Yesterday I talked about the goals and objectives of the Mudkaham project and how critical thinking skills were included in it. Today, I would like to examine reading skills and how they are integrated into projects such as Mudkaham. To begin I will read a short story.
Read Aloud: "The man Who Could Not Read"
Unlike the man in the story everyone in this room is literate - highly literate. It is sometimes a skill we as teachers take for granted and it is easy to forget the disadvantages to those not so fortunate.
For a moment let's consider those disadvantages:
- In what ways is illiteracy harmful?
- How do you think learning to read changed the man's life in the story I read?
Yes literacy; the ability to read and write is important. It is even more important to be able to do it well. In Canada, the country I come from, government statistics say that 70% of all jobs in North America now require college level reading ability. In the world today with technology advancing and changing so rapidly this will become more and more important. This places a great responsibility on teachers - one of vital importance. This is true everywhere but when you are educating students to use a foreign language the challenge is even greater. A good technique that has been used in many places is:
"Be sure every student is read aloud to every day because it will help the student hear, understand, and appreciate the sound and flow of the language. Be sure every student reads silently every day because it will help the student's comprehension skills to read for a period uninterrupted. Be sure every student writes something every day that shows his or her independent thinking."
Group Activity: (15 min.)
Yesterday we all discovered the excellent learning that was included in the Mudkaharm project. For a moment think back on the skills and objectives that were integrated into it. Divide into groups to 5 brainstorm ways that each of the three activities listed on the OH could be taught each day.
Report Back: Share ideas that were brain stormed.
Not only do we need to ensure our students get adequate practice in language; we also should choose the material they use very carefully. Reading materials must be selected according to the level of difficulty for which the students are ready. Difficulty is determined by:
- difficulty of vocabulary
- length of sentences
- complexity of the patterns of language
To judge the level of difficulty of the reading material you wish the your students to use choose 3 sets of 100 words. The first near the beginning of the text (but not the first paragraph. The second near the middle of the text and the third near the end of the text (but not the last paragraph). When dealing with issues of the environment as happened in the Mudkaharm Project this is very important because many of the materials written about the environment are written at a high level of literacy. Have 1 or 2 students read these passages to you privately.
-If there are no more than 1 out of 25 words that the students do not know the students can read the text independently.
- If there are no more than 1 out of 15 to 20 words that the students do not know the students can read the text after pre- reading instruction has been given.
- If the students do not know 1 or more out of every 10 words then the text should be read aloud to the students.
We see then that there are 3 levels or ways in which materials can be used.
- They can be read by students independently. To do this first a purpose for reading the material must be given and a follow-up task assigned.
- They can be read by students after the teacher has given instruction in difficult vocabulary and concepts.
- They can be read aloud to students.
There is value in reading aloud to students. Teachers often tend to overlook it but it will:
- promote a love of books
- expand vocabulary
- improve listening skills
- provide models of good writing
- increase comprehension
- instil the sound and flow of a language
This has been proven many times by language research. Let's take a minute to see what Dr. Wendy Sutton of the Language Education Department at the University of British Columbia an expert in the field has to say about reading aloud Show 4 min. video clip of "Read To Me"
Discuss Closing
We all want our students to become excellent readers - readers who read with understanding and because they love to; not because the have to. We want them to read for knowledge, wisdom and the love of learning that will continue throughout their lives.