Guidelines for Effective Reading Discussion

in MadagascarEva F. Andrianarivo, English Teaching Program,

Antananarivo, Madagascarandrianarivofanja@yahoo.com

TESOL 2012PHILADELPHIA

Objectives:

o Build up vocabulary and contento Encourage critical thinking and communication for a purposeo Develop multi-cultural understanding and awareness of global issueso Stimulate reading discussion

Teacher’s Roles:

o Cultivate, Facilitate, Smooth reading discussiono Highlight new conceptsoTeach a system of critical thinkingo Give clear directionso Prepareo Guideo Monitoro Assess / Evaluate

Students’ Roles:

o Organize informationo Plano Practiceo Express opiniono Participate effectively

Effective Guidelines for Reading Discussion.

1. Reading comprehension: gist of the passage and main ideas.

2. Get facts from the passage and answer reading comprehension questions.

3. Using prior knowledge (certainty / probability) to make Inferences from the passage.

4. Practice reacting to key facts from the passage.

5. Relate to the passage. Practice linking facts from the passage to other realities.

6. Give discussion questions or statements. Take a position by answering the questions.

7. Make a list of arguments for and against the statements or questions to be discussed.

8. Discuss in groups of 3 or 4.

Useful Functions Checklist:

Advice Advantages / Disadvantages Agreement, appreciation, concession, determination Disagreement and criticism Cause and effect Comparison Contrast and contradiction Condition and hypothesis Desires and wishes Emphasis Giving opinion Liking and disliking Reacting Reporting Reproach Summing up ideas

Graphic Organizers :

For reading comprehension:1. Main idea2. Question Generation3. Word map

To brainstorm ideas before discussion:1. Cause and Effect2. Compare / Contrast3. Similarities / Differences4. Reactions

For the discussion:1. Performance Evaluation Parameters with four Rubrics:• Vocabulary• Content• Grammar• Pronunciation

MAIN IDEA MAPTo identify the main ideas in the text, to help understand how the ideas fit together. To

summarize and review the content of the passage.

Title: ………………………………………………………………..…………......................................

Main Idea: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Main idea 1: …………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………….

Key facts : ………………………………………...................

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....……………………………………………………………………..

Main idea 3: …………………………………………….………

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Key facts: ……………………………………......................

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Main idea 2: …………………………………………………...

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Key facts: …………………………………………………………

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Main idea 4: ……………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………..

Key facts: ………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Main Idea MapTo identify the main ideas in the text, to help understand how the ideas fit together. To summarize

and review the content of the passage.

Gist and Main Ideas:1. Skim for the Gist or Main Idea of the passage: Underline the first sentence of each paragraph

(topic sentence) and the last sentence in the passage. Identify and double underline the key words in each sentence.

Read all topic sentences and concluding sentence and see how the ideas are related:CAUSE and EFFECT, COMPARE and CONTRAST, CHRONOLOGY, …

2. Scan: Underline key words in the comprehension questions.Write the gist or main idea of the passage in a complex sentence, using any appropriate key word

and complex structure: Due to, As a result, Even though, Initially, Eventually, …

3. Get the main ideas of each paragraph: Read the Topic Sentence and pay attention to the underlined words in the Topic Sentence. Look for repeated words in the paragraph. Use them in a sentence that sums up the main idea of the paragraph.

4. Add key facts and important details to each main idea in the Main Idea Map.

5. Report to the class:The first paragraph states that …Here are the key facts and important details…

INFERENCE GRAPHIC ORGANIZERTo make inferences from hints in the passage. To develop critical thinking.

Hint: ………………………………………………………………………..

Why did he / she ….. ?What might / must have happened before that ?

Hint : ……………………………………………………………………….

What made him / her decide to ……………………………. ?

Hint : ……………………………………………………………………….

What might / must happen next ?

Inference Graphic OrganizerTo make inferences from hints in the passage. To develop critical thinking.

Getting ready:o Pick up factual information from the passage.o Draw a conclusion from those hints using the Inference Graphic Organizer.

The author implies that …It can be inferred that …

WORD MAPTo identify and connect “key words”. To recall the central idea of the passage. To

develop vocabulary.

………………

Word MapTo identify and connect key words in the passage. To develop vocabulary.

Getting ready:o Highlight the key words in the passage.o Complete the Word Map in order to recall the central idea of the passage.o Write several sentences about the passage while using those key words.

CAUSE AND EFFECTTo collect ideas and supporting details from the passage for the discussion. To develop

ability to think critically.

CAUSES:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

EFFECTS:……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

SOLUTIONS:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Cause and EffectTo collect ideas and supporting details from the passage for the discussion. To develop

ability to think critically.

Getting ready:o Complete the Cause and Effect Graphic Organizer with key words and key facts

from the passage.o Suggest solutions if there are not any in the passage.o Report the ideas using verbs and then subordinators:

For causes:… is caused by, results from, is due to …The reason for +Noun is that …because, since, as, for, due to, owing to …

For effects:… causes, leads to, results in, triggers, brings about, …consequently, as a result, therefore, …

For solutions:To solve …, to reduce, to fight, to tackle, to crack down on, …

COMPARE AND CONTRASTTo link key facts and ideas from the passage to prior knowledge. To brainstorm ideas

for the discussion of two contrary opinions related to the passage. To think critically and form strong arguments.

Advantages

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………........

Disadvantages

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Compare and ContrastTo link key facts and ideas from the passage to prior knowledge. To brainstorm ideas

for the discussion of two contrary opinions related to the passage. To think critically and form strong arguments.

Getting ready:o The discussion question gives two contrary opinions.o Choose a position using specific reasons from the passage and from prior

knowledge to support your answer.o Consider the advantages and list three or four advantages to form your

arguments FOR your position.o Think critically by considering the disadvantages of your position. List a few

arguments AGAINST your position.o Report arguments using:

Advantages: The advantage of (+Noun / V.ing)… is that …The good thing about … is that …

Disadvantages:The disadvantage of … is that …The problem of … is that …The bad thing about … is that …

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCESTo discuss similarities and differences of key facts and ideas from the passage to other

situations.

Situation in my

CountryFacts from the text

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……………...

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SAME DIFFt

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Similarities / DifferencesTo discuss similarities and differences of key facts and ideas from the passage to other

situations.

Getting ready:o Complete the graphic organizer with important facts from the passage.o Think about similar or different situations from your country (or another) and

complete the graphic organizer.o Check (√) if the facts are similar or different.o Use subordinators and verbs to talk about these facts:

For Similarity::similarly, likewise, … is similar to, resembles, …

For Differences:in contrast to, while, whereas, however, unlike,…… differs from, contrasts with,…

REACTIONSTo react to key facts and ideas from the passage. To brainstorm ideas for the discussion

Main Idea 1

•Fact:

•Reaction:

•Reasons:

•Contrary to fact:

Main Idea 2

•Fact:

•Reaction:

•Reasons:

•Contrary to fact:

Main Idea 3

•Fact:

•Reaction:

•Reasons:

•Contrary to fact:

ReactionsTo react to key facts and ideas from the passage. To brainstorm ideas for the discussion

Getting ready:o Make a list of important facts from the passage.o Write down your reactions to these facts and ideas by using the following:

I find it + Adj.ing that …. It is + Adj.ing that …

o State a few reasons for your reaction.o To form strong reactions, change facts from the passage into contrary-to-fact

statements by using unreal conditionals for the present and past:If (past), would + VIf (past perfect), would / could have + P.P.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PARAMETERSTo evaluate students’ performance during the discussion. To assess ability to interact in

English, handle questions, support opinions, clarify points of view.

PARAMETER RUBRIC CREDITS /15

Participation - Little participation- Adequate participation- Large participation

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Pronunciation comprehensibility

-Many errors – Interferes with understanding- Few consistent errors but comprehensible- Comprehensible and clear

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Vocabulary: breadth and precision of usage

-Limited, inadequate, inaccurate, unable to rephrase-Use frequent circumlocution- Adequate, less frequent circumlocution- Extensive, appropriate, accurate usage

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Content -Limited arguments – Irrelevant support- Adequate supporting arguments -Appropriate and enough supporting arguments with examples

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Structure and Grammar

-Major structural errors - Incorrect utterances- Definite structural problems – Correct utterances- Minor structural errors – Many utterances correct- Very good control – Most utterances correct

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Fluency -Speech halting and fragmentary – Long unnatural pauses- Less frequent hesitation with some incomplete sentences-Quite fluent – Natural and continuous speech

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