Reading Skills Session 4

Task A: High frequency words
The participants are divided in to 5 groups. The facilitator holds a brief discussion on high frequency words and then assigned each group to list out the structural words as given below.

Group1 : Pronuons  Group2: Auxiliary verbs   Group3: Simple Prepositions Group4: simple cunjuctions          Group5 : questioning words

After that groups present their list to the whole class, facilitator displays the high frequency words chart and briefs about the importance.



Task B - Working with the text
The facilitator select the story from the English textbook. Divides the participants in to pairs, and gives one partner (A) comprehension questions and asks him/her to construct a story based on those comprehension questions. The facilitator gives the other partner (B) the original story from the textbook and asks him/her to read silently.

Partner A, who has constructed the story, narrates it to partner B. Partner B listens and then narrates the original story to partner A. Both of them compare and contrast the two stories.

Task C
Read an article about robot teachers to practise and improve your reading skills. As you read follow the instructions given below.

Pre-reading

Prior to reading the entire text, have participants work in pairs to skim and scan the reading by looking at the title, the headings, and subheadings, visuals (charts, graphs, photo’s, art), the boldfaced words, and the first and last paragraphs.

Pairs discuss and decide what they think reading will be about.

Participants write down several facts they discovered (Fast Facts).

Determine what will be the important points or questions (Final Thoughts).

Answer the following questions based on the article:


 * Say true or false.

Most jobs are done by robots or computers.


 * Choose the best answer:

Robots could empathise with students.


 * mark homework
 * prepare lessons


 * Would you like to have a robot as a	teacher? Why/why not?
 * Frame a few more questions to check the	reading comprehension (multiple choice, objective and short answer	types)

Robot Teachers

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/intermediate-b1-reading/robot-teachers

If you think of the jobs robots could never do, you would probably put doctors and teachers at the top of the list. It's easy to imagine robot cleaners and factory workers, but some jobs need human connection and creativity. But are we underestimating what robots can do? In some cases, they already perform better than doctors at diagnosing illness. Also, some patients might feel more comfortable sharing personal information with a machine than a person. Could there be a place for robots in education after all?

British education expert Anthony Seldon thinks so. And he even has a date for the robot takeover of the classroom: 2027. He predicts robots will do the main job of transferring information and teachers will be like assistants. Intelligent robots will read students' faces, movements and maybe even brain signals. Then they will adapt the information to each student. It's not a popular opinion and it's unlikely robots will ever have empathy and the ability to really connect with humans like another human can.

One thing is certain, though. A robot teacher is better than no teacher at all. In some parts of the world, there aren't enough teachers and 9–16 per cent of children under the age of 14 don't go to school. That problem could be partly solved by robots because they can teach anywhere and won't get stressed, or tired, or move somewhere for an easier, higher-paid job.

Those negative aspects of teaching are something everyone agrees on. Teachers all over the world are leaving because it is a difficult job and they feel overworked. Perhaps the question is not 'Will robots replace teachers?' but 'How can robots help teachers?' Office workers can use software to do things like organise and answer emails, arrange meetings and update calendars. Teachers waste a lot of time doing non-teaching work, including more than 11 hours a week marking homework. If robots could cut the time teachers spend marking homework and writing reports, teachers would have more time and energy for the parts of the job humans do best.

Task D: Strategies for promoting reading comprehension
'''Familiarize yourself with the following framework that can be used in the classroom to promote reading comprehension. Prepare a poster/use a chart and present a summary of the activities that can be conducted at different stages of reading.'''

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/strategies-promote-comprehension

To correspond with a typical reading lesson, comprehension strategy instruction can be organized into a three-part framework, with specific activities used before, during, and after reading.

Providing instruction such as the following example allows students to see, learn, and use a variety of comprehension strategies as they read. Note, however, that the framework is a general one and represents an array of strategies. All of the strategies in this framework do not have to be used with every text or in every reading situation.

Before Reading
Before reading, the teacher may:

Motivate students through activities that may increase their interest (book talks, dramatic readings, or displays of art related to the text), making the text relevant to students in some way.

Activate students' background knowledge important to the content of the text by discussing what students will read and what they already know about its topic and about the text organization.

Students, with some help from the teacher, may:


 * Establish a purpose for reading.
 * Identify and discuss difficult words,	phrases, and concepts in the text.
 * Preview the text (by surveying the	title, illustrations, and unusual text structures) to make	predictions about its content.
 * Think, talk, and write about the topic	of the text.

During Reading
During reading, the teacher may:


 * Remind students to use comprehension	strategies as they read and to monitor their understanding.
 * Ask questions that keep students on	track and focus their attention on main ideas and important points	in the text.
 * Focus attention on parts in a text that	require students to make inferences.
 * Call on students to summarize key	sections or events.
 * Encourage students to return to any	predictions they have made before reading to see if they are	confirmed by the text.
 * Students, with some help from the	teacher, may:
 * Determine and summarize important ideas	and supportive details.
 * Make connections between and among	important ideas in the text.
 * Integrate new ideas with existing	background knowledge.
 * Ask themselves questions about the text.
 * Sequence events and ideas in the text.
 * Offer interpretations of and responses	to the text.
 * Check understanding by paraphrasing or	restating important and/or difficult sentences and paragraphs.
 * Visualize characters, settings, or	events in a text.

After Reading
After reading, the teacher may:


 * Guide discussion of the reading.
 * Ask students to recall and tell in their	own words important parts of the text.
 * Offer students opportunities to respond	to the reading in various ways, including through writing, dramatic	play, music, readers' theatre, videos, debate, or pantomime.
 * Students, with some help from the	teacher, may:
 * Evaluate and discuss the ideas	encountered in the text.
 * Apply and extend these ideas to other	texts and real life situations.
 * Summarize what was read by retelling the	main ideas.
 * Discuss ideas for further reading.

