My Journal. Lesson 6: Reading in English

This unit looks at: How to use reading activities that:
-          Focus on, meaning.
-          Support pupils as they move from.
-          Spoken to written language show pupils how to use the printed word as an alternative source of language input.

All children listen from birth and naturally acquire speech all children have to learn how to read and write. If children's mother tongue is written in roman script, you can use a teaching method that focuses on meaning from the beginning. If children have a mother tongue that is not based on roman script, then you will have to spend some time on sounds, letter shape, and word recognition.

Meaning is the most important element in reading just as it is in listening, just as listening came before speaking, so reading comes before writing.

Beginning reading

Children have to understand the association between what they hear and what they read to be able to start to learn how to read. There are two main approaches to teaching reading in English.

 

LOOK AND SAY

Children learn to say a new word and they learn to read it. The words are learnt in a particular context and it could be improve using prompts, cards for labelling and teacher directions which provide to develop recognition skills for communication.

PHONICS: LETTERS USED TO MAKE SOUNDS

English spelling is difficult. Children need to learn how to recognize sounds and letters. It is better not to teach the names of letters when starting to teach reading, as of course some of the letters of the English alphabet no longer match the actual sounds of the language. When you use phonics, you are teaching children the way the letter sounds, not the name of the letter.

Young learners

Can learn obvious letter patterns that help with sound recognition and help them predict words, for example, shop, jam, etc. Visual clues make words and phrases easier to remember will not need to know the formal names of the letters until they start to write and spell.

Other way to help children with sound is to let them play with the sounds. It helps pronunciation and also helps children remember the word.

      Activities to help children connect sounds with letters

§  Memory games

§  Initial letter games

§  Feel the letters

§  Make frieze alphabets

      Activities to help children connect sound recognition with clusters of written letters

§  Make children aware of patterns and help them focus on visual sound patterns.

§  Talk about these patterns with the children

§  Let children point and colour these patterns.

 

Speaking to reading - helping sound and word recognition

Pupils will have to learn:

-          About rhythm and intonation as they learn new words

-          How to associate meaning and sound with the written word when they read.

The following statements involve a teacher’s technique use for teaching to read in a classroom. A teacher shows us a guided which helps us to taking in to account the different steps and stages that the process of reading has to have.

1. First sticks up pictures of the six words on the board
2. Then uses a tambourine to beat out the rhythm of the new words
3. Then says a chant with the children using the new words they are learning.
4. Focuses the children's attention on the syllabic beat of the words
5. Elicits the number of syllables in the words they are learning
6. Lets individual children beat out the syllables of the remaining words
7. Asks other children to guess the word.

“Clever parrot game”

            The teacher has to:
1.      Shows a card to the pupils
2.      Doesn't look at the card
3.      Repeats all the words.
            The children have to:
4.      Look and listen carefully
5.      Repeat the word that is on the card when they hear it.

To finish the lesson the teacher plays a fast word reading game. She uses the word cards again. Then she turns over a word card very quickly. The children only see it for a second. They call out the word they read.

We can use these activities when we will have to:

- Teaching new vocabulary

- When you want to revise or go over vocabulary the children learnt before.

- Before children read a story or say a rhyme which includes these words.

 

Teaching TIPS

ü  Label things in the classroom, even pictures/photos that you use. ü  Keep sets of pictures and new words and phrases children have learnt recently in a special display area. ü  Let the children play at being teacher to revise these words and phrases. ü  Hand out wishes cards and praise cards with short phrases that children can bring home and read to their parents.

 

Helping children recognize phrases

Children acquire words and phrases when they listen. As they become familiar with phrases in English they are unconsciously learning about word order. When they start to read and later to write, you can do activities that consolidate what they have heard and show them the same patterns, written down as well as allow children to slowly become aware of word order.

Teaching TIPS

ü  Make up group chants based on what the children already know and using the phrases the children can read out. ü  Pick out phrases that you can use for matching games from reading material ü  Use pictures cards and cards with labels or short phrases or descriptions. Ask the children to find the picture to match the writing.

Reading independently-finding information

- When children can read they can use the printed word as an alternative source of English.

- When children can read silently on their own they are developing confidence and independence.

- To check their pronunciation, ask individual pupils to read a little bit out loud for you.

- Children should always have time to look at a written text before reading it aloud.

 

Chunking means recognizing what words in a text belong together. This helps children read in meaningful phrases, not word by word.

An important skill for students to practice is the ability to comprehend challenging texts. Chunking is an example of a strategy that helps students break a difficult text into more manageable pieces. Dividing content into smaller parts helps students identify key words and ideas, develop students’ ability to paraphrase, and makes it easier for students to organize and synthesize information.
The different pieces the difficult text is dividing are called CHUNKS.