The Distance DELTA March 2013

Language Systems
Assessment 3
Skills: Reading
Lesson Plan: Helping low - level learners use bottom-up
processing strategies to understand reading texts
Kateryna Kirichenko
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko
Contents
Lesson commentary ................................................................................................................................... - 3 -
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ - 4 -
Lesson Plan ................................................................................................................................................. - 5 -
Individual learners’ profile ......................................................................................................................... - 9 -
Appendices (Materials)................................................................................................................................. 15
Reading Text 1 .......................................................................................................................................... 15
Questions for reading text 1 ..................................................................................................................... 15
Worksheet 1 ............................................................................................................................................. 16
Reading Text 2 .......................................................................................................................................... 17
Questions for reading text 2 ..................................................................................................................... 17
Flipchart page 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 18
Flipchart page 2 ........................................................................................................................................ 19
Flipchart page 3 ........................................................................................................................................ 20
Flipchart page 4 ........................................................................................................................................ 21
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko

Lesson commentary
Having taught Arab learners for over a year, I have realised that one of the main problems for them as
English learners is that the majority of them do not read. They see reading as a leisure activity ( and not a
popular one) not connected to their language learning. Reading in general isn’t a part of their culture and
a lot of students lack reading skills even in their L1.

Having different script and even the direction of writing (right to left) also causes a lot of problems. All
researchers agree that reading is a rapid process and that word recognition needs to be rapid to leave
time for comprehension (Grabe, Hedge, Silberstein, and many others). However, what I have noticed is
that low level students (A0-A2) often struggle recognising the words (some of the students in this class
still follow the words in the sentence with their fingers or pens). Recognising parts of the speech and
seeing the connections between them and is one of the crucial reading skills that a lot of them are simply
not aware of.

Another problem they have is not seeing the relationships between sentences. Many times I have seen
my students fail their reading comprehension assessments simply because they don’t recognise back
reference in the text. This is, partly, the result of the L1 interference - Arabic verbs incorporate pronouns
and they are rarely used separately, and partly lack of reading skills. In the next lesson they will do their
first reading assessment where they will read a story and answer comprehension questions.

In this lesson I chose to focus on subject pronouns and possessive adjectives that indicate back reference
in stories. Back reference is used in all texts but it is the most obvious in stories with multiple characters.
The students will need to identify them in the text and find corresponding pronouns (this will also help
them practise scanning and word identification skills). Highlighting those using different colours will help
the students see the relationships between them more clearly. Filling gaps in the text will also increase
students’ language awareness which will be useful for them in their reading assessments. Another
advantage is that because referential pronouns contribute to the cohesion of written text (Thornbury,
2006) this exercise will be beneficial for the development of students’ writing skills.

One of the reasons I chose to use short stories is to motivate the students. Most of the students in the
class are not interested in reading and see it as a boring secondary skill. Reading stories can provide extra
motivation for the students. Having multiple characters in provides better context for using back
reference.

I have chosen test-teach-test approach in this lesson to help students see the practical application of this
strategy. The first reading will highlight the need for it; practice with gapped text will help increase
automaticity in recognising back reference. The last reading will further show the benefits of applying the
strategy.

Working in pairs and peer-checking will help the students to understand both the linguistic aspect and
the application of the strategy. This class is a mixed ability class and stronger students can help the
weaker ones, which is beneficial for both. Pairwork increases students’ participation and language use
(Harmer, 1991). In this class there are students who are often reluctant to answer questions in front of
the class. However, if it is a result of collaboration, they don’t feel embarrassed if it’s incorrect. Another
advantage of collaborative learning, as Hedge points out, is to help students become aware of their own
thinking process and the second reading will provide the students with individual practise in applying the
strategy (Hedge, 2000).
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko
Word count: 596

Bibliography
Harmer, J. (1991) The Practice of English Language Teaching. Longman

Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. OUP

Thornbury, S. (2003). An A-Z of ELT. Macmillan

LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko

Lesson Plan

DATE 25.09.2013

TIME / LENGTH 2.45-3.45pm / 60 minutes

LEVEL Elementary 3

No. OF STUDENTS 16

CLASS PROFILE AND This is a group of adults ranging from 22 to 48 years old.

LEARNER NEEDS It’s a monolingual, Arabic speaking class. All students except for Rawan are
Omanis. Rawan is Iranian.

Most of the students have been studying English for a long time (in school or
university). Eleven students have studied at the British Council before.

Most of the students are instrumentally motivated – they are learning to

improve their employability or to undertake study abroad in the future. Eight
of them are corporate students sponsored by their companies. In the needs
analysis questionnaire most of them said that reading is important (mostly
for the future studies and exams) but in further discussion admitted that
they didn’t really see how they can use reading to improve their overall
language skills.

The students are quiet but hardworking. It is a mixed ability class. Essa and
Faiza are quite weak; Nuha, Suleiman, Fahad and Mohammed Khalif are the
stronger ones.

AIMS Main aim:

By the end of the lesson the students will have a better awareness of the
relationships between the sentences by identifying anaphoric pronoun
reference in the text and will be better able to answer reading
comprehension questions.

Supporting Aims:

The students will have practised reading for gist and scanning skills

LANGUAGE AND SKILLS ANALYSIS

Language analysis

Subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we and they) and possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its,
our and their) are used to avoid repeating information that is already clear. They replace nouns and
noun phrases. This replacement is closely related to substitutions, although it isn’t usually
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko
considered as such. (Parrott, 2000). The nouns and nouns phrases that are replaced by pronouns are
called antecedents:

At that moment she saw that there was another man. He was in her car in the back seat!

Antecedent: another man. Pronoun: he

Mary was listening to the radio when she saw a girl in a yellow dress standing in the middle of the road. She
screamed and then Sarah saw her too.

Antecedent: Mary. Pronoun: she

Antecedent: a girl in a yellow dress. Possessive adjective: her

In texts pronouns help achieve cohesion by binding the text together and connecting sentences.
(Thornbury, 2005).

Melanie saw that the driver was a big man. She was scared....

In this example Melanie is antecedent and she is a subject pronoun. Pronoun she has a back-
reference to Melanie, its antecedent. Back-reference (referring to something mentioned previously
in the text) is called anaphoric reference.

Note: in this lesson we will be working with subject pronouns and possessive adjectives. However,
when discussing discourse both are referred to as referential pronouns. Therefore further in the
paper they will be referred to as such. Another reason is that I need to consider students’ level. I
believe that at this point using too many terms can confuse some of them.

Skills

In this lesson we will be focusing on a reading strategy of understanding relationships between

sentences in texts by identifying anaphoric pronoun reference.

This strategy provides a model of explicit instruction for teaching students the skills to identify the pronoun
reference in a text. To apply this strategy successfully, students need to learn to associate pronouns with
nouns. Pronouns often increase the difficulty of comprehension because students must identify the pronoun’s
antecedent in order to answer reading comprehension questions.

How it will be approached in the lesson

The students will be asked to read a text and to find and highlight pronouns in it. This will help them
identify the relationships between the pronouns and their antecedents. They will also need to decide
whether to replace nouns or noun phrases with corresponding pronouns or to leave them as they
are in a gapped text exercise.

Supporting skills:

Reading for gist is used to understand the general idea of the text. This is often used before reading for detail
because it helps students locate information/words they need to answer comprehension questions later.

Scanning will be used to find the answers to comprehension questions and to find pronouns and their
antecedents in the text.
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko
Bibliography

Parrott, M 2000, Grammar for English Language Teachers, CUP

Thornbury, S 2005 Beyond the Sentence, Macmillan Publishers Limited

TIMETABLE FIT This is the sixth lesson of the 48 hour course (one lesson is 3 hours).

This class follows New Cutting Edge Elementary textbook (Modules 11-15).

Reading isn’t a big part of this course. There is no time allocated for learning or
practising reading strategies. However, the students do have two reading assessments
which are part of their final mark. In the next lesson the students will have their first
reading assessment and this is why I decided to introduce some reading techniques. In
the future I intend to work on other reading techniques however, at the moment it is
difficult to predict when it will be.

 The students can identify nouns in the text

 Most of the students know the meaning of key pronouns and possessive
adjectives and can identify them in the text.
 Most of the students have done similar reading comprehension tasks before,
ASSUMPTIONS
have practised scanning skill and know that they don’t need to understand
every word to answer the questions
 Students’ range of vocabulary and grammatical structures is enough for them
to understand the texts.

ANTICIPATED Problem 1: the IWB doesn’t work in the classroom or the image is not clear.
Solution 1: Check the room before the class and if there is a problem use only a few
PROBLEMS
sentences to use for the demonstration by writing them on the white board while the
AND students are reading.
SOLUTIONS
Problem 2: Some of the students are not sure about the use/meaning of pronouns
Solution 2: Display them on the IWB, do a quick oral activity to review them.

Problem 3: Some of the students finish activity 2 (gapped exercise) earlier and have
nothing to do
Solution 3: Give them the second paragraph of the text, also gapped, to complete for
more practice

Problem 4: Some students colour code wrong words and get confused later.
Solution 4: Circulate and help, have spare copies of the text to hand out.

Problem 5: Some of the students might not know the meaning of some of the words
and can spend too much time trying to translate them (these words can be propose,
accelerate, scream).
Solution 5: monitor the students while they are reading and help when needed.

MATERIALS  Reading text 1

 Questions for reading text 1
AND AIDS
 flipchart page with the first part of the reading text 1 (on IWB)
(see  2 flipchart pages with the texts 1 and 2 with highlighted pronouns and their
antecedents.
 Worksheet 1
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko
Appendices  Reading text 2
 Questions for reading text 2
 Flipchart pages 1-4
 Highlighters (4 sets)
Individual learners’ profile

Name Reasons for

Other comments (e.g. behaviour, learning
m/f age learning Strengths Weaknesses
preferences)
English

future work,
1. Aseela possibly IELTS
Limited vocabulary and An analytical learner who asks questions about the
and study Good word recognition skills and
f 21 grammar knowledge. Often language quite often. Likes to work in small groups
abroad. Wants reading speed
needs help but tries to participate in open class discussions too.
to find a good
job in future

Word recognition. Slow reader.

2. Essa Essa often doesn’t hear the instructions and needs
Work Reads one word at a time and
Once he understands what’s extra help later. Often needs his classmates’ or
f 34 (sponsored by often confuses words. Doesn’t
required, he works very hard. teacher’s help. Can get distracted by other male
his employer) recognise grammatical
students
connections in sentences

Reads very slowly, usually tries

3. Faiza Work
to translate every word, often Authority-oriented learner. Likes open class activities.
(sponsored by
Good vocabulary range for her fails to connect ideas in texts Participates very little in group discussions.
f 48 her company),
level. Hard-working. unless explicitly shown. Often Ambiguity-intolerant. She is a passive learner who
personal
misuses pronouns in writing and needs a lot of scaffolding and prompting to speak.
interest
speaking.

4. Rawan
Often doesn’t recognise
Travel, personal Quick reader and a very active Prefers to work individually but when reminded
f 22 connections in the text unless
interest student. works well in pairs. One of the quick finishers.
they are pointed out.
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko

5. Nuha Limited grammatical knowledge

Communicative learner. Likes class and groups
A very intelligent student. Good and as a result she often fails to
Work and discussions. Very active in class. Like trying new
f 25 vocabulary, extremely notice how ideas relate to each
study. techniques and starts applying them straight away.
hardworking. other in texts. Reads word by
Risk-taker
word.

6. Al Mutaz Better While he understands

Good range of vocabulary. Quick Very analytical. Likes grammar and explicit teaching
employability, grammatical rules, he often fails
m 25 reader. Quick to grasp new of it. Works very well in groups and often helps
wants to study to apply them unless directly
concepts and words. others.
abroad told to do so.

7. Faisal Doesn’t use any strategies when

Work Uses his vocabulary well to Very talkative, with short attention span. Can be
reading. Approaches texts
m 28 (sponsored by express himself. Very positive disruptive at times but means well. Communicative
directly and often answers
his employer) attitude in class learner.
wrong.

8. Sawsan Good vocabulary and grammar

Personal Reads word by word and often
knowledge for this level. Works Takes time to process new material. Works very well
f 28 interest, future doesn’t understand the
hard, enjoys learning new by herself, quiet.
employability cohesion in texts.
material.

9. Shamsa
Work Has a good range of vocabulary Has difficulties recognising Concrete style learner. Needs a lot of attention and
f 30 (sponsored by and can be quite accurate if given words sometimes. Approaches often asks questions (sometimes unrelated to the
his employer) time to think. the texts directly without current topic).
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko

10. Mohammed
Hamad Places emphasis on fluency and
Work Has a reasonable knowledge of
getting his message across and Communicative learner. Likes working in groups
m 22 (sponsored by grammar and just enough
isn’t concerned about his although can get distracted at time.
his employer) vocabulary to express himself.
accuracy

11. Mohammed Needs to start incorporating

Khalfan Work Quite accurate when he speaks more complex structures into
Risk averse, analytical student. Needs thinking time.
m 29 (sponsored by and has good grammatical his speaking and writing. At the
Prefers individual work
his employer) knowledge moment it is quite basic even
for this level

12. Suleiman Future studies Misuses conjunctions and other

Good knowledge of grammar
(wants to take discourse signals in his speaking Analytical learner. Likes explicit explanations and
m 36 rules and a very good vocabulary
IELTS next year) and often misunderstands them doing exercises. Works well in pairs/small groups.
range.
and work in texts.

Work
13. Omran (sponsored by There are some gaps in his
Ambiguity intolerant. Needs time to take in new
his employer); He is quick to grasp new concepts grammatical knowledge that
m 24 information. Analytical learner who requires clear
plans to take and words. Often has interesting impede his progress. Needs
ideas. explanations of the rules.
IELTS to study more controlled practice.
abroad

14. Fahad Very quiet in class, needs

Work Has a solid knowledge of participate more. Risk averse
Needs time to take in new information. Analytical
m 27 (sponsored by grammatical structures and is and often misses opportunities
learner who requires clear explanations of the rules.
his employer) keen on learning new ones to participate in open class
discussions.
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko

15. Hamad Work Slow reader. Needs to expand

Good at producing simple Works well with other students, but doesn’t
(sponsored by his vocabulary and start
m 28 utterances on familiar topics. Has participate much in class discussions. Needs thinking
his employer), applying new structures in his
positive attitude to learning. time.
travel speaking and writing.

16. Mohammed
Ali Has a decent range of vocabulary. Needs to improve accuracy of
Work
Reads at a decent speed, good his written work. Has some
m 25 (sponsored by Good participation. Works well in small groups.
word recognition. problems with pronunciation
his employer)
and word recognition.
LSA 3 Skills: Reading
Procedure
Stage and Aim
Lead in
 to activate schemata
 to set up context
 to stimulate interest in reading
 to practise reading for gist
 to check their general
understanding of the text
 to encourage cognitive processing
of the text
 to encourage students to use
scanning and skimming skills
 to promote peer-checking and
collaboration
 to review students’ knowledge of TL
(pronouns)
 to introduce the strategy
 to practise word recognition
 to promote collaborative learning
 to provide students with an
opportunity to practise target
strategy
 to check students’ understanding of
the strategy
Kateryna Kirichenko
Inter- Time
Procedure
action
Ask the students about their reading habits. Do they like reading? How do they think reading can help
them to improve their English? Tell them that today we will read a few stories.
Ask if they have ever driven home alone and if they ever felt nervous for some reason. What can go 5 min
t-ss
wrong?
Give the students Reading Text 1 and ask them to read it quickly for gist. Set time limit – 2 min
Ask them what the story is about.
Tell the students that they are going to read the text again but this time more carefully because they 15 min
need to find the answers. Set time limit – 10 min.
ss-ss
NB: it is likely that they will finish earlier – watch the class and if needed call finish time earlier.
Check the answers with their partners and then with the whole class.
Ask the students which questions were more difficult to answer than the others. Why? Elicit that is can
be confusing who did what because of the use of the pronouns.
Display the first part of the text on the IWB. Go through the questions and ask them to explain how they
found the answers. Draw students’ attention to the question 2 “Who flashed the lights?” Elicit the answer
(the car behind) and ask them how they knew. Elicit it and its. Talk what they are (pronouns) and what
are the other pronouns (he, she/ it/ her, etc.). When do we use them? Do a quick oral exercise by saying
a noun and having the students give appropriate pronoun (Katya – She, children – they, etc.)
10-15 min
ss-ss
Highlight the nouns in the text with different colours on the IWB. Continue with other pronouns in the
text displayed. Highlight the nouns and corresponding pronouns with different colours.
Tell the students that they will continue this in groups of 4, distribute highlighters
When they have all finished, check using the text on the IWB.
LSA 3 Skills: Reading
 to provide further practice using
pronouns in a controlled exercise
 to focus on
 to promote collaborative learning,
peer-teaching and correction
 After they finish ask them to check the answers with another pair.
 to provide the students with an
opportunity to practise skills leaned
previously
 to continue practicing word
recognition skills
 To check students understanding of
the strategy learned and its
application
Kateryna Kirichenko
Read the first sentence from worksheet 1. Ask the students what’s wrong with it. Elicit ‘his’ instead of
‘Jon’s girlfriend’.
Tell the students that they need to complete the gaps in the paragraph by using pronouns when
appropriate or leaving the nouns as they are. 10 min
Students work in pairs to complete the gapped text. t-ss
NB: for early finishers give the third paragraph to complete. After everyone finished read the first two ss-ss
paragraphs.
After everyone finished nominate students to read completed paragraph. If there were early finishers
they read the third paragraph. If not the teacher reads the last paragraph to complete the story.
NB: if the class finished earlier, ask them to guess why the dinner was so important before reading the
last paragraph.
Tell the students that they will read another story.
Give out Reading Text 2. Tell them to read it quickly for gist. 2 min. Check their understanding of the
general idea by asking them what the story is about. 10-15 min
ss
Ask the students to highlight the nouns and corresponding pronouns in the text. Monitor and help
individually. After they finished, give out the questions and ask them to answer them.
Check the answers. Ask if it was easier when they paid attention to the pronouns.
Remind them to use the strategy next time when they do reading comprehension.
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko

Appendices (Materials)

Reading Text 1

One night Melanie and Laura were driving home from a party. It was late and the
road was empty except for one car behind. Melanie and Laura were chatting and
didn’t pay attention to the car behind until it began to overtake. Then it suddenly
flashed its lights a few times. Melanie saw that the driver was a big man. She was
scared and told Laura to drive faster. Laura accelerated but the car stayed right
behind. They reached her house and stopped. But the other car stopped too! The
driver ran to them. Melanie tried to lock the doors but he was faster. He opened
the door and shouted: “Get out of the car! Run inside and call the police!” At that
moment she saw that there was another man. He was in her car in the back seat!
She pushed her friend out of the car and got out too. They ran to the house and
Laura called the police.

The driver later explained to the police that as he was driving he saw a man with a
knife in the back seat of the car in front of him. When he flashed the lights the
man sat back trying to hide.
Adapted from Reading Extra by Liz Driscoll, 2004, CUP

Questions for reading text 1

1. When did this happen?

2. Who flashed the lights?
3. Who was driving?
4. Who was scared?
5. Whose house did they come to?
6. Who saw the man inside the car first?
7. What did Melanie do?

8. Who called the police?

9. Why did the other car follow them?
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko
Worksheet 1

Read the text

One day Jon decided to go out with Jon’s girlfriend, Anna. Jon booked a table at a restaurant,
ordered some flowers and even bought new shoes. Jon wanted Anna to have a great time. Jon
called Anna and asked Anna to be at the restaurant at 8pm.

At 7.30 Jon left Jon’s apartment. Suddenly, Jon’s phone rang. It was Jon’s mother. Jon’s mother
was very upset and wanted to talk. Jon didn’t have a choice. Jon told Jon’s mother that Jon’s
mother can come to the restaurant too.

Complete the gaps in the text with pronouns when needed

One day _____ decided to go out with ______________, ____________. __________ booked
a table at a restaurant, ordered some flowers and even bought new shoes. __________ wanted
___________ to have a great time. ___________ called ____________ and asked __________
to be at the restaurant at 8pm.

At 7.30 ____________ left _____________ apartment. Suddenly, _____________ phone rang.

It was _______________________. __________________ was very upset and wanted to talk.
_________didn’t have a choice. _____________ told _______________ that
____________can come to the restaurant too.

For early finishers (the last paragraph of the text)

Read the text

Anna wasn’t happy that Jon’s mother came. Jon’s, Anna’s and Jon’s mother’s dinner was a
disaster! Jon’s mother and Anna didn’t speak at all. Anna wanted to go home. Jon’s mother
wanted to stay. Jon didn’t know what to do because Jon wanted to propose to Anna that night.
That was why Jon wanted the evening to be perfect!

Complete the gaps in the text with pronouns when needed

____________ wasn’t happy that _______________________ came. _______________dinner

was a disaster! _________________________ and ______________________ didn’t speak at
all. ___________ wanted to go home. ________________________ wanted to stay.
________________ didn’t know what to do because ________________ wanted to propose to
__________________ that night. That was why ___________________ wanted the evening to
be perfect!
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko

Reading Text 2

On New Year’s Day Sarah and Mary went to visit their grandparents. They left the
house at 11pm. Because it was late the road was empty. Mary was listening to the
radio when she saw a girl in a yellow dress standing in the middle of the road. She
screamed and then Sarah saw her too. She tried to stop the car but it was too
late. When the car finally stopped, she got out of the car and looked under it. But
there was no one there. Mary got out too and looked around. But she didn’t see
anything. She went to look behind the car. There was nothing but suddenly she
felt very cold. It was as if someone’s cold hand touched her heart. She looked at
Sarah and saw that she looked scared. Quietly, the girls got back in the car and
drove to their grandparents’ house.

When they arrived Sarah went to sleep but Mary didn’t. She told her grandma
what happened on the road. Grandma told her that 6 years ago a local girl was
killed in a traffic accident in that place on that day. She lived in the village with her
parents and was going home from her friend’s house when a car ran over her.
Adapted from Reward Elementary Resource Pack, Macmillan Education, 1998

Questions for reading text 2

1. Where did Mary and Sarah go?

2. What time did they leave?
3. Who saw the girl in a yellow dress first?
4. Who screamed?
5. Who got out of the car first?
6. Who felt cold?
7. Who looked scared?
8. Who told grandma what happened on the road?
9. When day was the girl killed?
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko

Flipchart page 1
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko

Flipchart page 2
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko

Flipchart page 3
LSA 3 Skills: Reading Kateryna Kirichenko

Flipchart page 4