Strategies and creative ideas to enhance comprehension in our students.

1. Reading Comprehension
Improve this skill and Motivate its
use inside the Classroom

2. Let’s Share Some Experiences
• Why do you think students dislike
reading?
• What are some of your major concerns
when reading in class?
• How about sending a reading
assingment?

3. • Texts grammar and vocabulary. No comprehension.
• Primary students: anxiety learning to read in their
first language.
• Dictionaries discourage reading.
• Young readers need images.

4. Texts are “old and impractical”.

5. Vocabulary is not age-appropriate.

6. Topics should be captivating

7. Types of Reading
• Oral reading or reading aloud
PROS
When focusing on an idea…..
For pronounciation, fluency or expression……
To identify weaker readers……
CONS
Ss speak the words more than understand them.
Easy to get distracted (daydreaming, chatting).
Some ss will read ahead (impatient).

8. • Intensive reading
PROS
Develop reading strategies ……..
Provide ss with content in English ……
Exposition to new language and vocabulary…..
CONS
Mainly a classroom activity.
Contains a lot of new words.
Texts are time-consuming for ss.

9. • Extensive reading
PROS
A.K.A. reading for pleasure….
New language in context (articles, stories)…..
Fun and relaxing activity……
CONS
Topics may be boring or not for all ss.
It needs a lot of classroom time.
Self-discipline is a must but it doesn´t
happen all the time.

10. Reading Strategy no. 1
• Skimming
Identify the content of a text
No need to read slowly or carefully.

11. Reading Strategy no. 2
• Scanning
Read for specific information
Ignore the other content

12. Reading Strategy no. 3
• Reading for Details
We need to understand everything in a text.
For complex topics.

13. Suggestions for Selecting a
Reading Text
• Texts should have relevant and interesting information.
• Texts should use mostly familiar language.
• The length of the texts must be age- appropriate.
• There should be a proportionate number of
comprehension questions for the length of the text.
• Ideally, there should be pictures to provide context for
the information.
• Texts must be legible, not in tiny print or on poor-quality
photocopies.

14. Stages for Reading
• Stage 1: Pre-reading
 Activate ss general knowledge.
 Introduce the topic and context.
 Prediction activities (pictures, titles, text
layout).
 Pre-teaching vocabulary if needed.

15. Stages for Reading
• Stage 2: While-reading
 Look for main ideas and details.
 Guess the meaning from context.
 Inferring and predicting the events.
 Summarize the most important thing that has
happened so far.

16. Stages for Reading
• Stage 3: Post-reading
 Take a closer look at the text.
 Summarize in own words.
 Answer clarifying questions.
 Discussions or debates.
 Craft activities.

17. DIORAMAS and BOOK REPORTS

18. DEBATES and ROLE-PLAYS
Ss read their scripts to produce
a polished performance.
Ss predict an opera´s plot and
characters based on an image.

19. READ and CLASSIFY

20. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS

21. READ and ANSWER

22. READING for PHONICS

23. LETTER JUMBLE
How many words can you form with ….
oil on
in
no NOW LET`S PRACTICE….
FORM NEW WORDS BY
USING THE WORD
CLASSMATES
lion

24. 20 words !!

25. So remember…
• We have to let students choose some of
their readings in order to motivate them.
• Prepare a mini library inside the
classroom.
• Don´t ask them to investigate every single
word that they do not understand.
• Read with them… be their role model.

26. richmondforteachers.blogspot.com
Francesca Ayala, MSc.
July, 2015.