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Practicing reading skills is one of the cornerstones of language learning. They not only improve the overall language competence but also enhance the learners’ critical thinking, analytical skills and as a source of information.

In order to have a productive reading session the teacher must conduct the lesson following  these stages:

1. pre-reading — to prepare the learners for the reading activity, to set a context, familiarize them with the unknown vocabulary, arouse interest.
2. while-reading — this is the main task the reading session is aimed at comprehension questions (True/False statements, skimming and scanning, etc.).
3. post-reading — its aim is to understand the texts further through critical analysis of what they have read or to provide personalization.

This article aims at giving some practical guidance to teachers who are eager to have productive reading sessions.

Pre-reading activities

One of the most important stages of any reading activity is the appropriate setting of the context, familiarization with the active vocabulary, getting to know how much the learners know about the topic. For this purpose, the following activities may be used,

• Crumpled papers: The teacher prints out the text which is going to be read and crumples it. He/she divides the class into groups and gives each group one crumpled version of the text. Students are not allowed to move the paper but they can move themselves trying to read some words, phrases, sentences. They take notes of whatever they are able to read and in a group discussion try to guess the main idea of the text.
  
• Corner Statements: The teacher prepares 4 sentences expressing opinions about the topic, then sticks them in 4 corners of the classroom. Students go and stand near the opinion they disagree with the most. The group explains why they disagree about the topic.
• Guessing from words or pictures: The teacher boards the keywords from a reading, students work in pairs or groups and try to guess the text. In the same way, the pairs or groups may be given some topic-related pictures and they need to give the main idea of the text.
• Sound effects: The teacher plays on some sound effect related to the reading and students are asked to guess the topic by giving the associations which came to them while listening to those sounds.
• Positive or Negative words: The teacher divides the class into two groups and gives two sets of different words taken out from the text. One group is given words with a positive connotation, the second group needs to deal with negative connotation words. They need to guess the story having in mind those words. As a result, the class comes up with two totally different versions of the same text.
• KWL Charts: Ask students to write everything they know about the topic (K column) and everything they want to know (W column) and what they learned after the reading (L Column). K and W aspects can be practiced as pre-reading activities.

While-reading activities

They help students to focus on aspects of the text and to understand it better. The goal of these activities is to help learners to deal with the text as if it was written in their mother tongue.

• Topic Sentences: Each paragraph stands for one main idea. Students are asked to find the topic sentence and explain how it describes the whole reading passage and the given paragraph.
• Guessings: Read the text (skimming the text for general information) to see if the guessings and predictions are met.
• Scanning: Students look for specific information from the text. Learners may be also asked to write comprehension questions for their peers.

Post-reading activities

These activities mainly aim at integrating the target material into the real-life and personalized practice in order to keep the authentic use of the language, make the learners feel that whatever they learn they turn into real-life experience in terms of language use.

• Discussions: Learners are divided into groups and are given a set of text-related questions to discuss. Questions may be about some characters, their behaviour, how the text has interested the students, what they have learned from it, etc.
• Story Continuation: Students may be given some time to think and come up with the continuation of the story. They may change some traits of the main characters and imagine how the text would proceed to take into account those changes.
• Statements: Students are given statements about the reading topic, they work in pairs and discuss them.

Considering the utmost importance of reading skill in language learning, all the above-mentioned activities can serve as nice tools to hone the learners’ reading skills.

You can look at some more interesting ideas and useful resources here.

It is hard enough planning for whole group reading block and small group centers/stations.  We now also incorporate guided reading groups to differentiate and meet the needs of students in our class at their level.  It is hard to plan for these groups and get them in daily while monitoring students at their centers.  Your school/district may have certain requirements that you must follow when conducting reading groups, but here are five simple steps to hopefully make your groups run smoothly.

1. Warm-Up (2 minutes)

I like to start with a quick warm-up, usually phonemic awareness in nature.  Whether it be segmenting words into syllables or sounds, identifying beginning, middle, or ending sounds, or producing rhyming words.  A good set of picture cards is super useful for these activities.

For older students, your warm-up may be a “quick read” of a passage or short text.  Just a short something to get their minds geared into reading.

2. Word Work (3 minutes)

After the warm-up, I move onto word work or the phonics skill that particular group is working on.  It could be short vowels, r-controlled vowels, blends, or dipthongs, etc.  I create lines of practice on sentence strips (pictured below) to help my students work on decoding words with that phonics skill.  If the group has 4 students in it, I will make 5 lines.  I always make one more line than students in the group.  We “pass the lines” in a clockwise manner, until each student has read every line.

If your guided reading group leveled readers are written with a particular phonics skill in the text, make sure to include those words on your lines of practice, along with other words.  This way your students will have an easier time decoding those story words when you get to the fluency part of the lesson.

3. Vocabulary (3 minutes)

Vocabulary can mean a couple of things.  For most of our younger learners, these will be sight words.  For our older learners, it may be actual higher level vocabulary from their leveled reader.

I try to make the vocabulary portion of the reading group a game of some kind…

• We play KABOOM, where the words are written on popsicle sticks and we take turns pulling and reading a stick.  If the student pulls out KABOOM, they have to put all of their sticks back.
• Another game is Flip It.  Their words are written on note cards and laid face down on the table.  Students choose a card and flip it over, trying to read the word as quickly as they can.  You can change this one up and deal the cards to kids around the table.  They flip through them and read quickly.  The goal is to read all of their words with no mistakes.
• For higher level vocabulary, each student gets a word and has to give a definition in their own words while their group mates try to guess the word.
• Have each student in the group create a “All About ___” poster.  This includes the vocabulary word, its definition, syllables, synonyms or antonyms if applicable, an illustration, and using the word properly in the sentence.  (I use this as a check for understanding at the end of the week.)

4. Fluency (7 minutes)

Most of us are using a district adopted reading curriculum that includes leveled readers to be used in guided reading groups.  Your students reading level will determine the book they are reading.  There are a variety of ways you can have students read their leveled reader…

• Read Around the Table – each student has a part to read and you read aloud in a clockwise direction (to alleviate anxiety, I assign students their parts first, allow them to practice for a minute, and then we read around the table)
• Echo/Whisper Reading – one student reads aloud while the others whisper/echo their words
• I Do/You Do –  one student reads aloud, then all students reread aloud what was just read
• Leaning/Listening In – all students are quietly reading at their own pace as you “lean/listen in” around the table to each one for a few seconds at a time (my personal favorite)

My goal is to have their book completed by the end of the second time we meet, so they read the book at least twice in group with me.  Then this book will be a part of their small group centers the following week, to practice and strengthen their fluency.

5. Comprehension (3 minutes)

Comprehension should be a quick check for understanding on what they have currently read in their leveled reader.  Try to come up with higher level questions and not just basic “yes/no” responses.  At the end of the week, I hand each student a note card with one question on it.  You can either hold a discussion on the questions, or have students write their response on the note card.  I use this as my “ticket out” from reading group for the week.

In addition, you can include comprehension questions with your leveled readers the following week in small group centers.

Try our leveled Reading Comprehension Passages and Question Packs!

Phonics-Based Fluency Passages

Sight Word Fluency Passages

Practically 1st Grade Passages

1st Grade Reading Comprehension Passages

2nd Grade Reading Comprehension Passages

3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Passages

Keep in Mind…

(On a 5 day week/2 hour ELA Block)

• Low (5 days a week)
• Low/Average (5 days a week)
• Average (4 days a week)
• Average/High (3 days a week)
• High (3 days a week)

Two important pieces to note…

• Do not pull your lower students at the same time each day.  We want them to have access to all of the small group centers and not missing the same ones every day while in group with you.
• Guided reading groups should be flexible in nature.  As you are progress monitoring and giving formal/informal assessments, students should be able to move up or down depending on their instructional needs.

Written by: Janessa Fletcher

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Guided reading is an instructional practice or approach where teachers support a small group of students to read a text independently.

Key elements of guided reading

Guided reading sessions are made up of three parts:

• before reading discussion
• independent reading
• after reading discussion

The main goal of guided reading is to help students use reading strategies whilst reading for meaning independently.

Why use guided reading

Guided reading is informed by Vygotsky’s (1978) Zone of Proximal Development and Bruner’s (1986) notion of scaffolding, informed by Vygotsky’s research. The practice of guided reading is based on the belief that the optimal learning for a reader occurs when they are assisted by an educator, or expert ‘other’, to read and understand a text with clear but limited guidance. Guided reading allows students to practise and consolidate effective reading strategies.

Vygotsky was particularly interested in the ways children were challenged and extended in their learning by adults. He argued that the most successful learning occurs when children are guided by adults towards learning things that they could not attempt on their own.

Vygotsky coined the phrase ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ to refer to the zone where teachers and students work as children move towards independence. This zone changes as teachers and students move past their present level of development towards new learning. (Source: Literacy Professional Learning Resource, Department of Education and Training, Victoria)

Guided reading helps students develop greater control over the reading process through the development of reading strategies which assist decoding and construct meaning. The teacher guides or ‘scaffolds’ their students as they read, talk and think their way through a text (Department of Education, 1997).

This guidance or ‘scaffolding’ has been described by Christie (2005) as a metaphor taken from the building industry. It refers to the way scaffolds sustain and support people who are constructing a building.

The scaffolds are withdrawn once the building has taken shape and is able to support itself independently (pp. 42-43). Similarly, the teacher places temporary supports around a text such as:

• frontloading new or technical vocabulary
• highlighting the language structures or features of a text
• focusing on a decoding strategy that will be useful when reading
• teaching fluency and/or
• promoting the different levels of comprehension – literal, inferential, evaluative.

Once the strategies have been practised and are internalised, the teacher withdraws the support (or scaffold) and the reader can experience reading success independently (Bruner, 1986, p.76).

When readers have the opportunity to talk, think and read their way through a text, they build up a self-extending system.

This system can then fuel itself; every time reading occurs, more learning about reading ensues. (Department of Education, Victoria, 1997; Fountas and Pinnell, 1996). Guided reading is a practice which promotes opportunities for the development of a self-extending system (Fountas and Pinnell, 1996).

Teacher’s role in guided reading

Teachers select texts to match the needs of the group so that the students, with specific guidance, are supported to read sections or whole texts independently.

Students are organised into groups based on similar reading ability and/or similar learning needs determined through analysis of assessment tools such as running records, reading conference notes and anecdotal records.

Every student has a copy of the same text at an instructional level (one that can usually be read with 90–94% accuracy, see
Running Records).  All students work individually, reading quietly or silently.

Selecting texts for EAL/D learners

Major focuses for a teacher to consider in a guided reading lesson:

Before reading the teacher can

During reading the teacher can

After reading the teacher can

The teacher selects a text for a guided reading group by matching it to the learning needs of the small group. The learning focus is identified through the analysis of running records (text accuracy, cueing systems and identified reading behaviours), individual conference notes or anecdotal records, see
Running Records).

Additional focuses for a teacher to consider for EAL/D students in a guided reading lesson

Inferring meaning

In this video, the teacher uses the practice of guided reading to support a small group of students to read independently. Part 1 consists of the before reading discussion which prepares the small group for the reading, and secondly, students individually read the text with teacher support.

In this video (Part 2), the teacher leads an after reading discussion with a small group of students to check their comprehension of the text. The students re-read the text together. Prior to this session the children have had the opportunity to read the text independently and work with the teacher individually at their point of need. 

Point of view

In this video, the teacher leads a guided reading lesson on point of view, with a group of Level 3 students.

Text selection

The teacher selects a text for a guided reading group by matching it to the learning needs of the small group. The learning focus is identified through:

• analysis of running records (text accuracy, cueing systems and identified reading behaviours)
• individual conference notes
• or anecdotal records.

Text selection

Example 1

Example 2

More examples

It’s important to choose a range of text types so that students’ reading experiences are not restricted.

Quality literature

Quality literature is highly motivating to both students and teachers. Students prefer to learn with these texts and given the opportunity will choose these texts over traditional ‘readers’ (McCarthey, Hoffman & Galda, 1999, p.51).

Research

Considerations

Teacher’s role during reading

During the reading stage, it is helpful for the teacher to keep anecdotal records on what strategies their students are using independently or with some assistance. Comments are usually linked to the learning focus but can also include an insightful moment or learning gap.

Learning example

Teacher anecdotal records template example

Explicit teaching and responses

There are a number of points during the guided reading session where the teacher has an opportunity to provide feedback to students, individually or as a small group. To execute this successfully, teachers must be aware of the prompts and feedback they give.

Specific and focused feedback will ensure that students are receiving targeted strategies about what they need for future reading successes, see
Guided Reading: Text Selection;
Guided Reading: Teacher’s Role.

Examples of specific feedback

Providing feedback to EAL/D learners

Reading independently

Independent reading promotes active problem solving and higher-order cognitive processes (Krashen, 2004). It is these processes which equip each student to read increasingly more complex texts over time; “resulting in better reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling and grammatical development” (Krashen, 2004, p. 17).

It is important to note that guided reading is not round robin reading. When students are reading during the independent reading stage, all children must have a copy of the text and individually read the whole text or a meaningful segment of a text (e.g. a chapter).

Students also have an important role in guided reading as the teacher supports them to practise and further explore important reading strategies.

Before reading the student can

During reading the student can

After reading the student can

Additional focuses for EAL/D students when reading independently

Teacher anecdotal records template example

Peer observation of guided reading practice (for teachers)

Providing opportunities for teachers to learn about teaching practices, sharing of evidence-based methods and finding out what is working and for whom, all contribute to developing a culture that will make a difference to student outcomes (Hattie, 2009, pp. 241-242).

When there has been dedicated and strategic work by a Principal and the leadership team to set learning goals and targeted focuses, teachers have clear direction about what to expect and how to go about successfully implementing core teaching and learning practices.

One way to monitor the growth of teacher capacity and whether new learning has become embedded is by setting up peer observations with colleagues. It is a valuable tool to contribute to informed, whole-school approaches to teaching and learning.

The focus of the peer observation must be determined before the practice takes place. This ensures all participants in the process are clear about the intention. Peer observations will only be successful if they are viewed as a collegiate activity based on trust.

According to Bryk and Schneider, high levels of “trust reduce the sense of vulnerability that teachers experience as they take on new and uncertain tasks associated with reform” and help ensure the feedback after an observation is valued (as cited in Hattie, 2009, p. 241).

To improve the practice of guided reading, peer observations can be arranged across Year levels or within a Year level depending on the focus. A framework for the observations is useful so that both parties know what it is that will be observed. It is important that the observer note down what they see and hear the teacher and the students say and do. Evidence must be tangible and not related to opinion, bias or interpretation (Danielson, 2012).

Examples of evidence relating to the guided reading practice might be:

• the words the teacher says (Today’s learning intention is to focus on making sure our reading makes sense. If it doesn’t, we need to reread and problem solve the tricky word)
• the words the students say (My reading goal is to break up a word into smaller parts when I don’t know it to help me decode)
• the actions of the teacher (Taking anecdotal notes as they listen to individual students read)
• what they can see the students doing (The group members all have their own copy of the text and read individually).

Noting specific examples of engagement and practice and using a reflective tool allows reviewers to provide feedback that is targeted to the evidence rather than the personality. Finding time for face-to-face feedback is a vital stage in peer observation. Danielson argues that “the conversations following an observation are the best opportunity to engage teachers in thinking through how they can strengthen their practice” (2012, p.36).

It’s through collaborative reflection and evaluation that teaching and learning goals and the embedding of new practice takes place (Principles of Learning and Teaching [PoLT]: Action Research Model).

Teacher Observation template example

In practice examples

For in practice examples, see:
Guided reading lessons

References

Bruner, J. (1986). Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Christie, F. (2005). Language Education in the Primary Years. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press/University of Washington Press.

Danielson, C. (2012). Observing Classroom Practice, Educational Leadership, 70(3), 32-37.

Department of Education, Victoria (1997). Teaching Readers in the Early Years. South Melbourne: Addison Wesley Longman Australia.

Department of Education, Employment and Training, Victoria (1999). Professional Development for Teachers in Years 3 and 4: Reading. South Melbourne: Addison Wesley Longman Australia.

Dewitz, P. & Dewitz, P. (February 2003), They can read the words, but they can’t understand: Refining comprehension assessment. In The Reading Teacher, 56 (5), 422-435.

Duke, N.K., Pearson, P.D., Strachan, S.L., & Billman, A.K. (2011). Essential Elements of Fostering and Teaching Reading Comprehension. In S. J. Samuels & A. E. Farstrup (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (4th ed.) (pp. 51-59). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Fisher, D., Frey, N. and Hattie, J. (2016). Visible learning for Literacy: Implementing Practices That Work Best to Accelerate Student Learning. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Hall, K. (2013). Effective Literacy Teaching in the Early Years of School: A Review of Evidence. In K. Hall, U. Goswami, C. Harrison, S. Ellis, and J. Soler (Eds), Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Learning to Read: Culture, Cognition and Pedagogy (pp. 523-540). London: Routledge.

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Publishers

Hill, P. & Crevola, C. (Unpublished)​

Krashen, S.D. (2004). The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research (2nd Ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

McCarthey,S.J., Hoffman, J.V., & Galda, L. (1999) ‘Readers in elementary classrooms: learning goals and instructional principles that can inform practice’ (Chapter 3) . In Guthrie, J.T. and Alvermann, D.E. (Eds.), Engaged reading: processes, practices and policy implications (pp.46-80). New York: Teachers College Press.

Principles of Learning and Teaching (PoLT): Action Research Model Accessed

Scaffolding: Lev Vygotsky (June, 2017)

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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Fun Pre-Reading and Post-Reading Activities for All Language Classrooms

I love language lessons which involve an element of reading. This is because there are so many opportunities for learning and improving language acquisition with topic-related texts. Reading activities are the perfect starting point to learn rich topic-related vocabulary (adjectives, nouns, verbs etc), pick up new grammar structures, steal ‘star phrases’ and ultimately improve comprehension and improve language acquisition skills.

According to Moeller & Meyer (1995), reading, even at a slow pace exposes students to more sentences, grammar, and new vocabulary per minute than the average short class, TV show, or song. So, if you are in a rut with how you present and teach your reading activities, get an innovative injection of pre-reading activities and post-reading activities below.

Who Should Use These Awesome Reading Activities?

All of these reading ideas for the language classroom are low-prep and no-prep reading activities. Use them in any post-beginner language classroom, including French, German, English and Spanish lessons.

The aim of these 21 must-use reading activities is to get your language students focused and in the mood for learning.  However, as the teacher, you will need to be in charge of providing a great text, to bring the reading ideas below to life. This could range from one paragraph for beginners, to a few chunky paragraphs for intermediate learners, to an extended text for advanced students.

1. “Find The Word” Reading Aloud Activity (Pair Work) 
   Put students in pairs and provide them with one copy of a text. Have a secret list of words at the ready and call them out, at random, one at a time. Allow time for students to scan the text for the word they hear. The first person in the pair to point correctly at the word in the text gets a point. Make sure you set sound level rules, as well as clear guidance on how the class should be silent ready for the next round.
2. “Reading Aloud” Task (Pair Work / Small Group Work)
   Provide students with a ‘chunky’ text split into paragraphs. Advise that each student in the pair/group must read one paragraph aloud. If the person has an issue pronouncing a word, he/she must circle it and if they come across a word they don’t understand, they must underline it. Allow students to discuss their problem areas in pairs and then in fours. Go around making a note of the common issues and write on the board with whole group choral work and discussion at the end.
3. “Team Reading Aloud” – Pronunciation Reading (Whole Group)
   Split the classroom in two and assign all students in each team a number and repeat (using the same numbers) with the other team. Provide students with a ‘chunky’ text for reading and set each team off with 20 points. The aim of the activity is to be the team to finish with the most points after the text has been read. Flip a coin to see which team begins. Randomly choose a number and that student must begin reading. If the other team spots a pronunciation error, as the student is reading, a member of the team must put their hand up. If all others in the team agree, everyone’s hand must go up – this should keep everyone focused. If they spot a genuine pronunciation error, they can help the reader make the correction receive a point (provide support if their ‘help’ isn’t quite accurate). However, if the whole team has made a mistake and picked a word that was correctly pronounced, they will lose a point and the other team will gain a point. Each time an error in pronunciation is correctly spotted, swap the reading team. Deduct points for talking or misbehaviour.
4. “The Last Word” Reading Activity (Pair / Small Group Work)
   As a group, the team chooses how many words each student should read. For example, 3 words. In addition, allow students to choose the order of reading. Once the students begin reading, the winner is the student who follows the rules and manages to be the person to read the last word.
5. “Avoid The Line” – Reading Aloud Activity (Pair / Small Groups)  When you prepare a text, underline words at random. Students start with 5 points. Each student must read 5 words at a time, but must avoid actually saying any words that have been underlined. Should they read the underlined word by accident, they lose a point. Students with with the most points at the end of the reading activity win.
6. “Bratwurst” Name” – Reading Out Aloud Activity (Small Groups) One student begins and after a pre-determined number of words or sentences, they shout “Bratwurst / Pain au chocolat / Churros” (etc, depending on the language you teach) plus the name of someone in the group i.e. Bratwurst Laura. This person must then continue where the other reader left off. Award points at the beginning and if someone loses focus and doesn’t know where the previous reader was, they lose a point.
7. Teacher Names – Reading Activity Out Aloud (Whole Group)
   Split the class in two and assign 5 points to each team. Then, model pronunciation of the text by reading it out aloud. At random intervals, instead of reading the next word, call out a student’s name and that student must read the word that their name was replaced by. If the chosen student doesn’t respond without being prompted within 5 seconds of stopping, the team loses a point. Perfect for getting students to focus on reading activities, as well as getting them to pronounce the words you think they might find tricky or could do with knowing. In addition, you could get students to create a list of vocabulary replaced by students names and translate/make sentences with, as a post-reading activity.
8. “Wie bitte?” – Reading Aloud Activity (Small Groups)
   Put students into threes, taking it in turns to read a sentence. As they read, a student must make a mistake, on purpose. This could include: wrong words, incorrect genders, wrong pronunciation, incorrect verb ending etc. When a listener hears a mistake, they must say ‘Wie bitte?’ ‘oh la la’ or ‘Oye’, depending on the language you teach. If they can correct the mistake, they win a point and if they can’t correct the error, the reader gets a point. This can also be done as a whole group with students standing up when you make a mistake. The last one to stand up is ‘out’. However, make sure you give students who are out a little task to do until the end of the game.
9. Spontaneous Reading Activity (Whole Group)
   One student starts reading at random and can read a maximum of one sentence. As soon as they end their sentence, another student must begin reading. If no-one starts within a second, or more than one person starts reading, the whole group must go back to the beginning. Starting with another student reading the first sentence. You can vary this by getting learners to translate the text as they read the sentence or change the person (thus the verbs and possessive adjectives etc). Keep going back to the beginning until the reading out aloud activity has been completed as per the rules.
10. Find …. – Skim Reading Activity (Alone)
    As soon as you give students a reading text, provide them with a list of words in L1 (native language) to find in L2 (language being learnt) in the text. This could be all masculine nouns, all verbs, all adjectives, all words beginning with ‘a’. They could either highlight the words in the text or underline the words.
11. Find the Synonym – Skim Reading Activity (Individual)
    As with reading activity 10, give students a reading text and provide them with a list of words in L2. They must find and note down the synonyms they find in the text.
12. Be A Presenter – Reading Aloud (Pairs)
    Have iPads or laptops available, enough for one between two. Have students paste a copy of your text into cue prompter with one student sitting with their back to the laptop and the other person reading aloud. The presenter must read clearly with accurate pronunciation and the listener must fill in the gaps on their sheet as they are listening with the words they hear. They may not ask the presenter to spell any word. Instead, if they have gaps at the end, the presenter must re-read (the whole lot or just the sentence, depending on how you’re feeling on the day).
13. Guess The Rule Reading Aloud (Whole Group Game)
    The teacher begins by reading every other word from the text in order. Students must put their hands up to guess the rule. Allow individual students in the group to do the same by reading aloud. The rest of the group must try to guess the rule. Students can only start to put their hands up after the reader has read at least 1/3 or 1/2 of the text. Let the students be creative with their rules. The teacher could also re-read and do the same with adjectives, nouns, verbs etc to make the reading activity more grammar based. It’s perfect to get reluctant and shy students reading.
14. Running Dictation Speaking Reading Activity (Small Groups)
    This works better with shorter texts or splitting a whole text into paragraphs, which each team is responsible for. Put enough copies of the texts up outside the classroom with a number on each. Assign each team a number. Advise the aim is for students to be the first team to communicate the text from their corresponding paragraph outside the classroom, without cheating. Students must take it in turns to read a sentence in sequence from their paragraph, and be the first team to finish communicating and writing the paragraph down on a sheet of paper. 
    RULES: a) only one student can be out of their seat at a time, b) students must not run or shout, c) students  must also take it in turns to write the sentences on the paper, d) learners are not allowed to spell any words, but they are allowed to go back as many times as they need to to re-read the sentence, e) the rest of the group must work as a team to ensure the words are spelled accurately and the grammar is also correct.
15. Gap-Fill Transcript Dictation Reading Activity (Individual)
    Provide students with a copy of the text, with gaps. I suggest three forms, one with verbs missing, the second with nouns missing and the third with adjectives missing. Distribute the sheets so they have people around them who had the same sheet. The students must individually fill in the words as they listen. You could read again if necessary. Once finished, get learners to check they have spelled the words correctly by discussing (not showing!) with their neighbours.
16. Wrong Words Reading Activity (Individual)
    The teacher provides students with a copy of the text with a selection of incorrect words. As they listen to the text being read, they must highlight the word they hear that is incorrect. Go through a second time, and this time, the students must write in the correct words. This will give the students an idea of the text before they do any comprehension activities.
17. Key Word Bingo – Vocabulary Based Reading Activity (Individual)
    From the text, read 5-20 words (dependent on text length) at random in L2. Students must cross them off as they hear them.

Post-Reading Activities

1. True or False? – Post-Reading Activity (Alone)
   Once students have read the text through properly, allow them 5 minutes to create a list of true or false statements. These can be given to a peer to answer if time allows.
2. Summarise The Text – Post Reading Activity (Individual)
   Once students have read the text, advise that they must underline the key messages, depending on the size of the text. I recommend advising a maximum number. Students must then combine and re-word these ideas to summarise the whole text in a set number of words.
3. Re-write The Text – Reading Activity (Alone)
   After reading (and depending on the length of the whole text), students must re-write the text in the first, second or third person singular. If the text is long, then advise that they should pick out a certain number of paragraphs.
4. Walking Text – Reading Comprehension Activity (Individual)
   Instead of getting students to read the texts in their seats, print out a few copies.  Ensure the text is enlarged and in paragraphs with line numbers. Then, chop them up with numbers, indicating the paragraph number on each and stick them around the room. I recommend doing a few copies to ensure that no more than 2 students are at one paragraph of text at a time. Give them some pre-printed comprehension questions to answer as they go around. You can support learners who need it with an indication of the paragraph number, correlating to the question, written on their sheet.

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The word-group theory in Modern English

word-group
theory in Modern English

Content

Introduction

.
Definition and general characteristics of the
word-group

.
Classification of word-groups

.
Semantic features of word-groups

.
Motivated and non-motivated word-groups

.
Phraseological word-groups

Introduction

is a branch of linguistics — the
science of language. Lexicology as a branch of linguistics has its own aims and
methods of scientific research. Its basic task — being a study and systematic
description of vocabulary in respect to its origin, development and its current
use. Lexicology is concerned with words, variable word-groups, phraseological
units and morphemes which make up words.the object of the linguistic research
within the frameworks of the lexicological analysis, word-groups draw much
attention of different scientists at different stages of the research
history.linguists as Shveitser, Arnold, Nikitin, Akhmanova, Marchenko, and many
others devoted their research papers to the matter of the word-groups, their
classification, semantic features, and other specific characteristics. They
have contributed linguistic research with a number of works, connected with
this lexical units. The matter of the word-group thorough study is topical with
a glance at their specific features, some phraseological peculiarities and
semantic-grammatical structure.above-mentioned aspects have predetermined our
choice of the topic of the present report «The word-group theory in Modern
English».object of the investigation are word-groups of Modern
English.subject of the present report includes specific features and
characteristics of word-groups.purpose of the report writing is to investigate
word-groups functioning in the Modern English language.purporse of the report
has predetermined the following tasks of the investigation:

to define the notion of the
word-group and outline its general characteristics;

to suggest the classification of the
word-group;

to consider semantic features of
word-groups;

to characterize motivated and
non-motivated word-groups;

to specify peculiar features of
phraseological word-groups.practical value of the present report is performed
by the possibility of using its materials for the further thorough study of
this matter.

1. Definition and general
characteristics of the word-group

word group is the simplest
nonpredicative (as contrasted to the sentence) unit of speech. The word group
is formed on a syntactic pattern and based on a subordinating grammatical
relationship between two or more content words. This relationship may be one of
agreement, government, or subordination. The grammatically predominant word is
the main element of the word group, and the grammatically subordinated word the
dependent element.word group denotes a fragment of extralinguistic reality. The
word group combines formally syntactic and semantically syntactic features.
Such features reveal the compatibility of grammatical and lexical meanings with
the structure of the object-logical relations that these meanings
reflect.groups may be free or phraseological. Free word groups are formed in
accordance with regular and productive combinative principles; their meanings
may be deduced from those of the component words.are a lot of definitions
concerning the word-group. The most adequate one seems to be the following: the
word-group is a combination of at least two notional words which do not
constitute the sentence but are syntactically connected. According to some
other scholars (the majority of Western scholars and professors B.Ilyish and
V.Burlakova — in Russia), a combination of a notional word with a function word
(on the table) may be treated as a word-group as well. The problem is
disputable as the role of function words is to show some abstract relations and
they are devoid of nominative power. On the other hand, such combinations are
syntactically bound and they should belong somewhere.characteristics of the
word-group are:

) As a naming unit it differs from a
compound word because the number of constituents in a word-group corresponds to
the number of different denotates: a black bird — чорний птах (2), a blackbird
— дрізд (1);loud speaker (2), a loudspeaker (1).

) Each component of the word-group
can undergo grammatical changes without destroying the identity of the whole
unit: to see a house — to see houses.

) A word-group is a dependent
syntactic unit, it is not a communicative unit and has no intonation of its own
[4; p. 28].

groups can be classified on the
basis of several principles:

a)
According to the type of syntagmatic
relations: coordinate (you and me), subordinate (to see a house, a nice dress),
predicative (him coming, for him to come),

b)  
According to the structure: simple
(all elements are obligatory), expanded (to read and translate the text —
expanded elements are equal in rank), extended (a word takes a dependent
element and this dependent element becomes the head for another word: a beautiful
flower — a very beautiful flower).

1) Subordinate
word-groups.word-groups are based on the relations of dependence between the
constituents. This presupposes the existence of a governingwhich is called the
head and the dependent element which is called the adjunct (in noun-phrases) or
the complement (in verb-phrases).to the nature of their heads, subordinate
word-groups fall into noun-phrases (NP) — a cup of tea, verb-phrases (VP) — to
run fast, to see a house, adjective phrases (AP) — good for you, adverbial
phrases (DP) — so quickly, pronoun phrases (IP) — something strange, nothing to
do.formation of the subordinate word-group depends on the valency of its
constituents. Valency is a potential ability of words to combine. Actual
realization of valency in speech is called combinability [6; p. 162-163].

) The noun-phrase (NP).word-groups
are widely spread in English. This may be explained by a potential ability of
the noun to go into combinations with practically all parts of speech. The NP
consists of a noun-head and an adjunct or adjuncts with relations of
modification between them. Three types of modification are distinguished here:

a)
Premodification that comprises all
the units placed before the head: two smart hard-working students. Adjuncts used
in pre-head position are called pre-posed adjuncts.

b)  
Postmodification that comprises all
the units all the units placed after the head: students from Boston. Adjuncts
used in post-head position are called post-posed adjuncts.

c)
Mixed modification that comprises
all the units in both pre-head and post-head position: two smart hard-working
students from Boston.

) Noun-phrases with pre-posed
adjuncts.noun-phrases with pre-posed modifiers we generally find adjectives, pronouns,
numerals, participles, gerunds, nouns, nouns in the genitive case (see the
table) [8; p. 43]. According to their position all pre-posed adjuncts may be
divided into pre-adjectivals and adjectiavals. The position of adjectivals is
usually right before the noun-head. Pre-adjectivals occupy the position before
adjectivals. They fall into two groups: a) limiters (to this group belong
mostly particles): just, only, even, etc. and b) determiners (articles,
possessive pronouns, quantifiers — the first, the last).of nouns by nouns (N+N)
is one of the most striking features about the grammatical organization of
English. It is one of devices to make our speech both laconic and expressive at
the same time. Noun-adjunct groups result from different kinds of transformational
shifts. NPs with pre-posed adjuncts can signal a striking variety of
meanings:peace — peace all over the worldbox — a box made of silverlamp — lamp
for tableslegs — the legs of the tablesand — sand from the riverchild — a child
who goes to schoolgrammatical relations observed in NPs with pre-posed adjuncts
may convey the following meanings:

1)  
subject-predicate relations: weather
change;

2)  
object relations: health service,
women hater;

3)  
adverbial relations: a) of time:
morning star,

b) place: world peace, country
house,) comparison: button eyes,) purpose: tooth brush.is important to remember
that the noun-adjunct is usually marked by a stronger stress than the
head.special interest is a kind of ‘grammatical idiom’ where the modifier is
reinterpreted into the head: a devil of a man, an angel of a girl.

) Noun-phrases with post-posed
adjuncts.with post-posed may be classified according to the way of connection
into prepositionless and prepositional. The basic prepositionless NPs with post-posed
adjuncts are: Nadj. — tea strong, NVen — the shape unknown, NVing — the girl
smiling, ND — the man downstairs, NVinf — a book to read, NNum — room
ten.pattern of basic prepositional NPs is N1 prep. N2. The most common
preposition here is ‘of’ — a cup of tea, a man of courage. It may have quite
different meanings: qualitative — a woman of sense, predicative — the pleasure
of the company, objective — the reading of the newspaper, partitive — the roof
of the house.

) The verb-phrase.VP is a definite
kind of the subordinate phrase with the verb as the head. The verb is
considered to be the semantic and structural centre not only of the VP but of
the whole sentence as the verb plays an important role in making up primary
predication that serves the basis for the sentence. VPs are more complex than
NPs as there are a lot of ways in which verbs may be combined in actual usage.
Valent properties of different verbs and their semantics make it possible to
divide all the verbs into several groups depending on the nature of their
complements [7; p. 91].of verb-phrases.can be classified according to the
nature of their complements — verb complements may be nominal (to see a house)
and adverbial (to behave well). Consequently, we distinguish nominal, adverbial
and mixed complementation.complementation takes place when one or more nominal
complements (nouns or pronouns) are obligatory for the realization of potential
valency of the verb: to give smth. to smb., to phone smb., to hear smth.(smb.),
etc.complementation occurs when the verb takes one or more adverbial elements
obligatory for the realization of its potential valency: He behaved well, I
live …in Kyiv (here).complementation — both nominal and adverbial elements are
obligatory: He put his hat on he table (nominal-adverbial).to the structure VPs
may be basic or simple (to take a book) — all elements are obligatory; expanded
(to read and translate the text, to read books and newspapers) and extended (to
read an English book).

) Predicative word-groups.word
combinations are distinguished on the basis of secondary predication. Like
sentences, predicative word-groups are binary in their structure but actually
differ essentially in their organization. The sentence is an independent
communicative unit based on primary predication while the predicative
word-group is a dependent syntactic unit that makes up a part of the sentence.
The predicative word-group consists of a nominal element (noun, pronoun) and a
non-finite form of the verb: N + Vnon-fin. There are Gerundial, Infinitive and
Participial word-groups (complexes) in the English language: his reading, for
me to know, the boy running, etc.)

. Semantic features of word-groups

word-group is the largest two-facet
lexical unit comprising more than one word but expressing one global
concept.lexical meaning of the word groups is the combined lexical meaning of
the component words. The meaning of the word groups is motivated by the
meanings of the component members and is supported by the structural pattern.
But it’s not a mere sum total of all these meanings! Polysemantic words are
used in word groups only in 1 of their meanings. These meanings of the
component words in such word groups are mutually interdependent and inseparable
(blind man — «a human being unable to see», blind type — «the
copy isn’t readable).groups possess not only the lexical meaning, but also the
meaning conveyed mainly by the pattern of arrangement of their constituents.
The structural pattern of word groups is the carrier of a certain semantic component
not necessarily dependent on the actual lexical meaning of its members (school
grammar — «grammar which is taught in school», grammar school —
«a type of school»). We have to distinguish between the structural
meaning of a given type of word groups as such and the lexical meaning of its
constituents [11; p. 62-64].is often argued that the meaning of word groups is
also dependent on some extra-linguistic factors — on the situation in which
word groups are habitually used by native speakers.put together to form lexical
units make phrases or word-groups. One must recall that lexicology deals with
words, word-forming morphemes and word-groups.degree of structural and semantic
cohesion of word-groups may vary. Some word-groups, e.g. at least, point of
view, by means, to take place, etc. seem to be functionally and semantically
inseparable. They are usually described as set phrases, word-equivalents or
phraseological units and are studied by the branch of lexicology which is known
as phraseology. In other word-groups such as to take lessons, kind to people, a
week ago, the component-members seem to possess greater semantic and structural
independence. Word-groups of this type are defined as free word-groups or
phrases and are studied in syntax.discussing phraseology it is necessary to
outline the features common to various word-groups irrespective of the degree
of structural and semantic cohesion of the component-words [18; p. 231].are two
factors which are important in uniting words into word-groups:

the lexical valency of words;

. Motivated and non-motivated
word-groups

word group semantic
motivated

The term motivation is used to
denote the relationship existing between the phonemic or morphemic composition
and structural pattern of the word on the one hand and its meaning on the
other.are three main types of motivation:

) phonetical

) morphological

) semantic

. Phonetical motivation is used when
there is a certain similarity between the sounds that make up the word. For
example: buzz, cuckoo, gigle. The sounds of a word are imitative of sounds in
nature, or smth that produces a characteristic sound. This type of motivation
is determined by the phonological system of each language.

. Morphological motivation — the
relationship between morphemic structure and meaning. The main criterion in
morphological motivation is the relationship between morphemes. One-morphemed
words are non-motivated. Ex — means «former» when we talk about humans
ex-wife, ex-president. Re — means «again»: rebuild, rewrite. In
borrowed words motivation is faded: «expect, export, recover (get
better)». Morphological motivation is especially obvious in newly coined
words, or in the words created in this century. In older words motivation is
established etymologically.structure-pattern of the word is very important too:
«finger-ring» and «ring-finger». Though combined lexical
meaning is the same. The difference of meaning can be explained by the arrangement
of the components.motivation has some irregularities: «smoker» — si
not «the one who smokes», it is «a railway car in which
passenger may smoke».degree of motivation can be different:

«endless» is completely
motivated

«cranberry» is partially
motivated: morpheme «cran-» has no lexical meaning.

. Semantic motivation is based on
the co-existence of direct and figurative meanings of the same word within the
same synchronous system. «Mouth» denotes a part of the human face and
at the same time it can be applied to any opening: «the mouth of a
river». «Ermine» is not only the anme of a small animal, but
also a fur. In their direct meaning «mouth» and «ermine»
are not motivated [13; p. 86].compound words it is morphological motivation
when the meaning of the whole word is based on direct meanings of its
components and semantic motivation is when combination of components is used
figuratively. For example «headache» is «pain in the head»
(morphological) and «smth. annoying» (sematic).the connection between
the meaning of the word and its form is conventional (there is no perceptible
reason for the word having this phonemic and morphemic composition) the word is
non-motivated (for the present state of language development). Words that seem
non-motivated now may have lost their motivation: «earn» is derived
from «earnian — to harvest», but now this word is non-motivated.to
compounds, their motivation is morphological if the meaning of the whole is
based on the direct meaning of the components, and semantic if the combination
is used figuratively: watchdog — a dog kept for watching property
(morphologically motivated); — a watchful human guardian (semantically
motivated) [5; p. 94-95].vocabulary is in a state of constant development.
Words that seem non-motivated at present may have lost their motivation [16; p.
34]. When some people recognize the motivation, whereas others do not,
motivation is said to be faded.all word-groups may be classified into motivated
and non-motivated. Non-motivated word-groups are usually described as phraseological
units or idioms.groups may be described as lexically motivated if the combined
lexical meaning of the groups is based on the meaning of their components. Thus
take lessons is motivated; take place — ‘occur’ is lexically
non-motivated.groups are said to be structurally motivated if the meaning of
the pattern is deduced from the order and arrangement of the member-words of
the group. Red flower is motivated as the meaning of the pattern quality —
substance can be deduced from the order and arrangement of the words red and
flower, whereas the seemingly identical pattern red tape (‘official
bureaucratic methods’) cannot be interpreted as quality — substance.identical
word-groups are sometimes found to be motivated or non-motivated depending on
their semantic interpretation. Thus apple sauce, e.g., is lexically and
structurally motivated when it means ‘a sauce made of apples’ but when used to
denote ‘nonsense’ it is clearly non-motivated [15; p. 90].groups like words may
be also analyzed from the point of view of their motivation. Word-groups may be
called as lexically motivated if the combined lexical meaning of the group is
deducible from the meaning of the components. All free phrases are completely
motivated.follows from the above discussion that word-groups may be also
classified into motivated and non-motivated units. Non-motivated word-groups
are habitually described as phraseological units or idioms.

. Phraseological word-groups

of English phraseology began not
long ago. English and American linguists as a rule are busy collecting
different words, word-groups and sentences which are interesting from the point
of view of their origin, style, usage or some other features. All these units
are habitually described as «idioms», but no attempt has been made to
describe these idioms as a separate class of linguistic units or a specific
class of word-groups.in terminology («set-phrases»,
«idioms» and «word-equivalents») reflects certain
differences in the main criteria used to distinguish types of phraseological
units and free word-groups. The term «set phrase» implies that the
basic criterion of differentiation is stability of the lexical components and
grammatical structure of word-groups.is a certain divergence of opinion as to
the essential features of phraseological units as distinguished from other
word-groups and the nature of phrases that can be properly termed
«phraseological units». The habitual terms «set-phrases»,
«idioms», «word-equivalents» are sometimes treated
differently by different linguists. However these terms reflect to certain
extend the main debatable points of phraseology which centre in the divergent
views concerning the nature and essential features of phraseological units as
distinguished from the so-called free word-groups.term «set
expression» implies that the basic criterion of differentiation is
stability of the lexical components and grammatical structure of
word-groups.term «word-equivalent» stresses not only semantic but
also functional inseparability of certain word-groups, their aptness to
function in speech as single words [10; p. 31].term «idioms»
generally implies that the essential feature of the linguistic units under
consideration is idiomaticity or lack of motivation. Uriel Weinreich expresses
his view that an idiom is a complex phrase, the meaning of which cannot be
derived from the meanings of its elements. He developed a more truthful
supposition, claiming that an idiom is a subset of a phraseological unit. Ray
Jackendoff and Charles Fillmore offered a fairly broad definition of the idiom,
which, in Fillmore’s words, reads as follows: «…an idiomatic expression or
construction is something a language user could fail to know while knowing
everything else in the language». Chafe also lists four features of idioms
that make them anomalies in the traditional language unit paradigm:
non-compositionality, transformational defectiveness, ungrammaticality and
frequency asymmetry.work in this field has been done by the outstanding Russian
linguist A. Shakhmatov in his work «Syntax». This work was continued
by Acad. V.V. Vinogradov. Great investigations of English phraseology were done
by Prof. A. Cunin, I. Arnold and others [1; p. 121].units are habitually
defined as non-motivated word-groups that cannot be freely made up in speech
but are reproduced as ready-made units; the other essential feature of
phraseological units is stability of the lexical components and grammatical
structure.components of free word-groups which may vary according to the needs
of communication, member-words of phraseological units are always reproduced as
single unchangeable collocations. E.g., in a red flower (a free phrase) the
adjective red may be substituted by another adjective denoting colour, and the
word-group will retain the meaning: «the flower of a certain colour»
[2; p. 54].the phraseological unit red tape (bürokratik
metodlar) no such substitution is possible, as a change of the adjective would
cause a complete change in the meaning of the group: it would then mean «tape
of a certain colour». It follows that the phraseological unit red tape is
semantically non-motivated, i.e. its meaning cannot be deduced from the meaning
of its compo­nents, and that it exists as a ready-made linguistic unit which
does not allow any change of its lexical components and its grammatical
structure [9; p. 45-46].structure of phraseological units is to a certain
degree also stable:tape — a phraseological unit;tapes — a free word-group;go to
bed — a phraseological unit;go to the bed — a free word-group.ways of forming
phraseological units are those when a unit is formed on the basis of a free
word-group The most productive in Modern English is the formation of
phraseological units by means of transferring the meaning of terminological
word-groups, e.g. in cosmic technique we can point out the following phrases:
«launching pad» in its terminological meaning is «стартова
площадка», in its transferred meaning — «відправний пункт»,
«to link up» — «cтикуватися, стикувати космічні човни» in
its tranformed meaning it means -«знайомитися»;) a large group of
phraseological units was formed from free word groups by transforming their
meaning, e.g. «granny farm» — «пансионат для старих людей»,
«Troyan horse» — «компьютерна програма, яка навмиснестворена для
пвиведення з ладу компьютера»;) phraseological units can be formed by
means of alliteration, e.g. «a sad sack» — «нещасний
випадок», «culture vulture» — «людина, яка цікавиться
мистецтвом», «fudge and nudge» — «ухильність».) they
can be formed by means of expressiveness, especially it is characteristic for
forming interjections, e.g. «My aunt!», «Hear, hear !» etc)
they can be formed by means of distorting a word group, e.g. «odds and
ends» was formed from «odd ends»,) they can be formed by using
archaisms, e.g. «in brown study» means «in gloomy
meditation» where both components preserve their archaic meanings,) they
can be formed by using a sentence in a different sphere of life, e.g.
«that cock won’t fight» can be used as a free word-group when it is
used in sports (cock fighting ), it becomes a phraseological unit when it is
used in everyday life, because it is used metaphorically,) they can be formed
when we use some unreal image, e.g. «to have butterflies in the
stomach» — «відчувати хвилювання», «to have green
fingers» — «досягати успіхів як садовод-любитель» etc.) they can
be formed by using expressions of writers or polititions in everyday life, e.g.
«corridors of power» (Snow), «American dream» (Alby)
«locust years» (Churchil) , «the winds of change» (Mc
Millan).into consideration mainly the degree of idiomaticity phraseological
units may be classified into three big groups. This classification was first
suggested by Acad. V.V. Vinogradov. These groups are:

phraseological fusions,

phraseological unities,

phraseological collocations, or
habitual collocations.fusions are completely non-motivated word-groups.
Themeaning of the components has no connection at least synchronically with the
meaning of the whole group. Idiomaticity is combined with complete stability of
the lexical components and the grammatical structure of the fusion [19; p.
37].unities are partially non-motivated word-groups as their meaning can
usually be understood through (deduced from) the metaphoric meaning of the
whole phraseological unit [3; p. 84].unities are usually marked by a
comparatively high degree of stability of the lexical components and
grammatical structure. Phraseological unities can have homonymous free phrases,
used in direct meanings.

§  to skate on thin
ice — to skate on thin ice (to risk);

§  to wash one’s hands
off dirt — to wash one’s hands off (to withdraw from participance);

§  to play the first
role in the theatre — to play the first role (to dominate).must be not less
than two notional wordsin metaphorical meanings.collocations are partially
motivated but they are made up of words having special lexical valency which is
marked by a certain degree of stability in such word-groups. In phraseological
collocations variability of components is strictly limited. They differ from
phraseological unities by the fact that one of the components in them is used
in its direct meaning, the other — in indirect meaning, and the meaning of the
whole group dominates over the meaning of its components. As figurativeness is
expressed only in one component of the phrase it is hardly felt [14; p. 69].

§  to pay a visit,
tribute, attention, respect;

Conclusions

the course of the present report
writing we have specified the definition of the word-group and determined its
general characteristics. Specific attention has been drawn to the
classification of word-groups. We have thoroughly analyzed semantic features of
word-groups, their motivated and non-motivated types and their specific
subtype, i.e. phraseological word-groups.completed the report writing, we have
come to the following conclusions.word-group is a combination of at least two
notional words which do not constitute the sentence but are syntactically
connected.have concluded that according to the type of syntagmatic relations,
word-groups can be coordinate, subordinate and predicative, according to the
structure they are divided into simple, expanded and extended.lexical meaning
of the word groups is the combined lexical meaning of the component words. The
meaning of the word groups is motivated by the meanings of the component
members and is supported by the structural pattern.term motivation is used to
denote the relationship existing between the phonemic or morphemic composition
and structural pattern of the word on the one hand and its meaning on the
other.have come to the conclusion, that here are three main types of
motivation: 1) phonetical; 2) morphological; 3) semantic.have concluded,
phraseological units are created from free word-groups. But in the course of
time some words — constituents of phraseological units may drop out of the
language; the situation in which the phraseological unit was formed can be
forgotten, motivation can be lost and these phrases become phraseological
fusions.

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О.Д. Словообразование современного английского языка. -М., 1976

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Некрасова Елизавета Юрьевна

Преподаватель английского языка МБОУ СОШ№
37 г.Шахты

Reading circles, практика чтения с
обсуждением

Чтение всегда представляет для учащихся
некий скучный и неинтересный процесс. Но если правильно организовать этот вид деятельности
и максимально задействовать в нем учащихся, это может оказаться любимым уроком
и временем отдыха. Что же
такое
чтение?

What is reading? Reading
is…

Richard Day’s definition:

Reading is a number of interactive processes involving
the reader and the text. The readers use their knowledge of the world, the
topic, the language, to interact with the text to create, construct or build
meaning.

How do we learn to read?

•We learn to read by reading. There is no other way.

•The more we read, the better readers we become.

•The more the teacher talks, the less the students
read.

Reading strategies

Skimming is
when we glance over a text to get the main idea, or “gist”.

Scanning is
when we quickly look through a text to pick out key points .

Intensive reading is
when we closely examine text for literary or linguistic purposes.

Extensive reading is
reading “normally” for pleasure when we arе
immersed in a book!

Виды чтения

•просмотровое (skimming)

•поисковое (scanning)

•изучающее (intensive)

•ознакомительное (extensive)

Extensive reading is
what the students do at home when you’ve whetted their appetites with
activities in the classroom and they can’t wait to see what happens next.! It’s
also something they start doing when they realise that reading in a foreign
language can be as pleasurable as in their own language-if you don’t try and
understand every word.

Extensive reading is
what the students do at home when you’ve whetted their appetites with activities
in the classroom and they can’t wait to see what happens next.! It’s also
something they start doing when they realise that reading in a foreign language
can be as pleasurable as in their own language-if you don’t try and understand
every word.

In extensive reading…

•most time is spent reading

•not answering questions

•not writing reports

•not translating

Sometimes, unfortunately, students may do these – but
not as the primary focus

Comparing IR and ER

Intensive Reading

•100% understanding

•Limited reading

•Difficult texts

•Word-for-word reading

•Use dictionaries

Extensive Reading

•Overall understanding

•Reading a lot

•Easy texts

•Fluent reading

•Ignore unknown words

Вернемся от теории к практике. На уроках
учащиеся сталкиваются со множеством трудностей при чтении и обсуждении
прочитанного. А именно:

•«психологический дискомфорт» – боязнь
говорить на иностранном языке, сделать ошибку;

•не понимают речевую задачу;

•не хватает языковых и речевых средств;

•не вовлекаются в коллективное обсуждение;

•не выдерживают в необходимом количестве
продолжительность общения;

А учитель может столкнуться с проблемой
нехватки времени на уроке для полноценной работы с текстом. В своей практике,
ввиду всех выделенных трудностей, эффективной  оказалась организация
внеклассной работы «Reading Circles», где учащиеся открывают для себя
тот факт, что можно провести отлично время не только за чтением, но и за
оживленным обсуждением текста, произведения в кругу друзей за чащечкой английского
чая.

What are Reading Circles?

•Small groups of students who meet in the classroom to
talk about stories

•Each student plays a role in the discussion

What are Reading Circles?

•Usually six Roles: Discussion Leader,
Summarizer, Connector, Word Master, Passage Person, Cultur

In a Reading Circle, each student plays a different
role in the discussion

•Discussion Leader – leads the discussion

•Summarizer – summarizes the characters and the
plot

•Connector – finds connections between the
story and the real world

•Word Master – looks for important words and
phrases

•Passage Person – looks for important passages
in the story

•Culture Collector – looks for cultural points
for discussion

The Discussion Leader’s job is to… •Read
the story twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it.

•Ask one or two questions to start the Reading Circle
discussion.

•Make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and
joins in the discussion.

•Call on each member to present their prepared role
information

•Guide the discussion and keep it going

The Summarizer’s job is to…

•Read the story and make notes about the characters,
events, and ideas.

•Find the key points that everyone must know to understand
and remember the story.

•Retell the story in a short summary (one or two
minutes) in your own words.

•Talk about your summary to the group, using your
writing to help you.

The Connector’s job is to…

•Read the story twice, and look for connections between
the story and the world outside

•Make notes about at least two possible connections to
your own experiences, or to experiences of friends and family, or to real-life
events.

•Tell the group about the connections and ask for
their comments or questions

The Word Master’s job is to…

•Read the story, and look for words or short phrases
that are new or difficult to understand, or that are important in the story

•Choose five words that you think are important for
this story

•Explain the meanings of these words in simple English

•Tell the group why these words are important for
understanding this story

The Passage Person’s job is to…

•Read the story, and find important, interesting, or
difficult passages.

•Make notes about at least three passages that are
important for the plot, or that have very interesting or powerful language.

•Read each passage to the group, or ask another group
member to read it.

•Ask the group one or two questions about each passage

The Culture Collector’s job is to…

•Read the story, and look for both differences and
similarities between your own culture and the culture found in the story.

•Make notes about two or three passages that show
these cultural points

•Read each passage to the group

•Ask the group some questions about these, and any
other cultural points in the story

The Reading Circle

Discussion Leader ->Summarizer
->Connector ->Word Master ->Passage Person ->Culture Collector

Таким образом, у каждого учащего четко
выделенная своя роль на уроке. Определенная символика на бэйджах показывает кто
есть кто в дискуссии. В кабинете всегда висит график дискуссионного занятия и
учащиеся, распределенные по ролям. Это позволяет заранее охватить тот оббьем
материала, который был запланирован.

“What one brings to the text is often more
important than what a text brings to us.”

Работа очень интересна не только
старшеклассникам, но и младшему звену школы. На занятии раздаются специальные
таблицы, куда заносятся сведения из общего хода дискуссии. это отличная
тренировка навыков разговорной речи, а также их развитие.