Planning for Active Reading – based on the reader “Hansel and Gretel” Tai Kok Tsui Catholic Primary School (Hoi Fan Road) Adviser: Nancy Tse (Curriculum Development Officer) Teachers: Adeline Cheung, Joyce Chan Maria Lau, Jolla Chau

Starting point prior experience of teaching readers just read a part of the story and asked questions, and then read some more a boring procedure of reading line by line & checking on students’ understanding of the details difficult to motivate students and get active responses look for an alternative way to teach a reader

What we learnt about teaching reading to early readers 1.Comprehension is an active process of constructing meaning Research findings.Comprehension is an active process of constructing meaning Research findings. 2.There are 3 basic components in reading.There are 3 basic components in reading.

Comprehension involves not only word knowledge (vocabulary) but also thinking and reasoning It is an active process of constructing meaning, e.g. - use of prior knowledge - use of cues (sources of information in the text) - connecting emotionally with the text No one reads the same passage in the same way. Students can be taught “reading strategies” to help them become effective, active readers. Research findings on reading as active meaning construction

Meaning cues Structural cues Visual and phonological cues Construct Meaning Reading strategies and use of cues (sources of information) Adapted from Learning Media, NZ, 2002

Reading Beyond the lines Appreciating and evaluating the author’s meanings and craft Responding and reacting Reading Between the lines Understanding author’s intentions and implied meanings Reading the lines Cueing Strategies Literal understanding From “The Development of Independent Reading”, Guppy & Hughes 1999 The 3 basic components of reading

These components feed onto and support each other. A typical reader makes frequent visits to all the 3 components and uses the information to construct meaning. Reading can be defined as the successful integration of these components. A typical reader makes frequent visits to all the 3 components and uses the information to construct meaning. Reading can be defined as the successful integration of these components. Early readers tend to stay on the literal level, but the teacher can do a lot to help. Early readers tend to stay on the literal level, but the teacher can do a lot to help. The 3 basic components of reading

What “Active Reading” means to us finding out story events & development making connections to old knowledge and life experiences looking for deeper meanings solving reading problems responding with imagination and emotion Active Reading = Purposeful and enjoyable reading

How we planned our lessons 1. Setting clear overall learning objectivesSetting clear overall learning objectives 2.Dividing story into sections and designing reading and thinking activitiesDividing story into sections and designing reading and thinking activities 3. Setting assessment criteriaSetting assessment criteria

Overall learning objectives Students should be able to enjoy reading & participate actively use simple reading strategies to guess word meanings & extract informationuse simple reading strategies to guess word meanings & extract information predict and confirm re-present story events in a diagram write creatively use past tense

Active reading activities Pre-readingReading & re-reading Post-reading Activate prior knowledge pre-teach essential vocabulary set reading purpose (e.g. search question) predict read aloud – by teacher (or good student) to model expressive reading check prediction re-read, reflect & respond (different questions to guide thinking) students practise reading aloud with expression story sequencing character analysis creative writing language focus exercises

Assessment criteria The lessons will be considered successful if students can… respond appropriately to questions talk about their personal feelings re-tell story in a diagram use past tense in a story context

Discussing teaching reading strategies, and planning our lessons Detailed planning of key questions and an analysis of strategies practiced Putting in different types of questions requiring students to visit the 3 components of reading In the classroom we would stay alert and listen carefully to student’s responses, be ready to provide the hints and prompts Planning reading and thinking activities

Level 1: The old woman always asked Hansel one question. What was that? (Recall) Level 2: Why did the old woman ask this question? (Inference) Level 3 Was Hansel a clever boy? Why do you think so? (Free response) Examples of each type of questions

Planning reading and thinking activities We tried the questions on ourselves Some of the inference questions were not easy to answer Free-response questions also stimulated a lot of imaginative answers from all of us.

Highlights of our lessons

Observations and reflections A challenge for teachers to try to teach the reader in this way Not done enough on vocabulary building Oral prediction may not be enough Students should eventually learn to ask questions