Pearson English Guide: Reading Lesson Plans

Pearson English Guide:Reading Lesson PlansFunctional Skills : English Level 1This Planning document is to aid in teaching and learning and should be usedas a guide only.

Reading lesson plansApproaches to teaching readingIntroductionThe Reading section of the Edexcel Functional SkillsEnglish Level 1 qualification targets all of the skillsstandards and coverage and range required for theteaching of Level 1 Reading. Reading is divided intothirteen sections, each with an introduction, importantinformation and activities designed to develop the skills asdescribed in the Ofqual Functional Skills Subject Criteria.It is important to explain to students that Reading is oneof three components that they need to pass in order togain a Level 1 qualification in Functional English. Usethe opportunities as they present themselves in thelessons to refer to the structure of the question paper,including texts, question types and rubric.The lessonsThe activities outlined in these lesson plans will helpstudents to become confident readers at Level 1 andact as preparation for their assessment. Encouragethem to make connections between lessons, as this willhelp them to contextualise their learning and developtransferable skills.Helping students to engage with thetextsIn order to become confident readers, students need toengage in reading as an active process. To assist theirdevelopment as active readers, it is suggested that copiesof the text are made so that students can annotate,highlight and underline as they carry out activities. This ishelpful to the reading process and can be used to reinforcelearning in feedback to their peers. Encourage students tomake brief notes as they read, focusing on: words/phrases that help them to answer a question words that need their meaning clarified topic sentences in paragraphs identifying main points/ideas that link with thepurpose of paragraphs connectives that link ideas and will help them to seehow ideas are linked in a text features of a text.Modelling reading skills/how to be anactive readerParticularly in the early lessons, modelling how to readand understand different text types and purposes is auseful teaching tool. Displaying a text on an overhead ordigital projector, working through a task or question andtalking through your thought processes as you do so, willenhance their understanding. There are opportunitiesfor students to work in groups and independently, and toshare their ideas in whole-class discussions. Where it isrecommended that you take students through a task or atext, sharing your own thought processes with them willhelp them to become increasingly independent readers.Use an overhead or digital projector for modelling yourreading skills and explain: how you read a task/question what reading skills you are using and why how you make sense of difficult/unfamiliar words how to solve problems with a question by engagingwith the text in order to overcome any obstacles.A good starting point is to ask students to identify themain purpose of a text. This is a feature of Readingassessments; it is also part of the skills standard, asstudents need to be able to identify the main points.Identify the main points and ideas and howthey are presented in a variety of textsThroughout the Reading lessons there are questions thatask students to establish how main points and ideas arepresented. A combination of independent, collaborativeand teacher-mediated activities will help them to beproficient. As students progress, they will explorefeatures that make a text a particular text type. This isreinforced in the Writing lessons, where texts are used asthe basis for students to develop their own writing skills.Use opportunities as they present themselves to engagestudents with the main points/ideas and presentationalfeatures of texts. Encourage them to ask themselvesquestions about the effect of layout, use of language,uses of bullets, paragraphing and images. Encouragethem also to consider different ways of presentinginformation, such as tables. Take them through the usesof keys, symbols, titles and headings.Read and understand texts in detailWhere you model your own reading, you will also bedrawing students’ attention to the appropriate detail.Where possible, provide copies of texts so that studentscan annotate and work with the text, focusing on detailsas required. Annotated texts can later be displayed forrevision purposes. Ask students to bring to the lessonexamples of other texts that they have worked on, asa preparation for further reading for detail. Encouragestudents to annotate their texts collaboratively andto share their ideas with the rest of the class throughdiscussion and display. Pearson Education Limited 2010 6

Reading lesson plansUtilise information contained in textsIn your teaching, encourage students to regard readingas a dynamic activity, as in everyday life they read textsto make use of information. Invite students to think ofand find examples of texts from which we select andutilise information. These can be shared in lessons, anddiscussions about how we utilise information will helpto reinforce learning. Timetables, menus and television/cinema schedules are some sources that can be used forthis purpose.Identify suitable responses to textsThe ability to identify suitable responses requires moredemanding application of reading skills, so it is advisableto teach this aspect of the ‘standards’ at a later stagein the course. Wherever possible, gather examples oftexts that require some sort of action on the part of thereader, and ask students to find examples of their own.As a learning activity, students could show the othersan example of such a text and explain the response thatneeds to made, e.g. a local authority leaflet about a newrecycling system.Give students practice or ‘mock’ examinationopportunities so that they become accustomed toresponding appropriately and managing time.Encourage students to make the links with their ownwriting and with speaking, listening and communicationskills. They should also learn to make links with theWriting lessons as consideration of text types requirestransferable skills. Although the three components areseparately assessed, students need to understand thatthe language modes interrelate.The lesson plans include opportunities for individualand collaborative learning. Working with their peers toa shared understanding is a powerful learning tool forstudents.Use of resourcesAs the course progresses, encourage students to bringin different text types to exemplify form, audience andpurpose. These could be displayed as annotated collagesto reinforce their learning. Again, where possible, usean overhead or digital projector to demonstrate keyteaching points and encourage students to present theirwork to the class where appropriate.Preparing for the Reading component/testAs part of students’ preparation for the assessment,encourage them to read the questions as closely as thesource text, ensuring that they are familiar with thedifferent styles of questioning. Teach them to look forkey words in the question to help them to locate specificinformation/detail in the text. Draw their attention alsoto questions where the number of features required isspecified, for example: ‘Find two features that show thatthis text is from a webpage.’ Share mark schemes withthe students as soon as possible. Use the sample readingassessment and mark scheme as definitive guidancefor your students; they need to be familiar with thestyle of assessment, so you should share not only texts,questions and mark schemes with them, but also whichpart of the standard is being assessed. Pearson Education Limited 2010 7

Reading lesson plansReading a range of textsAim Learn to read different types of texts.Lesson learning objectives Understand what kind of text you are reading.Find the information you need in a text.Lesson starter:individual/pair workIndividually or in pairs, ask students to list as manydifferent kinds of texts as they can on a sheet ofA4 paper. Encourage them to regard texts in thebroadest sense, e.g. the ingredients on a cerealpacket. Take feedback in class discussion and displaythe lists that students have produced.Main teaching and learningIntroduce students to the key concepts related toreading a range of texts and identifying different texttypes. Make sure they understand how to identifyfeatures and form in order to understand whatinformation or ideas are given in the text.Model thinking aloud how to look at features, form,ideas and information. On a whiteboard, draw arough outline of the layout of a magazine articleand ask pairs to identify the features, form, ideasand information. Through feedback, introduce theconcepts of audience and purpose.PlenaryShow students a variety of different text types andask them to identify the forms and features of eachtext. Extend the activity if necessary by askingstudents to make explicit links between text typesand purpose.HomeworkAsk students to bring in at least one example of atext type to share with the class. You may want themto work in pairs and be prepared to present ideasto the class. Presentation should be in the form ofquestion/answer and brief discussion, as this willalso help them in their preparations for Speaking,listening and communication. (Presentations are nota requirement at L1.)In order to make sure students understand featuresand forms, show them a different kind of text (e.g.letter, product packaging, poster, briefing note).Direct pairs to list the particular features found inthe text (e.g. paragraphs, charts, lists, headings,greetings, slogans, images). Pairs could presenttheir findings to the class using A3/poster paper toidentify the text, its purpose and audience, and thefeatures that are representative of that particular texttype. Take whole-class feedback. Pearson Education Limited 2010 8

Reading lesson plansWorking out what a text is aboutAim Read and understand the points and ideas in a text.Lesson learning objectives Work out what a text is about and what its purposeis.Lesson starter:pair/small group workGive students copies of a short text of your choice.Encourage students to engage in close reading andto read in pairs or threes, looking over every part ofthe text and questioning what it is about and why ithas been written.For feedback, direct students to discuss 1) what thetext is about, 2) its purpose and 3) the evidence fortheir decisions.PlenaryShare texts brought in as directed in the homeworkactivity from the previous lesson.Have a class feedback session to discuss students’texts and evidence for their ideas.HomeworkAsk students to find a text showing a food menu,such as a takeaway leaflet or restaurant menu, tobring to the next lesson.Main teaching and learningGive students an example of an advert, and givethem a multiple-choice style question with fouroptions regarding its main purpose. Explain thatmultiple-choice questions on a text’s main purposeare one style of question they will find on theReading paper.Use the opportunity to talk students through howthey made their selection. You could ask them todiscuss this in pairs or small groups.Provide students with another example of a shortpromotional text, and ask them to write down whatthe author of the text wants the reader to do. Explainthat they will be told in the examination that theydo not have to write in sentences. Either explain thereason for this, or ask them to suggest a reason.Direct students to work in pairs. Provide copies oftwo different kinds of texts on paper so that studentscan annotate them. Alternatively, provide paper andask students to mind-map by putting the texts in thecentre and making notes on the main purpose andthe writer’s intentions for both texts. Relate the notesto the relevant parts of the skills standard. Takefeedback, summarising form, audience and purpose. Pearson Education Limited 2010 9