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down reading
strategies: teaching low-
level students
prediction, visualisation
and making connections
(text-self)
LSA3 SKILLS – READING
1 Commentary..................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Rationale from Reading and Research...................................................................................3
1.2 Rationale related to Learners Needs/ Characteristics............................................................4
2 Bibliography...................................................................................................................................5
3 Class Profile:..................................................................................................................................5
4 Learners Profiles............................................................................................................................7
5 Overall Aim:.................................................................................................................................10
6 Analysis........................................................................................................................................10
6.1 Genre: narrative – short story: Aladdin and the enchanted lamp (graded reader)..............10
6.2 Top-down strategies.............................................................................................................11
6.3 Lexis.....................................................................................................................................11
6.4 Grammar..............................................................................................................................12
6.5 Phonology............................................................................................................................12
7 Timetable Fit................................................................................................................................12
8 Assumptions................................................................................................................................12
8.1 Management/ Affective.......................................................................................................13
9 Anticipated Problems/ Solution...................................................................................................13
9.1 Management/ Affective.......................................................................................................14
10 Materials/Resources................................................................................................................14
11 Procedure................................................................................................................................15
12 APPENDICES.............................................................................................................................21
12.1.1 Reading Survey and its findings....................................................................................21
1 COMMENTARY
While researching top-down processing, I have realised that I spend far too much
time testing my students’ reading instead of developing it. My goal is to break this
habit and for this reason in my LSA3 lesson plan I am experimenting with new
techniques I have never used before in my reading lessons, e.g. visualisation with
background music and making connections (self to text).
I chose narratives for this lesson because this is the king of text we normally read for
pleasure. If we have well developed narrative schemata, it is easy for us to follow the
plot and make predictions about the events in the story. Predictions, on the other
hand, can create anticipation and involve students emotionally in the story.
Data from the reading survey I have conducted with this class were very insightful
(click on Reading Survey and its findings). Eight students took part in the survey as
one (Fatima Ibrahim) was absent. Seventy-five percent of students in this class do
not like reading in English because it is boring. Moreover, 88% believe that to
improve their English it is more useful to read a few difficult books rather than a lot of
I have chosen to read extracts form a graded reader entitled ‘Aladdin and the
enchanted lamp’ so my students could easily activate schemata because they have
a lot of knowledge on this topic. Eliminating distractions related to background
information will enable my students to focus explicitly on developing mentioned
above top-down processing strategies. Successfully activated schemata will help
them to make correct predictions regarding the plot and characters. As only one of
my students is married, they will easily identify with the Princess who is about to get
married. I hope this story is relevant to their lives because getting engaged and
married in the most important event in a woman’s life in Saudi Arabia. Text is not very
challenging so they can focus on the main events and ideas.
I want to make my students aware that reading an introduction and blurb can help
them choose an interesting book. Khawla and Maryam complained that the books
they borrowed from the BC library were boring.
I believe that sitting on the floor in a circle will help students to focus on visualising
without getting distracted. Although I am experimenting with background music for
the first time, I believe it will help them to relax and create images (brain movies). I
borrowed this idea from my yoga and meditation classes. Being relaxed will lower
their affective filter and help them enjoy the lesson.
Making connections (self to text) will get students thinking about characters, and
relationships, which help students see the book as a whole reading experience, i.e.
interaction between the text and the reader and encourage them to start developing
a reading habit in English.
(Word 2013)
3 CLASS PROFILE:
This is a General English class at A2 (Elementary 3) level. The course runs for six
weeks, with two-hour sessions three times a week, on Sundays, Tuesdays and
Wednesdays from 8:30-10:30 am. It is a class studying in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia.
On this course we are covering Modules 9, 10 and 11, New Cutting Edge, 3rd
edition.
As courses are segregated in Saudi Arabia, all students are female. There are nine
students in the class, including eight Saudis, one Eritrean. Their ages range from
late teens to early thirties. Half of them are university students and half work. Two
students Fatimah Ibrahim and Nada have not been recently attending the course
because they got jobs. It is a mixed ability class. Although they are a rather quiet
class, they are very hardworking and motivated.
Most students are studying English for professional and social reasons. The students
have asked me to practice reading for gist as the last reading assessment showed
that it is their main weakness.
Name, Age, Reasons for Strengths (S) relevant to the Weaknesses relevant to the Other comments
Job, learning lesson lesson
Nationality
Nadia, 26, Intrinsic Her reading and writing are stronger Although she enjoys reading She read one
an motivation, than her speaking, so she should not stories she thinks it is a very graded reader
accountant she likes experience any problems challenging activity. She (Pocahontas) during
Eritrean English understanding ‘Aladdin’. doesn’t read for pleasure, just the course. Although
to learn new vocabulary. she enjoyed it she
did not want to
borrow another
book.
Maryam, For work She has got rich vocabulary for the Wants to understand every High affective filter,
27, level which should help her single word in the text. It reading is a boring
accountant, understand the story. took her 2 hours at home to activity which makes
Saudi read a short text from NCE her sleepy.
coursebook because she
translated every single
Subsidiary Aim:
6 ANALYSIS
Main characters: Aladdin, Princess, jinnee and Abanazar (a magician form Morocco).
We are not going to focus on the whole story but only on an extract about Aladdin
falling in love with the Princess and how he tries to win her love.
Predicting – before reading the first part of the story SS will try to predict what will
happen when Aladdin sees the Princess for the first time, what he does to win her
love, how jinnee is going to help him.
Visualising – students will create images of the main two characters (Aladdin and the
Princess) in their heads. I will introduce the term ‘making brain movies’ to help them
understand what I mean. Visualisation makes abstract concepts more concrete,
meaningful and memorable and therefore it boosts comprehension and retention.
Inferring – students will read between the lines regarding arranged marriages, i.e.
Sultan wants to arrange a marriage for her daughter, the Princess with someone else,
but in the end love wins. Students have a lot of prior knowledge (schemata) which
will help them to get engaged in this topic.
Making connections (self-text) – students will imagine they are the princess and
how would they feel if they were engaged to someone else but were in love with
Aladdin, etc.
All the above mentioned strategies will help students create meaning and hopefully
enjoy the story. They will understand that reading is a thinking process which is also
interactive (interaction between the text and the reader).
The student will also read skimming and scanning to answer general comprehension
questions about the plot. They will read the introduction and the blurb to locate
answers.
6.3 LEXIS
I have chosen a text which should not be challenging for students. The word which
might be new for students are listed below:
6.4 GRAMMAR
6.5 PHONOLOGY
7 TIMETABLE FIT
It is the last week of a six week course, the last lesson. So far we have practised
skimming and scanning for locating details in texts. Two weeks ago, we studied
language for describing appearance and personality (M10, NCE 3 rd edition) so
students should be able to use this language when visualising characters from the
story. Last week we started talking about wh-questions (M11, NCE 3 rd edition) so
students should not have any problems understanding and answering questions I will
ask them about the plot and characters. As students find reading challenging they
wanted to do more practice in class.
Lexis as well as grammar use in the story are not challenging and
consequently students can focus on top-down strategies.
Most students are good at skimming and scanning but not at comprehending
gist of texts.
Students should be familiar with the term ‘prediction’ because we talked about
it while practicing skimming and scanning for the first reading assessment.
As some students believe that listening to music is not allowed in Islam, I have
asked students if I can use music in this lesson. They have agreed.
As we often sit on the floor, it should not make students feel uncomfortable.
Solution 2: I will use handouts to give instructions and give feedback (chesting)
Problem 3: Some students might spend too much time reading the introduction and
blurb instead of skimming and scanning.
Solution 4: Students will read individually and discuss the text in pairs afterwards.
Also I will pair weaker students with weaker (Jinan with Maryam (stronger), Nadia
with Khawla (stronger) and Ghada with Fatima (stronger), other students probably
will not show up tomorrow.
Problem 5: Music will distract the students instead of helping them focus and
visualise.
Problem 2: They might feel that visualisation is very silly and therefore avoid
practicing it.
10 MATERIALS/RESOURCES
to activate schemata Elicit some ideas about the story. Make sure that SS know that jinnee is a
slave of the lamp and Aladdin so he needs to obey his orders. Elicit rub
the lamp and obey. Check understanding of slave
Prediction Display Flipchart 1 (click on Flipchart 1 and Handout 1) on the IWB. T-SS 8:35 c.4’
To -8:39
Instructions: SS-SS
Feedback on Nominate students to give me answers. Keep it short unless clarification is T-SS 8:48 – c.4’
IWB required. 8:52
Can you learn a lot about a book form the back cover and introduction?
Instructions:
Imagine that Aladdin enters the room.
What does he look like? Is he handsome, young, old, tall, short, fit, fat,
dark/pale skin? What clothes is he wearing? Traditional, casual, smart?
What about his personality? Do you like him? Would you like to talk to
him? Why/ why not? What questions would you like to ask him?
Now in pairs, imagine the Princess. Close your eyes describe her to
your partner.
This activity will prepare them for Reading Part 1 where Aladdin sees the
Princess for the first time.
Eight students took part in the survey as one was absent (Fatima Ibrahim).
Part 1
‘Mother! Mother! I saw the Sultan’s daughter, Princess Badr-al-Budur, in the street.’ Aladdin’s face
was white. ‘I must have the Princess for my wife!’
‘No ‘buts’, Mother. I love the Princess and I want to marry her. Take these jewels, Mother, on a gold
plate’, he said ‘and give them to the Sultan.’
So the next day Aladdin’s mother carried a gold plate with many beautiful jewels on it to the Sultan’s
palace.
‘Your Majesty,’ Aladdin’s mother said quietly, ‘I have a son, a good young man. He is called Aladdin.
He loves your daughter, Princess Badr-al-Budur. He cannot sleep or eat because of her. He wants to
marry her’.
adapted from ‘Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp’ Judith Dean, Oxford Bookworms
Part 2
‘These are very beautiful jewels’, he said.’ No man in Arabia has jewels more wonderful than these.
‘Very well’, said the Sultan. And to Aladdin’s mother he said: ‘Your son must wait for three months,
and then perhaps he can marry my daughter.’
‘Oh, Aladdin! Aladdin! The Princess is going to marry Abanazar’s son! I heard it in the market.
Everybody’s talking about it.’
‘What can I do?’ he thought. He put his head in his hands and thought for a long time. And when
night came, he took out the magic lamp and rubbed it…
adapted from ‘Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp’ Judith Dean, Oxford Bookworm
Part 3
WHOOSH! ‘What is your wish, master?’ Said the jinnee of the lamp.
In a second the jinnee was back with the Princess asleep in his arms. He put her carefully on a bed,
and then the Princess opened her eyes and saw Aladdin.
Aladdin took her hand and looked into her eyes. ‘My name is Aladdin, and I love you,’ he answered. I
cannot live without you, and I want to marry you.’
Badr-al-Budur saw the love in his eyes, and smiled. She closed her eyes again, then the jinnee carried
her back to the Sultan’s palace. The next morning she remembered Aladdin’s eyes. ‘There is no love
in the eyes of the Vizier’s son’, she thought. ‘He thinks only of gold and of jewels’. So the Princess
went to her father.
‘I do not want to marry the Vizier’s son,’ she said. I want Aladdin for my husband.’