English Language

Write to be understood

Speak to be heard

Read to grow

Lawrence Clark Powell

Outline• Objectives of Workshop

• Hands-on Session: Strategies to Develop Reading

Comprehension Skills

Objectives of Workshop• To partner parents in supporting their

children’s learning.

• To share with parents some strategies to enhance their children’s learning of language skills

Presenters & Facilitators

• Ms Martina Lim – HOD EL

• Mrs Helena Baldwin – ST EL

• Mdm Lucy Foo – Teacher

• Mdm Ashekin – Teacher

• Ms Gayathri – Teacher

Whole-School Approach to Teaching Reading Comprehension• Story (P1-P3) and Newspaper (P4-P6) Check-in to

encourage reading of different text types

• Comprehension Cloze & OE passages of different genres to expose pupils to a variety of texts

• Exposure to a variety of question types progressively from P1-P6

• Strategies: Use of Contextual Clues, PRTA, Chunking, Retelling, Summarising

• Philosophy for Children (P4C) at P5 level to develop reasoning and critical thinking skills

Comprehension Open-EndedPast Syllabus New Revised Syllabus

10 Questions (of 2 marks each)Total of 20 marks

Up to 10 Questions (Variety of marks for each

question)Total of 20 marks

Q & A structure Q & ATable

Vocabulary words Sequencing

Strategies to Develop

Reading Comprehension Skills

PRTA• Pre-Reading Thinking Activity

Reading the

questions

Highlight key words (5W 1H)

Organisinga KWL Chart

Read the passage

Organisinga KWL Chart

Answer the questions

KWL Chart

What I Know

What I Want to

Know

What I Have Learnt

5W 1H

Who? What? When?

Why? Where?

How?

PRTA

• To get an idea of the story through the questions

More focused when reading the passage

thereafter

• Be focused in details to look out for

• Think critically

Hands-on Session

KWL Chart

What I Know(based on the questions)

There are 3 words in the passage which have similar meanings as “pounded”, “foreseen’ and ‘illustrious’.

KWL Chart

What I Know(based on the questions)

There is a character in the story named Michael.

Michael envisioned attending a famous musical school called Del Rey Musical School

KWL Chart

What I Know(based on the questions)

There is another character in the story called Miss Swift.

Miss Swift is Michael’s music teacher.

KWL Chart

What I Know(based on the questions)

Michael had a very bad experience on stage.

KWL ChartWhat I Know

(based on the questions)

The teacher might have been very angry with Michael for crying before the start of his presentation.

Michael might have disliked public speaking in front of a crowd to speak or perform.

Miss Swift could have been the only person who helped Michael overcome his stage fright.

Michael overcame his fear of the stage.

KWL Chart

What I Know(based on the questions)

There are two words “Achilles’ Heel” in the text.

The two words refer to something.

KWL Chart

What I Know(based on the questions)

Michael suffered from stage fright.

Something happened to Michael when he experienced stage fright.

KWL Chart

What I Know(based on the questions)

Miss Swift was the best teacher Michael had met.

There was a reason or there were reasons why Michael felt Miss Swift was the best teacher he had met.

KWL Chart

What I Know(based on the questions)

Michael said that the pair of sunglasses had become his newfound best friend.

There was a reason or there were reasons why the pair of sunglasses is Michael’s newfound best friend.

KWL Chart

What I Know(based on the questions)

There is a three-word-phrase in paragraph 3 which tells us that Michael was extremely talented in music.

KWL Chart

What I Know(based on the questions)

Michael and strangers felt something about him wearing his pair of sunglasses to perform in front of a crowd.

KWL Chart

What I Want to Know(based on the questions)

What are the 3 words in the passage which have similar meanings as “pounded”, “foreseen’ and ‘illustrious’.

KWL Chart

What I Want to Know(based on the questions)

Who is Michael?

Why Michael envisioned attending the famous musical school called Del Rey Musical School?

KWL Chart

What I Want to Know(based on the questions)

Where Miss Swift is from?

How did Miss Swift become Michael’s music teacher?

KWL Chart

What I Want to Know(based on the questions)

What was the very bad experience Michael had on stage?

KWL ChartWhat I Want to Know

(based on the questions)

Was the teacher very angry with Michael for crying before the start of his presentation.

Did Michael like or dislike public speaking in front of a crowd to speak or perform? Why?

Was Miss Swift the only person who had helped Michael overcome his stage fright?

How did Michael overcome his fear of the stage?

KWL Chart

What I Want to Know(based on the questions)

What do the two words “Achilles’ Heel” in the text refer to?

KWL Chart

What I Want to Know(based on the questions)

What happened to Michael when he experienced stage fright?

KWL Chart

What I Want to Know(based on the questions)

Why was Miss Swift the best teacher Michael had met?

KWL Chart

What I Want to Know(based on the questions)

Why did Michael say that the pair of sunglasses had become his newfound best friend.

KWL Chart

What I Want to Know(based on the questions)

What is the three-word-phrase in paragraph 3 which tells us that Michael was extremely talented in music?

KWL Chart

What I Want to Know(based on the questions)

How did Michael and strangers feel about him wearing his pair of sunglasses to perform in front of a crowd?

KWL Chart

• Read the passage one paragraph at a time• Then write what you have learnt in the “L”

column in the KWL chart• If you have found the answers to the

questions in the “W” column, tick off the question and write what you have learnt

What I have Learnt(based on the given text)

Retelling• Reading a text and summarising or telling the

text in your own words

• Check pupils’ understanding and

comprehension of the text

Let’s Practise Retelling

• Read the newspaper article• Retell the contents of the article

with a partner

Retelling

• “Studies on story recall have found that extended use of the technique of story retelling leads to large improvements in story comprehension, making inferences, and understanding of story structure.”

(Gibson, Gold & Sgouros, 2003)

Chunking

• Breaking up the passage into smaller or simpler parts for more in-depth understanding

• At each chunk, make notes and ask questions like ‘Why? What? How? When?’

• Link the chunks and sequences

Let’s Practise Chunking

• Read the story• Break the story into chunks• At each chunk, make notes and

ask questions• Link the chunks and sequences

Chunking

• “Chunking improves processing speed and reading comprehension.”

(Ellis, 2003)

• “Chunking aids the promotion of direct reading with direct understanding.”

(Shiokawa, 2008)

Sequencing

• Mix up the sequence of a story

• One person gets a part of the story

• Read your own part aloud to the others

(so that everyone gets an idea of each part)

• Sequence the story in the correct order

• Explain and give reasons why

Home Support• Use strategies to suit the need of your child• Do not overdo it – overdose for your child• Employ the strategies in real-life situations: – discuss an interesting article with your child– talk about a book which you have both read– watch news (television) / listen to news (radio)

RETELLING

Home Support• Ask your child for his/her opinion – give reasons and explain why

RETELLING, CHUNKING, CRITICAL THINKING