Welcome to UNIT 19.0
PREVIOUSLY: In Unit 18.0, we covered the sub topics: "Expressing
past events" in Form One; "Talking
about future plans/activities" in Form One; "Reading
and obtaining general information" in Form
Two; and "Writing
curriculum vitae (CV)" in
Form Four.
IN THIS UNIT 19.0,
we will cover the following sub topics: "Intensive reading" in Form One; "Interpreting simple
stories" in Form One; "Reading
and obtaining specific information" in Form Two; and "Writing letters of application for
jobs" in Form Four.
IN THIS UNIT 19.1,
we will start covering the sub topic "Intensive reading" in
Form One.
TOPIC’S INFORMATION
Main
Topic: READING A VARIETY OF TEXTS
Sub
Topic: Intensive reading
Periods
per sub topic: 11
Class:
Form One
DESCRIPTION OF THE SUB TOPIC
We
read every day. When I say every day, I mean it is mostly possible that no
single day can pass without someone setting his/her eyes on a text be it one
word like road and street signs or full phrases or sentences like those on
shops, hotels and other places. Because we live these circumstances it is
possible that we read every day.
The
core aim of this sub topic is to make sure students are able to respond to the
specific questions on a text read and give main ideas on what is read in a
summary form.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE LESSON
In
this sub topic/lesson, the student should be able to respond to specific
questions on a text read.
- TEACHER’S
PREPARATION STAGE
This stage is about the preparation of the teacher before undertaking
the lessons of the particular sub topic. These are all activities, procedures,
materials, teaching aids, and games prepared by the teacher for teaching a sub
topic:
- Putting
heads together: Introducing the
topic/lesson properly. Organising how students will be able to get to know
what is the topic/lesson about. It is where teacher makes sure that
students are going to be in his/her train. It includes brainstorming and
familiarisation of the topic/lesson with the students.
This makes students stay together with the teacher. It is at this stage
students can understand what is going to be discussed in the particular topic.
In this sub topic/lesson, the teacher should brainstorm with the students on the meaning of Intensive
reading and how this kind of reading is done in order to get students
on track. Also learn about Scanning a
text and Skimming a
text in this blog.
- Preparation
of Materials. A teacher has to
decide on the teaching/learning materials he/she is going to use.
In this sub
topic/lesson, the teacher will have to prepare a
variety of texts on the topics and issues like environmental degradation,
family life, education, street children, child labour, responsible citizen and
drug abuse.
- Target Practice. Show them/Guide them to the practice of the functions of the sub
topic. A teacher has to show or guide students to the target practice of
the grammatical functions of the sub topic.
In this sub topic/lesson, the
teacher will guide students to practice how to read and respond to specific
questions on a text read. The teacher should instruct students how to read the
selected text intensively and how to respond to the questions about the text
being read. In answering the questions about the text, the teacher will ask
students to look for the vocabularies the teacher has identified to be
considered. Some of these vocabularies can be:
- Bush fire
- Land
- Forest
- Soil erosion,
- Farming
- Degradation
- Soil conservation
- Trees
Learn more about Patterns
and Vocabulary here in this blog.
- Context-Based
Practice. A teacher leads students to
the discussion on how the target grammatical functions practised earlier
can be applied or integrated into the contexts and situations. The
students are guided by the teacher to apply the learnt skills in relevant
contexts and situations like school and library.
In this sub
topic/lesson, the students are instructed
by the teacher to read texts about various things that happen at home or school
and respond to specific questions on a text read. For example, the students can
read the texts on bush fire that always happen at their homes and respond to
the questions. Or the students can read the texts on conservation of forests in
their areas and respond to the set questions.
- Vocabulary
Building Practice. At this time,
teacher discusses with the students on the vocabularies and phrases to
apply in the already mentioned contexts and situations.
In this sub topic/lesson: The most commonly applied vocabularies are: abuse, drug, rights, forest, soil conservation, soil erosion, bush
fire, land, land degradation, forest conservation, and the like.
- TEACHING
AND LEARNING PROCEDURES, ACTIVITIES AND GAMES
Guide the students to the full sub topic/lesson procedures, activities
and games for better understanding of the sub topic by following these
activities:
ACTIVITY ONE:
Brainstorming. The teacher has to brainstorm with
the students on the sub topic/lesson's aspects through oral questions with
answers, pair works, and group discussions of all important concepts to get
students on track.
In this activity, the teacher to brainstorm with students on meaning of intensive
reading, what they read and how they read various materials. (Scanning a
text and Skimming a
text).
Intensive reading is the reading skill that calls for attention to grammar and content of
the text. It involves learners reading in detail with specific learning aims and
tasks. It can be differentiated with extensive reading, which involves learners
reading texts for enjoyment and to develop general reading skills.
INTENSIVE
READING activities
include Skimming a
text for specific information in order to answer the questions like;
- True or false statements,
- Filling in gaps.
- Summarizing,
- To discover mistakes and inconsistencies of syntax,
- Scanning a text to match headings to paragraphs, and
- Scanning jumbled paragraphs and then reading them carefully to put them into the correct order.
- The aim of this reading skill is to develop intensive reading skills and vocabulary improvements skills.
Remember this is going to be far more time consuming than scanning or
skimming.
Characteristics of
intensive reading
Texts are read carefully and thoroughly again and again.
It aims at building language knowledge rather than simply enjoyment.
It is usually classroom based.
The reader is intensively involved in looking inside the text.
Readers focus on the surface details such as grammar and discourse
markers.
ACTIVITY TWO: Teacher's
Demonstration. The teacher applies his/models or
examples so as to bring the topic/lesson and the students into the real or
common sense of the topic/lesson.
In this activity, the teacher will use texts on a variety of issues (including causes of
environmental degradation, education, life, forms of child labour, ways of
eliminating drug abuse and aspects of inequality). Then teacher will have to
introduce new vocabulary in meaningful contexts. This is why it is called
Intensive reading, an in-depth reading that involves extraction of some special
information from the texts.
Text
Teacher's Model
Read the following text then answer the questions.
There is loud cheering, excitement and singing here at this wonderful
National Stadium. Both teams have warmed up and are in their respective
dressing rooms. Okay, now the teams are coming out and walking towards the
centre of the football pitch. The teams are approaching the centre from one
direction. The National team is on the right side. It is dressed in blue. The
visiting team from Uganda is on the left and it is dressed in red. The fans are
singing loudly. Some are dancing happily. Really, there is a lot of excitement
here and there this afternoon. The game is starting now. Each team is looking
very determined to win this match. Hello, fans! Here we go!
Questions
A. Complete the following questions.
- What do you think is happening in the pitch?
- This is called ...........match.
- Why fans cheer?
- Who is telling this story?
- What is visiting team?
B. In each word below, list one word that has the same meaning with the
particular word.
- Excitement..............
- Pitch.........................
- Determined...........
- Cheering..................
- Stadium....................
- Warm up................
C. Write True or False to the following statements.
- The visiting team was Tanzania......
- The Uganda team was dressed in blue......
- The fans were cheering........
- The Tanzanian team wore blue Jerseys.
- No team was determined to win.......
ACTIVITY THREE:
Students' Demonstration. The teacher guides
students how they can apply a model like that of a teacher. The skills
demonstrated by the teacher should now be demonstrated/applied by them. Here
students need to be guided on how to use given expressions, structures,
vocabulary, and phrases or similar ones.
In this activity, the teacher will give students copies of the selected text. The
teacher will have chosen this text from a variety of sources and topics. The
teacher's role is to make sure that the selected reading material is relevant
and to the point. Here the teacher should also set the questions that are
related to the text. These set questions will help students read intensively
and understand the text well.
After this simple activity of choosing the text for students, the
teacher will guide students to read the text silently and respond to the set
questions individually. The teacher may have two samples of questions: the
questions to ask students individually, and the group questions. Individual
questions can be asked after they have read the text. This will help to track
their reading and understanding.
After answering individual questions about the text, the teacher will
guide students to form pairs or groups and discuss their answers in their
particular pairs or groups. These are the set questions that the teacher will
have set special for group discussions. These are the questions that students
have to find out their answers while in groups.
Finally, the teacher has to conduct and guide students to arrive at
correct answers. This is the final stage where teacher guides students to arrive
at one common consensus about what has been discussed throughout the sub
topic/lesson.
ACTIVITY FOUR: Taking/leading students to the real situations or contexts where they
can apply what they have mastered. Here speaking, reading or writing activities
are involved.
ACTIVITY FIVE: Winding
up the topic/lesson. Here teacher
summarises the topic/lesson by emphasizing the importance of the sub
topic/lesson and suggesting other related aspects of the sub topic/lesson.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY: As a teacher, what other activity can be applied in this sub
topic/lesson? You can always drop your alternative activity or activities to
this article so as to improve teaching and learning of 'O' Level
English.
REFLECTION
Ask students how they pick out specific information from the book,
newspaper, magazine or any large text that they don't have much time to cover
it. In the societies where people are busy, reading intensively is the best
technique to get the most of the text. The teacher should encourage students to
practice this type of reading for better understanding of the selected texts
and other reading materials.
ASSESSMENT
A teacher should design an evaluation for students by using appropriate
assessment tools like oral questions or assignments so that to see if the
student is able to respond to specific questions on a text read.
ASSESSMENTS
Assessment #01: Group
work.
Give students a text to read intensively and give them questions to
discuss.
Assessment #02: Pair works
In pairs, ask students to read a short piece of text, and then ask each
pair to find his/her own answers. Later, they can compare their answers and
findings.
Assessment #03:
Individual work.
Provide a text to students. Ask them to read individually and submit the
answers to you. Or give them a text on reading intensively and test their
reading and understanding individually.
Note: You can give students more individual works, pair works, and group
works to facilitate their interaction and understanding of the sub topic or
lesson. As English language teacher you have to give students more works to do.
Because language is meant to be largely spoken and written, the teacher should
rely on written exercises and notes. Instead students have to learn English
language by vigorously exercising individually, in pairs, and in groups.
SUMMARY/CONCLUSION
INTENSIVE
READING activities
are important for building students’ confidence, inquiring minds, and abilities
to read and analyse various texts of various subjects. Both scanning and skimming
texts are also important academic skills for any student who wishes to excel in
his or her studies. The students should be encouraged to learn these reading
techniques. The teachers should also provide their support for the students in
order to make sure they attain the special reading levels.
NOTE: These stages explained above are not necessarily covered in a single
lesson of single or double period. Remember that this is the guide for teaching
the whole sub topic which has periods ranging from 6 to 20. So, the teacher's
task is to divide these stages according to the total number of periods for a
particular sub topic.
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Email: kacheleonline@gmail.com
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WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?
This article is about how to study and teach "Intensive Reading"
in Form One. As a student or
teacher, what is your opinion on how to study and teach this sub topic/lesson?
Your opinion is worth and I believe that it can make these materials
better for our own consumption.
You are Welcome!
Resources
Widodo, H.P (2009) The Journal of
Effective Teaching: An Online Journal devoted to teaching excellence: Key
Issues in Teaching EFL/RSL Intensive Reading: A Videotaped Self-Observation
Report. Vol, 9. No. 3, Indonesia.
http://www.howtolearn.com/2012/08/different-reading-techniques-and-when-to-use-them/