Module 1 and Module 2 - Elt 5
Module 1 and Module 2 - Elt 5
Module 1 and Module 2 - Elt 5
Adelman,H.S., Taylor, L. (1993) ABCs of Assessment From: Learning Problems and Learning Disabilities:
Moving Forward http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/conted2/abc1.htm
ABC’s of Assessment (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwbWdm8cx94
INTRODUCTION
Making every child a competent reader and a functional learner is the ultimate goal of teaching learners
learnt to read. To become a competent reader, one should be able to construct meaning from print using
appropriate active strategies to relate what he reads with his background knowledge and experience.
Through continuous practice, fluency and skill are enhanced and the learner’s motivation to read increases.
Naturally his constant engagement with different texts exposes him to varied learnings and insights which
enable him to cope better with life situations. The ability to read is one of the most powerful tools teachers
and parents can give students. Literacy is strongly correlated with future economic and professional
success.
What is Reading?
But if reading isn't pleasurable or fulfilling, children won't choose to read, and they won't get the practice
they need to become fluent readers.
Therefore, reading also means developing and maintaining the motivation to read. Reading is an active
process of constructing meaning. The key word here is active.
The easiest way to explain reading comprehension is to put a reader in the position of someone who is
"deciphering" letters and words rather than comprehending (attaching meaning to) them.
Using your knowledge base of phonetic sounds, you might be able to “read” the text, but you would not
understand what you’d just read. You most certainly would not recognize it as The Lord’s Prayer.
You may know each word and its meaning, but that doesn't give the sentence meaning.
Reading comprehension involves three distinct components: processing text (sounding out the syllables to
decode the words), understanding what was read, and making connections between the text and what you
already know.
Vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension are two vital elements of reading comprehension.
Vocabulary knowledge refers to understanding individual words. If a reader doesn’t understand the words
he is reading, he won’t understand the text as a whole.
Because vocabulary knowledge is essential to reading comprehension, children should be exposed to a
rich vocabulary and should always be learning new words. Parents and teachers can help by defining
potentially unfamiliar words that students will encounter in texts and teaching students to use contextual
clues to understand the meaning of new words.
Text comprehension builds on vocabulary knowledge by allowing the reader to combine the meanings of
the individual words to understand the overall text. If you’ve ever read a complicated legal document, a
challenging book, or the previous example of a nonsensical sentence, you can understand the relationship
between vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension. Understanding the meaning of most of the words
does not necessarily translate into understanding the text as a whole.
Text comprehension relies on the reader making connections with what he's reading.
Most standardized tests include sections that assess reading comprehension. These assessments focus on
identifying the main idea of a passage, understanding vocabulary in context, making inferences, and
identifying the author’s purpose.
A student might read a passage such as the following about Dolphins.
Dolphins are aquatic mammals (not fish) well-known for their intellect, gregarious nature, and acrobatic
abilities. Like other mammals, they are warm-blooded, give birth to live young, feed their babies milk, and
breathe air through their lungs. Dolphins have a streamlined body, a pronounced beak, and a blowhole.
They swim by moving their tail up and down to propel themselves forward.
A female dolphin is called a cow, a male is a bull, and the babies are calves. Dolphins are carnivores that
eat marine life such as fish and squid. They have great eyesight and use this along with echolocation to
move about in the ocean and locate and identify objects around them.
Dolphins communicate with clicks and whistles. They develop their own personal whistle, which is distinct
from other dolphins'. Mother dolphins whistle to their babies frequently after birth so that the calves learn to
recognize their mother's whistle.
After reading the passage, students are asked to answer questions based on what they read to
demonstrate their understanding of the passage. Young students might be expected to understand from the
text that dolphins are mammals that live in the ocean. They eat fish and communicate with clicks and
whistles.
Older students might be asked to apply information gleaned from the passage to facts they already know.
They could be asked to infer the meaning of the term carnivore from the text, identify what dolphins and
cattle have in common (being identified as a cow, bull, or calf) or how a dolphin’s whistle is similar to a
human fingerprint (each is distinct to the individual).
One indicator that a student is struggling with reading comprehension is difficulty reading aloud. If a student
struggles to recognize or sound out words when he’s reading orally, he’s likely encountering the same
struggles when reading silently.
Weak vocabulary is another indicator of poor reading comprehension. This is because students who
struggle with text comprehension may have difficulty learning and incorporating new vocabulary.
Finally, poor spelling and weak writing skills may be a signal that a student isn’t able to comprehend what
he’s reading. Difficulty spelling may indicate problems remembering letter sounds, which means that the
student is likely also having trouble processing text.
It might seem as though reading comprehension skills develop naturally, but that’s because students
gradually begin to internalize the techniques. Effective reading comprehension skills must be taught, but it’s
not difficult to do.
There is simple strategies to improve reading comprehension that parents and teachers can employ. The
most important step is to ask questions before, during, and after reading. Ask students what they think the
story is going to be about based on the title or cover. As you’re reading, ask students to summarize what
they’ve read so far or predict what they think will happen next. After reading, ask students to summarize the
story, identify the main idea, or highlight the most important facts or events.
Next, help children make connections between what they’ve read and their experiences. Ask them what
they would have done if they had been in the main character’s situation or if they’ve had a similar
experience.
Consider reading challenging texts aloud. Ideally, students will have their own copy of the book so that they
can follow along. Reading aloud models good reading techniques and allows students to hear new
vocabulary in context without disrupting the flow of the story.
There are also steps those students can take to improve their reading comprehension skills. The first, most
basic step is to improve overall reading skills. Help students select books about topics that interest them
and encourage them to read at least 20 minutes each day. It’s okay if they want to start with books below
their reading level. Doing so can help students focus on what they’re reading, rather than on decoding more
challenging text, and improve their confidence.
Next, encourage students to stop every so often and summarize what they’ve read, either mentally or aloud
with a reading buddy. They may want to make notes or use a graphic organizer to record their thoughts.
Remind students to get an overview of what they’ll be reading by first reading chapter titles and
subheadings. Conversely, students can also benefit from skimming over the material after they’ve read it.
Students should also take steps to improve their vocabulary. One way to do so without disrupting the flow
of reading is to jot down unfamiliar words and look them up after they’ve finished their reading time.
1. Assess level
Knowing your students’ level of instruction is important for choosing materials. Reading should be neither
too hard, at a point where students can’t understand it and therefore benefit from it. If students don’t
understand the majority of the words on a page, the text is too hard for them. On the other hand, if the
student understands everything in the reading, there is no challenge and no learning. So, assess your
students’ level by giving them short reading passages of varying degrees of difficulty. This might take up
the first week or so of class. Hand out a passage that seems to be at your students’ approximate level and
then hold a brief discussion, ask some questions, and define some vocabulary to determine if the passage
is at the students’ instructional level. If too easy or too hard, adjust the reading passage and repeat the
procedure until you reach the students’ optimal level.
It is important for the teacher to anticipate which cultural references students might need explained or
discussed. This is not easy, of course, but can become so through such techniques as related discussion
before the reading (e.g., “Who knows what the American Civil War was? When was it? Why was it fought?”
or “Where is New England? Have you ever been there? What is the climate like?”) A discussion before the
reading on its topics builds background knowledge and the comprehensibility of the text as well as giving
the teacher an idea of where students’ background knowledge needs to be developed more.
6. Work in groups
Students should work in groups each session, reading aloud to each other, discussing the material, doing
question and answer, and so forth. Working in groups provides the much-needed interactivity to increase
motivation and learning. Students may choose their own groups or be assigned one, and groups may vary
in size.
7. Make connections
Make connections to other disciplines, to the outside world, to other students. Act out scenes from the
reading, bring in related speakers, and or hold field trips on the topic. Help students see the value of
reading by connecting reading to the outside world and show its use there.
8. Extended practice
Too often we complete a reading and then don’t revisit it. However, related activities in vocabulary,
grammar, comprehension questions, and discussion increase the processing of the reading and boost
student learning.
9. Assess informally
Too often people think “test” when they hear the word “assess.” But some of the most valuable assessment
can be less formal: walking around and observing students, for example, discuss the reading. Does the
discussion show they really understand the text? Other means of informal assessment might be short
surveys or question sheets.
1. Pre-reading Strategies
All reading and learning depend on what the learner brings to the task. For this reason, the
prereading stage is considered the most important phase of a reading lesson. It is here where
students are guided to reflect on what they already know or think about a topic so that it can help
them understand what they are going to read.
PRE-READING
Activating prior
knowledge and Developing
building motivation and
background purpose for reading
information
There is “something in our head” that we carry around with us all the time (Smith, 1985). This “something in
our head” is background or prior knowledge and is referred to as schema. According to Williams and Moran
(1989), this is an abstract structure representing concepts stored in memory. Such concepts are formed
and developed into a kind of “system” as a result of how one experiences the world which, in turn, serves
as a basis of his or her understanding and learning about it. According to the schema theory, a reader’s
knowledge of the world, or prior knowledge, plays a crucial role in his/her understanding of the text and
especially in working out implicit information (Silberstein, 1994). There are several techniques to activate a
readers’ schema.
Text previews
A text preview helps students better comprehend a difficult text. It helps students understand concepts,
vocabulary, and structure of the reading selection so that they can build higher level understanding.
Here is a small portion of a critical commentary in Romeo and Juliet. A Teacher Resource Unit (Kovacs,
Meier, & Tutty, 1988).
Romeo and Juliet may be regarded as an extended love debate, a running argument between a number of
theories about the nature of love, in which each theory is given full and sympathetic expression. There is,
first of all, the kind of fashionable love which we see in Romeo when he first appears, sleepless and
disheveled, suffering agonies of unrequited love for Rosaline. The sight of Juliet is enough to make him
forget Rosaline forever. This kind of love is a game in which the love who “kisses by the book” is most in
love with love and appearing a lover. (p.71)
After reading the preview, a discussion about the nature of love would allow the students to share their own
experiences to help them understand the various types of love portrayed in the play. Sharing may be done
in groups. Students may also write journal entries about the nature of love.
Mouse
Scream
Crash
Ran
Hole
Crumbs
Broom
Saw
Another
Mouse
Wheels
Key
There are practical techniques in vocabulary development and they are as follows:
Through realia or actual objects. Introducing a new word, especially to very young readers,
requires a multi-sensory device. This makes for a rich and more meaningful experience. For
example, in introducing the word pebble, you may say: “Look what I have in my hand. What do you
see? (a small stone). Would you like to touch it? (Pass it around.) What can you say about the
small stone? (smooth, not rough like ordinary stone) This small stone is called a pebble. (Write
pebble on the blackboard). Where can you find pebbles?
Through visuals. The next best thing to an actual object is a replica or a likeness of it. Visuals may
be in the form of photographs, sketches, slides, collages, and other similar illustrations.) To
introduce the word mansion, you may show a picture and ask: “What does the picture show?
(house, shelter) What can you say about the people living in it? (well- to- do, rich). This is a
mansion. What kind of house is a mansion?
Through demonstration or gesture. This technique is ideal when unlocking the meaning of a noun
or an action word. You may demonstrate the meaning yourself or better still, you may train a
student or two before the class begins to act out the word for the rest of the class. To introduce the
word grin, you may call on a student to give a little smile (that is without showing his teeth). Call
another student to grin (that is smiling with most or his teeth showing). Then you may ask: Why is
Fred’s smile different from Tina’s? (It is a wider smile). What is a grin? (It is a wide smile). When do
we usually grin?
Through context clues. The word is used in a sentence that carries with it a clue that directs the
learner to the meaning in focus. For example: The Japanese paper is flimsy and thin. It is easily
torn.
Semantic mapping. This strategy helps students see the relationship among words. The basic
steps are as follows:
a. Select an important word or topic in the selection. This word should be familiar enough to the
students such that they can list related words.
b. Write the word on the board and encircle it. Encircling marks, the word as the core of the
vocabulary activity.
Endangered
In Danger
Alligator
Monkey-eating
eagle
Might become
Endangered
extinct
Read-Aloud
Here are some tips for more effective read-aloud:
Read at a slower rate than normal conversational speech in order to be heard in all parts of the
room.
Focus on the students from the second to the last row. Look at their faces as you read. Make them
your barometer for volume.
Establish eye contact. Your listeners should be reminded you are reading to them. Do not hesitate
to pause while reading so as to catch the attention of those who aren’t paying attention.
Make distinctions between characters when you read. You may ask some students to assist you in
reading by appointing them to read the lines of specific characters.
Use minimal gestures. Some slow movements of the hands or body will help emphasize some
parts. 6. As much as possible, provide your students with a copy of the text you are reading aloud
so that they can follow your reading silently.
A strategy that may be used for read-aloud is partner predictions. This incorporates the use of predictions
and elements of cooperative learning following these steps:
Identify the places in the story for prediction. Before reading aloud to the class, read through the
story and select three or four places where it would be appropriate to stop and have your students
predict what may happen next in the story.
Read aloud and have students predict. Place students in pairs. Read the title and perhaps several
paragraphs of the story you are going to read aloud. Ask the students: “What do you think the
story will be about?”
Ask students to share their ideas with their partners.
Call on some students to share what their partners think the story will be about. Suggest to
students that they begin their response by saying: My partner_____ thinks that
_______________.
Read another section of the story and have students predict. Ask students again; “What do you
think will happen next?”
For example:
Selection: The Boy Who Was Followed Home by Margaret Mahy with illustrations By Steven Kellog
This is a fantasy about Robert who is followed everywhere by hippos. One day, however, he sees that
there isn’t a hippo in sight. Students are asked to tell their partner what they think is following Robert now.
Story Prediction Guide–This provides a scaffold or support to bridge the gap between guided reading under
the direction of the teacher and independent reading.
After reading, discussion follows to check students’ comprehension of the text. The discussion usually
begins with the motive question. The rest of the questions are planned in anticipation of the answers the
children will give. The flow proceeds as conversation activities that are interspersed between questions so
that the discussion will not drag.
Deadly Winds
Although they usually travel with an average speed of 32 to 63 km./hour, the wind velocity may reach up
to 300 km./hour. On the whole, tornadoes last less than an hour. In the Northern Hemisphere, they most
frequently occur between April 1 and July 15. While it is true that tornadoes cannot be predicted, the air
conditions that make them possible are known and so, when these conditions exist, the weather bureaus
usually report “tornadoes possible.” The tropical hurricane is the most devastating of storms. It may
occur in any part of the world but under different names. All hurricanes start at the equatorial region.
Those that start north of the equator travel in the general direction of North, to North West, to North East.
Those that start south of the equator travel in the opposite direction. A hurricane can cover an area of
800 to 3,200 sq. m. Although it travels only 12 to 14 km. /hour. The life of a hurricane is about 10 days.
When the barometer begins to rise and the wind changes direction, the worst of the hurricane is over.
Going beyond the literature after reading enables students to elaborate on and reconsider the selection.
Elaboration is based on the notion that when readers actively integrate new information with existing
knowledge, greater understanding and use of the new material will result (McNeil, 1987).
Comparing perspectives, debating, recollecting, summarizing, and writing and reacting to the literature in a
variety of ways are all forms of elaboration or engagement activities for students to reinforce, heighten, and
develop ownership of the reading experience. These are usually interspersed with the questions asked
during discussion.
Cued Retelling–This is a highly interactive strategy for having students retell a selection either orally or in
written form.
For example: Oral: Read the directions in quotation marks to your partner. “Tell me everything you can
remember about the story we just read.” Check off idea as your partner mentions it. “Now I will give you
some clues to help you remember additional things about the story.” Mention one cue to your partner at a
time.
Nicodemus an ordinary sewer rat and his friend Jenner near a farmers’ market, the capture of the confused
rats at the laboratory Dr. Schultz sorted the rats. Group A Nicodemus’ and Jenner’s group receives a series
of injections Group B rats Group C cats Training of all rats Result of the experiment.
Problem:
Action:
The Problem
The Goal
Goal:
Event 1
Event 2
Event 3
Resolution:
Event 4
Event 5
Event 6
Event 7
Resolution:
Venn Diagrams for Comparing and Contrasting Stories / Characters / Setting / and Personal Experiences
The Venn Diagram for comparing and contrasting lends itself well for use as a pre-reading or follow-up to a
reading task.
For example: Story: The Vain Crow from Aesop’s Fable
Peacock Same Crow
Both are
birds
Colorful Black
Have
Doesn’t fly far feathers Flies far
large Have small
beaks
Selecting Students
Select students with the greatest needs in reading and writing. Depending on student’s levels, use an
informal reading inventory and/or assessment devices. Also use observation, sample of students work, and
portfolios, if available.
Size of Group
A group of six or seven is the maximum size that can be taught effectively. However, the more serious the
difficulties, the smaller the group should be.
Scheduling Instruction
Intervention instruction is most beneficial when it is in addition to the instruction already provided. Students
who are behind need more instructional time if they are expected to catch up. Before school, and summer
programs are recommended. However, if this is not practical, arranged intervention sessions when they
would best fit into the daily schedule. You might hold intervention sessions when the rest of the class is
engaged in sustained reading, working at learning centers, or working on individual or group projects.
Intervention groups should be scheduled every day, if possible, but not less than three times a week.
Sessions can last from twenty to forty-five minutes, with forty minutes being the recommended duration.
Materials
Use high-interest materials. Select materials that are attractive, are well illustrated, and don’t have a whole
lot of print on a page. Make sure that materials are on the appropriate level of difficulty. Easy books could
be used as a starting point. Also, have students use technology, such as talking software, to help them
overcome learning difficulties.
Evaluation
Continuously monitor student’s progress. Keep records of books read and conduct a running record of
modified IRI monthly or weekly, if possible. Observe and make note of student’s daily progress. Maintain a
portfolio of work samples. Periodically, at least once a month, review each student’s progress and make
any necessary adjustments.
Parental Involvement
Let the parents know about the program. Keep them informed about the children’s progress. Also, enlist
their support. Students in the program should read twenty minutes a night at least at four times a week.
Discuss with parents how they might help their children fulfill this requirement. Parents might also volunteer
to help out. They might work with individuals on experience stories or listen to them read.
Professional Support
Discuss your program with the principal and enlist her or his support. Also, talk it over with the
professionals. They may have suggestions for improvement or may provide assistance should serious
problem arise.
1. Phonemic Awareness
This is the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. Before
children learn to read print, they need to become aware of how the sounds in words work. They must
understand that words are made up of speech sounds, or phonemes.
3. Vocabulary Instruction
Vocabulary is the meaning and pronunciation of words that we use to communicate effectively. It is simply
the number of words that we understand or can actively use to listen, speak, read, or write. Vocabulary
knowledge is among the best predictors of reading achievement (Daneman 1991). It plays a vital role in
every aspect of reading from understanding the plot or gist of a simple text to interpreting and appreciating
the most complex text. Scientifically-based research tells us that children learn the meanings of most words
indirectly, through everyday experiences with oral and written language. However, it is also important for
teachers to address word learning directly. Direct instruction in word meanings is effective, can make a
significant difference in a student’s overall vocabulary, and is critical for those students who do not read
extensively (Beck, McKeon, & Kucan, 2002). This includes providing students with specific word instruction
and teaching them word-learning strategies. Based on the studies conducted by Robbins and Ehri (1994)
the most effective methods of vocabulary development are those instruction methods where students are
given both the definition of the word as well as examples of usage and practice with usage. Semantic webs,
word maps, and graphic organizers can help students graphically show relationships to provide a memory
link as an effective vocabulary building technique. However, merely creating these maps without discussion
around the vocabulary term is not effective. Students must discuss and work with the words for these
techniques to produce lasting vocabulary gains.
4. Fluency
This is the ability to read a text accurately, smoothly, quickly, and with expression. Some students are able
to read orally with speed, expression, and smooth decoding but they do not understand what they read.
These students are not yet fluent readers because fluency also requires comprehension. To be termed
“fluent reader” with a particular text, an individual must be able to read effortlessly, use expression, and
read and recognize words quickly. He must have developed automaticity (Samuel, 1994) and must
understand how to group words quickly to gain meaning from the text. When a student possesses
automaticity, he does not have to attend to the task of decoding and can focus his energy on
comprehension. A fluent reader has a good knowledge of vocabulary and good word identification skills. In
addition, a fluent reader can make connections between the text and his own background knowledge. The
stronger the reader’s fluency in reading a specific passage, the greater the resulting comprehension with
the material being read is.
Fluency instruction may be the missing element in reading instruction for most teachers because most of us
learn to teach reading with a focus on accuracy and comprehension, while few of us were taught to read
quickly and automatically. Though some students will learn to read fluently, with little direct instruction from
teachers, many will require practice and support from peers and teachers to improve their fluency and
make reading a more valid activity.
Reading with a model reader. The model reader can be a teacher, another adult, or an older
student.
Choral reading. In choral or unison reading, students read along as a group with the teacher (or
another fluent reader). Students follow along as teacher reads from a book. For choral reading,
choose a book that is not too long and that can be read independently by most students. Patterned
or predictable books are particularly useful because their repetitive style invites students to join in.
Tape-assisted reading. In tape-assisted reading, students read along in their books as they hear a
fluent reader read the book on an audiotape. For tape-assisted reading, you need a book at a
student’s independent reading level and a tape recording of the book read by a fluent reader at about 80-
120 words per minute. The tape should not have sound effects or music.
Readers’ theater. This is rehearsing and performing before an audience of a dialogue-rich script
derived from a book. In readers’ theater, students rehearse and perform a play for peers or others.
They read from scripts that have been derived from books that are rich in dialogue. The critical aspect of
the exercise is that students read the text repeatedly until they can recite it fluently and with prosody.
Partner reading. In partner reading, paired students take turns reading aloud to each other. For
partner reading, more fluent readers can be paired with less fluent readers. The stronger reader
reads a paragraph or page first providing a model of fluent reading.
5. Comprehension
“Reading demands a two-pronged attack. It involves cracking the alphabetic code to determine the words
and thinking about those words to construct meaning.” (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000, p.5). The diagram below
helps illustrate this point:
Reading
Decoding
Thinking
Phonemic awareness
Comprehension
Spelling,
Constructing meaning
Vocabulary
Metacognition
Fluency
The skills on the left are those skills essential to mastering the code and are considered the basics of
beginning reading instruction. The skills listed on the right point to comprehension as a separate aspect of
reading that requires the same amount of direct instruction and teaching time as the decoding skills. Once
thought of as a natural result of decoding plus oral language, comprehension is now viewed as a much
more complex process involving knowledge, experience, thinking and teaching (Fielding & Pearson, 2003).
The notion of “something happening” while we read is the essence of comprehension. The “something
happening” is the interactive construction of meaning inside our heads, which creates understanding.
Sadly, the “something happening” does not naturally occur inside all readers and so there is a felt need to
teach them how to use their experience and their knowledge to make sense of what they are reading
(Gear, 2006, p.15).
If these strategies are what research has found good readers do to understand text, then this is what we
need to be teaching our not – so – good readers to do. We can even trim down the seven strategies to five:
connect, questions, visualize, infer, and synthesize or transform. These five are considered the ones that
students could best learn and that teachers could most easily implement in order to create a language of
thinking in the classroom.