Introduction to Reading in the

Primary School
What is Reading
A thinking (cognitive) process
A reconstruction and interpretation of
meanings
A process of understanding written
language
*Comprehension of written materials
(constructing meaning from texts)

The Communication Process
Reading means getting out of the text as
nearly as possible the message that the writer
puts into it.
Encoder (writer) has message in his mind to
share. He encodes it into words (written ).
Once encoded, becomes a text outside his
mind.
A text becomes accessible to a decoder
(reader). He decodes the message in the text.
Once decoded, message enters the mind of
decoder, and communication results.


Various Definition of Reading
An active process of relating what readers already
known to what the text says and use the social
context to focus on their response.
A medium of communication involving the
sender, receiver and message.
An act of simultaneously reading the lines
(decode), reading between the lines (infer) and
reading beyond the lines (judge and apply).
An interactive process between reader and text.
Why do people read ? State are some
main reasons for reading
Reading for survival - a matter of life or death:
immediate needs or wishes, signs instructions,etc.,

Activity.
Write and read as many signs and instructions you
meet on your way to lecture.

Example: No smoking! Push! No Litter! etc

Reading for information - goal oriented

- Reading to extend the general
knowledge of the world

- Reading for information

- Reading to remind ourselves about half-
known
Reading for specific purposes - for a very
particular purpose

- To give instructions

- To describe situations

- To report events

- To generalize

Reading for pleasure - for its own
sake.
- Thrillers
- Romantic fiction
- The classics
- Contemporary fiction.
Activity.
Classify your reading under the four
types of reading.

Reading Readiness
A child needs :
To develop his knowledge of the English
language
Motivation to learn to read
The ability to discriminate between shapes
To recognise that print has meaning


Pupils need to hear the sounds of words, the
rhythms of language, stress and pauses and the
rising and falling intonations of phrases and
sentences.
Pupils need to understand the text before reading
aloud.
Can be carried out individually, in pairs or in
groups.
Elements: phrasing, emphasis, intonation,
volume, pitch, rhythm and pause.


Reading Aloud
Chain reading each student reads a segment
of the text followed by another till the whole
text has been read.
Readers theatre pupils are assigned roles
and they read dramatically (voice only).
Choral reading pupils reading aloud forming
a speech choir usually in poems, pupils
grouped in low, medium and high voice, in
(unison, antiphonal, cumulative, refrain, line-
a-child) refer to page 268 Chitravelu.
Usually outside classrooms.
Reading for pleasure/joyful reading.
Reading newspapers, novels,
magazines, other materials of
interest.
Extensive Reading

Intensive Reading

Usually inside classrooms.
Refers to a detailed focus on the
construction of reading.
Teachers assign specific task for
specific purpose (activity)

Access to library
Choice of reading materials
Give feedbacks
Give time

HOW TO ENCOURAGE PUPILS
TO READ EXTENSIVELY
Intensive Reading
Reading Readiness
A child needs :
to develop his knowledge of the
English language
motivation to learn to read
the ability to discriminate between
shapes
to recognise that print has meaning


Stage 0
Reading Readiness/Pre Reading (Birth-Age 6)
This stage is characterized by learning to
recognize the alphabet, imitation reading,
experimentation with letters, and learning
the sounds associated with the letters.
Stage 1

Initial Reading or Decoding (Age 6-7, Grades 1-
2)
Children in this stage are beginning to utilize
their knowledge of consonants and vowels to
blend together simple words such as c-a-t, b-a-
t, etc... This ability is an integral part of
beginning reading. Some children may need to
go through this stage of sounding out longer
than others. Over time and with guidance, they
will eventually move to reading whole
words. Patience is extremely important while
child are moving from stage 1 to stage 2.
Stage 2
Fluency (Age 7-8, Grades 2-3)
Children consider this to be the "real"
reading stage. They are now fairly good at
reading and spelling and are ready to read
without sounding everything out. In this
stage it helps to have children reread books
frequently because this allows them to
concentrate on meaning and also helps to
build their fluency while reading.

Stage 3
Reading to Learn (Age 9-13, Grades 4-8)
Readers at this stage have mastered the code
and find it easy to sound out unfamiliar
words and read with fluency. They are now
ready to begin the study of subject matter
and the use of informational text.