TOPIC 1INTRODUCTION 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

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 ReadingEveryone 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. 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-it-yourself 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. Exercise 1There 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, 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 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, 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. 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.

TOPIC 2THEORETICAL 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

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

(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

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.

(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-to- part 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

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

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 reading-writing 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

fRAMEWORK OF TOPICS

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 below.

Be prepared to discuss answers with the class.

Reading Activity Chart

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

Reading

Activities

AspectsReading AloudSilent ReadingSkimmingScanningComprehension

Objective

Technique

How & why do I do it?

Usually a group activity

Usually an individual activity

Problems with the activity

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

Reading Activity Chart

Check and review your answers below.

Answers may vary.

Reading

ActivitiesReading AloudSilent ReadingSkimmingScanningComprehension

Objective

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 self-study.

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

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

Skim a newspaper report if you wish only to understand the main eventsScanning means to read to locate specific information.

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

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

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

Technique

How & why do I do it?

Usually a group activity

Usually an individual activity

However can be used in class or in groups to achieve learning outcomes.

Look for the most important ideas.Read for main ideas.Skip facts and details.

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

Scan for a specific word, phrase, name, date, or place name, etc.Use the arrow scanning pattern straight down the column.Focus on the first letter of each line.Questions to follow up, and discussion.

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.

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. I can learn to scan without actually understanding the meaning in the text.

Difficult for the teacher to determine what the student knows. 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.

What do effective readers do?

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.

Extraordinary Uses for Dishwashing Soap

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 States

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 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

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 Process

Be prepared to discuss the reading comprehension process.

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

SkillExampleQuestion Types

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.

What are the main ideas in this text?

Who are the main characters?

What details support the main ideas?

Inference, predicting and drawing conclusionsInference 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.

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.

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?

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.

Teacher may organize a lesson that pre-teaches transitional vocabulary to showcase sequencing in reading.

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)?

Cause and effect

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.

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."

Synthesizing

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 just the sum of the parts.

See Vygotskys (1978) zones of proximal development for further information.

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.

Reflection: KWL:

What I know

What I want to know

What I learnt from this story

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 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?

Practical example: Main Ideas

Example: Main Ideas

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?

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

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

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Cause and EffectThere 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:

2) Effects only

This type of explanation focuses on two or more effects and one cause.

Example:

3) Effects only

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

Reading Aloud5Definitions

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.

Reading Aloud Benefits

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 Test

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.

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 extentthat 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.

Module Reflection

What I learnt:

What I want to learn / know more about:

What I think about what I learnt:

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.

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.Appendix

TOPIC 4STAGES 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.

fRAMEWORK OF TOPICS

Topic 4a

Topic 4b

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-readingThis 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

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

Before closing this segment, there are some important points to remember about pre-reading 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

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-readingBefore 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.

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

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 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.

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.

1

2

3

4

5

6Chocolate

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 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.

I need help! Please tell me what I can do to stop eating 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 while-reading 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 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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Now, take a break before you move on to the next topic.

Topic 4b : Stages of the literacy hourThis 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.

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.

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

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.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.

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.

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 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.

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