Title: Learning to read = reading to learn How teaching reading strategies work in large mixed ability classes
1Learning to read reading to learn How
teaching reading strategies work in large mixed
ability classes
2Your trainers
- MA in English Teaching (PRC-BNU)
- PhD in e-learning teacher education
(UK-Nottingham) - lecturer in BNU special lecturer in University
of Nottingham - teacher trainer, material writer, researcher
- MA in Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL
York) - PCEd (HK)
- Freelance teacher, trainer, writer, researcher
- IATEFLs YLT SIG committee
- Specialist in reading for young learner literacy
- 15 years experience teaching Chinese young
learners
3Overview
- Identifying reading strategies
- Understanding why the right reading level is
important - Applying reading strategies
- Developing learner materials to use as reading
resources
4Reading strategies
- THINK-PAIR-SHARE-SMALL GROUP
- What do you know?
- How do learners learn to read?
- In Chinese? In English?
5Work with a partner. Take it in turns to read
Part A) and then Part B)
- Part A)
- Your enquiry about the use of the entrance area
at the library for the purpose of displaying
posters and leaflets about Welfare and
Supplementary Benefit rights, gives rise to the
question of the provenance and authoritativeness
of the material to be displayed.
6Part B)
- Posters and leaflets issued by the Central Office
of Information, the Department of Health and
Social Security and other authoritative bodies
are usually displayed in libraries, but items of
a disputatious or polemic kind, whilst not
necessarily excluded, are considered individually.
7Think-pair-share
- What do you think this text means?
- Simplify it.
8Plain English!
- Thank you for your letter asking for permission
to put up posters in the library. Before we can
give you an answer we will need to see a copy of
the posters to make sure they won't offend
anyone. - http//www.plainenglish.co.uk/
9Reflection
- Do you understand what you were reading?
- When you are reading this text, what reading
strategy are you using? - Do you find this text interesting?
- It is likely this text will be low interest and
high ability! - Success in learning to read necessitates high
interest and low/right ability texts.
10What is reading?
- Reading is much more than the decoding of black
marks upon a page it is a quest for meaning and
one which requires the reader to be an active
participant (Cox 1991) - The reader needs to
- Crack the code or decipher the print (decode)
- Reading is about making sense which powers
learners learning (making meaning) - Reading brings together text to be decoded and
understood and a reader has to engage actively
with both these processes (Kelly 2008)
11SUMMARY
- The purpose of reading is to make sense.
- If you cant do this, then you are not reading
material at the right level!
12Identifying reading strategies
- Semantics(???) making meaning from text eg.
- THINK-PAIR-SHARE
- Once upon a time there was a fungo who lived in a
huy singo. - The huy singo was built high up in some grantins.
READ the text. What is this about?
13Identifying reading strategies
- Semantics making meaning from text and visuals
- The fungos huy singo
- was very deep.
- It had to climb up the high grantins
- quickly so that the tinnies did not
- eat it!
14Semantics
REFLECTION How can you use this activity with
your learners?
15Identifying reading strategies
- Syntactic(??) grammar
- Once upon a time there was a
- white fungo.
- It could run fast.
- THINK-PAIR-SHARE Learning point?
- Adjective noun
- Verb adverb
16THINK-PAIR-SHARE
- Common errors WHY are your learners doing this?
- Bear Father
- He running fast.
- I very much like chocolate.
17Syntactics
REFLECTION How can you use this activity with
your learners?
18Identifying reading strategies
- THINK-PAIR-SHARE
- You have used two processes which are necessary
for reading. - 1) DECODING saying words
- 2) making meaning
- Can you have decoding without making
meaning?CAUTION reading out words DOES NOT MEAN
UNDERSTANDING THEM ?
19Identifying reading strategies
- Graphophonic(?????) linking letter and sound
- Understanding that not every word in English can
be sounded out but it is a good place to start!
20Identifying decoding strategies
- Graphophonic can be divided into 3 sections
- Synthetic phonics(???????) each letter has a
sound - Analytic phonics (???????) seeing patterns in
words - 3) Whole words high frequency words which need
to be memorised
21SYNTHETIC PHONICS
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii
Aa Bb ce Dd Ee Ff ge Hh Ii
Aa Bb ci Dd Ee Ff gi Hh Ii
Aa Bb ch Dd Ee Ff gh Hh Ii
Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qu/qu Rr rh
Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo ph Qu/qu Rr rh
Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww wh Xx Yy Zz
sh th Uu Vv Ww wh Xx Yy Zz
22Blending sounds for reading
di
plo
do
cus
di plo do cus
23Blending
REFLECTION How can you use this activity with
your learners?
24Segmenting (??) sounds for writing
stegosaurus
How many syllables can you hear? Clap them!
Where do the syllables fall?
25Segmenting
REFLECTION How can you use this activity with
your learners?
26Alliteration (??)
Alliteration is when you make a list of words
with the same initial sound e.g. /g/ it DOES NOT
need to make sense
green grass glass gun gap goes galloping
THINK-GROUP Think of a sound which your learners
have problems with and brainstorm as many words
as you can with this initial sound. Practice
saying it! SHARE GROUP Say your alliteration
words to another group. Listen to their
alliteration words!
27Alliteration
Tongue twister alliteration practising the
sound /p/. Say the tongue twister!
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper If
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
pepper Wheres the peck of pickled pepper, Peter
Piper picked?
THINK-PAIR Make your own tongue twister
alliteration! Choose one sound and see how many
words you know with that sound it does NOT have
to make sense SHARE it with another PAIR
28Alliteration
REFLECTION How can you use this activity with
your learners?
29Analytic phonics
WORD FAMILIES OR RHYMING WORDS(change the
vowel) THINK-PAIR Read out the words in the at
family. Now make up new words in the other
families they DONT have to make sense!
- at -et -it -ot -ut
bat cat dat fat gat hat jat kat lat mat nat pat rat
Reflection How could you use this with your
learners?
30Analytic phonicsMaking rhymes
THINK-PAIR If you are teaching learners to rhyme
how could you start to help them to complete this
rhyme? How could you help them understand the
semantics (meaning)?
There once was a very old cat Who liked to sit on
a ................ He didnt like fish From a
dirty ........... But loved to drink milk When
sitting on ............
31VIDEO CLIP
32Rhymes
REFLECTION How can you use this activity with
your learners?
33Understanding the high frequency words that need
to be learnt
the that not look put
and with them dont could
a all were come house
to we go will old
said can little Into too
in are as back by
he up no from day
I had mum children made
of my one him time
it her then Mr. Im
34High frequency words contd/
was what do get if
you there me just help
they out down now Mrs.
on this dad came called
she have big oh here
is went when about off
for be Its got asked
at like see their saw
his some looked people make
but so very your an
Masterson, J Stuart, M Dixon M Lovejoy S (2003)
Childrens Printed Word Database Economic
Social Research Council funded project R00023406
- Primary National Strategy UK
35Whole words high frequency
THINK-PAIR Which words might cause a problem?
Why? What could you do to help learners
remember them?
36High frequency words learning them
GROUPING by type and initial sound
The Then Them These They That Than This Those
By rhyme See Me Be
By size An At As On To Go By
By type pronoun He She I We You
What When Where Which Whose Why
37Learning vocabulary
REFLECTION How can you use this activity
activity with your learners?
38Consider THINK-PAIR-SHARE
read hear say
write
You need to .... a word before you can .... it
You need to .... a word before you can .... it
You need to .... a word before you can .... it
(Linse 2005)
39Developing learner materials to use as reading
resources
You need to .... a word before you can read it
THINK-PAIR-SHARE What learner materials can you
use to promote reading?
40Developing learner materials to use as reading
resources
THINK-PAIR-SHARE What other materials do you see
everyday which could be used to promote language?
41REFLECTION How can you use this activity with
your learners?
42Developing learner materials to use as reading
resources
You need to .... a word before you can write it
THINK-PAIR-SHARE What learner materials can you
use to promote reading and writing?
43REFLECTION How can you use this activity with
your learners?
44Developing learner materials to use as reading
resources
THEORY If a learner can write language then they
can read it. By reading the text they have
written they are making meaning and developing
their language ability.
45Conclusion
- Learners need EXPLICIT instruction on
- Graphophonics or sounds so they can BLEND sounds
and read or DECODE words - Semantics so they can MAKE MEANING or MAKE SENSE
of words - Syntactics so they can be accurate in speaking
and writing - BUT
-
46Conclusion
- They need to HEAR words before they can .... them
- They need to SAY words before they can .... them
- They need to READ words before they can ... them
- A mixed ability class is an advantage because ...
- A large class is an advantage because ....
47Thank you
- Wendy Arnold and Rebecca Chen
- Invitation to all to join IATEFL YLT SIG
discussion group Just send an empty message
toyounglearners-subscribe_at_yahoogroups.com
48References
Linse, C (2005) Young Learners. New YorkMcGraw
Hill
Masterson, J Stuart, M Dixon M Lovejoy S (2003)
Childrens Printed Word Database Economic
Social Research Council funded project R00023406
- Primary National Strategy UK USEFUL WEBSITES
http//www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kid
s
http//www.britishcouncil.org/kids.htm