to help
him/her make these
inferences.

- has difficulty
distinguishing the
difference between a fact
something that is written
explicitly in the text) and an
inference (something that
is implied in the text) and is
not yet able to make
inferences indepentlty
while reading

T
R
A
N
S
F
O
R
M

- understands fully
that books have the
ability to change the
way we think about
ourselves and our
world, and is able to
look beyond the
pages of the text
towards the
implications and
affects the book
may have on his/her
own life as
demonstrated in
written and oral
responses.

- understands that
books have the ability to
change the way we
think about ourselves
and our world, and is
able to look for and
identify things in a book
that matter most to
him/her as
demonstrated in written
responses.

- is learning that a story

has the power to change
the way we think about
ourselves , others, and
the world around us and
is learning to identify
things in a book that
matter most to him/her

135

- is demonstrating minimal
understanding of what it
means to be transformed
by a book and, with
teacher support, is learning
to identify important issues
in books that may change
the way he/she thinks.

- is not yet demonstrating

an understanding of
Transform, and is unable
to identify important issues
in books which may
change the way one might
view themselves or the
world.

Task: Read the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and
complete the Reading Power chart sheet

136

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks. She went for a
walk in the forest. Pretty soon, she came upon a house. She knocked and,
when no one answered, she walked right in.
At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks
was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.
"This porridge is too hot!" she exclaimed. So, she tasted the porridge from
the second bowl.
"This porridge is too cold," she said. So, she tasted the last bowl of
porridge.
"Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said happily and she ate it all up.
After she'd eaten the three bears' breakfasts she decided she was feeling a
little tired. So, she walked into the living room where she saw three chairs.
Goldilocks sat in the first chair to rest her feet.
"This chair is too big!" she exclaimed. So she sat in the second chair.
"This chair is too big, too!" she whined. So she tried the last and smallest
chair. "Ahhh, this chair is just right," she sighed. But just as she settled
down into the chair to rest, it broke into pieces!
Goldilocks was very tired by this time, so she went upstairs to the bedroom.
She lay down in the first bed, but it was too hard. Then she lay in the second
bed, but it was too soft. Then she lay down in the third bed and it was just
right. Goldilocks fell asleep.
As she was sleeping, the three bears came home.
"Someone's been eating my porridge," growled Papa bear.
"Someone's been eating my porridge," said Mama bear.
"Someone's been eating my porridge and they ate it all up!" cried Baby bear.
"Someone's been sitting in my chair," growled Papa bear.
"Someone's been sitting in my chair," said Mama bear.
"Someone's been sitting in my chair and they've broken it all to pieces,"
cried Baby bear.
They decided to look around some more and when they got upstairs to the
bedroom, Papa bear growled, "Someone's been sleeping in my bed,"
"Someone's been sleeping in my bed, too" said Mama bear
"Someone's been sleeping in my bed and she's still there!" exclaimed Baby
bear.
Just then, Goldilocks woke up and saw the three bears. She screamed,
137
"Help!" And she jumped up and ran out of the room. Goldilocks ran down
the stairs, opened the door, and ran away into the forest. And she never
returned to the home of the three bears.

Reading Power Chart Sheet

Name:
Title:

Date:
Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Author: Robert Southey (1837)

1. My connections
What does this story remind me of?

2. My questions
What do I like about this story?

3. What I visualized

4. Inferences

What pictures can I make in my head

What am I thinking about this story that

from this story?

isnt actually written?

What pictures can I imagine and draw

from this story?

5. Transformed thought:
How has my thinking changed because of this story?

Reference
138

Gear, A. 2006. Reading Power. Pembrook Publishers: Markham, Ontario Canada.

website address: http://www.readingpowergear.com/
Goldilocks and the Three Bears story downloaded from the World Wide Web:
http://www.dltk-teach.com/p.asp?b=m&p=http://www.dltkteach.com/rhymes/pgoldilocks_story.asp July 31, 2012.
Osman, Ridwan Mohamed. (2012). Educational evaluation and testing. African
Virtual University, www.out.ac.tz/avu/images/.../EDUCATIONAL-EVALUATION.pdf.
Downloaded from the World Wide Web August 2, 2012.
Tan, L. S. & Tan, P.L.. 2000. PMR kertas model cabaran Bahasa Inggeris. Petaling
Jaya: Longman.
Tan, P.L., Chung, A. & Lee, A. 2004. World of English Easy Link Form 5. Petaling
Jaya: Pearson Longman.
Tan, P.L., Ng, A. & Da Costa, D. 2005. Reference PMR text series English Form 1, 2
& 3. Petaling Jaya: Pearson Longman.

139

140

Appendix
Grade 4: Pupils sample
Name: John Doe

Title: The Teddy Bear

Author: David Harpy

Connect (prior knowledge)

Question ( I want to know)

-This story reminds me of:

-of my cozy home

If the family had got every thing

how could they forget it

-of my brothers Pokeman toy

-of my lost Charzard toy

Why did the old man keep the

teddy bear?

-of when I lost a special toy and I bought

new toys

Why did the old man cry for the

teddy bear?

Why did the boy handover the

bear?

Visualize (my picture of the story)

Infer
I think that the author is telling us not to
forget special things and special toys.

My transformed thought (reflection: after reading the story to completion)

From the story I learned that I should take care of my special toys like a teddy bear.

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Topic 7

Enrichment and Remedial Reading Activities

Synopsis
This topic looks at the activities at the two extreme ends of a reading
continuumremedial and enrichment. The differences between these two
stages of reading development will be discussed. They will be followed by
some techniques or strategies that can be used to address these two areas.
Sample activities for remedial and enrichment are provided.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this unit, you will be able to
1. make a distinction between enrichment and remedial reading
2. design activities suitable for enrichment and remedial reading.

Framework of module
Reading development
continuum

Able readers

Remedial
readers

Remedial Reading Intervention

Reading difficulties are common in our schools. This problem is not only confined to
rural schools but is visibly present among schools in the urban areas. There are
instances where more than half of the pupils in these schools cannot read and
understand grade-level text at the basic level. What is the cause for the low literacy
level and how can it be addressed?

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Among the possible reasons for children not being able to read at their level are the
class ratio, too many children in the class which affects the personal attention the
teacher can provide, and the pace of the instruction which is too rapid for children to
achieve mastery of skills presented. These two problems intertwine and inevitably
affect the childrens performance in reading. There is also the possibility of the child
being dyslexic. Reading difficulties should be addressed as soon as a teacher
recognises that a child is lagging behind others in his reading development. Unless
these children receive high-quality instruction and intervention, early reading
problems often develop into serious reading difficulties later on (Stanovich, 1986).
Even with dyslexic children, with specialized help, they can lead to marked
improvement in reading and understanding.

How do we identify remedial readers?

Remedial readers typically read at levels below their peers. They have a limited
vocabulary and few internalized strategic reading skills.
Run an informal reading assessment yourself to pick out pupils with reading
difficulties. You may begin with asking the pupil to read aloud the text as you note
such things as the pupil's application of decoding skills, fluency, and reading rate. Ask
a few carefully chosen recall and inference questions to assess comprehension.
Using the information gathered can assist you in determining the needs of the reader
and planning the strategies you can use to help them.

How do we help these children then?

Using a quality classroom reading instruction with certain research-validated
characteristics can make a big difference for struggling readers. These instructions
should encompassed some, if not all of the following criteria suggested by Denton,
2007 .

teach essential skills and strategies

provide differentiated instruction based on assessment results and adapt
instruction to meet pupils' needs
provide explicit and systematic instruction with lots of practicewith and
without teacher support and feedback, and including cumulative practice over
time.
provide opportunities to apply skills and strategies in reading and writing
meaningful text with teacher support.
don't just "cover" critical content; be sure pupils learn itmonitor pupil
progress regularly and reteach as necessary.

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The above recommendations should be heeded for the success of any remedial
programme. However, one very essential element that should not be overlooked is
time. Sufficient time needs to be allotted for remedial reading intervention. A minimum
of 60 minutes per day, throughout the school year are necessary for most remedial
pupils to make significant progress (Pennington, 2009).

Putting theory into practice: techniques for helping remedial readers

The following pointers are key notes taken from Gagen (2007). For a more detail and
comprehensive version, kindly refer to the link provided in the reference.

1.

Teach All Skills Directly

Always explicitly teach the pupil exactly what they need to know. Direct instruction
helps ensure the pupil learns all necessary skills. There is no point in carrying out
indirect, analytical or incidental approaches because they have failed the first time
around. Teaching directly maximises effectiveness and efficiency of all reading skills.
Never leave it to chance for a pupil to discover essential elements on his own. They
cant!
2. Teach In a Systematic Manner
Present information in a deliberate, pre-planned carefully controlled manner. This
step-by-step instruction allows the pupil time to practice and master individual skills
before additional information and complexities are taught. Start simple. Introduce
new skills and knowledge a bit at a time, adding complexity as the pupil learns.
Systematic presentation helps pupils manage and master the complexities of the
English language. A carefully designed program that directly teaches the complete
code and progressively builds skills and knowledge in a direct systematic manner
prevents chaos and confusion. Also, systematic presentation helps the pupil make
sense of our complex written language.

3. Always Provide Immediate Correction

Do not allow the pupil to learn or practice skills incorrectly. Immediate correction is
especially critical in remediation. Correction is necessary to help the pupil extinguish
incorrect approaches and develop necessary skills. It is always easier to learn the
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correct way than to try and unlearn incorrect habits. If the pupil can not correct
himself, or does not understand then you need to teach them the skill they are
lacking. As the teacher, it is your job to ensure the pupil is learning correctly.
Correction is NOT a negative action but rather a positive opportunity to help the pupil
learn correctly.
4. Develop Phonemic Awareness
Directly develop phonemic awareness skills. Although some children and adults have
a definite natural phonological weakness, phonemic awareness (PA) can be taught
and learned. The scientific evidence proves that PA instruction has a significant
positive effect on both reading and spelling. Directly teach pupils how to hear,
recognize and manipulate sounds within words. To maximize effectiveness the
program needs to directly link the phonemic awareness skills to print. When
remediating older pupils it is particularly important not only to develop PA but to link
these oral PA skills directly to the printed phonemic code.

5. Develop and Engrain Proper Tracking

It is essential the pupil develops and engrains proper directional tracking where they
process letters in order from left to right. It is especially important to directly teach
and emphasize proper directional tracking to remedial readers. Many struggling
readers make frequent tracking errors. They try to look at all the letters at once or
hop around searching for words or portions of words they recognize. Overcoming
these incorrect strategies requires direct work on proper tracking skills. Physical
pointing, with either the finger or other pointer, is a highly effective way to directly
teach this critical skill. The multisensory benefits of having the pupil physically move
their finger or pointer (kinetic motion) develops and engrains this essential subskill.
Especially in remediation, you need to ensure the pupil processes all the letters in a
word in order from left to right. Teach this essential skill until proper tracking is
automatic.

6. Teach Smooth Blending

The skill of smoothly blending individual sounds together into words is critical. The
pupil needs to learn how to say the sounds smoothly without pausing between the
sounds. The instructor needs to always demonstrate the correct blending technique
of not pausing between the sounds. Choppy/segmented sounding out makes it very
difficult for some pupils to push the sounds back together into a word. They might
know all the individual sounds but by the time they get to the end of the word with
separated choppy sounding out, they forget what sounds they just said or add in
extra sounds when they try to put them all together. If the pupil keeps the sounds
smoothly hooked together, the word doesnt fall apart. If the pupil has any difficulty
with this essential skill, it is important to directly teach smooth blending.
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7. Teach the Complete Phonetic Code

Teach the complete phonetic code. It is essential to teach the complete code
necessary to master our phonemic based written English language. This includes
teaching: the sounds written with more than one letter (/th/ /sh/ /ch/ /oy/..); the
multiple sounds for the vowels (o=/o/, /oa/ and /u/); the numerous vowelcombinations (ee, ea, oa, oi, ai, ou); the multiple sounds for certain
letters/combinations of letters ( s = /s/ in sit & /z/ in has); the r-controlled vowel
combinations (ar, or, ir, ur, air, earetc) and other complexities (ph=/f/).
The pupil must have knowledge of the direct print to sound relationship. The pupil
needs to look at the black printed letter(s) and immediately and directly know and
process the correct sound. Teaching activities should establish this direct accurate
print = correct sound efficient processing. The sound knowledge needs to be direct,
automatic, and phonetically correct print to sound.
8. Use Targeted Multisensory Processes
Multisensory processes refer to utilizing the different senses to aid learning. The
general concept is we learn and remember more when we involve multiple senses
including visual processes (pictures, seeing images), auditory/oral processes
(listening and talking), and physical/kinetic processes (motion, hands on, doing).
Effective multisensory activities directly teach correct directional tracking, develop
phonemic awareness, create a direct and automatic link between print and sound,
teach smooth blending, and establish correct proficient phonologic processing. It is
not the multisensory process itself but the application of these multi-sensory
processes to the development of specific skills that is key to enhanced learning.
For instance, an effective multisensory instructional activity is having the pupil write
the printed letter while saying the sound. This simple action directly links the motion
of forming the printed letter (kinetic), image of the completed letter (visual) to saying
and hearing the correct sound (auditory). This targeted application and integration of
the multisensory processes is highly effective in helping the pupil learn the necessary
skill.
Multi-sensory activities are effective tools in helping pupils learn to read. However,
these activities must be carefully designed and targeted to directly teach and
reinforce the skill/knowledge necessary for proficient reading. While pupils may
naturally have specific learning strengths and weaknesses, proficient reading
requires the development of phonologic processing pathways. Effective reading
programs use a variety of carefully designed and targeted multi-sensory activities to
directly teach and develop the skills necessary for proficient reading.

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9. Emphasize Attention to Detail

To read proficiently, the pupil needs to learn to pay attention to detail. Teach the pupil
to carefully look at all the sounds within a word and stop him immediately if he skips
details. This emphasis on attention to detail is especially important with reading
remediation as you need to extinguish the old habit of not looking at all the details
and replace it with the careful attention to detail. Proper tracking is also intertwined
into the attention to detail skill. An effective remediation program should be designed
to directly teach, develop and reinforce this critical skill that is essential for skilled
reading.

10. Develop Phonologic Processing (Use a Direct Systematic Phonics

Approach)
The pupil needs to learn to read by using phonologic processing. The most effective
way to ensure pupils convert print to sound and develop the phonologic processing
necessary for proficient reading is to teach them with a strong phonics.
Directly teach pupils to convert letters into sounds and blend these sounds into
words.
Remediation is not only teaching the correct skills but also helping the pupil
overcome old incorrect habits. By design, remediation programs need to ensure the
pupil develops and uses correct techniques. Teaching strategies must also prevent
the use of incorrect strategies. Remember phonologic processing is more than
knowing the sounds. Efficient phonologic processing requires integration of direct
knowledge of the complete phonemic code, proper directional tracking, smooth
blending, and attention to detail.

11. Ensure Phonologic Processing - Avoid Sight/Whole Word Reading

It is important to avoid teaching a sight word approach where the pupil learns to
read by trying to recognize what whole words look like. Many pupils who struggle
with reading have adopted this incorrect whole word visual word recognition
strategy. Remediation must focus on eliminating this detrimental habit of trying to
visually recognize the entire word.
A whole word approach to reading fails because there are too many words and
words are too similar to learn by overall visual appearance. Initially, a simple short
list can be successfully read by whole word strategies and guessing. However, as
vocabulary expands visually similar words are encountered. The pupil who has
adopted a whole word reading strategy is certain to fail. Not only are there absolutely
too many words but words are too visually similar. A child starts school with
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something like a 24,000 word speaking and listening vocabulary. His vocabulary is up
above 40,000 by 3rd grade. It is impossible to learn such an extensive vocabulary
visually as whole words. Remember, only 26 letters make up all those words. To read
proficiently, the pupil must look at each and every letter in order and process it
phonologically.

12. Teach Phonetically Accurate Representations of Print - Avoid teaching

word families as unique units
Use phonetically accurate representations of print. Avoid teaching with inaccurate
representations of print such as word families (at, ig, it, am & the hundreds of other
possibilities) and as unique letter/sound units. There is no need to do this. All it does
is add hundreds of additional combinations for the pupil to learn. Teach the necessary
single sounds and blending skills and the pupil can then read all possible
combinations.
It is simpler, more effective and prevents potential reading problems to teach pupils
the necessary sounds and develop phonemic awareness and blending skills so they
are able to combine any letters. Pupils often do need direct practice the blended
consonants sounds as individual sounds within these consonant clusters are more
difficult to distinguish. For example, many children hear the first sound of grip as /gr/
instead of /g/. These pupils need to develop phonemic awareness to distinguish the
separate sounds. Always teach the blended consonants as processing and blending
of the individual sounds NOT by learning cluster units. For example, teach flap as
blending /f/ /l/ /a/ /p/ NOT /fl/ /a/ /p/. Same with the common word families; teach the
blending of sounds /s/ /a/ /t/ NOT /s/ /at/.
Word families and blended consonant clusters are an inaccurate representation of
our language. From the very beginning, we need to teach pupils to carefully process
at all the letters in order by sound.

13. Guided Oral Reading is Essential

Guided reading is reading aloud to an adult, or other proficient reader, with feedback.
This is NOT independent silent reading. The key part is guided. Correction and
instruction helps the pupil learn and improve skills. The validated research shows
guided reading aloud has significant beneficial impact on word recognition, fluency
and comprehension across a range of grade levels. Guided reading benefits both
good and struggling readers.
Guided reading has a significant beneficial impact on developing reading skills and
should be a part of reading instructional programs. Guided reading is particularly
important tool in remediating struggling readers. Guided reading also is the ideal time
to help pupils develop higher level skills in comprehension.

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14. Develop Fluency

Fluency is the fast or automatic reading where words appear to be almost instantly
recognized. Fluent readers read quickly and accurately without effort. Fluency is the
objective for phonologic decoding. The critical information to keep in mind for
effective reading instruction is that fluency or fast reading is developed word by word
based on repeated accurate phonologic processing of specific words. To build
fluency, we first have to be sure the pupil is reading by correct, accurate phonologic
processing (sounding out the word correctly). This foundation of correct phonologic
processing is mandatory in order for the pupil to develop fluency. Pupils do not
become fluent readers overnight but rather build fluency word-by-word over time.
With repeated practice correctly reading individual words, the pupil adds to their
storehouse of fast/fluent words. Effective tools to directly build fluency include
guided oral reading and a program of spelling/writing words by sound.

15. Teach Strategies for Handling Multisyllable Words

The majority of English words are multisyllable so it is critical to read them effectively.
It is more difficult to process multisyllable words. It requires more advanced
strategies and techniques than decoding simple one and two syllable words. Many
struggling readers have difficulty with multisyllable words. A remediation program
should include both direct instruction and guided practice in handling multisyllable
words. Direct practice with common affixes is also effective in helping pupils learn
how to handle multisyllable words. If conducted correctly, spelling can be used as an
effective tool for learning how to process these longer words.

16. Expand Vocabulary Knowledge

Expanding a pupils vocabulary knowledge is important to reading development.
Vocabulary instruction leads to gains in comprehension. A comprehensive reading
program needs to include vocabulary development. The pupil can acquire vocabulary
both incidentally through exposure and through direct vocabulary instruction.

17. Directly Develop Reading Comprehension Skills

Comprehension is deriving meaning from text. Comprehension is a complex higher
level skill. You can take direct actions to help pupils develop specific comprehension
skills and strategies. While readers acquire some comprehension strategies
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informally, explicit or formal instruction in the application of comprehension

strategies has been shown to be highly effective in enhancing understanding
These strategies help pupils think about, remember and understand what they are
reading. Remember, if the pupil has decoding difficulties you need to first establish
the necessary fundamental decoding skills of proficient phonologic processing.
Otherwise, the difficulty decoding will likely inhibit the development of the more
advanced comprehension. Some pupils have no difficulty decoding but struggle with
comprehension. These pupils need direct instruction in developing comprehension
skills. Remediation programs should include direct instruction in developing
comprehension skills. The majority of comprehension development can be
accomplished as a part of guided reading.

18. Practice reading: Read! Read! Read!

Daily reading is critical. Pupils should read a minimum of 20-30 minutes every day. Of
course, the more reading is better! In learning and remediation stages the majority
of this reading time should be guided reading (reading aloud with feedback). As the
pupils skills develop, their reading will shift primarily to independent silent reading.
Practicing correct reading skills is essential to proficiency.
The following simple rule of thumb can be used to help you determine if a book is
the appropriate reading level for a particular pupil at a certain time and situation:
Independent level: This is material the pupil can read with few errors. If the
pupil is making only a few errors on a page the material is at the independent
level. This easy or independent level is ideal for silent reading.
Instructional level: The learning level material is where the pupil reads with
some errors and skill building. If the pupil is making 4 or more errors per page
the material is considered instructional level and should be read to an adult as
guided reading material. This instructional or learning level is ideal for guided
reading so you can help the pupil develop skills.
Frustration level: This is where the material is too hard. The pupil makes
frequent errors in every paragraph. The reading level is really too advanced for
the pupil. It is best to avoid frustration level material by finding another book. If
frustration level material must be read, it is should be read as guided reading
with assistance.
When a pupil learns to read proficiently, they should be able to read all grade level
material. If grade level material is consistently not appropriate for your pupil,
chances are they are lacking necessary decoding skills and need direct instruction in
developing the necessary phonologic processing skills.

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19.

Share the joy of reading

And as always, share the joy of reading. Reading is wonderful. Pupils have a natural
excitement about reading that can be tapped into. Teaching pupils to read using a
direct systematic phonics program does not preclude enjoyment and excitement with
reading. In fact, it is the ability to read well that removes roadblocks and provides the
route to reading enjoyment. The often quoted observation good readers like to read
and poor readers do not enjoy reading is absolutely true. However, this is a
correlational, not a cause and effect, relationship. This tendency to spend time and
enjoy what we are good at is simply human nature. When pupils learn how to read
they are able to become engaged and excited about reading. This is particularly
evident in pupils who have struggled with reading. Once these pupils learn how to
read there is often a complete 180 change in their attitude toward reading.

Remedial reading activities

Activities for remedial reading are varied depending on the needs of the readers and
their level of proficiency. Activities meant for emergent readers in Year 1 may just as
well be suitable for an emergent reader in a higher year class.
For this reason teachers have to carry out a needs analysis to determine what the
pupil needs and tailor activities to meet that problem. Intervention should not be
delayed because the sooner help is given, the earlier the child will develop the
required skills to read.

The following are some activities that can be carried out to address some of the
reading problems.
a)

To develop phonemic awareness

i)

Tapping syllables

Using different items such as hand clappers, drums, or tennis rackets

you can have children determine the number of syllables in a given
word. For example, you would tap a drum two times for the word
"sister" because it has two syllables. For increased difficulty, tap the
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drum (any number of times) and have your child think of a word that
contains that same number of syllables .

ii)

Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes

Give pupils a word with 1-4 phonemes (sounds). Have them stand up and
touch their head, shoulders, knees, and toes as they are saying the sounds in
words. For example, the word "cat" would be /c/ (head), /a/ (shoulders), and /t/
(knees). A great active, phonemic awareness activity for helping pupils with
segmenting!

iii)

b)

Phoneme Jumping
Place a green, yellow, and red mat on the floor (in that order). Begin by giving
your child a word with 1-3 sounds. Have your child say the sounds they hear
as they jump from mat to mat. For increased difficulty, move the mats so they
are further apart.

To develop fluency

i)

Words per minute partner read

Select two pupils to work together taking turns as the reader and the
listener. Prepare a set of word cards that you have introduced and two labels,
words I can read and words I need practice. Have the pupils place all the
cards they are able to read on the words I can read label and those that they
have trouble reading on the words I need practice label. The listener is
responsible for timing and helping the reader. After one minute, count the
cards and take down the number. Do this 2-4 times. Then change roles.

ii)

Buddy reading

In pairs, pupils read to each other. They receive feedback and guidance
reading appropriate text from their peers. One pupil plays the "reader" and the
other is the "listener". The teacher sets a timer for a desired amount of time

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and after the first trial, the listener provides feedback to the reader. After the
second and third trials, the listener is responsible for checking off the reading
behaviours that the reader demonstrated. NOTE: This reading fluency activity
must be explicitly modelled by the teacher before pupils can do this
independently.

iii)

Prefix and suffix

Help children understand and recognize common prefixes and suffixes

by preparing some prefix and suffix cards. Provide children with
opportunities to locate these in words in texts. Reading fluency activities
that explicitly teach prefixes and suffixes are important for increasing
reading fluency.

Time to put theory into practice

Task 1
Think of the pupils in your class who need remedial intervention. Which of the above
techniques can you use with them? Give your rationale for the choice.

Task 2
Design two activities using any of the techniques above.

Reading for Enrichment

One of the goals of all English language teachers is to develop the reading skill
among those under their charge. Teachers want to develop in the pupils their ability
to understand and make use of what they read and who are motivated to read widely.
What makes good readers different from poor readers?
According to Davis (2007) good readers are metacognitively active when they read.
As they are engaged with the text, they employ various strategies so that they are
aware of what they are doing as they read as well as being in control of their reading
behaviour to overcome problems.
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Good readers draw on their rich background of experiences and knowledge built over
all the years to help them process new information when they are engaged with a
text. These include everything they have done, felt, heard, seen and read throughout
their lives as well as knowledge about how written language works.
Also, good readers are constantly active as they read. They draw on their knowledge
of letter-sound relationships to decode words and develop word-recognition skills.
They develop and enrich their vocabulary repertoire as well as use and continue to
learn new reading comprehension strategies. They develop patterned knowledge,
that is, different genres exhibit different patterns of writing. They learn spelling rules
and patterns. They learn sentence forms and how meanings are derived by way of
how words are arranged. Being constantly and actively engaged with the text good
readers learn to monitor and adjust their use of reading strategies to assist them to
decode meaning from the text. They shift gears when they detect changes and
confront with challenges.
Good readers can recognise many words on sight, but they also work out how to
read new words they have never met before. This is because they are able to make
associations between letters and sounds and blend the sounds to pronounce a word.
So, comprehension requires more than accurate decoding, it also requires wordrecognition fluency.
There is also a clear association between readers core vocabulary knowledge and
their comprehension skills. Learners build a wide vocabulary through repeated
exposure and through instructions that develop their strategies to work out meanings
of words, i.e. by using contextual clues, using meanings of root words, using prefixes
and suffixes, considering synonyms and antonyms, and looking for definitions in
texts.
In short, good readers are good comprehenders who can read fluently. They are able
to process text efficiently and with comprehension. They are able to take control of
and monitor their reading by pacing and adjusting them when met with difficulties or
challenges. They are able to draw accurate and automatic word-recognition skills.
They make use of key strategies to comprehend a text. These key strategies include
making connections with prior knowledge, prediction, visualising, inferencing, selfquestioning, seeking clarifications, summarising, finding the main ideas, analysing,
synthesising, and evaluating.
Good readers draw on these strategies before, during and after reading. These
strategies are often consciously used while they are reading but there are times
when they are used without the readers conscious attention. Good readers selfmonitor when they face difficulty comprehending a text. This means they will use one
or more strategies in rapid succession to overcome the difficulty. In other words, good
readers take appropriate steps to fix comprehension difficulties when they occur.

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Now that we know what good readers do when they interact with a text, lets move on
to how to develop their reading further.

Developing metacognition comprehension strategies

As discussed earlier, good readers use a number of well-developed metacognition
strategies when they read. For this reason these strategies should be further
enhanced through systematic instructions and activities.

Teaching key strategies for word recognition

Word recognition is a critical component in learning to read and text
comprehension. As such, this important skill needs to be taught, enhanced or
further developed among good readers so that they are able to develop their
repertoire of strategies and an awareness of how to use them when they are
faced with new and challenging words when they read.
Davis (2007) suggested the following key strategies to help the able readers
with word recognition skill.

Look at the sounds and letters at the beginning of the word

Look at the sounds and letters in the middle of the word
Break the word into syllables and sound out each syllable
Look for common letter combinations within the word
Look for word family in the word, then check to see if you know a word
that rhymes and that would make sense
Look for a word family in the word, then think of a word you know with
similar spelling pattern
Look at the structure of the word. Do you see a root or base word? A
prefix? A suffix? An ending?
Break the word into syllables. Sound out each syllable and blend the
syllable parts to work out the word.

As these readers draw on these word-recognition strategies, they will need many
opportunities to practise individual strategies. However, a word of caution, teachers
need to be reminded that these strategies are rarely used alone. More often than not,
several strategies are used at one time.
Also, teachers must also take note that too much instruction focusing on word
components may detract from the focus on deriving meaning. So, measure out your
doses of instructions carefullytoo much may not be the best.

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For more able readers, the focus of attention will be to foster a lively interest in and
curiosity about words: where they come from, how they can be build up from parts,
how they sound when spoken aloud, how they look, and how writers can play with
their structure to create humour.
The following activities can be used to develop word recognition skills.

Encourage the readers to keep a record of words they find challenging:

interesting, difficult, or unusual spelling strategies, combinations of letters, or
multiple meanings. They share these with others in the class highlighting the
parts they find interesting and challenging.
Such discussions will lead to increased awareness of words and how words
work and will heighten their understanding of strategies and approaches that
assist word recognition.

We have looked at how to help the learners develop their word recognition skill. Lets
now move on to how to enrich their vocabulary.
Vocabulary building
Increasing the amount of reading that learners do will inevitably increase their
range of vocabulary. Remember, vocabulary needs to be introduced in context
so what is a better way to introduce them if not through reading. Of course,
that is done through pre-reading and sometimes integrated in the reading
comprehension lesson.
Just like developing word recognition skill, many opportunities should be
provided for the learners to use words they have learnt. This will exposed
them to multiple meanings of a word in different contexts.

So, what activities can we design to enhance vocabulary learning among the able
readers? Lets take a look at the activities below.

Predicting vocabulary
-

Link the topic of the text to the learners prior knowledge to help them
predict the likely vocabulary they will find in the text. This is definitely
carried prior to reading the text.

Using contextual clues

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Teach the learners to use context clues to guess the meaning of unfamiliar
words

Developing an understanding of prefixes and suffixes

-

Carry out various activities to help them recognise common prefixes and
suffixes
Use their knowledge of prefixes and suffixes to work out the meanings of
words
Sometimes deliberate teaching of prefixes and suffixes is necessary to
explain their use and how adding them to a word changes the meaning of
the root word and in some cases the word class.

Understanding the new word through role play

-

Role play a conversation using the word

Role play an event where the word is used
For this activities, display a list of words that have been learnt recently. Get
learners to role play the word and other learners to guess the word from
the list.

Investigating vocabulary
-

Provide synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms of words

Provide vocabulary associated with a certain event or sports, for example,
swimming will include swimsuit, swimming trunk, goggles, flippers,
swimmers, bath towel, etc.

Collocation or words that go together

Many English words occur naturally or have common associations, for
example, salt and pepper, fork and spoon, hot and cold, red hot, make an
appointment, make a vow, etc.
Get learners to identify these word associations in the text read.
We have looked at two metacognition skills: word recognition and vocabulary
building. Now, its time for the last of the metacognition skills for reading instruction
comprehension.
Enhancing and developing comprehension

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Good readers use ten key comprehension strategies to derive meaning from
text. The following strategies are not used alone. They all have their own
learning goals.
Making connections to prior knowledge
Readers draw on their schema to help them make sense of new information
before, during and after reading. By relating to prior knowledge, readers use
and adapt the schema to make connections to the text they are reading. This
include their previous experiences with the topic, the text structure, the cultural
knowledge, background and beliefs, their world experiences and as well as
their emotional experiences.
Making predictions
Good readers use prediction to make educated guesses about what will
happen next in the text. They draw upon their prior knowledge, making and
confirming predictions as they make connections between the schema of the
content (knowledge of the topic, text structure, cultural experiences, etc.) with
new information.
As readers move through the text, they test their predictions and monitor their
progress through self questioning and probably revise their predictions as
more information is revealed.

Visualising
As readers read they form visual images of what they have read. Visualising
helps the readers to relate to the characters. They use their five senses to do
that, so they imagine how they look, behave, feel, etc. Visualising helps the
reader make the text come alive. Visualising will help the readers to
understand and remember the text better.
Inferring
Through inferring good readers make a considered guess about the authors
intention. Similar to prediction, the reader draws upon prior knowledge and
contextual clues to gain deeper meaning of the text. This reading between the
lines strategy helps readers to understand that meaning is not always
explicitly mentioned but can be derived through clues provided by the author.
Self questioning
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Readers very often ask questions in their heads as they go through the text to
check their understanding of what they have read. This purposeful questioning
happens before, during and after they read to help them monitor their reading
and check on their understanding.

Seeking clarification
When in doubt, good readers seek assistance. By doing so, they clear
unclogged confusion or matters which they are not sure of. They could also
revisit the section that is confusing, linking what they have read with their prior
knowledge and asking questions to clear their mind. They may also seek out
their friends assistance, consult a secondary source of information (e.g.
dictionary, thesaurus, etc.)
Summarising
This skill allows readers to give a retell of the text picking out the important
information and combining key points into succinct statements. They learn to
differentiate between important information and supporting details. They also
learn to put this essential information in their own words in a language that is
precise and clear.
Identifying main idea
Identifying the main idea of the text can be anything from determining the key
idea, the theme, or the authors message. The main idea may be presented
explicitly and reinforced in various ways. However, it can also be introduced
implicitly which means the reader has to infer, analyse, synthesis or even
evaluate before being able to pick out the main message. Very often the main
idea is closely related to the authors purpose.

Analysing and synthesising

These two metacognitive skills often work simulanteously as the reading
process progresses. Analysing involves the readers examining, questioning
and probing ideas from their point of view while synthesising is about
combining new ideas with existing information to form conclusions about the
meaning of the text. These two skills work in tandem as readers stop and think
about their reading and as they add new information to existing ones. As they
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do so they may make changes that will affect their understanding and form
new conclusions.

Evaluation
Readers make judgements based on their understanding of the text and
knowledge and values. They make judgement of the authors attitude, purpose
and position of the issue brought forth in the text.

Knowing all these metacognition skills will help teachers design suitable reading
activities to further develop and enhance the reading skills among the better readers
in the class.
Below are some examples of activities that teachers can design for able readers to
extend their already well-developed reading skills.

1.

Connecting to prior knowledge

a. spider web
Before the pupils read a passage, ask them to complete a chart about a main
character or main idea in the passage. Then after reading the passage add new
knowledge to the chart with a coloured pen.
e.g.
endangered

dangerous

fierce

attack people

tigerss

have sharp teeth

live in the jungle

yellow with black

stripes

mammal

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perform in
circus

b. In this K-W-L chart, pupils complete the K column before they read, the W
column while reading and the L column after reading.
K
What I already know

2.

TIGERS
W
What I want to find out

L
What I have learnt

Visualising
After reading the text, the reader transfers information on to a graphic
organiser such as a flow chart, timeline and mind map

Timeline most useful for a narrative or time-ordered passage. Here, the

reader charts the events that takes place in the text on to the timeline. Each
event is written at each mark on the timeline.

One day John woke

up late.

3.

He missed his bus.

He forgot to bring
his homework.

He was punished by
his teacher.

He was scolded by
his mother.

Inferring
Using think-aloud approach to teach the readers how to draw inferences from
the text.
For example:
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He was very upset.

He went to bed
without dinner.

Write on the board the sentence where inference can be made. After reading
the sentence aloud, discuss the information the author gives indirectly by
looking for clues in the sentence and using prior knowledge. Use different
colour pens to highlight the authors clues. Demonstrate how the author
conveyed the information and how you know this.

Water dripped off the leaves and landed as puddles on the

already sodden ground ...
I can infer that it is raining, using clues and other
strategies:

clues from the text: water, dripped, puddles,

sodden ground
prior knowledge: rain forms puddles
visualisation: I can see rain hitting the leaves,
bouncing off and splashing on the ground there
must be a heavy rain to make a lot of puddles!

4. Self-questioning
Teach the learners to ask specific questions for different purposes. For
example, begin with the 5W 1H questions. Then ask literal questions
questions to help them to recall facts directly from the text. Teach them to also
ask inferential questionsquestions that require them to think from given
clues. Questions of this sort introduce the learners to other ways of thinking
about the text. Other questions to teach include investigative question making
the learners draw conclusions from given clues. When they answer these
questions they are applying information to make generalisations, to making
hypothesis and to discuss different points of view. Finally, teach them to ask
evaluative questions, whereby learners are required to make judgments based
on the text content, the authors style and purpose or attitude.
5. Summarising
Begin with asking the learners to read a section of the text. On the second
reading, ask them to use a highlighter pen to locate what they think are the
most important ideas. Then discuss, justify their decisions. Return to the text
to record key words that relate to the parts that they have highlighted. Once
again, share their ideas and give reasons for the words they have selected.
When the section is completed, use the key words to make statements that
summarises the text.

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6. Identifying main ideas

When reading a narrative text, ask learners to list the main ideas. Then ask
them to identify the theme. As they move through the text, work with them to
integrate their themes and to determine the overall idea.
Also ask them to justify the evidence and how they work out their decision
giving reasons.
7. Analysing and synthesising
(i)

identifying cause-and-effect relationships

This can be used with fiction and non-fiction texts. Show how this can be done
using a graphic organiser. Using the fish bone is an effective way to teach
learners illustrate cause-and-effect relationship.

(ii)

comparison
Use a Venn diagram for this purpose.

8. Evaluating
After reading a text, one of the following activities can be carried out:
Expressing their opinion. ( I think that ...)
Asking an evaluative question. (Why do you think that ...?)
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 Challenging the author (I dont believe ... is right. In my opinion, ...)

Putting theory into practice

Task:
Think of the pupils in your class who are good readers. Choose a book they have
read. Then
a) design an activity for vocabulary building and give your rationale for your
choice.

b) pick three metacognitive strategies you want to develop. Design an activity for
each of the metacognitive strategies.

Thats the end of this topic. Take a break before moving on to the
next topic.

References
Children's Learning Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center Houston
Davis, A. 2007. Teaching reading comprehension. Wellington: Learning Media
Limited
Denton, C. A. High-quality classroom instruction: Classroom reading instruction that
supports struggling readers
http://www.rtinetwork.org/essential/tieredinstruction/tier1/highquality
retrieved: 17 July 2012
Gagen, M. (2007) Elements of an effective reading remediation program to
improve reading skills in struggling readers
http://www.righttrackreading.com/elementsremed.html retrieved 22 July 2012.
Pennington. M. 2009. Four critical components to successful reading intervention _
Pennington Publishing Blog.htm
Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Effects in reading: Some consequences of individual
differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21,
360407.
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West-Christy, J. 2007. Helping remedial and reluctant readers

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/29
retrieved 22 July 2012

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TOPIC 8

LESSON PLANNING

SYNOPSIS
This unit will cover some general matters about lesson planning: the whats, whys and
hows about this essential component of teaching. It will be followed by incorporating
these matters into a lesson for teaching the reading skill. A sample lesson plan is
provided to illustrate and consolidate what has been discussed.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this unit, course participants will be able to:

identify the essential elements of lesson planning

plan a reading lesson based on a given passage

FRAMEWORK OF TOPIC:
LESSON
PLANNING

General matters
about lesson
planning

What is a lesson plan?

A lesson plan is a framework teachers use to deliver their lessons. It gives an overall
shape or idea of the content and the activities teachers want to carry out in the
lesson. These content and activities are bound by the learning outcomes teachers
hope to achieve at the end of the lesson.
A plan helps teachers to think about where they are heading, and ideas of what to do
the next day and the following day or week. Having a plan will also pull teachers back
on track if they have deviated or distracted momentarily in the classroom. A plan also
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gives the learners confidence: they know immediately whether a teacher has thought
about the lesson and enables them to respond accordingly. It may also suggest the
teachers professionalism and commitment to their job and charge.
A lesson plan is not and will never be a prescription carved on stone. It is a versatile
document peppered with possibilities for the lesson. It may work or not work
depending on the real-time scenario in the classroom. All sorts of things can go
wrong or happen during a lessonthe equipment not working, a power failure, pupils
called up for some unexpected event, etc. Of course, everyone is happy when
everything goes according to plan. So what happens if things dont work as planned?
This is when the teacher has to be flexible and think on the spotto leave the plan to
satisfy or deal with the immediate needs of the pupils (reflection-in-action).
Sometimes, the plan may have to be abandoned completely. Then after the lesson,
the teacher can look back at it and see why it did not work (reflection-on-action) and
devise ways to save the lesson for a later date, albeit with necessary changes made.

What makes a good lesson plan?

A good lesson plan should reflect a judicious blend of coherence and variety. There
should be a logical pattern and smooth transition of activities from one stage to
another ending up with activities that culminate with the learners exhibiting
behaviours outlined in the learning objectives of the lesson. Even if there may be
three different activities incorporating different language skills, they should be some
connection between them. It does not make much sense if you start off the lesson
asking pupils to listen to something, ask a few comprehension questions and then
get them to do some drills or do an activity that is unrelated to the listening task.
Spending 20 minutes of a half-hour lesson on relentless mechanical drills is nothing
but boring. Worse still, it is damaging. The lack of variety kills the learners interest in
the lesson and does not engage them in real-life learning. There has to be some
variety in a lesson
A lesson must have an overall theme and the activities are all built around the theme.
The same principle applies to a sequence of lessons that stretch over a few days or
weeks. There needs to be a coherent pattern of progress and topic-linking so that
there is a connection between lessons which are bound together by the overall aim
and objectives.
However, Harmer (1998) cautioned against two dangers that may prejudice the
success of a sequence of lessons. He talked about predictability and sameness.
When learners can predict what is to happen in the next lesson, they will be less
motivated to learn. Similarly, if the same kind of activity is presented day-in-day-out,
or the activity for day two is exactly the same as the one carried out the day before
the learners will lose their enthusiasm.
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So remember to thread your lessons with activities which bring variety and interest
to the learning process.

What if?
What if you have pupils of different levels? What if the class is too large or extremely
small? What if the pupils do not understand English? Or use their mother tongues?
What if the pupils cannot understand what they read or cant read? These scenarios
are not uncommon in our classrooms. So how do we cater to the different needs of
our pupils? What are the possible ways to deal with these problems and situations?
Obviously, one size does not fit all!
There is no clear-cut solution to these problems but differentiated learning could be
an answer to some of them. Below are some tried out suggestions.

Pupils of different levels

1. Use different materials

This is similar to the discussion in the previous topic: attending to remedial and able
readers. When the better group is doing a more advanced exercise, the weaker ones
can be doing something else with or without the teacher facilitating the task.
2. Doing different tasks with the same material
Set different tasks for pupils of different abilities. For example, set questions of
different levels from the same reading text.
3. Use the pupils
Get better pupils to help the weaker ones. They can work as pairs or in groups,
explaining vocabulary, completing reading tasks or modelling good reading
strategies.

Large class
1. Use pair work and group work
2. Use group leaders

Do not understand English/use the mother tongue

1. Only respond in English using the mother tongue is permissible in the
beginning stages but wean the pupils from their dependence on it over
time.
2. Create an English environment put up materials used in the lesson so
that an English-language rich environment will be created over time.

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3. One task at a time give them a straightforward task which does not
demand too much detailed understanding.
4. Talk with the pupils how they should feel about using English. Remind them
that overuse of the mother tongue means that they have less chance to
learn English; that using their own language denies them chances of
practising and using English.

What should be in a plan?

A lesson plan must be complete with who the target pupils are, what is going to be
taught or learnt, how is it going to be learnt, or taught and with what. In other words,
a good lesson plan must outline in detail all this information. Also, the lesson plan
should include the objectives of the lesson and on the side, why are these
procedures used, what is the guiding teaching-learning theory behind them.
Some final notes about lesson planning
Planning is a thinking skill. Before you go into a lesson, it helps to be clear about
what you want to do. A lot is going to happen on the spot in the classyou cannot
predict how your learners will learn and respond to your teachingbut the better
prepared you are, the more likely you will be able to cope with whatever happens.
Planning is imagining the lesson before it happens. It involves prediction,
anticipation, sequencing, organising and simplifying (Scrivener, 2005).
A written plan is evidence that you have done that thinking. It can also be a useful inlesson reminder to you of your pre-lesson thoughts. Remember your plan is not set in
concrete. As a general rule: Prepare thoroughly, but in class, teach the learners
not the plan. What that means is that you are prepared to respond to the learners
and adapt what you have planned as you go along, even to the extent of throwing the
plan away if it is inappropriate. A carefully worked-out plan is the end result of
thinking logically through the content of the lesson before the lesson. Thinking
through possible content and problems before class provides you with informed
choices that set you free in the class. However, a teacher who is mainly concerned
with following the lesson plan to the T is unlikely to be responding to what is actually
happening in class.
The two key questions that need to be considered when planning a lesson are:

what are the aims of the lesson?

what is my procedure?

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If you can answer these two questions, you can be clear about what you hope your
learners will have achieved at the end of the lesson.

That is a brief insight on some general matters that can be used to guide us when we
plan a lesson.
Task

Individual teachers vary in the amount of planning they do. Look at the diagram
below of lesson planning areas. In pairs, rank these areas in order of importance,
and discuss the reason for your decision. Discuss the ranking with the rest of your
group, and add to the diagram any other points which have come up in your diagram.

Aims/Objectives

Timing
Content
(textbook materials,
supplementary
materials)

Lesson
Planning
Teaching aids

Interaction formats
(group, whole class,
individual)
Procedures
(how/when)

Writing a lesson plan for teaching the reading skill

When we write a lesson plan, we are in some way or other guided by the principles
and procedures of the skill to be taught. For example, the procedure for a grammar
lesson will be different from that of a writing lesson or that of a reading one. What
makes them all different is very much dependent on the skill to be taught and the
purpose of the lesson.
A reading lesson is to develop a number of sub-skills of reading. So the lesson will
contain activities that will lead eventually to achieving those sub-skills. A reading
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lesson will then typically consist of the three main phases of pre-reading stage, whilereading and post-reading.
What goes into each of these stages and how do they differ from one another?
Pre-reading
This stage is to

arouse the pupils interest

help predictions
provide some language preparation for the text (key words or phrases).

So the activities that teachers carry out to address the first aim is to encourage the
pupils to think about and discuss what they are going to read or the teacher can
introduce some background information about the content of the text to prepare them
for a later activity.
Using relia, visuals, and other references to the pupils experiences can help to
arouse interest and to activate any knowledge they have about the topic. The teacher
can use questions to help them predict what they are going to read.
Then the teacher needs to consider whether there are any key words which may
need to be taught before reading the text. Introducing the words may make
understanding the text easier. In any case, language preparation does not mean that
the teacher should explain every possible unknown word and structure in the text.

While-reading
This phase draws on the text, that is, the learners work with the text to fulfil various
goals. Among the aims of this phase are to

understand the writers purpose

understand the text structure
clarify text content focusing on meaning

The traditional comprehension exercise at the end of a text is a typical example of a

while-reading activity. Other examples include finding answers to questions asked at
the pre-reading stage, transferring information to graphic form, completing lists,
sequencing pictures or short summaries, etc.
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Generally, coursebooks and textbooks provide lots of exercises for the while-reading
stage. What the teacher needs to do is consider the effects of these exercises and
whether they answer the aims of the reading lesson or curriculum. Also do these
exercises help the pupils to master the reading skill or sub-skills that they lack.
Williams (1993) provides a list of questions teachers can use as a guide in selecting
or designing suitable while reading activities.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

What is the function of the text?

How is the content organised or developed?
What content or information is to be extracted from the text?
What may the reader infer or deduce from the text?
What language may be learnt from the text?
What reading styles may be practised?

The answers to these questions will reflect the three aims listed above.
As a general rule, while-reading work should begin with a general or global
understanding of the text, and then move to smaller units such as paragraphs,
sentence and words. The reason for this is that the larger units provide a context for
understanding the smaller unitsa paragraph or sentence, for example, may help
the reader to understand a word.

Post-reading
The activities for this stage of the lesson does not directly refer to the text (we are
done with the text at the while-reading stage). The work done here is often referred to
as a lift-off or grows out of the content of the reading text. For that, the aims of this
phrase are to

consolidate or reflect upon what has been read

relate the text to the learners own knowledge, interests or views.

Hence, some of the activities that can be carried out is asking the pupils their
reaction to the text or ask the pupils to draw a picture or diagram or make a list of
suggestions to the problem relayed in the text.
The type of activity at this stage depends very much on the objectives of the lesson.
The post-reading work should contribute in a coherent manner to the rest of the
reading activity.

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The information below presented by Scrivener (2005) is an overview of the threestage approach discussed above.
Pre-reading

2
While-reading

3
4
5

6
7
Post-reading

8
9

Introduction and lead-in, e.g. get the learners interested in the topic,
initial discussion of key themes, make an explicit link between the topic
of the text and learners own lives and experiences, focus on important
language that will come in the text.
First task (pre-reading), e.g. predict from some extracted information
(illustration, key words, headlines, etc.), read questions about the text,
learners compose their own questions.
Tasks to focus on fast reading for gist (skimming), e.g. check text
against predictions made beforehand, guess the title from a choice of
three options, put events (or illustrations) in the correct order.
Tasks to focus on fast reading for specific details (scanning), e.g. find
single items of information in the text.
Tasks to focus on meaning (general points), e.g. answer questions
about meaning, make use of information in the text to do something
(make a sketch, fill out a form, find out which picture is being described,
etc.) discuss issues, summarises arguments, compare viewpoints.
Tasks to focus on meaning (finer points, more intensive comprehensive
understanding)
Tasks to focus on individual language items, e.g. vocabulary of grammar
exercises, use of dictionaries, work out meaning of words from context.
Follow-on task, e.g. role-play, debate, writing task (e.g. write a letter in
reply), personalisation (e.g. Have you ever had an experience like this
one?
Closing, e.g. draw the lesson to a conclusion, tie up loose ends, review
what has been read and what has been learned.

Final notes on the three-stage approach

The three phases offer teachers a framework to help them develop the reading skill
among the pupils as well as to answer some problems related to motivating the
pupils, carrying out reading-based activities and devising reading-related activities.
The aim of the pre-reading is to arouse interest in the topic by drawing the learners
prior knowledge of the world and their opinions. It can also generate relevant
vocabulary. It is carried out before the learners have seen the text. The while-reading
phase is to help the learners understand the structure and content of the text and the
writers purpose. It may involve language work, and it should try to give the learners a
purpose for reading. Finally, the post-reading is aimed at helping the learner to
consolidate and reflect upon what has been read.
The pre- and the post- reading phases generate activities which call on the use of
other skills and help to integrate these skills to make the lesson a coherent whole.

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We have gone through some of the basics about lesson planning both in general as
well as a reading lesson. Lets now look at an example of a lesson plan for teaching
the reading skill.
The following lesson plan is drawn with some specific curriculum specifications in
mind. There are several alternative sets of activities for the pre-reading, while-reading
and production stage although they may share the same activities for the set
induction and the closure.
The purpose of presenting these alternatives is to exemplify the notion that one text
can be exploited in various ways to teach reading and that checking understanding of
a passage need not always be the mundane comprehension-type questions. With
that purpose in mind, the curriculum specifications and objectives of the lesson may
need to be adjusted accordingly.
Please read the lesson plan with an open-mind that this is just a plan and may not be
the best of plans. It is open to changes and adaptations.
Alternative activities are clearly marked. Teachers have the liberty to choose the
activities that best suit their pupils.

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Lesson Plan
Date
Class
Enrolment
Time
Theme
Topic
Main skill
Integrated skill (s)

:
: Year 5
: 37
: 7.20 a.m. 8.20 a.m.(1 hour)
: World of Knowledge
: Culture and Traditions
: Reading (Comprehension / Vocabulary words)
: Writing

Curriculum Specifications:
Learning Outcome(s)

Specification(s)

3.8

3.8.2 Scan for specific information in texts.

4.4

Read and understand simple factual texts

for main ideas, supporting details,
sequence and cause and effect.

Construct simple and compound

sentences with guidance and
independently.

3.8.4 Read and understand simple factual texts by

answering comprehension questions in relation
to:
- main ideas
- details
4.4.3 Construct simple and compound sentences
independently by looking at pictures.

Learning outcomes / objectives:

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
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i.

scan for specific information in the text to answer comprehension questions

ii.

construct simple or compound sentences to answer comprehension questions.

Previous knowledge
Language focus
Teaching aid(s)
Educational Emphases/
Thinking skills
Moral value(s)

: Pupils know about badminton and they know how to play badminton.
: Vocabulary: racquet, singles, doubles, net, indoors, outdoors, shuttlecock,
opponents, court, outstanding
: Picture, realia, power point slides, worksheets
: Knowledge acquisition, reasoning
: Respect and diligence

187

Stage/Time

Content

Set Induction
(5 minutes)

Pre-reading
(25 minutes)

Vocabulary
racquet, singles,
doubles, net, indoors,
outdoors, shuttlecock,
opponents, court,
outstanding
Reading with the correct
pronunciation and
intonation
Locating specific
information

Teaching/Learning Activities
Teacher shows pupils pictures of
Datuk Lee Chong Wei and asks
who he is and what they know
about him.
Teacher asks them if they want to
be like him and play as well as him.
Teacher tells pupils they are going
to read about badminton.

Rationale
To arouse pupils interest
on the topic that they are
going to learn.

Teacher shows word cards

and drills pupils to read with the
correct pronunciation.
Teacher explains the meaning of
the words by showing them
pictures or actions.
Teacher models reading the
passage paragraph by paragraph
with the correct pronunciation and
intonation
Pupils read after teacher.
Next, pupils read in groups.
Teacher monitors the reading and
corrects when there are errors in
pronunciation.
Teacher asks pupils several
questions to check their overall
understanding of the text by
guiding them how to locate the
answers in the passage

To introduce vocabulary to
pupils.

To relate the topic to the

pupils prior knowledge.

Who is this
person?
What do you
know about
him?
Do you like to
play like him?

The passage is
on power point

To model reading and to

guide pupils to read with
the correct pronunciation.

To check overall
comprehension
To teach pupils how to

188

Remarks

What do
players use to
play
badminton?
Where do

 Pupils answer the questions orally.

Teacher guides pupils to answer in
complete sentences.
Teacher shows them examples
before asking them to do their
written task.

locate specific information

and to answer in complete
sentences

*** alternative activity 1

Linking prior knowledge to

the content of the passage.

Teacher distributes the K-W-L form

and asks the pupils to complete the
K column with what they know
about badminton.
While-Reading
(15 minutes)

Answer comprehension
questions

Teacher distributes the worksheet

and instructs the pupils to answer
the comprehension questions using
simple and compound sentences
*** alternative activity 1(see sample)
Teacher asks pupils to complete
the W column with what they want
to find out about badminton.
Teacher asks pupils to read the
passage and find answers to the
questions they wrote in the W
column.

189

To locate specific
information and to answer
in complete sentences
using simple and
compound sentences

people play
badminton?

This activity is
more suitable
for pupils who
have an above
average ability.

*** alternative activity 2 (see sample)

To transfer information
from linear to non-linear
Teacher distributes the worksheet
and instructs pupils to complete the form
graphic organiser with information
gleaned from the text.
*** alternative activity 3 (see sample)
Answer true/false statements

Post Reading
(10 minutes)

Jazz Chant

To extent the topic to a

Teacher tells pupils they are going
chant
to do a jazz chant.
Teacher shows pupils the chant on
For enjoyment
the power point.
Teacher models to pupils how to do
the chant.
Pupils chant in groups
*** alternative activity 1
Pupils complete the L column with
what new information they have
learnt about badminton.
This can be followed by a class
discussion on what new
information they have found out
about badminton.
190

To add new knowledge to

existing ones

 Then the jazz chant activity can be

incorporated into the rest of the
lesson.
*** alternative activity 2
Get pupils to design a
Congratulations card for Datuk
Lee Chong Wei congratulating him
for his silver medal in the Olympics.

To link learning to real life

experience
To enable pupils to express
themselves.

*** alternative activity 3

Word search (see sample)
*** alternative activity 4
Small words from BIG words (see
sample)

Closure

Brief evaluation and

integration of moral

(5 minutes)

values

Teacher evaluates the days lesson To check pupils overall

comprehension of the text
by asking a few questions.
How did Datuk
Lee Chong Wei
Teacher integrates the moral value and how the content is
related
to
their
lives.
become so
by asking pupils what makes a
good?
champion like Datuk Lee Chong
Wei?.
Adapted from Amelia Soons lesson plan (2011)

191

Reading passage:

Badminton is a racquet sport played by two players or two pairs of players. They
are called singles or doubles game respectively. Badminton is played at a
badminton court either indoors or outdoors. The court is divided into halves by a
net.
Players score points by hitting a shuttlecock with their racquets to pass it over the
net to land in the opponents half of the court.
There are international competitions like the Thomas Cup for the men and the
Uber Cup for the women. The competitions take place once every two years. Other
competitions include the All-England, Sudirman Cup and the Malaysian Open.
These international competitions attract many outstanding players from all over
the world.
Datuk Lee Chong Wei is one of the greatest badminton players in our country. He
has won many competitions like the Malaysian Open, Singapore Open, Japan
Open, and the All-England.
Jazz Chant:

192

BADMINTON
Whats this game?
Where do you play badminton?

Badminton! Badminton! Its badminton!

What do you need?

Badminton court! Badminton court! At the

badminton court!
A racquet and a shuttlecock! A racquet
and a shuttlecock! A racquet and a
shuttlecock!

Sample K-W-L table

BADMINTON
WHAT I KNOW

WHAT I WANT TO FIND

OUT

WHAT I HAVE LEARNT

Sample Graphic Organiser

Complete the chart below.

i. racket

equipment
193

ii. ______________
_

the game

BADMINT
ON

International
competitions

i. ______________
__

court

men

i. Thomas Cup
ii. _________________
iii. _________________

famous
Malaysian
player
Sample True or False
statement.
Read the following statements about Badminton. Put a tick () for statements that
are TRUE, cross (X) for statements that are FALSE and write (NA) for information
not found in the text.

1.

Badminton can be played in a hall or in the open.

2.

Badminton must be played with someone.

3.

Most people play badminton indoors.

4.

The Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup are important badminton
competitions.

5.

The Sudirman Cup is played every two years.

6.

All outstanding players are from Malaysia.

7.

Datuk Lee Chong Wei has won many international competitions around
the world.

D N A L G N E L L A S P
A D E
T A Y W N S H I U
Sample:
Wordsearch
T H E P I R E I U R N C
Find
R these
N Q words
X Oabout
M ABADMINTON
T X B Gin the
S maze.
U C P U S N T C A V L A
O E H E A L A M Q M E M
C T N T E J E P S U S O
J I Z C S O T R A N E H
L A O R U Y E Y I J B T
M C D O U B L E S P Y 194
W
K P U C R E B U B N M C
T M G G R R X O A C Q U

All England
court
doubles
Japan Open
linesmen
net
racquet
umpire
sot
shuttlecock
Singapore Open
singles
Thomas Cup
Uber Cup

Sample: Small words from BIG words

How many small words can you form from BADMINTON?
Example: bad, ton, in, on, mind, tin, etc.

Task

Task 1: Read the text on The Stages of a Reading Lesson and then complete the
task the follows.

The stages of a reading lesson

A reading lesson is often divided into three phases: pre-reading, while-reading and postreading. The main purposes of each of the three phases are indicated below.
PRE-READING
to stimulate interest in the topic and to motivate pupils by providing a reason for
reading
to activate pupils prior knowledge of the topic
to provide language preparation for the text
WHILE-READING
to clarify content and vocabulary in the text
to help pupils understand the writers purpose
to help pupils understand the structure of the text
POST READING
to consolidate and reflect upon what has been read
to relate the text to the pupils own knowledge/interest/views
to provide a stimulus for other language activities

195

Each of the following tables represents a stage of a reading lesson. The steps in
each phase is logically arranged.
Identify the phase of each table and write the rationale for the activities.
Table 1
Lesson
Stage

Teaching Steps
1. Teacher tells the class to work on the
vocabulary and grammar exercises in the
worksheet.

Rationale
Activity 1:

a) Find the words in the text (para 1) that

have the same meaning as the words in
bold in the sentences below.
i.
ii.

No one dares to bully the lion.

All the villagers fled ...

2. Teacher tells the class to discuss in groups

a situation related to the topic.

Activity 2:

e.g.
What advice would you give to the farmer so
that he will take better care of the donkey?

Table 2
Lesson
Stage

Teaching Steps
1. Teacher tells the class that they are going to
read a story about a donkey.
2. Teacher then asks the class a general
question about donkeys.
e.g.
How are donkeys helpful to man?

196

Rationale
Activity 1:

Activity 2:

Table 3

Lesson
Stage

Teaching Steps
1. Teacher shows three questions on the board
and tells the pupils to find the answers to them
as they read the text.
e.g.
i. Why did the donkey run away from the
farm?
ii. Where did the donkey go to find food?
iii. Was the donkey clever or foolish?

Rationale
Activity 1:

Pupils read the text and answers the question.

Teacher checks the answers with the pupils.
2. Teacher then distributes the worksheets to the
pupils.
Teacher tells the pupils to read the text silently a
second time. As they read, they are to number the
sentences according to the sequence of the
events in the story.

Activity 2:

After they have finished the reading, teacher goes

through the answers with the pupils.

Task 2
Use the passage below to plan a reading lesson for a Year 6 class.
Your lesson plan should include clearly:

the curriculum specifications

the objectives of the lesson
the activities for each stage of the lesson*
the rationale for the activities
suitable teaching aids

* refrain from the ever popular comprehension-type questions. Instead, plan other
activities to check reading comprehension

197

Be prepared to micro-teach your lesson in the next tutorial.

Thats the end of this topic. Take a break before moving on to the next one.

Reference

198

Gower, R., Phillips, D. & Walters, S. (2005) Teaching practice: A handbook for
teachers in training. Oxford: Macmillan.
Harmer, J. 1998. Teach English. Essex: Addison-Wesley Longman.
Scivener, J. 2005. Learning teaching. Oxford: Macmillan.
Williams, E. 1993. Reading in the language classroom. London: Macmillan.

199

TOPIC 9

MICRO-TEACHING

SYNOPSIS
This topic will provide an overview of microteaching: its purpose, benefits, structure
and end with practical micro-teaching sessions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this unit, course participants will be able to:

identify the purposes of micro-teaching

realise the benefits of micro-teaching
distinguish the stages and structure of a micro teaching session

FRAMEWORK OF TOPIC

Micro-teaching

Principles and practices

Micro-teaching sessions

200

What is Micro-teaching?
Micro-teaching is a professional development tool used by teachers and trainee
teachers (for the purpose of this module these target groups will be referred as
teachers hereafter) to better understand their teaching-learning process. It is part of a
teacher-training programme in which a teachers teaching situation is reduced in
scope and simplified in systematic ways (Wahba, 2003). It is a scaled-down lesson
designed to develop new skills and refine old ones (McKnight, 1971 in Brown, 1975).
A teacher teaches a small group of pupils (or peers) for 10-15 minutes. The lesson is
video-taped and subsequently observed and analysed by the teacher, his or her
peers and the supervisor. Feedback is given to which improvements to the lesson
plan are made based on the recommendations and suggestions.

History of Micro-teaching
Micro-teaching has its roots at Stanford University in the early 1960s. Introduced by
Keith Acheson, a doctoral student, it was applied in the teaching of science but later
modified and extended to language teaching. The session was video-taped which
provided a common frame of reference for the observers (peers and supervisor) to
give immediate feedback.

Purpose of Micro-teaching
Micro-teaching is designed to break down the complex act of teaching into simpler
elements. By analysing the elements, a teacher can determine the areas that need to
be improved to strive towards perfection. Self-evaluation using the video tape allows
the teacher to revisit the lesson and assess the performance based on criteria or
objectives set prior to the lesson. Wahba (2003) outlined three main purposes of
micro-teaching as:

helping teachers understand better the processes of teaching and learning

providing teachers ample opportunities to explore and reflect on their own and
others teaching styles
acquiring new teaching techniques.

Why micro-teach?
201

As stated earlier, micro-teaching is a professional development tool to enhance ones

teaching. Besides being an effective technique, it is a tool for reflection. By reflecting
on their own teaching styles, it allows the teachers to focus on specific areas which
need to be fine tuned from different perspectives. It helps teachers to scrutinise their
own teaching and hence forth, discover their strengths and weaknesses. Also, it
makes teachers aware of their own skills and strategies and to pursue self-initiated,
self-directed and self-observed growth (Wahba, 2003).

Stages of a Micro-teaching cycle

The original micro-teaching cycle developed and used at Stanford University
consisted of the sequences Plan Teach Observe (Critique) Replan Reteach
Reobserve. Each cycle is devoted to one specific component of the lesson (e.g. the
set-induction and closure or the presentation stage, etc.), instructional language,
classroom management, or board work. Now, variants of the Stanford model have
evolved. For some, the cycles are made up of the first three sequences of the original
model as is the one used at the New University of Ulster. This new model is more
economical but still upholds the primary purposes: to teach, observe and provide
constructive feedback.

The following diagram illustrates the Stanford model.

PLAN

TEACH

REOBSERV
E

RETEACH

OBSERVE
(CRITIQUE)
REPLAN

202

Plan
This is the pre-teaching phase where the teacher considers the objectives of the
teaching, selects the content or area to teach and determine the strategies and skills
to deliver. The characteristics of the target group (students) is also be given due
consideration. The objectives, procedures and the teaching aids to be used must be
clear stated. The lesson should not last more than 15 minutes. The lesson may be
planned by a group.

Teach
This is the all important interactive stage. It involves the teacher executing the lesson
that the group has planned. The teacher practices or focuses on one skill at a time.
The students will be engaged in a variety of activities.

Observe (Critique)
During the teaching, the peers take notes that can be used during the reflective
discussions. This is essential especially if the students are peers as from the
observations the experience provides insights into learning problems that they may
also face. The peers should also decide the aspect to focus.

The feedback session which follows the observation will focus on analysing and
discussing the experiences acquired. It is also a time to reflect on the new
experiences. Ideally, the feedback should be constructive, specific and practical. As
far as possible, stay away from giving the feedback that is vague, judgemental or illtimed. For example, the peers and supervisor should strive in giving comments which
indicate the specific area(s) that are found to be good and interesting instead of
providing a general comment as sometimes you werent clear in your instructional
language.

Replan
At this stage, using the feedback provided, the teacher replans the lesson
incorporating the points of strength and removing the ones that were not skilfully
handled previously.

Reteach

203

Reteach the lesson to a new group. This is to remove boredom or monotony of the
students (or peers).

Refeedback
As described above, this is the stage where constructive feedback is provided to help
the teacher improve the lesson.

What to observe during micro-teaching

Since micro-teaching is aimed at helping teachers improve their delivery of the
lesson, the focus of the observation should be made known to the teacher. In short,
the observation should focus on certain aspects and not the whole lesson. This is
done so to enable the teacher to work on one area of weakness at a time and that
over time, the teacher will improve in most, if not all aspects of the lesson.
The following are some areas to observe:

structure
- stages of the lesson
- transition of the lesson from one stage to another (use of transitions)
- use of examples
- use of graphics

delivery
-

oral
o volume, rate, pitch
o fluency

nonverbal
o gestures (hand and facial)
o eye contact
o use of space

poise

204

board work
-

appearance
o legibility
o use of colored chalk

arrangement of material
o logical?
o too much or too little written down?

use of notations

classroom interaction
-

participation encouraged?

handling of questions and answers

giving instructional language

technology use:
-

appropriate use of technology

does technology engage the learners
does technology increases student understanding

Benefits of Micro-teaching
Being a professional development tool, micro-teaching certainly holds a number of
merits. Below are some suggested by Sathi (2008) bearing in mind, this list is not
exhaustive.

it helps develop and master important teaching skills

it helps to accomplish specific teaching competencies
it caters to the need of individual differences in teacher training
it is more effective in modifying teacher behaviour
it is an individualised training technique
205

it employs teaching situation for developing skills

it reduces the complexity of the teaching process as it is scaled down
it helps to get deeper knowledge regarding the art of teaching.

Limitations of Micro-teaching
Though the benefits of micro-teaching is undeniable, it carries some limitations.
Among them are:

it is skill orientated instead of content

it being time consuming
it covers only a few specific skills at each teaching session
it deviates from a normal
classroom
setting, hence
Microteaching
Feedback
Formthe result may not be a true
reflection of a real-time classroom environment

Date:
Session
The
discussiontitle:
above is an overview of micro-teaching. Are you ready to carry out
Presenters
name:
yours?
Use the form
below to make notations of your peers teaching. Remember to
provide specific and constructive comments where your peer can act upon instead of
being judgemental. Similarly, be open to comments and not take them too personal.
Treat each suggestion as part of the learning process.
1. What were the strengths of this mini-lesson? Why?

2. How did the instructor involve the audience?

3. What can you suggest to make the lesson more effective or

understandable?

206

References
Brown, G. 1975. Microteaching: A program of teaching skills. New York: Methuen &
Co.
Olivero, J.L. 1970. Micro-teaching: Medium for improving instruction. Ohio: Charles
E. Merril Publishing Company.
Sathi, K. 2008. Introduction to microteaching.
http://sathitech.blogspot.com/2008/11/introduction-to-micro-teaching.html.
Retrieved: 17.8.2012
Wahba, E.H. 2003 Microteaching. English teaching forum. October, p. 44.

207