How to Read Eficient Macmillan

7/21/2019 How to Read Eficient Macmillan

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www.macmillanenglish.com/readers

Casino RoyaleIan Fleming

MACMILLAN READERS

MACMILLAN READERS


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www.macmillanenglish.com/readers

Macmillan Readers feature:

Carefully-graded levels from Starter toUpper intermediate so your studentsget the right reading material for theirability

Extra exercises and Audio CD forselected titles

A truly international range of simplifiedreaders with a prestigious list ofauthors from around the world

Free support material: Worksheets,Worksheet Answer Keys, Answers to thePoints for Understanding comprehension

questions, Extra Exercises, SampleChapters and Sample Audio

Author Data Sheets these two-pagesheets are aimed at teachers andstudents who want to find out moreabout the writers represented in our list

A revised edition of the free teachersbooklet Using Graded Readersin the Classroom

Macmillan ReadersOne of the most popular and respectedseries of simplified readers for learners of English.

Common European Framework

& Macmillan Readers

Starter & Beginner A1 (Breakthrough)

Elementary A2 (Waystage)

Pre-intermediate A2B1 (Threshold)

Intermediate B1B2 (Threshold)

Upper intermediate B2 (Vantage)

Council of Europe


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Using Graded Readers in the Classroom

Page3Thispagehasbeendownloadedfromwww.macmillanenglish.com.Itisphotocopiable,butallcopiesmustbecompletepages.MacmillanPublishersLimited2006.

CONTENTS

1 What are Graded Readers?

2 Why are Macmillan Readers so Popular?

3 How are Readers Graded? A Vocabulary,grammarandcontext B Content C OrganizationofthetextD Texttype

4 Reading and the Common European Framework

5 Why use Graded Readers?

6 How can Extensive Reading Improve myStudents Language Level? A Improvingreadingfluency B Vocabularyacquisition C Languageconstruction D Improvingwritingskills E Buildingconfidenceandindependentlearning F Creatingapositiveattitude

7 How to use Graded Readers in the Classroom A Settingthescene B ChoosingReaders

8 The Class Library A DisplayingReaders B Alibraryloansystem C Monitoringstudentsreading D CategorizingReaders E Suggestedpost-readingactivity F HowdostudentschoosetheirReaders? G Whenshouldstudentsread?9 Motivating Reading During the Year

10 Holiday Reading

11 Motivating Activities

12 Reading Journals and Portfolios

The aim of this guide is to introduce teachers to Graded Readers and provide a wide range of activities and ideas to motivatelanguage learners both inside and outside the classroom.

13 Worksheets, Extra Exercises and Audio CDs

14 The Class Reader

A Howactivitiescansupportextensivereadingprogrammes B Activities

C Pre-readingactivitiesD While-readingactivitiesE Post-readingactivities

15 Using CDs with Graded Readers A WhyusetheAudioCDs B HowtoorganizeyourCDlibrary C HowtousetheCDs D Pre-readingactivities E While-readingactivities F Post-readingactivities G Preparingforexams

16 Using Films with Graded Readers

17 Using the Internet with Graded Readers

AppendicesGuidetoMacmillanresourcesGuidetothestructuralgradingofMacmillanReadersGenrechart


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1 What are Graded Readers?

Mostpeopleagreethatexposuretoalanguageistheirkeytoeffectivelearning.However,itisalsovitaltosuccessthatlearnersfeelmotivated,thattheyenjoylearningthelanguageandthatanxietylevelsareaslowaspossible.Graded Readers meet the needs of todays language learners by maximising reading opportunities in an enjoyable, relaxing andaccessibleway.Therangeoftitlesandgenresavailable,theReadersvisualattractiveness,thequalityofillustrationsandtheirpracticalsizearealladditionalfactorsthataddtotheirimmediateappeal.GradedReadersareshortbooks,bothfictionandnon-fiction,whichhavebeenspeciallywrittenoradaptedwiththelanguagelearnerinmind,sotheywillfindthemquickandeasytoread.Finishinganovelinanotherlanguagewillgiveyourstudentsarealsenseofachievementandwillmotivatethemtogoonreadingmoreandmore.

2 Why are Macmillan Readers so Popular?

OriginallylaunchedasHeinemannGradedReadersover25yearsago,theseriesquicklysetanewstandardinEFLreadingprogrammeswithawiderangeoftitlesandawealthofsupportmaterialstohelpteachersandlearnersgainthemostfromextensivereading.NowrelaunchedasMacmillanReaders,theseriestodaystillcontainsmanyoftheoriginalandmuch-lovedfavouritesbutalsoincludesanevenwiderrangeoftitlestoinspirelearners:fromthrillersanddetectivenovels,romances,historicalnovelsandhumourtosciencefiction,horror,mysteriesandlegends.Theyincludeadaptationsofclassictales,suchasSense and Sensibility, RebeccaandWutheringHeights, andmodernworkssuchastheJames Bond andThe Princess Diariestitles.Therangeoflowerlevelreadersalsoincludesseveralspeciallywrittenandillustratedoriginalstories.TheoriginalauthorsoftheadaptedworksarefrommanypartsoftheworldincludingFrance(AlexandreDumas,Stendhal),Ireland(OscarWilde),Zambia(WilburSmith),Nigeria(ChinuaAchebe),SouthAfrica(PeterAbrahams)andIndia(ChitraBanerjeeDivakaruni),aswellastheUnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStates.MacmillanReadersaredeliberatelydesignedtolooklikerealpopularpaperbacks,ratherthanschoolbooks,motivatingstudentsandbuildingtheirconfidencetoread furtherboth inandoutside theclassroom.ManyarenowavailablewithAudioCDs foruse intheclassroom,athomeoreveninthecar,solearnershavegreateropportunitiestoextendtheirEnglishlanguagelearning.TheMacmillanReadersseriesalsocontinuestoprovideyouwiththeverybestsupportmaterialtohelpyougetthemostoutofreadingprogrammes.TodaysresourcesincludeWorksheets,AuthorDataSheets,classroomprojectworkactivitiesandarticlesfortheteacher.Theyareavailablefreefromourwebsiteatwww.macmillanenglish.com/readers


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3 How are Readers Graded?

Whenreadingatextinanotherlanguage,weknowthatlearnersoftenfacecertaindifficulties.Thesecaninclude: Complexorunfamiliarvocabularyorgrammar.Also,alackofcontextforunfamiliaritems Unfamiliarcontent Complexorganizationoftext Unfamiliartexttype

(ref. Scott Thornbury,Beyond the sentence. 2005. Macmillan)

GradedReaderscanovercometheseproblemsbycontrollinglanguageandcontentand,astheirnamesuggests,bybeinggradedintolevelsofdifficulty.A Vocabulary, grammar and context

WithGradedReadersthereisageneralcorevocabularythatlearnersateachlevelshouldhavemetintheirregularcoursework.Theamountofnewandunfamiliarvocabularyiscontrolled,andnewitemsarerepeatedandrecycledsothattheybecomefamiliartothelearner.Theillustrations(suchasphotos,drawings,mapsanddiagrams)cangivethestudentextrahelpinunderstandingdifficultwordsandeventsinthestory.FromPre-intermediatelevelsupward,Macmillan Readersofferfurthersupportthroughglossaries.Allofthesecomprehensionaidshelpthestudentstodeveloptheirreadingabilitywithoutnecessarilyreferringtoadictionaryandthusinterruptingreadingfluency.ThegrammarinGradedReadersisalsocontrolledandlimitedtostructuresthatwillbefamiliartolearnersateachlevel.B Content

Theamountofnewinformationineachsentence,paragraphorchapterislimited.Descriptionsareclearandvivid.Sub-plotsarekepttoanecessaryminimumsothatlearnerscanfollowthestoryeasilyandenjoyably.Whenwereadinournativelanguage,webringanenormousamountofculturalandbackgroundknowledgetoatext.Formanylearners,alackofknowledgeofthecultureorbackgroundcaninterrupttheirunderstandingofcertainauthentictexts.ThisiswhytheamountofculturalbackgroundincludedwithinthetextoftheReadersislimited.Wherebackgroundinformationorreferencesareneeded,supportcanbegivenbythepicturesillustratingthestory(particularlyatStarterandBeginnerlevels,wheretheillustrationsareanimportantfeatureoftheReaders)and/orbyashortsummarywithmaps,diagrams,portraitsetc.atthestartofthebook.C Organization of the text

Theorganizationofparagraphsandchapters,aswellastheuseofillustrations,helpstobreakuptheinformationintomanageablechunksandaidschronology,solearnerscanfollowthestorymoreeasily.D Text type

MacmillanReadersaremainlynarrativeswithsomedialogue.Theymayalsoincludesimplenotesorletters.Thesearethemostlearner-friendlytexttypesandarefamiliartomostreaders.

Macmillan Readers offer a wide and attractive range of short, learner-friendly books which can be read quickly,easily and enjoyably. They are specifically designed to look like real popular paperbacks and are oftenaccompanied by an Audio CD, as well as by a variety of supplementary resources to support the teacher andthe self-study student.


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5 Why use Graded Readers?

MuchofthereadingourlearnersdointheEFLorESOLclassroomisbasedonindividualsentencesandshortreadingpassagesfromcoursebooksorexampracticepapers.Thesearegenerallyusedasafocusforlanguage;studentsareaskedtoconcentrateonvocabularyorstructure,andpossiblytopractiseordevelopspecificreadingskillssuchasscanning,orguessingthemeaningofunknownwordsinaparticularcontext.Thiskindofreadingiswidelyknownasintensivereadingandisimportantinpreparingstudentsfortheextensivereadingtheycandooutsidetheclassroom,aswellasformanyoftheinternationallyrecognizedqualificationsinEnglishsuchasFCEorTOEFL.Extensivereading,ontheotherhand,isaboutcontentandmeaning,andreferstothekindofreadinglearnersmayalreadydointheirownlanguagee.g.readingagreatvarietyoflongertextssuchasnovels,non-fictionorreferencebooks(andnowadays,ofcourse,theInternet)forpleasure,toincreasetheirgeneralknowledgeortothinkabouttheissuesraised.

According to Day and Bamford (Extensive Reading in the Second Language Classroom, 1998, CambridgeUniversity Press), the aim of extensive reading in language teaching is to get students reading in the secondlanguage and liking it.

Macmillan Readers Common European Framework

StarterandBeginner A1(Breakthrough)Elementary A2(Waystage)Pre-intermediate A2-B1Intermediate B1-B2(Threshold)Upperintermediate B2(Vantage)

4 Reading and the Common European Framework

TheCommonEuropeanFramework isan initiativebytheCouncilofEuropeand is, intheirwords, apracticaltool forsettingclearstandardstobeattainedatsuccessivestagesoflearningandforevaluatingoutcomesinaninternationallycomparablemanner.AteachoftheCEFLevels,therearedescriptorssuchasCanunderstandshort,simpletextscontainingthehighestfrequencyvocabulary,includingaproportionofsharedinternationalitems(A2).Thesearegiventohelplearnersevaluatetheirlearning,communicationandcomprehensionstrategies,andeachoftheskillsonthisscale(fulldetailsofthedescriptorsandlevelsareavailableattheCouncilofEuropewebsitewww.coe.int.Thedescriptorsrefertovariousaspectsofreading,suchasreadingcorrespondence,readingfororientation,readinginstructionsandalsoreadingforpleasure,thatis,readingliterature.Whilemostcoursebooksprovidepracticeofreadingpamphlets,letters,shortarticlesetc.inaforeignlanguage,theGradedReaderisthemostpractical,attractiveresourceforhelpingthelearnertoreallymakemeasurableprogressintheirreadingforpleasure.TheMacmillanReadersserieslevelsapproximatelymatchtheCommonEuropeanFrameworklevelsA1-B2.


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D Improving writing skills

Agrowingamountofresearchhasshownthatextensivereadingoveracontinuedperiodoftimecanhaveadirectinfluenceonotherlanguageskillssuchaswriting,particularlywhenitissupportedbymotivatingwhile-readingandpost-readingactivities.Notonlydolearnersproducebetterwrittenwork,buttheyarealsomorewillingtoexperimentwiththelanguage.Itisdifficulttomeasuretheexactinfluenceextensivereadinghasonwriting.However,aclearlinkhasbeenestablishedbetweentheamountstudentsreadandtheirabilitytowriteclear,coherentEnglish.E Building confidence and independent learning

Intensivereadingcandevelop the readingskillsnecessary foranextensivereadingprogrammeand bothkindsofreadingwillcomplementeachotheronanylanguagecourse.Thereadingstrategiesstudentsaretaughtintheclassroomcanpreparethemtobecomegoodreadersoutsidetheclassroom.GradedReadershelplearnerstoprepareforungradedreading,byprovidingamidwaystagebetweentheshort,gradedtextsofcoursebooksandungraded,real-lifematerials.Thismakesextensivereadingmoreaccessible.Learners readingnovels, referencebooks,newspapersorweb-pages ina foreign languagemay feel frustratedby thedensityofunfamiliaritemsandloseconfidence,whereasGradedReadersareengineeredtoeliminatethehit-and-missnature(oftexts)picked-up-in-the-street(Thornbury).ByusingGradedReadersinanextensivereadingprogramme,wearehelpingourstudentstobecomemoreindependentintheirlearningandencouragingthemtotryouttheskillsandstrategiesontheirown,leadingthemultimatelytotheextensivereadingofungraded,completetexts.Thisbuildsconfidence,andthereissubstantialevidenceshowingthatsuchautonomyresultsinsuccessfullearning.Anyactivitiesyoudecidetousetosupportextensivereadingshouldbedesignedtomotivateandencouragegenuinefeedbackandpersonalopinion,ratherthantotestcomprehensionandpotentiallycauseanxiety.ActivitiescanalsobedesignedtoguidelearnerstowardsevaluatingtheirownprogressandlearninginrelationtothecandodescriptorsusedintheCommonEuropeanFramework.Obviouslyanyprogressthatlearnersperceiveisclearlymotivating.TheMacmillanReadersseriesprovidesteacherswithawiderangeof resourcesand ideas(attheendofthebooks, inthisguideandatwww.macmillanenglish.com/readers)tohelpand inspiretheirstudents.

F Creating a positive attitude

Itiswidelyquotedthatthemoreyouread,thebetterreaderyoubecome.Butwhathappensiflearnersdontactuallylikereadinginaforeignlanguage?Recentstudieshavefoundplentyofevidencetosuggestthatattitudeisakeyfactorinlearningaforeignlanguage.The

wide

choice

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titles

and

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Macmillan

Readers

series

will

appeal

to

abroad

range

of

tastes

and

the

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supplementaryresourcesshouldhelptoencourageapositiveattitudetoreadingamongyourstudents.7 How to use Graded Readers in the Classroom

GradedReaderscanbeusedintwoways:aspartofanindividualreadingprogrammeinwhichlearnerstakebooksfromaclasslibraryandreadthemontheirown.

Individualreadingallowsthestudentstobecomemuchmoreindependentintheirlearning.Ontheonehand,itallowsthemtoreadwhere,whenandasfastastheywant,andontheother,studentsarefreetochoosethekindofbooktheyareinterestedinandtostopreadingabookandchooseanother,iftheydontenjoyaparticulartitle.Titlesatdifferentgradedlevelsshouldbeavailabletosuitallthelearnersabilities.

asawholeclassreadingprogrammeinwhichallthestudentsinaclassreadthesameGradedReader,generallychosenbytheteacher.

The class reader isalsoauseful toolbecause itallows you toprepare thewhole class for the reading theywillbe involved in.Reading-anddiscussingthereading-inagroupcanhelpbuildateamfeelingandmotivationtotacklethepotentialdifficultieswithunderstandingcontent,issuesorvocabulary.Afterthelearnershavereadthebook,theycanalsodiscussthebookasagroupinclass.Itisadvisabletosetatimelimitforreadingabook,however,asstudentswillbecomedemotivatediftheyhavetowaittoolongforeachothertofinishbeforemovingontoanotherbook.IfyouhaveenoughtimeinyourEnglishclass,theidealoptionistocombinebothkindsofreadingprogrammetomaximizethebenefitsofextensivereading.Itisrecommendedthatyou,theteacher,couldreadandbeseentoreadthesamebooksasyourstudents,whetheraspartoftheclassreaderapproachorparticipatingintheclasslibraryscheme.Ifyouwalkthetalkyourlearnerswillbemoremotivatedtofollowyourexample.




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A Setting the scene

Aswehavealreadymentioned,attitudepositiveornegativeisnowconsideredtobeoneofthekeyfactorsinsuccessfullearning.InthecaseoflearningEnglish,attitudeincludesfeelingsaboutEnglish-speakingcountries,peoples,cultures,musicandcinema.Also,weknowthatmanyofourstudentsdonotactuallyenjoystudyingorreading!Therefore,forextensivereadingintheforeignlanguageclassroomtowork,youneedtosetthescene,creatingorencouragingapositiveattitudetoreading,andtoreadinginanotherlanguage.OncestudentslookattheReadersandgetinvolvedinthereadingitself,theirattitudemaybecomepositiveanyway,especiallyifyouusemotivatingactivitiesbefore,duringand/oraftertheexperience.However,itisagoodideatobegintoworkwithyourlearnersevenbeforetheyseetheReaders,sothatyoucanfindoutabouttheirattitudeandprepareaccordingly.Thebestwayofdoingthisistouseaquestionnaireandfollowitupwithadiscussion.Thequestionnaireshouldincludequestionsabouthowoftenstudentsread,whattheyreadandwhethertheyenjoyreadingintheirownlanguageornot.Whenyourstudentshavecompletedthis,youcanuseitasthebasisforaclassdiscussiontointroducetheideaofextensivereading.Itwillallowyoutoexplainthebenefits,anddecidehowbesttoapproachitwithyourclass.

An example of a questionnaire

1 What do you usually read?

a. Nothingmuchonlyadverts,souppacketsandtheTVpageinthenewspaper.

b. Articles,reports,lettersandemailsatworkIdonthavetimeforanymore.

c. Emailsandwebpagesmostly,notbooks.d. Newspapersandmagazines.e. Non-fictionbookseitherforstudiesorgeneralinterest.f. Abitofeverything,butIpreferfiction,ornon-fiction

bookslikeautobiographies.2 How often do you read for pleasure?

a. Notoften.Ipreferfilms,TV,music,sportetc.b. Sometimes,butusuallyonlyduringtheholidays.c. WhenImill,whenitsrainingorwhensomeonehas

givenmeabooktheyrecommend.d. AsoftenaspossibleIlovereading.3 If you read for pleasure, which of these types of book

do you enjoy?

Crimeandthriller BiographyDetective/mystery TravelRomance HorrororghostHistorical HumourAdventure BookswithfilmsFantasy ClassicalliteratureSci-fi Other(what?)

4 When you are with your friends, do you everrecommend books to each other?

a. No,never.b. No,notveryoften.5 How do you choose the books you read?

a. Ireadthebooksthatpeoplegivemeaspresents.b. Ireadthebooksthatmyfamilyandfriendsrecommend.c. Ireadthebookreviewsinmagazinesand/or

newspapers.

d. Ispendtimeinthebookshoporlibrary,lookingatthecover,readingtheinformationonthebackcover(blurb).

e. IreadbooksbyauthorsIamfamiliarwithandenjoy.f. IreadthebooksoffilmsIhaveseenorwanttosee.g. IonlyreadthebooksIneedformystudies/work.h. WhenIthinkabookmightbeinteresting,Ireadabout

itontheInternet.6 Which of these is closest to the way you feel about

reading?

a. Idontenjoyitinanylanguage.b. Idontmindreadinginmylanguagebutitstoo

difficult/boringetc.inEnglish.c. IreallyenjoyitinmylanguagebutImnotsure

aboutreadinginEnglish.d. IlovereadingandIdontmindwhichlanguage

Ireadin.

Books cant live with them, cant live without them?

Look at the following questions and decide which answers best describe you.You can choose more than one answer if you want

c. Sometimes.d. Yes,alot.


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B Choosing Readers

Whetheryoudecidetocreateaclasslibrary(seebelow)oruseaclassReader,youcanchoosethebooksforthegroup,orbetterstill,thestudentscanhelpyouchoosefromcataloguesoravailableReaders.Looktogetheratthedescriptionsforeachbookinthecatalogueandthecoverimages,noticewhetherthereisanaudioCDaccompanyingthebookandgentlyguidethestudentstolookatthelevelsyoufeelareappropriatetothem.DifferentkindsoftestscanbesettodecideonlevelsofGradedReadersforlearners,butbyfarthemostsuccessfulwayofgettingitrightistouseyourownintuition.Makeaninitialselectionoftwoorthreetitlesfromeachlevelandreadthemthroughyourself.Youwillthenbeabletosuggestlevelsthatwillsuityourstudentsparticularneeds.Asimpleruleis,initially,tochoosebooksslightlybelowthelevelofyourstudentsEnglish.Thiswillreduceanypossibleanxietywhenreadingandbuildtheirconfidence.Iftheyfindthetextstooeasy,theycanthentryahigherlevel.IfyouarechoosingaclassReader,youcouldalsoprovidecopiesofoneortwopagesofthebooksfortheclasstoreadandgradefordifficulty.

Whether it is the teacher who chooses the Graded Readers or the learners, the level of the books chosen should becomfortable for the student to read so that anxiety is kept at a minimum, students are motivated to keep readingand they enjoy the experience.

8 The Class Library

AclasslibraryisalibraryofEnglishbooksortextsmadedirectlyavailabletoEFL/ESOLstudentsintheclassroom.Aschoollibrary,ontheotherhand,isanareaorroomspecificallydesignedtohouseallkindsofbooksandresourcesondifferentsubjects.Thismayseemobvi-ousatfirstglancebutitisimportanttoemphasizethedifference.Aschoollibraryisidealforthosestudentswhoarehighlymotivatedandhavebeenencouragedtoreadfromanearlyage.Theywillmaketheefforttopayregularvisitstotheschoollibrary.However,thisisnotthecaseformanyofourstudentswhofindexcusessuchasIhaventgotenoughtime,IforgotorIdontknowwhichbookstochoose.Ifwecanbringthelibraryintotheclassroom,weareatleastmakingiteasierforourstudentstotakeabookhomewiththem.AtthesametimewearealsoshowingourstudentsthatreadinginEnglishformsanintegralpartoftheircourse.Animportantfactorindeterminingthesuccessofaclasslibraryisthatthestudents,aswellastheteacher,areresponsibleforsettingitupandrunningit.Themoreinvolvedourstudentsbecomeinitscreation,themoremotivatedtheywillbetouseit,andtheyshouldbeencouragedtorecommendReaderstootherstudentsintheclassandtorecordreaderreviews.Youcandeveloptheclasslibraryfurtherandcreateabookclub,wherelearnersdiscusstheiropinionsortheissuesraised,afterreadingcertainbooks,orevenprepareashortpresentationonaparticularReader.Thisbuildsconfidenceinreading,speakingandpresentationskills.A Displaying Readers

Ideally, if you arebased inone classroom, you can encourage students toparticipate inmakingaspaceforanddesigningtheirbookcorner.Thiswillrequireenoughshelf-spaceso thatstudentscansee the frontcoversof thebooks. If,however,youmove fromclassto class, a simple solution is to have a mobile library.An attractive idea is to make acolourful hanging library with individual pockets (preferably transparent), which can becarriedeasily,andfoldedandstoredawayattheendoftheday.KeepingyourGradedReadersandtheiraudioCDsinaboxisanothersolution,butremembertotakethemoutanddisplaythefrontcovers.Theappearanceofthefrontcovertogetherwiththetitleoftenseemstobethemainreasonforabooksappeal,soitisimportantthattheReadersarelaidoutwiththeircoversvisibleasthiswillmakethemmoreattractiveandinteresting.


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B A library loan system

Libraryloancardscanbekeptontheinsidecoverofeachbook.Thesearecollectedbythelibrarymonitorandstoredinasmallboxorinapocketonthehanginglibrarysothattheyknowwhichbookshavebeenborrowed.

Studentscanbeinvolvedinthisaslibrarymonitors;theykeepacheckonallthebooksonloanorthosethatarebroughtback.Bygivingyourstudentstheresponsibilityfortakingcareofthebooksandorganizingthesystem,aswellasbecomingmorefamiliarwiththetitles,youaremorelikelytoreducelossesanddamages.C Monitoring students reading

Alibraryrecordchartcanbecompletedeachtimeastudenttakesabook.Askyourstudentsiftheyprefertodisplaythechartontheclassroomwallorkeepitinafilewiththelibrary.

Studentscanalsokeeparecordofthebookstheyhavereadinapersonalizednotebookor,wheretheyhaveaccesstotheappropriatetechnology,usingablog,aweblogorpersonaldiaryhousedontheInternet.Thisiscalledareadingjournal(seebelow),andmightincludethetitleandauthorofthebooktheyhaveread,thedate,ashortsummaryofthestory,opinionsandreactionsetc.Atthelowerlevels,thiscanbedoneinitiallyinthestudentsnativelanguage.Itisalsousefulifyoukeeparecordofthebookseachstudenthasread,asthiscanbepassedontoteachersoffuturecoursestoprovidevaluableinformationaboutthestudentsinterestandprogress.Ifyourstudentshavekeptblogs,thesecanbeaccessed(withthestudentspermission)directlybyotherteachersandgroups,eitherforinformationorforinterest.

Dr. NoIanFlemingBorrowedby On ReturnedDi P 23/4 12/5

Pl u 16/5

Name Title Date Date Type Recommendation Mark borrowed returned /10Pr S R 6/10 20/10 Avr Es 5/10

Hm ItreEln T Prfc 22/11 14/12 Avr Itreng 8/10

Str

Mrt S n 6/10 20/11 Rmn G ffi 7/10 Sty


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D Categorizing Readers

Tohelpyourstudentschooseabook,youmightcategorizethegradedreadersinyourclasslibraryaccordingtolinguisticleveland/orcontent.Useyourintuitiontoestablishhowthedifferentpublisherscodingsystemsbasedonlinguisticlevelsrelatetoyourstudentsspecificneeds.TheReaderscanthenalsobecategorized-preferablybythelearnersthemselves-intogenressuchasthriller,romance,sciencefiction/fantasy,mystery/horror/ghost,humaninterestetc(seeactivitiesbelow).Inthisway,eachindividualstudentwillfinditeasybothtochoosealeveltheyarecomfortablewithandatypeofbooktheyenjoy.Ifthereisafilmofthebook,youcouldalsoindicatethisbyputtingasmallstickeronthecover.ManyMacmillanReadersareaccompaniedbyaudioCDs.YoumaywishtokeepaseparatelibrarysystemfortheCDs,asstudentsmaywanttotakeoutbooksandCDsseparately.E Suggested post-reading activity

Askyourstudentstoproducecardsforthebookstheyhaveread,toreplaceorcomplementtheinitiallibrarycardsyoumayhavemade.Thesecardscouldinclude:thetitle,theauthor,thegenreoftheReader,asimplerecommendationandarewordingoftheblurbonthebackcoverorashortsummaryofthestory(notincludingtheend!).Thecardscanthenbekeptasaquickreferencenearorwiththeclasslibrary.F How do students choose their Readers?

ChoosingaReadershouldbelikechoosinganyotherbookinalibraryorbookshop.Whenwegotoabookshoporlibraryandchooseabooktotakehome,themostimportantfactorstendtobe:havingenoughtimetolookthroughthebooksavailablewithoutrushing,lookingatthefrontcovers,readingthetitlesandtheblurbsgettingrecommendationsfrom-andexchangingopinionswith-friends,andreadingreviews.Timecanbeallocatedtolookingthroughthebooksinthelibraryduringclasstime,break-times,after-schoolhoursetc.butyoushouldbeavailabletohelpwheneverpossible.Ifyoushowagenuineinterestinwhattheyarereading,studentswillseetheimportanceofreadingaspartoftheirEnglishcourse.Ifastudentfindsitdifficulttodecide,youcanreferhim/hertoreviewswrittenbyclassmates,ortothereadingchartwithgenresandrecommendations,ordiscussingtheblurb,genreandleveletc.ordiscussbookswiththem.ChoosingaReadercanalsobetheresultofsomeofthemotivatingactivitiesdiscussedbelow.G When should students read?

Silentreadingcanbedoneduringclass,ifyouhaveenoughtime,aswellasbeingencouragedassomethinglearnerscandoathome,onthebusetc.Partoftheattractionofextensivereadingisthatstudentscantakeresponsibilityforwhenandwheretheydoit.However,dedicatingthirtyminutesofclasstimeperweektoextensivereadingmaymakethedifferenceforthosestudentswhoareunabletoordonotwanttoreadathome.Studentscanalsoreadtheirbookswhiletheyarewaitingforotherstudentstofinishtheirwork,sotheyarenotwastingthosefewminutesofclasstime,butthisshouldbetheirdecision,notatask.AudioCDsofferfurtheropportunitiesforstudentstolistentothestories.Askingindividualstudentstoreadaloudinclassisnotgenerallyrecommendedasthiscanbestressfulanddemotivating.Thestudentcanbecomeself-consciousabouttheirmistakesinpronunciation,aboutreadingspeedand,infact,aboutperforminginfrontoftheirclassmates.Also,thestudentswhoarelisteningwilltendtotrytospoterrors-orsimplyswitchoff-ratherthanfollowformeaningorenjoythestory.


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9 Motivating Reading During the Year

Whatoftenhappenswithmanyclasslibrariesisthatthestudentsstartwithgoodmotivationandattitude,butbytheendoftheschoolyearonlyafewarestillreading.Itisyourjobtomaintainmotivationandencourageapositiveattitude.Bydoingtheactivitiesinthenextsectionatregularintervalsthoughouttheyear,youaremakingextensivereadinganintegralpartofthecourse.Studentsarethenremindedthattheclasslibraryistherefortheiruseandthatusingitcanbefunandengaging.Bythetimeyoudotheseactivitiesinmid-course,somestudentswillalreadyhavereadanumberofbooksandmightrecognizetheblurbs,summariesorextractsfromtheCDsthatyouareusingintheseactivities.Thisisnotaproblemanditcanbeanadvantage.Studentswhoarefamiliarwiththebookscanhelptheirclassmates.Youcanalsoaskthestudentstosharetheiropinionsandreactionswiththeclass.Byusingawallchart(seeMonitoringstudentsreading),oraclassweb-basedbookclub,studentscanrec-ommendbookstotheirfriends.Thisisoneofthemostvaluableandnaturalwaysofencouragingthemtoread.Alternatively,youcanaskyourstudentstogiveshortpresentationsaboutthebookstheyhavebeenreadingorproduceprojectstobedisplayedintheclass(seePost-readingactivitiespage23).Youcanalsomakeupaquizaboutallthebooksinthelibraryasacompetitionforthewholeclass,includingquestionsaboutthefrontcovers,thetitles,theillustrationsetc.

10 Holiday Reading

Someteachersmaychoosetorecommendextensivereadingasanadditional,holidayactivityduringtheshorterholidayperiods intheacademiccalendar.Manyoftheactivitiesdetailedabovecanbeusedtomotivate,keeptrackofandprovidefeedbackonholidayreading.Areadingjournalmightbeparticularlyusefulforthisapproach,asthestudentswillhavelesscontactwitheachotherforon-goingencouragementduringaholidayperiod.

Perhaps the most effective way of keeping the class library alive is your example to the class; try to show an activeinterest in the library throughout the year, borrow books yourself and show the class that you are reading them.

You can then participate in activities where opinions are shared.

Find the book! Title

1.Thisbookhasfiveshortstoriesinit. T C-Gla B n Otr Stie2.ThisbookwaswrittenbyDickens,andhasa Gr Expci

charactercalledPipinit.3.Thisbookisabouttheownerofaspecial T Mstr o Se

shopinCalifornia.4.Inthisbook,amanisofferedmoneyto Offi ily D

provideanalibi.5.Thisbookisaromanticcrimestorysetina R housecalledManderlay.


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11 Motivating Activities

Thefollowingactivityideas,usingtheMacmillanReadersseries,willletyourstudentsseethevarietyofReadersavailableandhelpengagetheirinterest.Theywillalsothenfinditeasiertochoosethebookstheywanttoread.Ifyouareintendingtorunaclassbookclub,itisagoodideatoaskyourstudentstodothetasksinpairsorgroups,asthiswillcreateamorepositive,socialattitudetothelibrary.

Cover story

1. Hidethetitlesofafewbooksandwriteanumberoneach.2. Givestudentsalistofthetitles,eg: aMarco;bLittleWomen;cDangerousJourney;dTheLastoftheMohicans.3. Showthemeachbookcoverandaskthemtomatchthenumberwiththecorrecttitlebylookingatthepictureonthefront

cover. 4. Checktheiranswersbyrevealingtherealtitleofeachbook. 1=c;2=b;3=d;4=a

Match the blurb

1. Copytheblurb(descriptionfromthebackcover)ofavarietyofbooks,orpreparesummariesincontrolledlanguageusingthedescriptionsofthebooksfromcatalogues. 2. Givestudentsalistoftheblurbsand/orthesummaries,togetherwithalistoftitlesandaskthemtomatchthebooktitletothecorrectblurb/summary.

Note: When preparing this activity, remember that the summaries or blurbs should include some clues about the real title. Anynumber of books can be introduced to the students in this way.

1 2 3 4


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Genres

1. Givestudentsalistoftypesofbooksuchas:humaninterest,travel,shortstories,humour,mysteryorromance.2.

Let

them

look

at

all

the

books

in

the

class

library,

(or

the

books

in

the

catalogue,

ifyou

use

this

activity

to

help

choose

bookstoincludeinthelibrary)readingtheblurbsandtitles,andlookingatthecoversandillustrations.

3. Askthemtoputeachbookinthebestgenrecategoryorcategories.4. Leadagroupdiscussiontodecideonadefinitivewallchartwhichshowseachbookunderthebestgenreheadings.

Studentscanthenrefertothischartwhentheychoosebookstotakehome.

Summary/Blurb

1 Thoseclawshavekilledfourofmyfriends,saidavoice.LarryappliesforajobasacookonanexpeditiontosearchthemountainsofnorthernAfghanistanforthelegendaryandfearsomeToruk.Attheinterview,Larryhasnaggingdoubts.Buthelovesmountainsandheneedsajob.

2 IdonthaveamerryChristmas,saidScrooge.Christmasisnonsense.Itshumbug!IdontbelieveinChristmas.ImnotgivingmoneytoanyoneelsesotheycanhaveamerryChristmas.

3 Thisclassicadventurecomedyfoundedawholegenreofitsown:shortstories,featurefilms,highly-populartelevisionseriesandanimatedcartoons,allfeaturingthepeoplesherowiththeflashingswordZorro!

4 Thelighteningwasallaroundme.Ilookedatthehugebody.Thesilverlightreachedthehands,thefeetandthehead.Foramomenteverythingwasquiet.Wasitmoving?No,yes!Anarmmovedandthenaleg.ThenIheardbreathing.Yes,themanwasbreathing.Hewasalive!

Book title

The Mark of Zorro

Claws

Frankenstein

A Christmas Carol

Human InterestEmmaTheGirlWhoLovedTomGordonTheGreatGatsbyTheEnchantedAprilThingsFallApartHumourTheWomanWhoDisappeared

Crime/detectionMeetmeinIstanbulTheSpaceInvadersTheWomanWhoDisappearedAKissBeforeDying

TravelMeetmeinIstanbulTheGirlWhoLovedTomGordonTheEnchantedApril

Mystery/horror/ghostTheGirlWhoLovedTomGordonDracula

Thriller/adventure/spyAKissBeforeDyingMeetmeinIstanbulTheWomanWhoDisappearedThePerfectStorm

Short storiesNoComebacks

RomanceEmmaTheGreatGatsbyAKissBeforeDyingTheEnchantedApril

Science fictionTheSpaceInvaders


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Youcanalsoaskstudentstolookthroughthebooksanddecideifthestoriesaresetinthepast,presentorfuture.Thisisparticularlyusefulforlowerlevels,asitpreparesthemforthetensestheywillmeet.Listen carefully

1. Givestudentsalistofthreeorfourtitles,orsummariesofbooks. 2. PlaythreeorfourshortextractsfromtheaccompanyingCDs. 3. Askstudentstomatchthecorrecttitlewiththecorrespondinglisteningextract. Note: If you choose an exciting extract with lots of action, this will inspire students to read the rest of the story to find out

what happens.

Key points

1. Chooseafewshortextractsfromthreeorfourverydifferentbooks.Theseshouldincludekeypointsinthestoryorimportantcharacterdescriptions.

2. Givestudentsthelistofcorrespondingtitlesandaskthemtomatchthetitlewiththeextract.About the characters

1. ManyofthebooksintheMacmillanReadersserieshavefamilytreesordescriptionsofthemaincharactersatthestartofthebook.Putstudentsintogroupsofthreeorfour,andselectonebookpergroup. 2. Askthegroupstolookatthepictures(anddescriptions)ofthecharactersandthinkaboutwhattheirsignificancecouldbeinthestorye.g.Whoisthevillainorhero?Whoisthemaincharactersloveinterest?Whoisthebrother/sister?

3. Passthebookontothenextgroup.Repeatstep2. 4. Repeatuntileachgrouphaslookedatatleastthreebooks.5. Youcouldaskthegroupstowritedowntheirthoughts,andthencomparethemwiththestorylater.

Check out the author

1. UsetheauthorinformationatthestartofsomeoftheMacmillanReaders,theAuthorDatasheetsavailableatwww.macmillanenglish.com/readersorfindinformationabouttheauthorontheInternet.ThengiveyourstudentsashortbiographyofthreeorfouroftheauthorsrepresentedinyourclasslibrarybutdoNOTincludethenames.

2. Showstudentsthecorrespondingreaders,sotheycanseethecoverdesign,titleandnameofauthor. 3. Askthemtoreadtheinformationabouttheauthorsandmatcheachwithhisorherbook.Note:Make sure you give enough clues in the biographical data or choose books with clues on the cover, so that the studentscan guess the correct answers more easily eg The Great Gatsby, Sense and Sensibility, No Longer at Ease, A is for Alibi.

In the beginning

1. Putstudentsintofourorfivepairsorgroups. 2. CopythebeginningoffourorfiveReaders(thefirsttwoorthreeparagraphs)ontoseparatecards,andhandthemoutsothateachstudentinagrouphasthesamepieceoftext.

3. DisplaycopiesoftheactualReadersyouhavechosen. 4. AskstudentstoreadtheircardanddecidewhichReaderitbelongsto. 5. Whenyouhavediscussedthecorrectanswers,askthegroupstoworktogethertodecidewhathappensnext.Note:You can refer to this in a later post-reading activity, asking them how close their version was to the real story.


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12 Reading Journals and Portfolios

Asmentionedearlier,onefinalactivitywhichcanbedonewhilestudentsread,andwhichhelpstostimulateandencourageapositiveattitude,iskeepingareadingjournalorportfolio.Thiscanbedoneeitherinanotebookorinaweb-basedblog.Studentswriteabouttheirreadingastheyread.ThisshouldbedoneinEnglishwherepossible,althoughlowerlevelsmayneedtocombineEnglishwiththeirownlanguage.Theycanwriteshortsummariesofthepiecetheyhavejustread,theycanrecordtheirimpressionsofcharacters,theiropinionsonevents,theycanevenwriteabouthowtheyfeel,readinginEnglish.Thisjournalcaneitherbesharedwiththeteacheralone,orperiodicallywiththewholegroup,asawayofsharingideas.Itcanbeusedasthebasisforgroupdiscussionsandbookclub-typeactivities.Excerptscanbecopiedandpinnedupnexttotheclasslibrary,asrecommendationsforbooks,anditcanbeusedtomonitorprogressinreading.ItcanalsobeusedtohelpstudentsobservetheirprogresstowardsreachingobjectiveswithintheCommonEuropeanFramework.Teachersshouldnotbetemptedtocorrecterrorsunlessastudentspecificallyrequestsit.13 Worksheets, Extra Exercises and Audio CDs

Oncetheyhavechosenthebooktheywishtoread,somestudentswillnotneedanymoreguidanceandwillread forpleasure.AtElementary,Pre-intermediate,IntermediateandUpperlevels,comprehensionquestions(PointsforUnderstanding)appearatthebackofeachbook.Thesecanalsobeusedtoprovideintensivereadingwork,whilethestudentsread.Iftwostudentsarereadingthesamebook,orsomestudentshavealreadyreadaparticularbook,thesePointsforUnderstandingcanformthebasisofpairorgroupwork.Other students may need or want more help or practice. Many of the titles from Beginner to Upper Intermediate level have extraexercises at the end of the book. Free worksheets are also available from www.macmillanenglish.com/readers for all the titlesin the Macmillan Readers series. Each worksheet includes pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading activities that can befollowedthroughbyanindividualstudentorbyagroup.Theextraactivitiesandtheworksheetsincludebothintensive(languageworkorpracticeforstrategies)andextensivereadingactivities(content-focused).TheproportionofintensivetoextensiveactivitiesvariesfromReadertoReader.AudiorecordingsarenowavailableonaccompanyingCDs formanytitles intheMacmillanReadersseries.AtStarter level,alltitlescomewithanaudioCDcontainingrecordingsofthreeofthetitlesintheStarterrange.StudentscanusetheCDsinavarietyofways.Theycanlistentopartsoftherecordingbeforereading,whiletheyarereadingorevenusethemasanactivityaftertheyhavereadthewholestory.Thedramatizationofastorycanhelpstudentstounderstandandfollowtheplotmuchmoreeasilythanjustfollowingthewrittentext.Thisisparticularlyusefulforslowerreadersastheyareforcedtoreadatacertainpaceandcangobackoversectionstheydonotfullyunderstand.Forthemoremotivatedstudents,theadvantageoftheCDisthattheyreallycanbecomeinvolvedintheirreadingalmostanywhere;manystudentssaythattheylistentotheCDwhentheyaretravelling.Thisoftenpromptsthemtogoandre-readthesectiontheyhavelistenedtoinordertoconfirmtheirunderstandingoftherecording.ListeningtoaCDwhilereadingalsoaidswordrecognition,asstudentsrelatethewrittenformtothespokenword.Italsosupportslearnerswhohaveamoreauditorylearningstyleormemory,thatis,learnorremembermorefromwhattheyhearthanfromwhattheysee.Youmayfind,however,thatlisteningactivities-particularlyatlowerlevels-aremoresuccessfulifyoureadtherelevantpartoftheReadertoyourstudents,usingprompts,visualsetc,toaidunderstanding.Somestudents feel intimidatedbyrecordings intheclassroom,andmayprefertousetheCDsathome,attheirownpaceandintheirowntime.FormoreideasonusingtheaudioCDsseepage27ofthisbooklet.


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14 The Class Reader

TheClassReaderisabookwhicheverystudentintheclassreads,somultiplecopiesofthesamebookareboughtandreadbothinclassandathome.Thistypeofextensivereadingapproachissometimesreferredtoassharedexperiencereadingaslearnerssupporteachotherbothintheirreadingandintheactivities.Fasterreaderscanhelpslowerreadersandstudentswithmoreculturalorbackgroundknowledgerelatedtothestorycansharethatknowledgewiththeirclassmates.A How activities can support extensive reading programmes

Ithasbeensuggestedthatlearnersshouldnotneedanyactivitiesinanextensivereadingapproach.However,morerecently,severalconvincingargumentshavebeenputforwardtosupporttheuseofactivitiesbefore,duringandafterreading.Pre-readingactivitieshelptobuildapositiveattitudetoreadinginaforeignlanguageandgetthestudentsinvolvedinthecontentofwhattheyaregoingtoread.Readingawholenovelorplayinanotherlanguagecanbeinitimidating,sousingthought-provoking,funactivitiestohelpthelearnersengagewiththecontentwillreduceanxiety,increaseself-confidenceandcreateagoodfeelingaboutreading.Activitieswhilereadingcanhelptokeepstudentsmotivated,providingthemwithasenseofsupportandallowingthemtochecktheirprogress.Apartfromenablinglearnerstorecyclelanguagethroughspeakingandwritingactivities,post-readingactivitiesallowstudentstoconsolidatetheirlearningwithoutbeingtested.Theycanexpressandshareopinionsandideas,givepersonalfeedback,recommendandgenerallyfeellikepartofareadingcommunity.Allthesefactorsaddtomotivationandencouragelearnerstoreadmoreandmore.Furthermore,theywillbeabletoobservetheirownprogressandrefertothecandostatementsintheCommonEuropeanFramework,whereap-propriate.B Activities

Theseactivitiescanbeusedwithdifferentage-groupsindifferentkindsoflearningenvironments.Themainaimoftheseactivitiesistoaidglobalcomprehension,ratherthanamoredetailedstudyofatext.Studentsarenotaskedtoanalyzewordorderorgivethemeaningofspecificvocabularyitemsbecausesuchtasksaremoreappropriatetointensivereading.Theyareencouragedtoignorewordstheydonotunderstandaslongasthisdoesnotpreventtheirglobalunderstandingofthetext.

C Pre-reading activities

Many of these activities can be adapted for use with a class library.

For additional pre-reading activities refer to the Setting the Scene section (page 9) and the Motivating Activities section (page 14) ofthis booklet.

Chapter headings

A 1. TakethechapterheadingsfromthechosenclassReaderandcontrastingReaderandmixthemup.2.

Give

students

the

titles

of

the

two

books

and

show

them

the

front

covers.

3. AskstudentstochoosewhichchapterheadingsgounderwhichReadertitle.

B Somechapterheadingsprovideinformationabouttheirorder.Bylookingatthesechapterheadings,studentscanbegintopredicthowastorydevelops.Totestthis,tryouttheactivitybelow. 1. GivestudentsalistofchapterheadingsfromaReader.Makesuretheheadingsareinthewrongorder.2. Askstudentstodecidewhichchapterheadingtheythinkisthefirstandwhichisthelast. 3. Askthemwhichchaptertheythinkisgoingtobethemostexciting,thesaddest,themostimportantetc. 4. Askstudentstolookattheremainingchapterheadingsandtodecidetheirownorderforthese. 5. Askstudentstopredictwhatwillhappeninachapterortopredictwhatwillhappeninthestory.(Thismayneedtobein

thestudentsownlanguagewithlowerlevels). 6. Askstudentstoinventtheirownstorybasedontheirorderforthechapterheadings.Youcanevenaskthemtowriteashortparagraphaboutwhattheythinkhappensineachchapter.

Theactivitiesbelowaredividedintothreesections:pre-reading,while-readingandpost-reading.Pre-readingactivitiesaimtomotivatethestudenttowanttoread,eitherbygettingtheminvolvedinthethemeofthebookorinthetextitself.While-readingactivitiesaredesignedtoguidethestudentthroughthetext,providinghelpwherenecessary.Finally,post-readingactivitiesaimtogetthestudenttothinkaboutwhattheyhaveread.Studentsaregiventhefreedomtousetheirimaginationandbringtheirownexperiencetobearontheirowninterpretationofthetext.Theyarenotbeingtestedinanyway,butarebeinginvitedtoexpressopinionsandsharetheirreading.


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Using illustrations and other pictures

A 1. Ifstudentsalreadyhavetheircopiesofthebook,askthemtoworktogetherandlookattheillustrations.2. Askthemtodiscusswhattheythinkishappeningineachpicture. 3. Askthemwhotheythinkthecharactersare. 4. Askthemwhattheythinkthestoryisabout.

B 1. Ifstudentsalreadyhavetheirowncopiesofthebook,askthemtolookthroughtheillustrationsforaminuteortwo. 2. PlayashortextractfromtheaccompanyingCD.Askstudentstoidentifywhichillustrationitcorrespondsto.3. Repeatthis,playingthreeorfourextracts. 4. Askthestudentswhattheythinktheystorywillbeabout,whatthecharactersseemlikeandhowtheythinkitwillend.

C Produceindividualdrawings(stickmenwilldo)showingthemaineventsinastoryforstudentstopredictthecorrectorder.RememberNOTtoincludeadrawingshowingtheendofthestory!

Note: Alternatively, you can give the students the chapter headings as well as the pictures to enable them to tell their own story.

D

1. Givestudentsastoryboard,acartoonstrip,ofthemaineventsinthestoryalreadyinthecorrectorder(doNOTincludetheending!).

2. Askthemtopredictthestory.3. Askthemtoguesshowthestoryends. 4. Youmaywantstudentstousepicturesofstickmentodemonstratetheirpredictions,sothattheycancomparethemwith

thebookwhentheyhavefinishedit. E SomeofthebooksintheMacmillanReadersserieshaverealmapsatthestart,toprovidebackgroundinformation.Ifany

studentsarefamiliarwiththeareashown,youcouldaskthesestudentstosharetheirknowledgewiththeclass.F SomeoftheMacmillanReaders,suchasThe Princess Diaries,havesimplepicturedictionaries.1.

Ask

students

to

look

at

the

picture

dictionary

in

their

own

copy.

Discuss

the

items. 2. Askthemtopredicttherelevanceofeachitem.Encourageyourstudentstousetheirimaginationandsenseofhumour!

Thisisbestdoneafterreadingtheblurbanddiscussingthecovers,inordertoprovidesomekindofcontext.


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Looking at the characters

A ManyoftheMacmillanReadershaveafamilytreeorsimilarillustrationshowingthecharactersinthestoryatthefrontofthebook.1. Askstudentstolookatthefamilytreeandspeculateaboutthecharacters,iftheylookfriendly,unkind,sadetc.2. Askthemwhotheythinktheherois,whotheythinkthevillainisandwhattherelationshipbetweenthedifferentcharacters

couldbe. 3. Askstudentstolookattheillustrationsintherestofthebook,tofindmoreclues.4. Finally,ingroups,askthemtowritedowntheirpredictions,tocomparewiththerealstoryafterreading.

Variation:TherearefilmsbasedonsomeofthebooksintheMacmillanReadersseries,andstudentsmayhaveseenthefilmse.g.Pride and Prejudice, Emma, The Great Gatsby, The Princess Diaries, The Perfect Storm.Askstudentswhohaveseenthefilmtoexplainthecharacterstotheirclassmates,followingthefourstepsabove,usingthefamilytreeorillustrationsasavisualaid.

BSomeoftheReadersgiveashortintroductiontothecharactersatthebeginningofthebook.Thissometimesincludestheirname,theirjobandtheirrelevanceinthestory.Youcanusethisinformationtomakeroleplaycardsforyourstudents,addingasmallamountofinformationtoeachdescription.Alternatively,ifyouarealreadyfamiliarwithanyofthebooks,youcancreateyourowninformationcards.Theaimofthisactivityisforstudentstobecomefamiliarwithallthecharactersinthestorybeforereadingthebook. Imagineyouhavesixcharactersinthestoryandthirtystudentsinyourclass.

1. Makefivesetsofthesixcharacterrolecards. 2. Dividetheclassintofivegroupsofsixstudents. 3. Giveoutdifferentcharacterrolecardstoeachstudentineverygroup. 4. Thestudentsreadtheircharacterrolecardsandtakenotesifnecessary. 5. Keepingthefivegroupsseparate,tellstudentsthattheyareatapartywiththeothermembersoftheirowngroup.Theyshouldallstandupandmeeteveryoneintheirowngroupbyintroducingthemselvesandtakingnotesoftheotherpeoplesnames,jobsetc. 6. Oncetheyhavemetalltheotherpeopleintheirgroup,askstudentstositdownagain. 7. Askthemtowritedownwhattheyhavefoundoutabouttheothercharacters.Thenaskthemtowriteabriefdescriptionofwhattheythinktheircharacterlookslike. 8. GivestudentsthebooksandaskthemtocomparetheirowndescriptionswiththeartistsimpressionintheReader.

Note: This activity can be further exploited by giving dif ferent groups of students different selections of character rolecards.The groups would then have to question each other and pool their facts to find the missing information. If you have an unevennumber of students, take out some minor characters from the rolecards.


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Presentations

Beforereading,askyourclasstoresearchtheauthor.Thiscanbedoneingroups(moresuitablefortheclassreader),orindividually(moresuitablefortheclasslibrary).

1. Putstudentsintogroupsofthreeorfour.2. GivethemcopiesoftheAuthorDataSheetsavailableatwww.macmillanenglish.com/readersegJaneAusten,WilburSmith,

PhilipProwse.Alternatively,askthemtoresearchtheauthorusingtheInternet. 3. Askstudentstoprepareashortpresentationontheauthor.Theyshouldconsiderwhenandwheretheauthorwasbornandanyinterestingdetails.

4. Forwrittenpractice,youcouldaskstudentstowriteuptheirownclassAuthorDataSheetbycompilingalltheinformationfromthedifferentpresentations.Thiscanbeputonthewallorkeptwiththeclasslibrary,asappropriate.

D While-reading activitiesForadditionalwhile-readingideasrefertotheReadingJournalsandPortfoliossection(page17)ofthisbooklet.Points for understanding

ManyofthetitlesintheMacmillanReadersseriesincludePointsforUnderstanding,towardstheendofthebook.ThisexampleistakenfromChapter5ofTess of the dUrbervillesbyThomasHardy(Intermediatelevel) 1. Who is in love with whom? 2. What kind of woman does Reverend Clare think will be the best wife for Angel? 3. But Ive met someone else! Why does Angel think that this person will be a better wife than Mercy Chant? 4 But I can never marry you! Who says this and why?

A Askstudentstolookatthepointsandanswerthemastheyread,forexampleintheirreadingjournals. B UsethePointsforUnderstandingasthebasisforanactivityintheclassroom.

Putlearnersinpairsandaskthemtodiscusstheiranswers. Allowthemtorefertotheirbooksiftheywish,sotheydontfeeltheyarebeingtested. SometitlesincludePointsforUnderstandingwhichencouragethistypeofdiscussion.ThisexampleistakenfromChapter5of

The Jewel That Was OursbyColinDexter(IntermediateLevel). Morse learns that Ashenden has lied to him about what he was doing the previous afternoon.

What has made Morse suspicious?

Putting events in order

1. Givestudentsanumberofrandomlyorderedeventsfromachapterofthebook. 2. Askthemtoputtheeventsintothecorrectorderwhiletheyarereading. 3. Givethemvariousgroupsofsentencesaccompanyingdifferentchaptersinthebook. 4. Askstudentstoreadthesentencesandputthemintothecorrectorder.ThisexampleisbasedonChapter12ofThe Black Cat byJohnMilne(ElementaryLevel). Salahadin and Peterson walk up the stairs to the deck. The gun falls. Peterson finds Salahadin in his cabin. A man falls into the sea. Peterson and Salahadin talk on deck. Peterson sees the Black Cat on the bed.

Note: The sentences aim to summarize the events in the chapter and act as a guide to the students, to help them pick out the keypoints in the story.


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Variation: Includearedherring(aneventwhichdoesnotactuallyoccuratallinthechapterinquestion).Studentsputtheeventsinorder,aspreviousexercise,andidentifythefalseevent.Forexample:

Salahadin and Peterson walk up the stairs to the deck. The gun falls. The steward knocks on the door of the cabin. Peterson finds Salahadin in his cabin.

A man falls into the sea. Peterson and Salahadin talk on deck. Peterson sees the Black Cat on the bed.

Predict the story

1. Dividestudentsintopairsorgroups. 2. Chooseakeypassageinwhichanunexpectedeventoccurs. 3. Givestudentsthefirstandlastlineofachapter,orofasectionofachapter. 4. Askthemtopredictwhattheythinkwillhappeninthispartofthestory.Predictions using key words

1. Givestudentsaselectionofkeywordsinthesameorderastheyappearinthebook. 2. Askthemtopredictwhathappensinthispartofthebook. ThisexampleisbasedonthefirstfourchaptersofThe StrangerbyNormanWhitney(ElementaryLevel).

These words are from the first part of the story. Read them with yourpartner and talk about what you think happens in the story.

VILLAGE STRANGER BUYS HOUSE SHOP SPECIAL ROOM UNUSUAL CUSTOMER

PALE AND FRIGHTENED

Ifyouwishtopre-teachsomevocabulary,youcanincorporatesomeoftheitemsfromtheglossaryattheendofthebooks(fromPre-intermediatelevelupwards).Using illustrations

A 1. Putstudentsintogroupsofthreeorfour.2. Presentstudentswiththeillustration(s)beforereadingthechapter

orasectionoftheReader.3. Askthemtodiscusswhattheythinkisgoingtohappenin

thechapter,orwhattheythinkthepictureisreferringto. 4. Youcanusetheillustrationstopresentorelicitvocabulary,ifappropriate,particularlyassomeofthenewitemsaresupportedbyillustrationsinmanyoftheMacmillanReaders.

5. IfstudentsowntheircopiesoftheReader,theymaywanttolabelnewitemsinthepicture,orcopythepicturesintotheirreadingjournalandlabelthem.

Intheexamplestudentshavespeculatedaboutwhatishappeninginthepicturetheyarealreadyfamiliarwiththecharactersatthispointandhavelabelledtheillustrationwithvocabularyitemswhichcouldhelptheirunderstandingofeventsinthechapter.

Forexample,thisillustrationistakenfromPartThreeMarion,3inA Kiss Before DyingbyIraLevin:

h

r

mk


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B 1. Putstudentsintopairs. 2. Askeachstudenttochooseanillustrationintheirbookrelatedtoapartofthestorytheyhavealreadyread.Theyshouldnotshowtheirpartnerthepicture. 3. Eachstudenttakesitinturntodescribetheirpicture.Theirpartnerlistensandexplainswhichpartofthestorythepicturerefersto.

Points of view

A Invitestudentstoretellapartofthestoryasiftheywereamaincharacterinthestory,usingI... B Getstudentstoretellpartofthestoryfromthepointofviewofanothercharacter.

AandBcanbefurtherexploitedifyouaskquestionsatappropriatepointsinthestorysuchas,How do you feel? orWhat doyou think of ...? Youmightevenwantthecharacterstosaywhattheythinkabouteachotheratthispointinthestory(thatis,thestudentsimpressionofwhatthecharactersprobablythinkofeachother).

Character studies1. Askstudentstoassessandmakenotesonthequalitiesoftwoorthreecharactersatdifferentpointsinthestory,egbravery,

cruelty,generosity,selfishnessetc.2. Thenputstudentsinpairsorsmallgroupstocomparetheirimpressions.Dothesequalitieschangeasthestoryprogresses? 3. Askstudentstowritedowntheirviewsintheirreadingjournals,ifappropriate.

E Post-reading activities

Thevalueofextensivereadingoftenbecomesclearertostudentsthroughpost-readingactivities,especiallythosethatinvolvediscussion,followedbywritingupfeedbackonthediscussion.Theymotivatelearnersastheyareallowedtosharetheirreadingandopinionsandtoconsolidatelanguagetheyhavelearnedwhilereading.IfstudentsliveinaEuropeancountry,theycanincorporatesomeofthedescriptorsfromtheCommonEuropeanFrameworkofReferenceintotheirReadingJournal.Youcanalsohelpyourstudentstoevaluatetheirownlearningstrategiesandtheirprogressinoverallreadingcomprehension.Itis

important

that

these

feedback

activities

are

non-competitive,

with

no

right

answers

being

required,

only

personal

reactions.

Characters

A 1. Selectpartsofthestoryinwhichdifferentcharactersarebeingdescribed.Copythesepassages,butdonotcopythenameofthecharacterifitappearsinthedescription.Handoutthedescriptionstothestudentsordisplaythemonanoverheadtransparency. 2. Askstudentstotellyouthenamesofallthecharactersinthestory,writethislistontheboardoraskstudentstowritethislistdowninpairs. 3. Whenstudentshavereadthedifferentcharacterdescriptions,askthemtowritedownthenameofthecharactertheythinkisbeingdescribedineachpassage. 4. StudentscanchecktheiranswersintheReader.

B 1. Askstudentstotalkabouttheirfavourite,orleastfavourite,characterinthebook.2. Theyshoulddescribethecharacter,mentionsomeofthethingsthecharacterdoesinthestoryandjustifytheirfeelingsfor

thecharacter.3. Thiscanbeaspokenorwrittenactivityandcanbewrittenhomeworkorpartofareadingjournal.

C 1. Putstudentsintopairs. 2. Askonestudentineachpairtoimaginethattheyareoneofthecharactersinthebook. 3. Asktheotherstudenttobeanewspaperreporter,interviewingthecharacterfromthebook. 4. Studentsintervieweachotherandthenreverseroles.Theymaychangecharacteriftheywant. 5. Theythenwriteuptheinterviewsasareport.


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Guessing game

A 1. Studentsplayinpairsorsmallgroups.2. Ontheboard,writealistofthecharactersinthestory.3. Onestudentineachgroupthinksofacharacterfromthelist,theotherstudentsaskyes/noquestionsinorderto

guessthecharacter. B 1. Askstudents(particularlyatlowerlevels)tomakeaWantedposter,oraSinglemaleseekstypeadvertisementfortheir

favouriteorleastfavouritecharacter.2. Theotherstudentsthenguesswhotheposteroradvertisementisreferringto.Forexample:

Single lady around forty, living with mother and one niece in own small house. Seeks friendly person for conversation,cards, tea and cake. Must be patient and a good listener.

(Miss Bates Emma by Jane Austen)

Continue the story or What happens next ...?Studentsspeculateonwhathappensafterthestoryends.Variationsofthisactivityareasfollows: A 1. Putstudentsintogroupsofthreeorfour. 2. Askstudentstodecidewhathappensnext. 3. Askthemtocastthesequel,anddesignthestoryboard. 4. Eachgroupshouldthenpresenttheirversiontotheclass,usingthestoryboardasvisualsandjustifytheirchoiceof

actorsforthecast. B 1. Putstudentsintopairs. 2. Askthemtoimaginethattwoofthemaincharactersmeetagainaftertenyears. 3. Studentsthenwritethedialogue. 4. Askstudentstoperformthedialoguefortherestoftheclass,ormakeanaudioorvideorecordingiftheywantto.

C AskstudentstowriteTheNextChapterforhomework.Withlowerlevels,youmaywantthemtodrawsimpleillustrationsandusecaptionsorspeechbubbles,ratherthanwriteacompletetext.

What if ...?

1. Askstudentstoimaginethatakeyeventinthestorytheyhavereadhadnothappened,orhadhappeneddifferently.Imagineforexample,thatEmmahadnotmarriedMrKnightley(EmmabyJaneAusten)orthatRachelhadnotgoneforawalkinthesunkengarden(My Cousin Rachel byDaphneduMaurier).

2. Putstudentsintosmallgroupstowritethealternativeendingtothestory.Thiscanbedoneeitherasapresentation,adialogue/playoraswrittenhomework.

Comic-book dialogues 1. SomeoftheReadersatStarterandBeginnerlevelincludedialoguesinacomic-bookformat,withfull-colourillustrationsandspeechbubbles,forexampleinMarcobyMikeEsplen,The Long TunnelbyJohnMilne(bothBeginnerlevelbooks)orL.A.DetectivebyPhilipProwse(Starterlevel).

2. Studentsactoutthedialoguebetweenthecharactersandincludeanarratorforthenon-dialoguechunks.Theycanrecordtheirownworkoncassette,audiofileorvideo.

Thisillustrationistakenfrompage5ofIn the FramebyPollySweetnan.


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Comic-book writing tasks

Thepartofthestorythatisinstrip-cartooncanbeusedasawritingtaskinwhichthestudentsrewritethispartinnarrativeform.Write a play

1. Askstudentstorewritethestoryinplayform.2. Theycanthenactitouttotherestoftheclass,ormakeanaudioorvideorecordingoftheirversion.

Write a screenplay (project)

1. Studentsworktogetheringroupstoturnthestoryintoascreenplay(orpartofthestory).2. Askthemtoconsiderwhichactorswouldbeidealfortheroles,wheretheywouldsetthestory,iftheywouldchangethe

period,whatmusictheymightuseetc.3. Theycanpresenttheirworktotherestofthegroupasaposter,apresentationorasanarticle.4. Theycanalsowritethescriptforpartofthestory,oreventhecompletestory.ThiscanbedonefromStarterlevelupward

egusingJohnMilnesThe Magic Barber.IfthereisalreadyafilmoftheReader,youmaywanttoshowyourclassthefilmafterthisproject,forthemtocomparetheirideaswiththoseofthedirector.

Board game

Makeaboardgamewithquestionsaboutthetextindifferentsquares.Questionscanincludefactsaboutevents,howcharactersreacttodifferentevents,whosaidwhatandsoon.Whenastudentfallsonaquestionsquare,theothersinthegroupcanreferbacktothebooktochecktoseewhetherthequestionwasansweredcorrectlyornot.Askstudentstomakeupthequestioncards,andyouprovidethebasicboard.Ifyouputstudentsintogroupstopreparethequestions,thiswillnaturallyleadtodiscussionandconsolidationofunderstanding,plusrecyclingofvocabularyastheyworktogether.Italsomeansthateachstudentwillbeconfidentthattheyknowtheanswerstoatleastsomeofthequestions!Quiz game

1. PutstudentsintogroupsofthreeandaskthemtopreparesomequestionsoraquestionnaireontheReader(events,characters,

quotations,

author,

setting,

new

vocabulary,

even

questions

about

the

illustrations

particularly

at

lower

levels).

2. Organizeaclassteamquizusingthequestions.

Summarize the story

Plotsummariescanbemademorerealisticbyaskingthestudentstosummarizethestory,foraspecificreason.Forexample: inareviewtobeusedasarecommendationforotherstudents.Thesecanbekeptinafileintheclassroom,orwiththeclasslibrary,ifyouareusingone inaletteroremailtoafriend inadiaryentryforthecharacter inareadingjournalorblog asanewspaperreport(particularlygoodformysteriesandcrimestories).Withthisvariation,youcanalsoaskstudentstorecordtheirreportasaTVorradionewsitem.

Match the quote

Takeanumberofquotationsfromthestoryandaskstudentstosaywhichcharactersaideachone.


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Using the Audio CD

A 1. Putstudentsintoteamsofaboutfour.2. PlayshortextractsfromtheCDandasktheteamstonotedownwhathadjusthappenedbeforetheextractandwhat

happenedimmediatelyafter. B 1. Putstudentsintoteams.

2. Playshortpartsofthedialogueandasktheteamstodecidewhosaideachpiece.I liked this bit best ...

Ifastudent-orstudents-hasparticularlyenjoyedabook,youcouldaskthemtoreadouttheirfavouriteextract.Thisshouldbedonewithcare,shouldalwaysbeoptional,andisnotrecommendedatthelowerlevels,astheexperienceofreadingoutloudinaforeignlanguagecanbeverystressful.However,somelearnersmayactuallywanttosharepartoftheReader,justastheymightreadapieceoutfromanoveltofriendsintheirownlanguage.Using the illustrations

A IfyouareusingaClassLibrary,ratherthanaClassReader,whenyourstudentshaveallfinishedatleastoneReader,puttheminpairsandaskthemtoshoweachothertheillustrationsinthebooktheyhavereadandexplainthestorybehindeachpicture.Theyshouldnottelltheirpartnertheendofthestory!

Variation:Putstudentsinpairsandgetoneofthestudentstoasktheotherquestionsabouttheillustration.Thepersonwhoisansweringcanonlygiveoneortwo-wordanswers.

B Atlowerlevels,youcanaskstudentstoproducestickmenstoryboardstotellpartofthestorytheyhaveread.Theythentellthepieceofstory,withtheirpictures,tovariouspartnersintheclass.Youcanthenaskstudentstowritedowntheirpartofthestory,usingtheirstickmenstoryboardsasillustrations.


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15 Using CDs with Graded ReadersAudiorecordingsarenowavailableonaccompanyingCDsforthebestsellertitlesintheMacmillanReadersseriesandareaveryusefulaidtocomprehension.A Why use the Audio CDs?

Wehavealreadymentionedthatthemoreyouread,thebetterareaderyoubecome,andthisisalsotrueoflisteningthemoreyoulistentoaforeignlanguage,themoreyouunderstanditandthemoreyouunderstandit,themorerelaxedyoufeelaboutlisteningtoit.Thisisparticularlytrueifthelistenercanrefertothewrittentext,atleastatlowerlevels,toreduceanxiety.LearnersareoftenfamiliarwiththewrittenformofwordsinEnglish,eitherbecausetheyhavealreadyencounteredthemintheirregularclassworkorbecausetheyareverysimilartowordsintheirownlanguage.However,theyoftenfinditdifficulttorecognizethesewordswhentheyhearthem,becauseoftheirunfamiliarsoundorbecauseofcertainfeaturesofspokenEnglishe.g.theshwhichsuddenlyappearsinwordslikeambition.BylisteningtotheaudioCDwhiletheyread,learnersbecomemoreandmorefamiliarwiththesoundofwordsandrecognitionbecomesautomatic.Anxietythenreducesandattitudeimproves,asstudentsperceivetheirprogress.StudentswhoarenotlearningEnglishinanEnglish-speakingcountryhavelimitedaccesstoextensivelistening.Mostrecordingsusedintheclassroomareforintensive,language-orientatedexercises,whilstyou,theteacher,maybetheonlysourceoflisteningforpleasureorcontentthattheyhave.IfstudentshaveaccesstotheCDsthataccompanytheirReaders,theycanhearavarietyofnativevoices,maleand

female

with

varying

accents.

The

more

CDs

they

listen

to,

the

more

exposure

they

have,

not

only

to

vocabulary

and

grammar

input,

buttopronunciationandintonation.Theyalsohavemoreautonomyandcanlistenwhentheywant

-

inthecar,inthebath,relaxingathome,overheadphonesonthebus-ratherthanbeinglimitedtotheclassroom.

B How to organise your CD library

ThisratherdependsonhowyouorganiseyourReaderslibrary,whetheritisfixed(inoneclassroomorarea)ormobile.However,ifyoukeepyourCDsinabox,remembertodisplaytheminclassalongsidethecorrespondingbooks,sothatyourstudentsareawareofthem.Aneye-catchingideaistokeepthemincolouredjewelcaseswhichduplicatethecolour-codingindicatingthelinguisticlevels.YoumayalsowishtokeepaseparatesystemofindexcardsfortheCDs,asnotallthestudentstakingbooksoutonloanwillwanttolistentotherecordings,andviceversa.C How to use the CDs

Aswiththereadingactivities,thelisteningactivitiesareorganisedaccordingtopre-reading,while-readingorpost-readingactivities.Someactivitiesprovideextensivelisteningsupport,whilstsomearemoretraditional,intensivelisteningactivities.

Using Audio CDs alongside Readers helps your students to read faster, and make rapid progress as they become familiar withmore and more language, both in the written form and the spoken form. It provides you, the teacher, with a source of a varietyof native voices, and gives the learner more autonomy.


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D Pre-reading activities

Emotions

Withlowerlevels,playshortextractsofdialogue,andaskstudentstoidentifytheemotionsexpressedintheextracts.

Variation:Asawhile-readingactivity,whenstudentsarefamiliarwiththenamesofthecharacters,writethewordsfor theemotionsontheboard,playtheextractsandaskthestudentstoidentifythecharacters.

Matching information

1. Writesomecharactersnamesontheboard,withsomeinformationaboutthemmixedupinasecondcolumn.2. Playthecorrespondingextract,andaskyourstudentstomatchthenamestotheinformation.

Giving names

Provideinformationaboutsomeofthecharacters,andaskthestudentstogivethenames. ThisactivityandMatchinginformation,above,workwellwiththefirstpagesofmanyoftheReaders.

Picture dictation

1. Playadescriptivepassagemanyofthereadersstartwithadescriptionofthemaincharacters. 2. Askstudentstodrawthepicture. 3. Theycanthencomparetheirpictureeitherwiththeillustrationsinthebook,orbycross-checkingthetextinthebook.

Find the picture

1. IfstudentsalreadyhavetheirowncopiesoftheClassReader,askthemtolookthroughtheillustrationsforaminuteortwo. 2. PlayashortextractfromtheaccompanyingCD.Askstudentstoidentifywhichoftheillustrationsitcorrespondsto.

3. Repeatthis,playingthreeorfourextracts. 4. Askstudentswhattheythinkthestorywillbeaboutorwhatthecharactersarelike.


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Writing dialoguesThisactivitycanbedonebeforeorafterreading.

1. Givestudentsanarrativeversionoraflowchartofadialogue.2. Askthemtowritewhattheythinktheoriginaldialoguewas. 3. PlaythecorrespondingextractontheCDandletstudentscomparetheirversionswiththeoriginal.

ThisexampleisfromShooting StarsbyPollySweetnam,Starterlevel.

Dictogloss

This activity can actually be done before or after reading, and with any level. It is a way of focusing on language but it alsotrains

learners

not

to

try

to

listen

for

every

single

word.

1. Chooseashortextractfromyourreader,aroundfivesentenceswilldo.2. PlaytheCDandallowstudentstonotedownanywordstheycatch.Tellthemthattheydontneedtonotedown

completesentences.3. Playtheextractagain,repeatingstage2. 4. Putstudentsintosmallgroupsandaskthemtobuildthetext,usingthewordstheycaught,andtheirknowledgeof

thelanguage.5. Whentheyaresatisfied,comparethedifferenttextsthegroupshaveproducedandallowthemtolookattheir

bookstocheck.E While-reading activities

Tell me a story

ThemostobvioususeoftheCDisasastory-teller,particularlyifyoudontfeelconfidentyourselfaboutreadingthestorytoyourclass.TheCDwillalsoprovideanalternativetoyourownvoice,andagoodmodelforintonationpatterns.Studentscanfollowintheirbooksiftheywish.Mumbling

Askingindividualstudentstoreadaloudinclassisnotgenerallyagoodidea,asthiscanbestressfulanddemotivating. However,usingtheCDinclassasstudentsread,andaskingthemtomurmur,e.g.readoutloud,butquietly,canhelptogeltherelationshipbetweenthewrittenformandthespokenformofwordsinyourstudentsminds.Itcanalsohelpwithpronunciationandreadingspeed.Setting the scene

YoumaywanttousetheCDtodoamoretraditionalscene-settingactivity,whichisparticularlyusefulwithlowerlevels.Usetherecordingofthenextchapterorsectionofthebooktheyarereading.1.Ontheboard,writewho?,where?,when?(ifappropriate)andwhathappened?.2.Askstudentstolistentotheextractandmakenotesundereachheading.3.Studentscomparetheirimpressions.4.Allowthemtolistenatleastoncemore,andcompareimpressions.5.AskthemtoreadthesamepartintheClassReaderandchecktheiranswersagain.

Lisa tells Eleni the meal was wonderful.Eleni thanks Lisa.Alice asks Eleni what they can do on the island.Eleni says there are a lot of exciting things;she recommends the museum because it has got some beautiful statues.


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Reactions

Whetheryourstudentsareusingreadingdiariesornot,itisusefulandmotivatingtoaskyourstudentstoreacttopartofthestory.1. Chooseanextractoraskastudenttochooseasectiontheyenjoyedandplayittotheclass.2. Playitasmanytimesastheywant.3. Askstudentstoretelltheextract,toreacttothevoicesorevents,todescribethecharactersemotionsandreactionsto events,oracombinationofanyofthese,inwrittenform.4.

Then

ask

students

to

read

the

same

section

in

the

book,

and

modify

or

compare

their

reactions.

Thisactivitycanalsobedonetheotherwayaround,withstudentsfirstreadingthenlistening,astheactorsvoicescanaddanotherdimensiontothetext.Dontasklower-levelstudentstogiveadetailedreactionafterlisteningtotheCDextractonlyonce,however,asthatcouldcauseanxietyandbedemoralizing.AsimplequestionsuchasHowisthemaincharacterfeelinghere?orWherearethey,inthissection?shouldbeenough.Then,ifyouplaytheextractseveraltimes,theycandeveloptheirresponses.Predicting vocabulary

1. GivestudentsasummaryofthenextchapterorsectionoftheReaderthattheyaregoingtoread.2. Askthemtoguesswordsthattheythinktheymightmeetinthechapterandwritethemdownonapieceofpaper.

Theycanaskyouforwordstheydontknow,oruseagooddictionary,orwithMacmillanReadersatPre-Intermediatelevelandabove,theycanusetheglossariesattheendofthebooks. 3. PlaytheappropriateextractontheCDandaskstudentstotickthewordstheyhear.

4. StudentsthencheckbyreadingthesamepagesintheirReader.ExamplefromBlue FinsbySarahAxen,Starterlevel.

Jen goes snorkelling at the beach.

Spot the error

A 1. Drawascenefromthereader,butchangesomeinformation.2. Givestudentsphotocopiesofyourpicture.3. Playtheappropriateextractandaskstudentstoidentifytheerrorsintheimage.

B 1. Copyoutasectionofthetextordialogue,butchangesomewords,suchasnames,nounsoradjectives.2. Givestudentsphotocopiesofthenewtext.3. Askthemtounderlinethewordstheythinkarewrong.4.

Play

the

corresponding

extract

on

the

CD

for

students

to

check

and

underline

any

more

wrong

words

they

identify.

C 1. Copyoutasectionofnarrativeordialogueandaddinextrawords. 2. Givestudentscopiesofthenewtext,andaskthemtoguesswhichwordsarewrong. 3. Studentslistentotherecordingandcrossouttheextrawords. 4. Askthemtoreadthesamesectionintheirbooksandcheck. 5. Listenagainandaskstudentstomurmur(seepage29).

n u w

nrk w v

r tr fl


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Getting the order right

A 1. TakesomesentencesfromthenextsectionoftheClassReaderandchangetheorderofthewords.2. Askstudentstoputthewordsinthecorrectorder. 3. PlaytheCDandgetstudentstochecktheirsentences.B 1. TakesomekeysentencesfromthenextsectionorchapteroftheReader,preferablysentencesgivingthemaineventsofthe

extract.Changetheorderofthesentences. 2. Askstudentstoworkinpairsandtrytoguessthecorrectorderofthesentences/events. 3. PlaytheCDandgetthemtochecktheirideas. YoucouldusethesentencesfromactivityAforthisactivity. C 1. DothesameasinactivityB,butaddintwosentenceswhicharenotactuallyfromtheReader(redherrings).

2. Whenstudentslisten,theydecidewhichtwosentencesarefalse,andthenchecktheorderoftheothers.Key words

1. Playasentence,butstoptheCDbeforeakeywordthiscaneitherbealexicalitem,ifyouwanttoworkonlanguage,orapieceofinformationsuchasaname,ifyouwanttocheckcontent.Thisisagoodtechniquefortraininglearnerstoactuallylistenandcouldbedoneasawhile-orpost-readingactivity. 2. Studentsguesswhatwordshouldcomenext.


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F Post-reading activities

Play-actingSome of the Readers at Starter and Beginner level include dialogues in a comic-book format, with full-colour illustrationsand speech bubbles, for example in Marco by Mike Esplen, The Long Tunnel byJohn Milne (both Beginner level books) or L.A.DetectivebyPhilipProwse(Starterlevel).

1. Studentsactoutthedialoguebetweenthecharactersandincludeanarratorforthenon-dialoguechunks.2. Theycanrecordtheirownworkoncassette,audiofileorvideo.3. Youcanaskgroupstorehearseandactoutdifferentscenesfromtheplay,andthiscanberecorded,asabove.UsetheCDtohelpstudentsprepareforthepronunciationoftheirdialogue.AskstudentstolistentotheextractontheCDandnotedowntheiremotions.Theymaychoosetoimitatetheactorsontherecording,whichcanmaketheactivitymorefun. AllowthemtolistentotheCDasmanytimesastheywant,whiletheyrehearsetheirparts.

Team games

A 1. Putstudentsintoteamsoffour.2. PlayshortextractsfromtheCDandasktheteamstonotedownwhathadjusthappenedbeforetheextractandwhat

happenedimmediatelyafter.3. Awardpointsforgoodanswersintermsofcontent,buttrynottofocusonlanguageerrorstoomuch,asthiscanreduce

motivation.B 1. Putstudentsintoteams.2. Playaselectionofshortpiecesofdialogueandasktheteamstodecidewhichcharactersaideachpiece.C 1. Choosetheanswerstoquestionsfromasectionofdialogue,orfromvarioussectionsofdialogue.2. Givetheteamstheanswers,andaskthemtowritethequestions. 3. Playtheextracts.Awardpointsfortheclosestquestion.

G Preparing for exams

TheCDsthataccompanyMacmillan Readerscanalsobeusedtohelpprepareforexams,bothinternalandexternal.Usetherecordingsasyouwouldanyotherrecordingintheclassroom: prepareaworksheetwithagappedversionofthetextoragappedsummaryofthetext(similartotheclozeexercisesin

theFCEexam) ifyouareusingaplay,prepareawhosaidwhattypeofexercise preparesometrue/falsesentencesbasedontheinformationintheextractyouhavechosen usethePointsforUnderstanding,attheendofmanyoftheMacmillan Readers,ascomprehensionquestionsstudentsrefer

tothesewhiletheylistentothechapterontheCD.Ifyouusetherecordingsforexampreparationpriortousingthereader,thismayevenmotivatestudentstoreadthestoryinquestion.


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16 Using Films with Graded Readers

ManyofthetitlesintheMacmillan Readersserieshavebeenmadeintofilms,rangingfromclassicssuchasHitchcocksRebeccaandPolanskisTesstorecentfilmssuchasThe Perfect Storm,The Princess DiariesandPride and Prejudice.Sometitles,suchasRobin HoodandOliver Twisthavebeenmadeintofilmsmorethanonce.ThereisanoteonthebackcoveroftheReaderstellingyouiftherearefilmsavailable.Itstruethatfilmsare,obviously,ungradedintermsoflanguage,whichcancausefrustration,especiallywithlowerlevels.HowevertherearestillactivitiesthatyoucantrywhichcombinewellwithusingReaders,andprovideadifferentdynamic.Somehavealreadybeenmentionedpreviously,buthereareafewmoreideas:Whos who? (while- or post-reading)

A 1. WhenstudentshavebecomefamiliarwiththecharactersintheReader,chooseaclipfromthecorrespondingfilmwithmanyofthecharactersinitfiveminutesisenough. 2. ShowstudentstheclipwiththesoundturnedOFF. 3. Askstudentstoguesswhoiswhoanddiscusstheirreasons. 4. Askthemtodiscusswhetherthereareanycharacterswhoarequitedifferentfromthebookandanycharactersintheclipwhodonotappearinthebook.

B 1. Ifthecastincludesseveralwell-knownactors,givethestudentstheactorsnames.Stickphotosoftheactorsontheboard,ifyouhavethem.

2. Askstudentstoguesswhichcharactertheyplay,andgivereasons.Addtheirreasonstotheboard. 3. Showtheclassaclipfromthefilmwhichincludestheactorsnamedandchecktheiranswers. Possiblefilmsforthisactivityare:A Midsummer Nights DreamwithKevinKline,MichellePfeiffer,RupertEverett,CalistaFlockartandSamRockwell;The Perfect StormwithGeorgeClooney,DianeLaneandMarkWahlberg;orThe Man in the Iron Mask withLeonardodiCaprio,GrardDepardieu,JohnMalkovich,JeremyIronsandGabrielByrne.

C IfstudentshavereadavarietyofReaders,givethemthenamesofoneactororactressineachoftheReadersandaskthemtoguesswhichactorwasinwhichfilm,andgivetheirreasons.Forexample,atIntermediatelevel:

Spot the dif ference (while- or post-reading)

Showstudentsthefirstfive-tenminutesofafilm,andaskthemtoidentifydifferenceswiththebook,eginThePrincess Diaries,the

storyissetinNewYorkinthebook,andSanFranciscointhefilm.

Keanu Reeves Sean Connery Robert Redford Ewan McGregor

1.Ithink.................................isinDr Nobecause....................................................................................................2.Ithink.................................isinThe Great Gatsbybecause................................................................................3.Ithink...................................isinDraculabecause................................................................................................4.Ithink..................................isinEmmabecause...................................................................................................


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What are they saying? (while- or post-reading)

1. Chooseascenewithdialogueandenoughvisualcluestobeabletoguessatthecontentoftheconversation.Ascenewhichisfamiliartoyourstudentsfromachaptertheyhavealreadyreadisideal. 2. Showstudentsthescene,withthesoundoff. 3. Askthemtotrytowritethedialogue,ortellyouwhattheythinkthecharactersaretalkingabout. 4. Trygettingstudentstoprovideavoiceoverasyouplaythesceneagain,withthesoundoff.

5. Playthescenewiththesoundonforstudentstocomparetheirversions;usingsubtitlesinEnglishisrecommendedforlowerlevels.

Variation:Givestudentsonecharacterspartofthedialogue,andaskthemtoimaginetheotherpartorparts.Play-acting (post-reading)

IfstudentshavechosentoactoutpartoftheClassReader,andthereisafilmavailable,theymaybeinterestedtowatchpartofthefilmtogivethemideasforbodylanguage,intonationetc.Projects (post-reading)

IfyouoryourstudentshavedecidedtodoaprojectbasedontheirClassReader,titleswhichhavefilmsareagoodoption.Askstudentstothinkaboutthebiographiesofthedirectorandthemainactors,thinkaboutdifferencesbetweenthebookandthefilmsuchasitssettingandthedate.Havethemreviewsomeofthecharacters.Forexample,The Princess DiariesbyMegCabot(ElementaryandPre-Intermediatelevels): lookatthedirectorsbiographyandfilmography(GaryMarshallisalsoresponsibleforPretty Woman) lookatJulieAndrewsbiography(The Sound of Music, Victor Victoria, Mary Poppins, 10; married toMr Pink Panther) thebookissetinNewYorkfindinformationaboutNewYork thefilmissetinSanFranciscofindinformationaboutSanFrancisco writeanimaginaryencyclopaediaentryforGenovia useMacmillanauthorssheetavailableatwww.macmillanenglish.com/readers

rewritesomeoftheeventsfromthepointofviewofLilly,Michael,Clarisseetc findouthowthecastforthefilmwaschosen.Also,

many

of

the

activities

suggested

for

using

the

CDs

can

be

modified

for

using

video

clips

or

occasionally

the

whole

film.

An

exampleofthisistheactivitySettingthescene(page29),whichcanbeusedpre-orwhile-reading.


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17 Using the Internet with Graded Readers

AnykindofgroupprojectworkisagoodwayofconsolidatingyourstudentsprogressaftercompletingaReader,andtheInternetistheidealtooltohelpthem.Forexample,iftheclasshasreadThe Perfect StormbySebastianJunger(Intermediatelevel),theycouldthenusetheInternettoresearch,forinstance,thefilm,anyon-locationanecdotesfromthefilming,theauthorsbiography,mini-biographiesofthemainstars,thetruthbehindtheweatherconditionsdepicted,anytruecasesofsimilarevents,thesetting(Newfoundland)etc.Studentscanbeencouragedtoproducevisualstoillustratetheirwork.IftheclasshasreadPride and PrejudicebyJaneAusten(alsoIntermediatelevel),theycouldresearchthefashionsoftheperiod,socialcustoms,thefilmingofthebook,thelifeoftheauthororwhatlifewaslikeforwomeninGreatBritainatthattime.Theycouldalsobeaskedtoupdatepartofthestoryandconsiderwhichaspectstheywouldhavetochange.Forfurtherideasfordynamicprojects,visitwww.macmillanenglish.com/readers,whereyouwillfindawiderangeofideas,suchasinventinganddescribingavillainorbaddyforaJamesBondbook,orcreatingaFindthePerfectPartner!webpagerelatedtotheromanticReaders,plusphotocopiableworksheetsandteachersnotes.


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AguidetoMacmillanresources

ReadersLevel Councilof CambridgeESOL Coursebooks ExamResources Dictionaries EuropeLevel ExaminationStarter/Beginner A1 New Inside Out Beginner

Inside Out Beginner Straightforward Beginner Reward Starter Inspiration 1

Elementary A2 KET New Inside Out Elementary KET Testbuilder (ALTE Level 1) Key English Test Inside Out Elementary ElementaryLanguage Practice

Straightforward Elementary Move Elementary Reward Elementary Inspiration 2

Pre-intermediate B1 PET New Inside Out Pre-intermediate Macmillan Essential Dictionary

Preliminary English Test Inside Out Pre-intermediate

Straightforward Pre-intermediate

Inspiration 3

Intermediate B1-B2 PRE FCE Inside Out Intermediate Macmillan Essential Dictionary

(ALTE Level 2-3) First Certificate Straightforward Intermediate Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Plus in English Move Intermediate Reward Intermediate Inspiration 4

Upper Intermediate B2 FCE Inside Out Upper Intermediate Macmillan Essential Dictionary

(ALTE Level 3) First Certificate Straightforward Upper Intermediate Macmillan English Dictionary in English Move Upper Intermediate Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Plus Reward Upper Intermediate Inspiration 4

NEWfor2008!

Vocabulary Practice Series

Rising Star IntermediateRising Star Pre-FCELaser B1Laser B1+

InsideOut

Pre-Intermediate

Students Book

How to Read Eficient Macmillan

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