Essential Ideas (21 - 25))

Teaching English, How To....
Essential Ideas (21 - 25)

21. Reading in the Content Areas: When assigning reading in all subjects using textbooks, prepare students for the assignment by providing background information on the topic. Pre-teach unfamiliar vocabulary. Set purpose for reading or, better, help the students to set their purposes. After reading, students apply what they have learned from reading the assignment.

22. Either/Or Arguments in English Education: NOT whole language OR basal, but whole language AND basal. NOT writing process OR product, but writing process AND product.

23. Literature Read Aloud. Read literary selections aloud. Students will be more motivated to read on their own. They will improve their own reading skills by observing how good readers read.

24. Literature: Why? Students read literature in school for many reasons, including the skills of interpreting figurative language and images, multiple meanings, the vocabulary of criticism and comparing their interpretations with the interpretations of critics. But never lose sight that they are reading literature to realize life. If they do not better understand and reflect on life from reading literature, what use is the rest of it?

25. Literature: Involving Students in Reading Novels. With novels, have students preview for 5 minutes by reading near the beginning, in the middle, three-fourths through and near the end of the novel, raising questions after each sampling. Students will then have questions to answer as they read the novel. If students become bored while reading the novel, have them read a paragraph a page until they become "unbored" and want to read completely again.