TSL 3063 Teaching Reading Skills and Vocabulary In The Primary ESL Classroom

STAGES OF A READING COMPREHENSIONS

TOPIC 4 LESSON & STAGES OF A LITERACY HOUR

4.0 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.

4.1 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.

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4.2 FRAMEWORK OF TOPIC

Topic 4a STAGES OF A READING

LESSON

pre reading while reading post reading

Topic 4b STAGES OF A LITERACY

HOUR

guided reading/
shared reading word/sentence level independent plenary
work work

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4.2.1 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 one’s 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.

4.2.1.1 Pre-reading
This phase usually has one or more of these functions:
 to generate interest in the topic
 to introduce vocabulary, language or concepts related to the text
 to help pupils see the relationship of ideas
 to activate previous knowledge related to the text
 to relate text to personal lives

Generally, this stage is to prepare learners for the reading passage they will be
reading. It is very important that the learners are provided with a lot of pre-
reading support so that the learners are confident enough to read effectively and
efficiently.

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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.

That’s a brief introduction of the pre-reading stage. Now, let’s take a look at what
is entailed in the while-reading stage.

4.2.1.2 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.

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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.

Let’s 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.

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That concludes the segment on while-reading. It’s time to look at the last stage—
the post reading stage.

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

Among the activities that we can engage pupils in are:

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

Let’s 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.

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b) Put the pupils into pairs and give each pair a copy of a set of
questions.
They need to ask each other these questions.

Questions

1. Do you like chocolate cake? Chocolate ice-cream? Chocolate bars? Hot

chocolate drinks?

2. How much chocolate do you have every week?

3. Do you eat more chocolate now than when you were younger?

4. Do you think it’s bad that some children eat a lot of chocolate?

c) The teacher monitors while the pupils discuss the questions together. The
first three questions are the most important, so stop after everyone has
done those.

d) Do a whole class feedback on the first three questions. You could also tell
the class your answers to these questions.

**A note to teachers:

As far as possible, use realia in the class. This generates a lot of interest.
At the same time you can see the pupils’ reaction to chocolate–-are they
excited about 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.

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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.

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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) She’s still talking about her children, (d) She gets headaches.
(e) She feels better and happier, but, guilty too.
(f) I try to speak…but nobody understands.

Post-reading tasks

Based on the text you have read, Maria asks, “ What can I do?” (paragraph 5).
In pairs or small groups, ask pupils to brainstorm ideas to help Maria. What can
she do? How can her family help? Encourage them to come up with four or five
ideas.

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Chocolate

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

but it’s very bad for me–for my health and for my life. What’s the
1 problem? I can’t 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 I’m the
2 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 Mother’s Day. My parents don’t 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 o’clock in the morning, and then I have my last one just before I go to
3 bed. Sometimes if there’s 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,
“Where’s my box of chocolates?” and I said, “I don’t 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. There’s a lot of sugar in
all types of chocolate. There’s also a lot of fat. I think that’s why I have many spots
4 on my face, and I’m a little overweight too. Sometimes I try to stop but if I don’t have
any, I get very bad headaches. However, as soon as I have some chocolate I feel
better and happier too. I know that it’s also very bad to take and eat chocolate that’s
not mine but I can’t 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
5 stop, or start to eat less. At the supermarket there’s always chocolate for sale while
I wait to pay for my shopping. At the station (bus, train, underground…) there’s
always chocolate for sale in machines. Everywhere I look there’s 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 chocolate1.

1Taken from : http://www.esl-galaxy.com & www.englishmedialab.com

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

2. Read the text again and match a summary with a paragraph.

Summary Paragraph

a) Maria is the only one who loves chocolate 1

in her family

b) This becomes a problem for Maria 2

c) Maria wants help 3

4
d) The description of the problem

5
e) An introduction to the problem

6
f) Why the problem is difficult to stop
3. Are the following sentences True or False?
a) Maria is the middle child in her family. ( )
b) She is a mother. ( )
c) Sarah is one of her sisters. ( )
d) Cheryl feels ill if she stops eating chocolate. ( )
e) She feels both good and bad after eating chocolate. ( )
f) It’s very easy to buy chocolate. ( )

So, that was a complete lesson with different activities for the three stages of a
reading lesson.

Now, here’s something for you to do.

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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 you’d want to go to?”

“Like, for instance?”
“Like a school,” Sam said, “where you’d never have to do anything
you didn’t want to. If you didn’t feel like maths, you could read. If you didn’t
feel like reading, you could play ball.” 5
“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 day’s lunch. “After a while,” he said, “you’d get
bored doing anything you wanted to. It’d be like summer all year long. I 10
mean, summer’s 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 don’t
want to do it.”
“The trouble with you,” Sam said, “is you haven’t got much
imagination.” 15
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means,” Sam said, “there’s always something to do. There’s
never any reason to be bored. Watch.
“My Brace! My Brace!” Sam howled. “I’ve lost it!”
“There’s nothing wrong with your teeth,” Benjy whispered. “You 20
don’t have a brace.” If Sam wasn’t a friend of mine, Benjy was thinking, I’d
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. It’s in the macaroni or somewhere in the ice cream. 25
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, 30
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

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several steps away, was looking fixedly at the ceiling. 35

“Wait a minute,” Mr McEvoy said, “You don’t 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 he’s growling. He
sounds like – like a dog. 40
“Sam!” Mr McEvoy’s voice was loud, but it sounded strangled. “This
is a joke, isn’t 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 45
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. 50
“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 55
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, didn’t
seem to be hungry.
“Terrific,” Benjy said to Sam. “Terrific, if that’s what you call
imagination, I’d rather have a toothache.” 60
“Some days nobody’s got a sense of humour,” Sam said, annoyed
at Benjy and annoyed at himself.

Adapted from: This school is driving me crazy

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

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4.2.2 Topic4b: Stages of the literacy hour

This topic concerns a special programme launched by the Ministry of Education

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

The Literacy Hour

Before we begin to talk about the stages of a literacy hour, let us take a brief look
at what is meant as the literacy hour and the objectives of this special hour
allocated for developing literacy among our pupils.

The literacy hour or the ‘English Hour’ as it is called in Malaysia is an adaptation

of the “Literacy Hour” used in the UK. It is an innovative effort by the Ministry of
Education to improve the teaching and learning of English in Malaysian schools.
It was introduced in 2002 as part of a revised English language programme.
The focus of the English Hour is to develop language through story books. The
purpose is to move away from the traditional whole-class teacher-centred
approach to developing literacy, especially reading, through a more student-
oriented approach. Here, it is hoped that active participation will increase the
pupils’ interest and motivation to read. Pupils’ learning is also enhanced when
they are engaged in text-based activities.

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

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Stages of the English Hour/Literacy Hour

The English Hour comprises four sections or steps.
 The lesson starts with the whole class working on a shared text (15
minutes) where the teacher models effective reading. The teacher will
read from a big book or more preferable a text projected on a screen.
Pupils will listen and may join in the reading by repeating some parts of
the text but the whole text is mostly read by the teacher.
 Then comes a short period of word level or sentence level work (15
minutes). The teacher can use this part of the lesson to teach and
consolidate phonic knowledge which the children can then apply in their
reading and writing or on spelling or sentence construction. Grammar
work can also be conducted but only one or two grammar items at a time.
 Twenty minutes of the lesson is for independent work and guided
reading where pupils apply their literacy skills in meaningful tasks
individually, in pairs or in groups. While the pupils are engaged in their
work, the teacher will work with pupils in small groups on their reading.
The text should be one that the pupils have little difficulty in reading.
 The final 10 minutes of the lesson is the plenary session which allows
teachers and children to reflect on and assess what has been learnt and
to think about how to develop what they have learnt further.

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.

4.2.2.1 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.

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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

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 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 let’s 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. Let’s look at what is
carried out at each stage.

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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

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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.

4.2.2.2 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, let’s take a look at what entails in the guided reading segment.

4.2.2.3(a) 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.

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During the guided reading session, through the teacher’s 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.

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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 ability—children 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 children’s 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 individual’s progress.

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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.

What’s up next? Independent work! Let us walk through the penultimate activity.

4.2.2.3(b) 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. Let’s take a look at what can be
carried out.

4.2.2.4 Plenary

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

That’s the tutorial on the English Hour. Let’s put all that you have learnt into
practice.

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Tutorial question

1. Pick a story book. Design a word/sentence level activity you would carry
out with your pupils.

2. Plan a grouping list of your pupils who need guided reading. List the
criteria for the selection. Next, pick a book/story you would use with each
group. Explain your choice of the text.

3. Design an independent work activity for the independent readers in your

class.

Reference

First Steps: Reading Developmental Continuum and Reading Resource Book

(1997) Rigby Heinemann.

Saunders-Smith, G. (2009)The ultimate guided reading how-to book. California:

Corwin

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