One step further integrating reading strategies into the curriculum

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One step further integrating reading strategies
into the curriculum
Gladys Wong (EDB)
Iris Ng (Pui Tak Canossian Primary School)
Germaine Wu (Pui Tak Canossian Primary
School)

• February 28, 2008

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The E-P-I-E approach
Evaluation
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How well have our students performed in reading
comprehension?
2008-TSA-ENG-P3
Locate specific information
Inferencing
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How well have our students performed in reading
comprehension?
2008-TSA-ENG-P6
6ERW1-Part 4
Inferencing
Inferencing
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Students performance in TSA (reading)?
P3
Students could identify some key words with the
help of pictorial cues in a notice .students
were still not capable of identifying key words
in longer texts such as stories.
Students could identify the main ideas in a comic
successfully. They were still unable to identify
main ideas embedded in longer texts such as a
postcard.
Students could make simple inference with
straightforward contextual clues.students were
still weak in making inferences in longer texts
such as stories and postcards.
(TSA report , 2008)
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Students performance in TSA(reading)?
P6
students were, by and large, able to locate
information in a chart and extract specific
information from texts, Their skills, however,
did not extend to interpreting unfamiliar words
or expressions in a context or extracting
specific information from longer reading
passages.
Most students could interpret implied meaning in
short, simple reading texts however almost half
the students had difficulty using inference
skills to interpret the meaning of a text and
deducing main ideas from supporting details.
(TSA report , 2008)
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What are our students main problems in reading
comprehension?
Problems in tackling questions requiring higher
order thinking skills
Problems in dealing with long texts
Have not been taught the skills
limited vocab
no idea as to where and how to look for clues
Lack experience or knowledge to interpret and/or
infer
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What did schools do to tackle the problems?
curriculum level
Include a variety of skill questions in daily
worksheets and assessment papers
Make sure we test what we teach
Make sure students read rather than merely look
(at) or see books
Make sure we really teach the strategies
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What did schools do to tackle the problems?
learning teaching
Are the teacher aware of the reading skills the
questions are testing?
Its possible that students get the right answer
by chance.
The explanation may not be practical for students
because they often do not know where to start
tackling the questions.
Reading lesson post-reading question-and-answer
sessions (Durkin, 1978-79 Pressley,
Wharton-McDonald, Hampston, Echevarria, 1998)
Teaching?
Testing?
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Pui Tak Canossian Primary Schools choice

• The reality
• There are so many reading skills students need to
  learn.
• The less able students give in when facing a long
  text.
• Students are too used to direct lifting.
• Problems in accommodating the reading skills
  training

Start training the basic steps in tackling
reading comprehension questions
Design own reading materials to provide a
pedagogical context Begin by teaching the
elementary reading skills
Integrate reading skills training in the English
curriculum
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Integrate the reading skills training into the
English curriculum
A P4 example
Speaking discuss the itinerary
Reading - Letters to and from the NET textbook
passages
b
Language forms functions use because to give
reasons use would like to ask for and express
preferences add ed and ing to verbs to form
adjectives
Module 4 Fantastic Hong Kong
Listening conversation between NET and her
brother
Writing reply letter to NET
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1st phase of training walking on two legs
Begin with the learning of the elementary
reading skills
Interpret the given information to solve problems
Pronoun reference skills
Locate specific information
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1st phase of training walking on two legs
Five Magic Steps

• 1. Read the questions carefully
• 2. Underline the key words
• 3. Go back to the passage and find the key
  words
• 4. Read one sentence backward and one sentence
  forward (i.e. the immediate context)
• 5. Check the MC options

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Can you see the magic of our training?

• the steps are explicitly taught
• students are required to practice and think aloud
  the steps
• aim for habit formation

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Students attitude towards the training of magic
steps
Do you think the magic steps can help you tackle
reading comprehension questions?
No. of students( of students)
60 (95.23)
YES
NO
3 (4.77)
Do you think you have mastered the magic steps?
Will you use the magic steps to help you tackle
the reading comprehension questions in future?
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Can the students get the correct answers using
the magic steps?
Teacher used questions to prompt students to
think aloud the steps (magic steps) they employed
to arrive at the answers
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Teachers Reflections
Students can get the correct answers easily for
the elementary skills, e.g. locate specific
information and pronoun reference skill
The training is especially effective in building
confidence among the average and less able
students.
Time consuming but worth devoting time to help
students form the habit.
The magic steps need to be further developed to
help students tackle questions on more advanced
reading skills, e.g. inference skills.
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2nd phase of training- how can we help our
students to develop the higher order thinking
skills
Inference skills
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Can our students infer?
Who are these people? And what are their
relations and relationship?
He put down 10.00 at the window. The woman
behind the window gave 4.00. The person next to
him gave him 3.00, but he gave it back to her.
So when they went inside, she bought him a large
popcorn.
Where were these people?
What were they doing?
To infer means to read between the lines and use
personal experience and knowledge of the world to
obtain more information and so form a better
picture of the text we are reading.
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An intensive programme on inferencing skills
Suggest five areas to help students infer
people (who), place / context (where), time
(when), feeling (how) and ending (what happened)
Encourage students to employ personal experience
and knowledge of the world to make inferences.
All inferences must be supported by evidence
found in the pictures and/or texts
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Infer from comics
Part 1
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Infer from comics
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Infer from comics
Time Students used personal experience and
knowledge of the world to infer that the girls
could be playing in the afternoon, in summer and
on holidays
Feeling Students, with support from the
pictures, inferred that the girl was lonely
(picture 1) and felt painful (picture 2) while
the rest of the girls were happy and excited.
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Infer from comics
Part 2
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Infer from comics
Feeling With more information supplied in the
speech bubbles, students changed their
inferences. They first inferred that the girl was
first lonely (picture 1) and felt painful
(picture 2). But then they changed the girls
feeling to fun and excited.
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Infer from texts
A I think we should bring some snacks to the
picnic. B Yes, Ill buy potato chips and soft
candies.. A And lots and lots of chocolate I
like chocolate. B Hey, they are not good for
you. See, you are getting so fat!!!! A You are
fat! Im not!
B But Miss Chan said you were fat
yesterday. Fat girl! Fat girl! C You two are
fat! I will only write the healthy snacks I want
to bring in the shopping
list. D Have you finished your discussion? Put
up your hands if you need more
time to discuss. Remember, no Chinese, please.

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Infer from texts
Guess support
People (Who are they? What are they?)
Infer using personal experience
Infer using knowledge of punctuation marks
Logical deduction from the text
Time (When did the incident happen?)
Infer using personal experience
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Infer from texts
Guess support
Feeling (How did the people feel?)
Interpret the lines and infer from knowledge of
the world
Logical deduction from the text using knowledge
of the world
Ending (What will happen?)
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Infer from texts
X Hello, how are you? You are new here. You have
a nice skin colour. Y Oh, thank you. It is
brown. But I am yellow inside. What about you? Do
you always look that shocking red? I guess you
should be green when you are young. X Oh, yes,
you are right. I am red and round. Thats why
people like to mix me in green salad. And they
often boil me and you in soup. Y Yes, you are
right. The cooks in the McDonalds like to deep
fry me and kids like eating me very much. X I
see. Do you think it is cold here! Y Yes.
Because eggs, butter and meat need to stay in a
cold place to keep fresh. (The cook opened the
door and took X and some green vegetables
out.) X I go now. Bye! Its nice talking to
you. Y Bye.
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Some tips to share

• The integration of the teaching of reading
  strategies into the English curriculum does not
  happen in an accident but the success relies on
  the concerted effort of the all English teachers
  and good planning.
• Classroom treatment is the key to success. This
  requires time, patience and good questioning
  techniques.
• Reading skills training can begin earlier in the
  KS1.