INVESTICE DO ROZVOJE VZDĚLÁVÁNÍ
Projekt Síť vzdělavatelů učitelů cizích jazyků NEFLT registrační číslo CZ.1.07/2.4.00/31.0074
je součástí IPRM Ústí nad Labem Centrum.
Tento projekt je spolufinancován Evropským sociálním fondem a státním rozpočtem České republiky
Projekt Síť vzdělavatelů učitelů cizích jazyků NEFLT registrační číslo CZ.1.07/2.4.00/31.0074
Extensive reading at lower secondary school
Tato publikace byla vytvořena na Pedagogické fakultě Masarykovy university v Brně v
rámci projektu NEFLT (Network of Educators of Foreign Language Teachers).
Projekt je zaměřen „na prohloubení vazeb mezi vzdělavateli budoucích učitelů cizích
jazyků na veřejných vysokých školách a následně vazeb na učitele samotné. Cílem projektu je
spolupráce mezi institucemi a oboustranný transfer zkušeností, tj. ze strany aplikační sféry
soubor aktuálních problémů a potřeb (zejména v kontextu reformy školství a globalizačních
tendencí) - ze strany terciárního školství reakce v rámci výuky a odborná pomoc skrze
workshopy, semináře, odborné studijní materiály, kontaktní platformy a metodická centra“
(http://neflt.ujep.cz/).
Jedním z výstupů projektu je série příruček a brožur pro učitele cizích jazyků, v nichž
autoři předkládají nové nápady pro výuku. Tato série se snaží pokrýt celou škálu úrovní a
typů vzdělávacích institucí. Čtenáři v ní najdou např. nové přístupy k práci s překladem,
učitelé mladších žáků typy pro komunikativní výuku prostřednictvím her a aktivit založených
na dětském příběhu. Jiné materiály přicházejí s nápady, jak tvořivě pracovat s písněmi, poezií
a literárními texty. Konkrétní postupy a návody popsané krok za krokem jsou většinou
doplněny o kopírovatelné pracovní listy připravené k přímému použití ve třídě a přinášejí
osvěživé činnosti, které nelze běžně najít v učebnicích.
Tento studijní materiál nabízí učitelům 2. stupně základní školy ucelený program
využívající volnočasového čtení. Jedná se o sérii vyučovacích hodin, která doplňuje vzdělávací
program v anglickém jazyce a která pomáhá učiteli rozvíjet jazykové schopnosti žáků a
přispívá i k vytvoření pozitivního přístupu k učení.
This publication has been created at the Faculty of Education, Masaryk University,
Brno within the framework of the NEFLT project.
The Network of Educators of Foreign Language Teachers is aimed at “creating a
cooperative network of relationships between the tertiary education of future teachers of
foreign languages and the practical or applied sphere, i.e. between extramural, secondary,
primary, and pre-school educational levels, deepening the ties between the educators of
future foreign language teachers in public schools of higher education and the resulting ties
with the teachers themselves and enhancing cooperation between institutions and the
mutual transfer of experience, i.e. from the applied sphere - a set of real problems and
requirements (especially in the context of school reforms and globalizing tendencies), and
from the tertiary school sphere - reactions within the framework of instruction and expertise
through workshops, seminars, scholarly study materials, contact platforms, and
methodological advisory centres” (http://neflt.ujep.cz/en).
One of the outcomes of the project is a series of handbooks and booklets for teachers
of foreign languages in which the authors provide new ideas for the lessons. This series tries
to address the whole range of levels and types of educational institutions. The readers will
find, for example, new approaches to working with translation; teachers of young learners
will get a lot of tips for communicative teaching through games and activities based on a
children’s story. Other materials provide new ideas on how to work creatively with songs,
poetry and literary texts. Procedures and step-by-step instructions are mostly completed by
photocopiable worksheets ready to be used in the classroom and offer creative activities
which cannot be usually found in textbooks.
This study material offers the extensive reading programme to the teachers at lower
secondary school. It is a series of lessons that can be successfully implemented into the
language curriculum and that helps the teacher enhance his/her pupils’ language skills as
well as improve their attitude towards learning English.
1. What is the material about?
This material is aimed to help teachers to run their own extensive reading
programme offering activities that were successfully used by the author with pupils at lower
secondary school. All the activities are intended for language level A1-A2 and should be
supplemented by regular reading and discussions about reading. Discussions and
explanations of activities can be done in students’ mother tongue if their language
proficiency is not sufficient for doing it in English.
Activities in this material are arranged to be used either in the same sequence (as the
author did with regular reading lessons with her pupils during the programme) or teachers
can create their own extensive reading programme using these activities. They can be varied
and other reading activities can be added to make the programme more suitable for their
own students. Most activities are planned for a typical lesson of 45 min. Shorter activities
offer extra time for reading and longer ones can be divided into more than one lesson. The
following plans also include organisation of individual activities, materials needed for them,
lesson aims, tips for variation of tasks and worksheets for some activities.
The material is accompanied by a CD with two Smart Board presentations that help
teachers to introduce the necessary reading strategies and ways in which students’ reading
can be monitored. How to work with the presentations is described in the corresponding
plans.
2. What is extensive reading and why should we run extensive reading programmes at
lower secondary school?
Extensive reading is a method that is based on providing learners with a variety of
reading materials that they read for pleasure and for language development in the language
classroom and/or in their free time. It is one of the most efficient ways to develop students’
language skills, build their self-competence and positive attitude towards learning, which is
something that every language teacher certainly wants to achieve. Moreover, it can be done
in a pleasant way as the experience of many teachers who have tried extensive reading in
their classrooms has proved.
There are some principles that teachers should follow when they want to use
extensive reading with their pupils:
reading materials should be within the learners’ linguistic competence so they can
read them without struggling (e.g. graded readers for lower secondary school
learners)
large quantities of reading material on wide-ranging topics are needed so learners
can choose texts that suit their individuality and allow them to practise different
reading skills and fulfil different purposes for reading
learners choose their reading materials themselves and can stop reading a text that is
not suitable for them, either in terms of interest or language level
learners should read frequently, on a regular basis and as much as possible because
reading a large number of books helps to develop their language competence
extensive reading is not followed by tests or reading comprehension exercises: after-
reading activities are used to monitor learners’ reading
the teacher shares his/her reading experiences with the students, reads with them
during the class reading time and serves as a convincing reader model
a successful extensive reading programme should be a part of the language
curriculum, should be planned before and be intensive and long-term as the
development of learners’ skills takes a certain amount of time
reading lessons with special activities and tasks for monitoring reading and enhancing
learners’ motivation are needed since most reading is done outside the classroom
regular class reading time should be a part of the programme, e.g. a DEAR
programme (Drop everything, and Read!) or sustained silent reading
I hope that this material will be useful for teachers and that it will help their students
become competent readers and achieve the needed language proficiency.
Day, Richard R., and Julian Bamford. Extensive Reading in the Second Language Classroom.
Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print.
Some activities were created by the author and some were taken and adapted from these
sources:
Bamford, Julian, and Richard R. Day. Extensive Reading Activities for Teaching Language. New York:
Cambridge UP, 2010. Print.
Collie, Joanne, and Stephen Slater. Literature in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge UP,
2006. Print.
Nuttall, Christine. Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. Oxford: Macmillan Limited, 2005.
Print.
Useful websites:
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/daily-dear-program-drop-55.html
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr038.shtml
Blurb and title match
Topic
Introduction of graded readers and motivation towards extensive reading
Aims
By the end of the lesson:
the pupils’ motivation towards reading in English will have been encouraged
the pupils will have understood what graded readers are
the pupils will have started reading selected readers
Time
45 mins
Materials
A worksheet with the blurbs and titles (worksheet 1), a variety of graded readers, bookmarks (worksheet 2)
Introduction
Short discussion about pupils’ reading preferences to introduce the topic of the lesson
Procedure
1. Lead-in Pupils are divided into pairs or small groups and get worksheets with the blurbs and titles of the books. Graded readers are displayed in the classroom. A teacher explains to the pupils what the blurb is and also explains what they should do.
2. Blurb and title match
Pupils have to match the blurbs with the titles. They can look at the graded readers on display but they must not look at the back where the blurb is. There is one book on display that does not have its blurb in the worksheet. When the pupils finish the activity, the teacher picks up the readers one by one and asks the pupils which blurb is the right one. They should support their opinion. The activity ends when the readers are matched to all the blurbs successfully. (Pupils can also get copies of the front pages of books to work with their worksheets and then they compare their findings with the real books. It allows more contact with books, which can help promote their interest in reading.)
3. Discussion A discussion is led about the books on display and whether some of them look attractive to the pupils and why.
4. Selecting the first book and reading
Pupils get the information about the graded readers; how they differ from the real books and the particular language levels they have. They are then given time to look at readers and select one of them for their reading at home. They can also choose from the variety of bookmarks that are offered to them to catch their interest and motivate them towards reading. The pupils have time for reading their chosen books. The teacher also reads a book to demonstrate that reading is a pleasant activity.
5. Variation Pupils can be encouraged to create their own blurbs for books they have read which they want to present to their classmates.
Pupils can tell their classmates and teacher why they have chosen their
bookmarks and how they understand the quotations.
A teacher can create his/her own worksheet with blurbs according to his/her pupils’ language proficiency as there is a variety of graded readers of different levels that can be used. Each activity in this plan can be modified to suit different pupils’ abilities or needs as well.
Worksheet 1:
BLURBS:
1. Jim Hawkins and his parents have a quiet inn by the sea. Then one day, an old sailor
arrives at the inn. What is he afraid of? Dangerous men come to the inn. Jim’s quiet
life changes and he goes across the sea by ship to some secret place.
...........................................................................................
2. The girl lives in the Bahamas. Her mother and father work at an Animal Hospital. She
has a new friend. His name is Ben and he’s an animal. Ben is very ill. The girl helps
him. Then she has a big problem. Can Ben help her?
............................................................................................
3. “Always be good, so people will love you. Always work hard and do your best.” These
were the words of his mother to her son when the two lived with Farmer Grey. But
when he got older, this was sometimes very difficult for him. Not everybody was as
kind as Farmer Grey..............................................................................................
4. He is the strongest man in the world, but one day he does something very bad. The
priestess at Delphi tells him: “The gods are angry with you. For twelve years you must
work for King Eurystheus, and do twelve tasks for him. When you finish, the gods can
forgive your crime.” Some tasks are easier, and some tasks are more difficult. Can he
finish all twelve of them? And what happens when he does?
...............................................................................................
5. “You don’t want me!” cried a girl. “You don’t want me because I’m not a boy! Oh,
what shall I do?” Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert want a boy from the orphanage to
help them on their farm. But a thin little girl is waiting for Matthew at Bright River
Station. She is a funny and sometimes difficult child and changes everybody’s life and
wins everybody’s love..................................................................................................
6. This is the story of four friends – Toad, Rat, Mole and Badger. Rat loves the river.
Mole is often afraid. Badger likes to stay at home. But Toad is always looking for new
adventures – and some of his ideas are dangerous.
...................................................................................................
7. The girl lives with her grandfather in his little wooden house in Switzerland. One day,
her aunt arrives and takes her to her home in Frankfurt. The girl likes her new friend,
but she doesn’t like living in a big house in the city. Can she go back to her home in
the mountains? .....................................................................................................
THE LIST OF BOOKS:
Heidi Anne of Green Gables Hercules The Wind in the Willows
Treasure Island Maisie and the Dolphin Black Beauty Sinbad
Adapted from: Bamford, Julian, and Richard R. Day. Extensive Reading Activities for Teaching Language. New York: Cambridge UP, 2010. Print.
Readers:
Spyri, Johanna, and John Escott. Heidi. Penguin Readers. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2008. Print.
Montgomery, Lucy Maud and Anne Collins. Anne of Green Gables. Penguin Readers. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2007. Print.
Hardy-Gould, Janet. Hercules. Dominoes. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.
Grahame, Kenneth and Anne Collins. The Wind in the Willows. Penguin Readers. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2008. Print.
Stevenson, Robert Louis and Ann Ward. Treasure Island. Penguin Readers. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2008. Print.
Rabley, Stephen. Maisie and the Dolphin. Penguin Readers. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2008. Print.
Sewell, Anna and John Davage. Black Beauty. Penguin Readers. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2008. Print.
Hardy-Gould, Janet. Sinbad. Dominoes. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.
Worksheet 1 - key:
BLURBS:
1. Jim Hawkins and his parents have a quiet inn by the sea. Then one day, an old sailor
arrives at the inn. What is he afraid of? Dangerous men come to the inn. Jim’s quiet
life changes and he goes across the sea by ship to some secret place.
TREASURE ISLAND
2. The girl lives in the Bahamas. Her mother and father work at an Animal Hospital. She
has a new friend. His name is Ben and he’s an animal. Ben is very ill. The girl helps
him. Then she has a big problem. Can Ben help her?
MAISIE AND THE DOLPHIN
3. “Always be good, so people will love you. Always work hard and do your best.” These
were the words of his mother to her son when the two lived with Farmer Grey. But
when he got older, this was sometimes very difficult for him. Not everybody was as
kind as Farmer Grey. BLACK BEAUTY
4. He is the strongest man in the world, but one day he does something very bad. The
priestess at Delphi tells him: “The gods are angry with you. For twelve years you must
work for King Eurystheus, and do twelve tasks for him. When you finish, the gods can
forgive your crime.” Some tasks are easier, and some tasks are more difficult. Can he
finish all twelve of them? And what happens when he does? HERCULES
5. “You don’t want me!” cried a girl. “You don’t want me because I’m not a boy! Oh,
what shall I do?” Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert want a boy from the orphanage to
help them on their farm. But a thin little girl is waiting for Matthew at Bright River
Station. She is a funny and sometimes difficult child and changes everybody’s life and
wins everybody’s love. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
6. This is the story of four friends – Toad, Rat, Mole and Badger. Rat loves the river.
Mole is often afraid. Badger likes to stay at home. But Toad is always looking for new
adventures – and some of his ideas are dangerous. THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS
7. The girl lives with her grandfather in his little wooden house in Switzerland. One day,
her aunt arrives and takes her to her home in Frankfurt. The girl likes her new friend,
but she doesn’t like living in a big house in the city. Can she go back to her home in
the mountains? HEIDI
SINBAD does not have its blurb in the worksheet.
Worksheet 2:
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/reading-quote-bookmarks
Diary and Map
Topic
Monitoring of pupils’ reading – introduction of reading diary, map and graph
Aims
By the end of the lesson the pupils:
will know how to record reading in a reading diary
will have created their own reading graph
will have discussed their reading
will have continued reading a book
Time
45 mins
Materials
Reading diaries – exercise books (one for each pupil), graded readers, Smart Board presentation with an explanation of how to organize a reading diary(CD), tables for recording reading (worksheets 1 and 2) and a reading map (worksheet 3) that a teacher or pupils should glue into the diary, a large sheet of paper, crayons/markers
Introduction
The teacher asks the pupils about their chosen readers, what they like about them. The teacher also shares his/her experience with reading for pleasure.
Procedure
1. Lead-in Pupils are explained that they should record their reading because the information and experiences gained from reading will be used in further activities and games.
2. Reading diary Reading diaries are introduced to the pupils and they are told how to work with them. The teacher uses a Smart Board presentation to demonstrate it. Pupils are encouraged to write short reports about each book they will read – the title, how much time they spent reading it, what they learnt, if it was easy or difficult and their attitudes toward the book. They should use English as much as possible but they can use their mother tongue if they are not able to express their opinion in the target language.
3. Reading map Each reading diary will contain a reading map. There is a route 42 kilometres long. Pupils get instructions about how many books they have to read to get to the end of the route. These instructions are differentiated according to pupils’ abilities so the number of books needed to fulfil the task is not the same for all pupils. Pupils can be rewarded by reading certificates when they complete the whole reading map.
4. Reading graph
Pupils create a reading graph to see how many books they will have read. The graph should show the overall amount of pupils’ read books (together as a class
so as not to humiliate the weaker readers) and should be updated regularly. They use a large sheet of paper and display the graph in the classroom as a record of their achievement and at the same time as an encouragement to continue reading.
5. Reading Pupils and the teacher read their selected books.
6. Variation The reading map can be created by pupils themselves or can be coloured in to become more personal.
The reports in the reading diary can be accompanied by illustrations.
Worksheet 1:
Weekly Reading Diary
Week Mon
(time spent)
Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun I talk to sb. about the book. (who?)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Bamford, Julian and Richard R. Day. Extensive Reading Activities for Teaching Language.
Worksheet 2:
List of books I have read
Title + number
(e.g. 1. Garfield)
Time spent
(e.g. one week)
Level
(e.g. easy, difficult)
(If I liked it)
Bamford, Julian and Richard R. Day. Extensive Reading Activities for Teaching Language.
Worksheet 3:
READING MAP
Bamford, Julian and Richard R. Day. Extensive Reading Activities for Teaching Language.
Reading strategies
Topic
Demonstration and practice of reading strategies through reading an authentic book
Aims
By the end of the lesson:
will have practised important reading strategies
will have read an authentic book together with the teacher and their classmates
Time
45 mins
Materials
Smart Board presentation with the story “Click, clack, moo” (CD)
Introduction
The teacher explains to the pupils that he/she understands they might have problems reading in English and that he/she has prepared some help for them. It is a presentation in which they will read an authentic funny story together.
Procedure
1. Lead-in 1st slide of presentation with the cover of the book – pupils predict what the story is about from an illustration and the title, try to guess the meaning of the word “type” and elicit words that could occur in the story. The teacher also reads the title “Click, clack, moo” and pupils guess what the sound suggests.
2. Introduction and practice of reading strategies
Pupils read the story together in a presentation and various reading strategies are introduced during it to demonstrate how to deal with the difficulties they can have while reading. Presentation slides 2-8:
Reading in clusters – the text is divided into clusters and the teacher demonstrates how to use them for reading and comprehending.
Guessing the meaning – pupils try to guess how the farmer probably feels using a picture and circled and underlined sentences. They also guess the meaning of the new words.
Guessing the meaning of the new word from the context – pupils try to find out what the phrase “electric blanket” means with the help of the phrases “very cold” and “at night”.
Predicting – pupils read another part of the text and with the help of it and an illustration try to predict what the cows have written to the farmer. The text of the letter is hidden behind the square and after predicting it is revealed to find out if their predictions were right or not.
Rereading + looking back/forward – the teacher shows the pupils how they can deal with a text if they do not understand by rereading the passage or looking backwards or forwards.
Predicting the lines – the whole text except the first sentence is again hidden behind the square and the teacher moves it down line by line. Pupils try to predict what will be on the next line.
Ignoring the words – pupils try to choose the words that they do not have to know to understand the text and circle them on the board.
3. Reading and using suggested strategies
Presentation slides 9-16: Pupils read the rest of the story and try to employ the introduced reading strategies.
4. Class discussion
The teacher discusses the story and their feelings about it with the pupils, and explains to them that these reading strategies can be used whenever they read their chosen books. He/she encourages them to use these strategies because they will help them to read successfully.
5. Variation Pupils can write down their prediction about the readers they have chosen and after reading them, compare if their predictions were right or not. It can be done as a group activity with the classmates who have read the same reader.
Cronin, Doreen, and Betsy Lewin. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. New York: Simon & Schuster for
Young Readers, 2000. Print
Literary genres
Topic
Introduction of literary genres and discussion
Aims
By the end of the activity the pupils:
will know the various literary genres
will have discussed their reading and their reading preferences
will have continued reading a book
Time
30 mins
Materials
Graded readers, reading diaries
Introduction
Short discussion between the teacher and pupils about how people select their reading materials and what the pupils and the teacher like to read and why.
Procedure
1. Lead-in During the discussion the teacher tries to elicit from the pupils what kind of books they know and like. They create a list of literary genres on the board together with a teacher (the discussion can be led in their mother tongue but the genres should be written in English). Possible genres the pupils may know are adventure, thriller, spy, mystery, detective stories, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, animal stories, travel, history, legends and stories about children.
2. Introducing literary genres
The teacher then adds graded readers on display and pupils try to match these books and their selected readers to the genres. They can use the notes from their reading diaries. They also discuss what they like to read and why. They can use their mother tongue but should be encouraged to use English.
3. Reading Pupils and the teacher read their selected books.
4. Variation Literary genres can be elicited during discussions in small groups and then the list of them is created by the whole class. Pupils can prepare a list of literary genres they know as homework.
Instant book report
Topic
Report about books read
Aims
By the end of the activity the pupils:
will have reported about books they are reading in the target language
will have practised their speaking skills
Time
30 mins
Materials
Reading diaries, a worksheet with the “Instant book report” (worksheet 1)
Introduction
The teacher shows the pupils a book he/she is reading and tells them what he/she likes about it and that he/she is curious about their experiences with the new books.
Procedure
1. Lead-in Each pupil gets a worksheet with the “Instant book report”. These are the beginnings of the sentences that help pupils to report about their books in English. The teacher demonstrates how to use the worksheet and tells the pupils information about his/her book using the sentences from the worksheet. The new expressions from the worksheet are clarified as well and the teacher stresses the idea that the aim of the activity is to report and not to check the correctness of the sentences.
2. Instant book report
Pupils then start doing the activity in pairs. They can complete the sentences in their worksheets first or start speaking immediately. They can use the notes from their reading diaries. After reporting to each other in pairs, they find another partner and report to them. They continue doing the activity and try to report to as many classmates as possible. The teacher stops the activity after some time and asks the pupils about information they have got from their classmates. The instant book report and the following discussion should be done in English.
3. Variation A substantial part of the activity can be done in English and then pupils can discuss their reading in their mother tongue to stimulate their interest in reading and books their classmates are reading (suitable for lower levels of learners).
Worksheet 1:
I read a book called ________________________.
It’s a(n) _____________________________ story. (adventure, mystery, sci-fi, love, detective, true)
It’s about _____________________________.
The main characters are _______________________________________________. (names, jobs,
personalities)
In the story, there was a problem. ________________________________________.
I like / didn’t like this book because ___________________________________________.
Bamford, Julian and Richard R. Day. Extensive Reading Activities for Teaching Language.
Vocabulary game
Topic
Vocabulary game + creating a Vocabulary corner
Aims
By the end of the lesson the pupils:
will have practised the new vocabulary from the books
will have prepared a vocabulary game and created a Vocabulary corner
Time
45 mins
Materials
Graded readers, reading diaries, small pieces of paper, markers, Vocabulary corner prepared in advance (worksheet 1)
Introduction
Information on how reading helps the learners acquire the new vocabulary and that the pupils are going to prepare a game for their classmates + the fact that the pupils who read know more vocabulary and thus can get more points for their team
Procedure
1. Lead-in Pupils are divided into groups of three or four. They work with their reading diaries and discuss the words they have found in their books and written down in their diaries.
2. Vocabulary game
Pupils then select six words they consider to be the most interesting or important and find them in their books. They prepare sentences from the books with the chosen words for their game. They also write the words down on small pieces of paper. After all the groups have prepared their sentences and words, one group starts a game. The members show the word to their classmates and read the sentence from the books to help the pupils to guess the meaning from the context. The pupil who guesses the right meaning of a word gets a point for their team. The game ends when all the words have been guessed.
3. Vocabulary corner
The teacher prepares a Vocabulary corner in advance. It can be a part of the notice board with the title (worksheet 1). Each group puts the words from the vocabulary game into the vocabulary corner together with the guessed translation of the words (written on small pieces of paper as well). The teacher explains to the pupils that it enables them to remember the words from reading and that they will regularly change the content of the corner and use the new vocabulary during their activities in the lessons.
4. Variation Each pupil can prepare the sentences and words for the vocabulary game for homework and the game can be played in groups or as a whole class.
The winner will be the pupil who guesses the most words.
There can be an explanation of the new vocabulary instead of translation into the mother tongue in the vocabulary corner, especially for more advanced learners.
Worksheet 1:
VOCABULARY CORNER
(What we have found in our books.)
Shared dictation
Topic
Reading and dictation of extract from readers
Aims
By the end of the activity the pupils:
will have practised listening and reading aloud
will have practised self-correction
Time
30 mins
Materials
Graded readers, reading diaries, sheets of paper, pens of different colours
Introduction
The teacher tells the pupils in advance that they are going to do a special reading activity and asks them to prepare an extract from their readers about 3-4 lines long. The pupils have to read it aloud at home at least three times and they are encouraged to read it to another person. The teacher prepares the extract as well.
Procedure
1. Lead-in The teacher explains to the pupils that they are going to dictate their prepared extracts to their classmates and divides them into groups of three or four. To demonstrate the activity first, the teacher reads the extract at a natural speed and the pupils listen to it. Then he/she dictates the passage to pupils and they write it down. After the dictation, the passage is read again at a natural speed so that the pupils can check their writing. At the end of the activity, the pupils try to correct their written extracts themselves. If necessary, the teacher or their classmates can help.
2. Shared dictation
Pupils then do the activity in groups according to the model. They take turns so each pupil dictates as well as writes. They are encouraged to practise self-correction and their peers can help them only when they are unable to do it themselves.
3. Variation The teacher can prepare a similar activity as a follow-up. He/she chooses the short story cut into extracts (one for each pupil). The extracts are given to pupils to be read aloud at home and they must not show them to their classmates. In the lesson pupils do the same procedure as in the Shared dictation activity in groups. After that they should put together all the extracts to create a story that one pupil or the teacher then reads aloud for everybody.
Book promotion
Topic
Promotional campaign for the books read
Aims
By the end of the lesson the pupils:
will have practised their writing skills by making posters
will have presented their posters to their classmates
Time
90 mins
Materials
Graded readers, reading diaries, large sheets of paper, markers, crayons
Introduction
A discussion about promoting a new film or CD, if the book can be promoted by the same way, thinking about a reader they have read that is suitable for a promotional campaign.
Procedure
1. Lead-in The teacher explains to the pupils that they are going to promote a book so that other people may want to read it. Together they elicit what a good poster should include and also tips for the oral presentation of their poster. Then the pupils are divided into pairs or small groups according to the selected readers they would like to promote. One pair / group promotes only one reader.
2. Making posters
Pupils discuss what their poster will contain and decide what each member of the group or pair will do. They use the selected reader and their notes from the reading diaries to gather important information about the reader. They follow the instructions from the whole class discussion to make a poster that is visible and has a positive impact on possible readers.
3. Oral presentations
After making posters pupils prepare their oral presentations and decide on the roles of the members. They rehearse their presentation. They use only English and their main aim is to promote the book through their poster. They can read a passage from their book as well. They present their chosen reader to other groups.
4. Class discussion
After all the presentations a discussion can be led about them – what the pupils liked / disliked about them and if they would like to read the books that were promoted. The posters are then displayed in the classroom to promote the books.
5. Variation The promotional campaign can be extended to other classes to promote graded readers to more pupils.
The posters can be a part of their school library to stimulate the interest in reading in English.
Vocabulary quiz
Topic
Preparing a vocabulary quiz for classmates
Aims
By the end of the lesson the pupils:
will have practised new vocabulary from their books
will have prepared a vocabulary quiz for their classmates
Time
45 mins
Materials
Graded readers, reading diaries, sheets of paper
Introduction
Discussion about the new vocabulary the pupils have acquired while reading, how it can be introduced to their classmates.
Procedure
1. Lead-in The teacher tells his/her pupils that they are going to use the vocabulary they have found in their books to prepare a vocabulary quiz for their classmates.
2. Making vocabulary quizzes
Pupils are divided into small groups of about 3-4 members. Their task is to make a short cloze test that consists of five words that have to be completed in sentences or short texts that come from their readers. The pupils should be careful to prepare extracts of the text that allow their classmates to complete the missing words with the help of context. They should use different word classes to enable their peers to guess what word is the most suitable to be filled in.
3. Giving vocabulary quizzes
Two groups now work together giving their created vocabulary quizzes to each other. Pupils try to complete the quiz the other group has made for them and they can get help by reading a larger part of the text the extract was taken from. The groups alternate in both giving the quiz and completing it.
4. Class discussion
The teacher discusses with his/her pupils their feelings during the quiz, if they were successful and what helped them to solve the quizzes. He/she tells them how important it is to learn vocabulary in context and how helpful extensive reading can be for acquisition of vocabulary. (This advice is better to be given in the pupils’ mother tongue as it is aimed at helping learners to deal with the new vocabulary rather than practising their speaking skills.)
5. Variation Pupils can be encouraged to prepare quizzes like these for their classmates regularly to practise the new words from their reading. These quizzes can be a part of vocabulary corner and pupils can complete them as extra work in lessons.
Pupils can create a quiz for each reader and these can be attached to the readers so after reading the book pupils can take the quiz to find out if he/she understands the new words and structures.
Letter to character
Topic
Writing letters to characters
Aims
By the end of the lesson the pupils:
will have practised their writing skills
will have written a letter to a character from the book
will have discussed their letters
Time
45 mins
Materials
Graded readers, reading diaries, sheets of paper
Introduction
Discussion about the characters from the books the pupils have read, what they like or dislike about them, what they would like to know about them and their adventures they did not find in the books.
Procedure
1. Lead-in Pupils first choose one character that is the most appealing for them either in a positive or negative way and think of him/her and his/her adventures.
2. Writing a letter to a character
Then they write a short letter to him/her trying to find more information about him/her and his/her adventures that they are interested in or to write the character something they want to tell to him/her.
3. Reading and answering the letters
The letters are then displayed in the classroom. The pupils read them and then choose one letter to answer it as the character the letter was intended for. They either can use what they know about the character if they have read the book or respond in a way they think the character would react according to the information the letter reveals about him/her. They write their answer on the same sheet of paper.
4. Letter display and discussion
Letters are displayed in the classroom so the pupils can read them again with the answer “the character” has written to them. Then each pupil tells the others what he/she found interesting about these letters. They also discuss their feelings during the activity and if they like the responses to their letters. This part of the activity can start in English and then be led in the pupils’ mother tongue if needed.
5. Variation Pupils can write answers to more than one letter either in the lesson or as homework and then compare the different answers and discuss them.
Pupils can make a chain of letters in which there is a sequence of letters to a character and pupil’s answers. The letters and answers are written by different pupils.
Moviemaker
Topic
Acting a scene from a book
Aims
By the end of the lesson the pupils:
will have practised their speaking skills by making a “film scene”
will have presented their “film scene” to their classmates
Time
45 mins
Materials
Graded readers, reading diaries
Introduction
Discussion about films, actors and talking about the activity in advance to enable pupils to choose the short scene they want to perform and the classmates who have read the same book and want to participate with them.
Procedure
1. Lead-in Pupils should divide into groups according to the number of people that will act in a planned scene and that have read the chosen book.
2. Moviemaker They decide who will act which character and rehearse the scene. Then they perform the scene to their classmates.
3. Variation It can be done as a competition in which pupils should guess what reader the scene comes from. Pupils who read more can get more points for themselves or their teams.
Pupils can choose one reader and make a whole screenplay from it to be performed to another class or to their parents.
Newspaper
Topic
Making a newspaper using information from books
Aims
By the end of the lesson the pupils:
will have practised their writing skills by making news reports
will have made a newspaper together
Time
90 mins
Materials
Graded readers, reading diaries, sheets of paper (one large and a few smaller ones), markers, crayons, pens, scissors, glue
Introduction
Discussion about books, adventures and characters they have found interesting.
Procedure
1. Lead-in The teacher explains to the pupils that they will make a newspaper that will consist of news reports about characters and adventures from the stories they have read. She then tells them to think about what is worth being in their newspaper, what kinds of reports should be there (e.g. sport, culture, politics) and then the pupils make groups according to the chosen character or adventure they want to write about to be able to put the whole newspaper together.
2. Making news Pupils work in groups on their news reports. They try to make them short and interesting with a catchy heading.
3. Making a newspaper
Pupils put their created news reports together to make a newspaper. They can add illustrations and advertisements and they make up the newspaper’s title. Then their newspaper is displayed in the classroom and a whole class discussion is led about the work they have done on it.
4. Variation If there are larger classes each group can make their own newspaper.
Newspapers can be a part of the school library to stimulate interest in reading in English.
WANTED poster
Topic
Making a WANTED poster using characters from the books
Aims
By the end of the lesson the pupils:
will have practised their writing and reading skills by making WANTED posters
Time
45 mins
Materials
Graded readers, reading diaries, WANTED worksheets (worksheet 1), markers, crayons
Introduction
The teacher writes the word WANTED on the board and asks the pupils if they know what it means and elicits from them the right meaning and what they think they will do in this reading lesson. He/she also shows them an example of such a poster to see what should be there.
Procedure
1. Lead-in Pupils are divided into groups and choose the character they want to describe in their poster. They use a reader trying to find suitable sentences that can be used for their poster as well as their own notes about the character in their reading diaries.
2. Making a WANTED poster
Pupils are given the worksheets to make the WANTED poster using information from the book and their reading diary. The characters might be wanted for either negative or positive actions. They also draw a picture of the character.
3. Poster presentation
The posters are displayed in the classroom and the pupils can discuss them. The discussion can be led in English or in the pupils’ mother tongue according to their language proficiency.
4. Variation Pupils can be divided into groups according to the book they have all read. They are asked to make WANTED posters for all the main characters of the book to show their understanding of the story and the characters’ actions.
The posters can decorate the school library to arouse the interest of other learners in reading.
Worksheet 1:
WWAANNTTEEDD
ffoorr
RReewwaarrdd::
