How to teach reading effectively

TABLE OF CONTENTSThe reason for choosing the topic 3 Steps for presenting a reading text 5 Some main kinds of reading exercises 9... The purpose of teaching reading is not only to help t

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO THANH HOÁ

PHÒNG GD&ĐT THÀNH PHỐ THANH HÓA

SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM

HOW TO TEACH READING EFFECTIVELY

Người thực hiện: Nguyễn Thị Tường Vân Chức vụ: Giáo viên

Đơn vị công tác: Trường THCS Minh Khai SKKN thuộc lĩnh vực (môn): Tiếng Anh

THANH HOÁ NĂM 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The reason for choosing the topic 3

Steps for presenting a reading text 5

Some main kinds of reading exercises 9

PART 1: BACKGROUND

1 The reason for choosing the topic:

Reading skill is one of the most important skills to language learners Thepurposes of learning English are to learn how to listen, speak, read and write Englishwell Englins is an international language It is a means of communication of peoplefrom different countries in the world Many books are written in English So how tohelp readers understand information written in English in books, newspapers,magazines, etc is very important If students have a good reading skill, they can easilyunderstand the information written in English well

To English teachers, helping students drill their reading skill is more importantbecause it is one of the four skills in teaching English Moreover, teachers have toteach students reading skills so that they can understand the knowledge in Englishbooks and in English tests

To students, about 30 percent or even more than 30 percent of the exercises intheir English tests are to test their reading skills So if students have a good readingskill, they can easily complete their English tests well

Moreover, people said that “A good reader make a good writer” If students aregood at reading, of course, they are good at writing, speaking, and listening

In conclusion, how to teach students to be good at reading skills in English is veryimportant And my ideas above are the reasons why I have spent most of my timestudying the topic :

“ How to teach reading effectively?”

2 Methods to research this topic:

First of all, I use the knowledge of methods I have learnt at University

Secondly, I read many methodogical books to get the knowledge of the methods

to teach reading

Moreover, I learn many experiences from my colleagues

With all the knowledge I have collected, I use them in teaching my students readingskills After that, I choose the methods which are suitable for my students this meansthat I choose the methods which make my students good at reading skill

I use these methods many times and then they become my own experiences Now

I am writing my own experiences in teaching reading in this material

PART 2: RESOLUTIONS

I The ways to read English texts:

There are many ways to read English texts

2 Silent reading :

When we want to read in order to understand something or to get information, weoften read silently It means that we only look at the words and understand them in ourmind

3 Intensive reading: including two kinds of reading.

* Reading for details or research

* Reading for analysis ( in order to learn the language )

4 Extensive reading: including three kinds:

* Reading for pleasure

* Scanning

* Skimming

II Reading sub- skills:

There are some main reading sub-skills that I often drill my students:

1 Reading for recognizing words and their meanings in the text

2 Reading for understanding sentences or paragraphs in the text

3 Scanning

4 Skimming

5 Predicting the content of the sentences or texts

6 Guessing the meanings of the new words from contexts

7 Using dictionaries for reading

III PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING READING:

1 When teaching a reading text, It is benificial to state a purpose for reading a giventext Tell the students why they are reading the text It is to skim for the mainideas? It is to scan for specific information? It is for critical reading? The purpose

of reading task should be stated to the students before they read

2 Prepare the students to read by introducing the topic of the passage

3 Before the students read the text, have them read questions about it before hand tohelp them focus on the meaning

4 Do not pre-teach vocabulary unless necessary

5 Have the students read silently without whispering the words or moving their lips.This will help them read more quickly and focus on the more important words

6 Discuss difficult vocabulary after reading the text If they do not understand

certain words by guessing from context, help them by explaining the meaning, bydefinition or example

7 When discussing the answers to comprehention questions, be sure to refer back tothe text often

8 Finally, remember to focus on developing the skills of the readers The purpose

of teaching reading is not only to help the students understand the context for that day,but also to help them learn to read effectively for themselves To do this,they mustdevelop many sub-skills of reading like skimming, scanning, predicting, guessingfrom context and reading for total comprehension

IV STEPS FOR PRESENTING A READING TEXT:

1 Give a brief introduction to get students thinking about the topic of the text

2 Ask students to say more words they know about the topic

3 teach some key words

4 State a purpose for reading the text ( skim, scan, read for total information, etc … )

5 Write one or two guiding questions on the board to focus their attention

6 Tell the students how much time they have to read Do not allow them much time, especially in skimming and scanning exercises

7 Have the students answer the given questions about the text

8 Present a follow-up activity In this, the students can share their own opinions or discuss what else they know about the topic of the text

V THE TWO KINDS OF READING TEXT:

There are many purposes of reading texts , but in this material I will mention two kinds of reading texts with two different purposes

* The reading text in order to present the language

* The reading text in order to teach students reading skills

HOW TO EXPLOIT THE TWO KINDS OF READING TEXTS:

1 Exploiting the reading text in order to present the new language:

-If the main aim of the reading text is to present the new language, the teacher’s work is to help students understand the text through presentation, explanation, and noticing students about the content as well as the new language in the text Then the follow-up tasks are in order to check the students’understanding and the use of the new language

Followings are the basic steps to exploit the reading text in order to present the new language :

a Introducing the text by using many different techniques such as telling stories , asking questions , revising previous lessons relating to the new lesson

b Introducing the content of the text ( using pictures if possible ) and

introducing new words and structures If the text is long , we can divide it into small paragraphs

c Practising asking and answering about the text , using the new language in the text

d Practising the new language in the context of the text and the content of the text

e Consolidating, summarizing, building up the text, using the following exercises:

- Rearrange the text in order

- Build up the text

- Retell the story with prompts given

- Retell each part orally

- Sum up the main ideas of the text, basing on the prompts given

f Read the text aloud in order to practice pronunciation, intonation

g Follow-up activities ( intergrate the 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing)

2 Exploiting the reading text in order to develop students’reading skills:

In some reading texts in order to develop students’reading skills, teachers not onlyhelp students to understand the content of the text, but also give out some follow- up tasks in order to help students practice their reading skills Those skills can help students read different passages with different purposes In this kind of reading text, teachers do not present, introduce the content of the reading text, but the students themselves have to read the text and find out the content of the reading text The role

of the teacher is to help, prompt, guide, give out suggestions, and check the students’ answers

The activities in order to develop students’reading skills are usually carried on with

3 stages:

- Pre- reading activities

- While- reading activities.

- Post- reading activities

a Pre-reading activities:

The activities and the techniques at this stage are in order to reach the following purposes:

- Arouse interest ( gây hứng thú )

- Set up the context ( thiết lập ngữ cảnh )

- Create reasons for reading

- Pre-teach structures, new words

- Introduce briefly the topic; content

- Eliciting, guiding questions

- Predict the text

- Give expectation about the text ( nêu những điều muốn biết về bài đọc )

b While-reading activities:

While-reading activities are exercises which are done while students are reading the text Students can read the text many times and do these exercises At this stage, students exploit the content of the text Depending on the purpose and the content of each certain text There will be different questions and different requirements

The followings are activities and techniques usually used at this stage:

- Find the word / sentence that says ………

- Check / tick the correct answer

- True - false

- Complete the table

- Fill in the chart

- Make up charts / diagrams

- Make a list of………

- Matching

- What does …… stand for ? / refer to?

- What does ………… Mean ?

- Answer the questions on the text

c Post-reading activities:

After students read and do the exercises about the text, teachers go on giving someexercises that require the understanding of students about the total content of the text,relate to real life, consolidate the structures, and the new language in the text

Followings are some kinds of exercises usually used at this stage:

- Arrange the events in order

- Find the sentence that summarizes the paragraph / text

- Give the tittle of the reading text

- Give comments, opinions on the characters in the text

- Discussion questions

- Reproduce the text ( written or oral )

- Gap-filling.

- Rewrite the story from jumble sentences / words / visual cues

- Role- play basing on the text

- Make dialogues basing on the text

- Guess the consequences / results of the story

- Develop another story basing on the text

- Personalized tasks ( e.g: write / talk about your own school / family / town / story

on … )

+ Tell a similar event on ……

+ What would you do / behave / say in that situation?

+ Make your own plan / decision ………

- Grammar practice and exercises, etc ………

VI TECHNIQUES OF TEACHING READING:

* Pre-reading techniques:

1 Ordering statements:

- From a story, the teacher jumbles the sentences in the story and then asks the

students to put the sentences in the correct order

2 Jigsaw dictation:

Ex :- Draw a stadium and give some words about the players

- Ask the students to put the words ( the names of the players ) in the right places in the stadium to have a team in the field

3 Ordering pictures:

Ex : When students read a text about a christmas tree, the teacher gives some

pictures about ornaments, colour lights, gifts, etc…and a Christmas tree Students have to put the pictures in the right positions on the Christmas tree

4 Listen and draw:

Ex : When the students read a text about a farm, The teacher reads a discription about the things on the farm, students listen and draw the scenery on the farm

5 True – false statement prediction:

Ex : when students read a text about a famous person, the teacher gives some

information about that famous person such as: date of birth, place of birth, date of death, famous inventions … Students have to guess whether that information is true

or false

6 Open-prediction :

Ex: when students read a text about the Tet holiday, the teacher gives some questionssuch as:

a What do Vietnamese children do at Tet?

b Do children in England visit their relatives during the Tet holiday?

c.What do people in Viet Nam prepare for Tet?

- Students have to find out the information to answer these questions

* While – reading and post – reading techniques:

1 True – false statements.

2 Yes-no questions

3 Right or wrong ( v ) or ( x )

4 Answers given: the teacher gives some answers and students have to make

questions for those answers

1 Where were you born ?

2 When were you born ?

13 Songs and rhyms / songs on tapes

VII SOME MAIN KINDS OF READING EXERCISES:

Students must get acquainted with many kinds of exercises when studying reading skills The followings are some of the most popular kinds of reading exercises

1 Read a text and answer the questions

Ex: Read the text carefully, then answer the questions.

The ancient town of Hoi An lies on the Thu Bon River, 30 km south of Da Nang Itwas formerly a major trading center in Southeast Asia between the 16th and 17th

centuries Hoi An is famous for its old temples, pagodas, small tile-roofed houses andnarrow streets All the houses were made of wood and their pillars were carved withornamental designs

All visitors to Hoi An are recommended a visit to the Assembly Hall of CantoneseChinese Congregation This house was built in 1855 and still keeps many preciousobjects that belonged to the Chinese community of Hoi An Another attractive address

to tourists is Tan Ky House, which was constructed nearly two centuries ago as ahouse of a Vietnamese merchant the house now looks almost exactly as it did in theearly 19th century

In recent years, Hoi An has become a popular tourist destination in Vietnam In

1999, it was certified by UNESCO as a world Cultural Heritage Site

1 Where is the ancient town of Hoi An situated?

2 What was Hoi An known as between the 16th and 17th centuries?

3 What is it famous for ?

4 What are the old houses in Hoi An like ?

5 How old is The Assembly Hall of Contonese Chinese congretation?

6 When was Tan Ky House built ?

7 When was Hoi An declared by UNESCO as a world Cultural Heritage Site ?

waste disposal is to blame for many of the problems and the situation is particularly accute in heavily industrialized and over- populated regions Pollution of the

atmosphere has led to the destruction of the ozone layer and to the green house

effect Other environmental problems have been caused by too rapid a use of

resources There are far fewer fish in the sea because of over- fishing and the

destruction of the rain forests is having unforeseen ecological consequences Battery farming provides a lot of food but involves keeping animals in unnatural and

unhealthy condition

* Decide if it is true(T) or false(F) Correct the false sentences

1…… pollution is an important problem nowadays.

2…… Pollution of the atmosphere has destroyed the ozone layer

3…… There are more fish in the sea due to over- fishing

4…… Battery farming provides a lot of food and involves keeping animals in good condition

5…… Poor waste disposal causes pollution

Answers:

1 T

2 T

3 F there are far fewer fish in the sea because of over -fishing

4 F Battery farming provides a lot of food but involves keeping animals in unnatural and unhealthy condition

5 T

3 Read an open – text and find out the suitable words to fill in the blanks ( the words are not given, so students have to think and find out the suitable words to fill in the blanks ).

Ex : Read the open text and then find the missing words to fill in the blanks.

Everyone wants to reduce pollution But pollution problem is (1)……… complicated as it is serious It is complicated (2)……… much pollution is caused bythings that benefit people For example, exhaust (3)……… Automobiles causes alarge percentage of all air pollution But automobiles (4)…………transportation formillions of people Factories discharge much of the material (5)……… Pollutes theair and water, but factories give employment to a large (6)………of people Toomuch firtilizer or pesticide can ruin soil, but fertilizers and pesticide (7)

……… important aids to the growing of crops Thus, to end (8)……… greatlyreduces pollution immediately , people would have to (9)……… using many thingsthat benefit them Most people do not want to do that, of course But pollution can(10)……….gradually reduced in several ways

* Answers:

as Because/ as From provide which member are or stop be

4 Read a text and fill in the incomplete sentences given with the information from the text

Ex : Read the passage carefully and complete the following sentences.

Northern Japan has been rocked by a series of earthquakes and aftershocks thatbegan on 23 October 2004 and left at least 23 people dead and thousands more injuredand homeless

The initial quake that struck the Niigata prefecture on Honshu Island measured 6.5

on the Richter Scale, with a depth of 9.8 miles, according to the U.S GeologicalSurvey(USGS) The earthquake’s epicenter was located about 162 miles northwest of

Tokyo in Ojiya City, where several deaths were reported, housing was destroyed andlandslides added to the devastation Tremors from the initial quake were said to havebeen felt as far away as Tokyo, with two aftershocks measuring 6.2 and 6.0 on theRichter Scale and another 5.7- magnitude earthquake occurred on Monday, October

25th

The quakes demolished more than 1,000 buildings, caused widespread power andgas outages and damaged water mains Rescue efforts were hindered by impassibleroads, lack of electricity and collapsed bridges

a A series of earthquakes and aftershocks happened in …………in October, 2004

b The strength of the initial earthquake measured

………

c The strength and the depth of the earthquake were measured by ………

d The center of the earthquake was ………

e Tremors from the initial earthquake were felt in ………… , with two aftershocks and another earthquake measuring ………….on the Richter Scale

f More than 1,000 buildings were ………

g After the earthquakes, the supply of ……… and …………was interrupted in many places

h Impassable roads, lack of electricity, and collapsed bridges prevented ………

5 Read a text and make questions for the answers given

Ex: Read the passage and then use the information given to make questions.

JONATHAN SWIFT ( 1667 – 1745 )

Jonathan Swift, a famous English writer, was born in a poor family in Dublin,Ireland His father died some months before the boy was born His mother found work

in England and left Jonathan in his uncle’s family

The boy learnt very well at school and his uncle sent him to the university for fouryears In 1689, Swift went to England and found there work of a secretary to amember of Parliament At that time, Swift began to write articles for newspapers inwhich he attacked the Government of England and its colonial policy in Ireland Hewanted the Irish people to be free and happy

Soon Swift began to write not only articles for newspapers but satirical novels, too

In 1726 he wrote the novel “Gulliver’s travels” which made him famous It was asatirical novel about England People liked the book not only in England and Irelandbut in other countries, too

1 What was Jonathan’s job?

2 Where was he born?

3

4

5