Observation Task 2: Reading a Story in the local UAE School

Identify the type of pre-whilst and post reading activities employed by your
MST
Table 7: Reading a Story in the local UAE Preschool
What the MST Does
What the Children
Do

Pre-Reading
Activities
Name the book / story.
The very hungry
caterpillar
Describe how your
MST gets children
interested in the story
and wanting to hear /
read it.

While-Reading
Activities
How your MST keeps
children interested and
actively involved.

She created a board

with a caterpillar and
the elements of the
story, and she was
hiding it all at the
back of the board.
When the students
got quiet, the
teacher showed
them the caterpillar
and asked them,
what is this?
And then she started
telling the story

Students were
curious and wanted
to know what is at
the back of the
board.
When the teacher
showed them the
caterpillar, they
were happy
because it looked
beautiful and they
wanted to know
what is the story of
the caterpillar.

Students were
While reading the
listening to the
story, the teacher
teacher, and they
was changing her
were very
voice pitch according interested and
to the situation that
happy at the same
is in the story; she
time.
made voices like the
caterpillar was
Students answer
eating(num num
questions that the
num)
teacher asks, and
The teacher also did they try to give
some actions to let
correct answers to
the students feel like feel proud that
they are watching it
they answered
happen in front of
correctly.

Comments
I liked the
way the
teacher
prepared
the story
and that
she
engaged
the
students
and made
them
curious
before
starting her
lesson.
Asking
students
would make
students
engaged
and active
during the
story.
I like how
the teacher
makes
actions and
different
voices so
students
would be

Post-Reading Activities
How your MST
consolidates the
storyline and explores
opportunities for
developing language,
topic related and
personal, social and
emotional issues.

them.
The teacher asks
some questions in
between reading the
story to make sure
that the students are
listening and
understanding
The teacher stops
reading if she felt
that the students are
losing focus or they
started being noisy
and she makes them
quiet so she can
continue reading the
story
After reading the
story the teacher let
the students retell
the story, each
student would tell
one event.
The teacher had the
story as a theater
video, and she
showed it to the
students after she
finished reading her
story.
The teacher let the
students draw a
caterpillar or
anything that is
related to the story

If the students
didnt understand
what the teacher is
saying, they would
start talking to
each other

The students retell

the story as they
understand it but
sometimes they
mess up with the
actions.
The teacher
watched the video,
and they were very
interested in it
because it was
nice.
All of the students
started drawing
caterpillars and
leaves.

engaged
and
interested
in the story.

Retelling the
story makes
the students
understand
it and they
can
remember
the main
vocabulary
in the story.
While
drawing can
express
their ideas.

Reflections on Observation Task 2: Reading a Story in the Local UAE

Preschool
1. What preparation (i.e. pre-listening activity) did the teacher
give the learners before they listened to the text?
She asked the students some question to try to get them to
know the title of the story.
If they had some preparation, select (a) if they did not, select (b).
a. How did the pre-listening activity help students understand?
Asking questions would generate students thinking and would
make them more curious to know the answers to the questions
so they would be better listeners.
b. What pre-listening activity could the teacher have used
to help students understand the target language better?
2. Were the learners engaged in while-listening activity/activities? If they
were, select (a); if they were not, select (b).
a. What were the aims of the while-listening activity/activities?
The aim was to make students recognize the numbers from one
to five and days of the week. Students were engaged because
they had a visual to look at and they were listening.
b. What while-listening activity/activities could the teacher
have used to help learners understand better what they
were listening to?
3. Did the learners have a post-listening activity/activities? If they
did, select (a); if they did not, select (b).
a. What were the aims of the post-listening activity/activities?
To let the students retell the story to make sure that the
students understood the story.
The teacher also had the students draw the caterpillar and
anything that is related to the story to make the activity
student-centered instead of letting them sit and listen
b. What post-listening activity/ activities might have helped the
learners to understand what they had heard well?

4. How many times did the learners listen to the text / recording?
a. Would it have increased their understanding if they had
been allowed to listen to the recording again? Explain.
Yes, the teacher read the story by herself and then she did retell it with the
students and at the end she showed a video. When she did repeat the story,
students could absorb more information from the story, and they would be
able to tell the story by themselves
b. Did the learners hear the whole text at once, or in parts?
The teacher paused when she needed to but in general the text
was given at once.
c. If so, which was the most helpful?
Pausing was helpful because the teacher would do what she feels that is
better for the students. Pausing a lot would not be a good idea because the
students will be lost and they will not get the idea behind the story.
Think about the advantages and disadvantages of using the model of pre-,
while- and post-listening activities to teach a listening lesson. Write first
from the perspective of the teacher and then from the perspective of the
learners.
Advantages from the perspective of the teacher:
Engaging students so they would be quiet, and they will listen to the
teacher until she finishes delivering her lesson. When the teacher models
an activity or an action or even changes her voice pitch to adapt to the
situation she is explaining, the students love listening to her.The students
become able to understand what is she saying. And when the teacher
assess what she taught them by asking questions, she can model the
actions that she did while giving the lesson and students will remember.
Disadvantages:
The teacher needs to work hard to plan her lesson in a way that would have
these stages. The teacher needs to organize her time very well and be very
creative to support her students.
Advantages from the perspective of the students:
The students will love listening to their teacher, and they will not feel bored
because she is talking. They will be able to understand what is she giving to
them, and they will interact with her. Students like how the teacher gives
them various activities to enhance their learning and showing them videos
and pictures while she is talking.
Disadvantages:

Some students might feel that they are under pressure if they cant
understand what the teacher says or if they cant be engaged with her.
They will not like the session and will feel bored.

Retelling the story makes the students understand it, and they can remember the
main vocabulary in the story. While drawing students can express their ideas.