Reading Comprehension Strategies for ESL Students
- 2. Objectives • Introduce the reading part of the DEP course • Introduce reading strategies • Practice pre-reading skills • Practice reading for gist
- 3. Reading Activity • Read the text and answer the reading questions on the following page.
- 4. Reading Questions 1. What is the Artemis I mission? 2. Where did it go? 3. How long did it take? 4. Who were the passengers? 5. Why were they on the spacecraft? 6. What NASA’s long plans for future Artemis missions?
- 5. NASA’s Artemis I mission blasted off to the moon on November 16. The rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center. That’s in Florida. Artemis I took the Orion spacecraft on a journey around the moon and back. The trip was expected to last 25 days. NASA’s Artemis I mission did not have astronauts on board. But it did have passengers. There was a Snoopy toy. There was a mannequin called Moonikin Campos. And there were figures from the Lego Space Team. They’re part of Build to Launch. It’s a free online program. It’s run by Lego Education and NASA.
- 6. Jenny Nash works for Lego Education. “Build to Launch is a series in which kids learn from the Lego Space Team,” she told TFK Kid Reporter Zarita Asgar. “In each episode, you learn about a career at NASA. And you’re presented with a challenge.” Some of them are just like the real-world challenges faced by NASA. Future Artemis missions are planned. NASA’s goal is to have Americans back on the moon around 2025. The last time people walked on the moon was in 1972. Eventually, NASA plans to set up a lunar base camp. It will be near the moon’s south pole. Astronauts will work there. They’ll study how long-term space travel affects people. Ultimately, NASA hopes to send astronauts to Mars.
- 7. 1. What is the Artemis I mission? 1. The Artemis I mission is a NASA mission to the moon. 2. Where did it go? 2. The rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and took the Orion spacecraft on a journey around the moon and back. 3. How long did it take? 3. The trip was expected to last 25 days. 4. Who were the passengers? 4. The passengers on board were a Snoopy toy, a mannequin called Moonikin Campos, and figures from the Lego Space Team. 5. Why were they on the spacecraft? 5. The Snoopy toy, mannequin, and Lego figures were on the spacecraft as part of the Build to Launch program, a free online program run by Lego Education and NASA. 6. What NASA’s long plans for future Artemis missions? 6. NASA's long-term plans for future Artemis missions include sending Americans back to the moon around 2025, setting up a lunar base camp near the moon's south pole, and ultimately sending astronauts to Mars.
- 8. Reading Reflection Discussion • In groups • Could you understand the text? • Were the questions easy or difficult? • What did you do to help yourself understand the materials? • Was the reading activity interesting?
- 9. Community Fridges Fill a Need Read the headline and look at the pictures. What do you think the next article might be about?
- 10. You have 30 seconds to look at the text. What do you think it is about?
- 11. Pre-reading Discussion Questions: • What are some basic human needs? • Who helps people who are less fortunate? • What kind of article do you think this is? (E.g. news, argumentative, scientific research, fiction etc.)
- 12. 1. What is the ITC Community Fridge Project? 2. Who is the food in the fridges for? 3. Who puts the food in the fridges? 4. Why are people in America donating food to others? 5. Which 3 community fridge groups are mentioned in the article? Reading Questions
- 13. Refrigerators are popping up around the United States. You can see them on street corners and outside cafés. They are near churches and apartment buildings. The food inside them is free. Anyone can take it. Many community fridges are stocked by volunteers. They are set up for people facing food insecurity. Tajahnaé Stocker started the ICT Community Fridge Project, in Wichita, Kansas. She raised $1,500 and bought a fridge. She decorated it and filled it with food. She says the fridge is “trying to fill in the gap of a grocery store.” Many Americans do not have enough to eat. But Stocker and others say the last thing people need to focus on is their next meal.
- 14. Buddy System MIA is a community-fridge group. It is in Miami, Florida. It fills its fridges up to five times a day. Kristin Guerin runs the group. “The need is still really high,” she says. Community fridges might contain homemade meals. Some are stocked with leftover meals from other groups. And restaurants donate extra food. The group 901 Community Fridges serves Memphis, Tennessee. It accepts food donations. It also takes diapers and other baby items. In Miami, the fridges are covered with flyers. They advertise things like summer camp. Guerin says the fridges “have become little community centers” and will stay as long as they are needed. That way, meals do not go to waste.
- 15. 1. What is the ITC Community Fridge Project? The ITC Community Fridge Project is a volunteer-led initiative that aims to provide free food for people facing food insecurity in Wichita, Kansas. 1. Who is the food in the fridges for? The food in the community fridges is for anyone who needs it and is facing food insecurity. 1. Who puts the food in the fridges? The community fridges are stocked by volunteers who donate food, including leftover meals from other groups and donations from restaurants. 1. Why are people in America donating food to others? People in America are donating food to those facing food insecurity in order to bridge the gap and help those without access to groceries or sufficient funds to buy food. 1. Which 3 community fridge groups are mentioned in the article? The ICT Community Fridge Project in Wichita, Kansas; Buddy System MIA in Miami, Florida; and the 901 Community Fridges serving Memphis, Tennessee. Reading Q & A
- 16. • In your groups discuss - • Could you understand the text? • Were the questions easy or difficult? • What did you do to help yourself understand the materials? • Was the reading activity interesting? • What was different about the first reading activity and the second reading activity? Reading Reflection Discussion
- 18. What are Reading Strategies? • In the 2nd reading activity we used some pre-reading reading strategies to help us understand the text more effectively. • Reading strategies include things like: • Having a look at the page for clues about what the text might say • Remembering what you already know about a topic before you start reading • Skim reading, to get the gist of the text, before you read it in more detail
- 19. What are Reading Strategies? • You have probably used reading strategies before, both in English and Chinese. • They are an important skills in both a first and second language. • Some reading strategies help us understand the words and language in the text. • Other reading strategies help us understand the meaning and content.
- 20. • In this course, we are going to focus on using reading strategies to understand the meaning of the text. • We will see how we can use strategies before, during and after reading to help us understand the content of the text more deeply. • This is an important skill for university, because you will be expected to analyse texts critically, and to use your knowledge to form your own views on a topic. What are Reading Strategies?
- 21. Some Common Reading Strategies • Pre-reading: • Surveying the text • Activating background knowledge • Skimming for gist • Making predictions • During reading: • Reading with purpose • Asking yourself questions • Using context cues • Taking notes • Reading critically We will practice each of these as this course goes on!
- 22. Discussion Questions • Were you aware of reading strategies before? • Do you use any reading strategies when you read in English? • Do you use any reading strategies when you read in Chinese?
- 23. Pre-reading strategies: Surveying the text & making predictions
- 24. What kinds of texts can you think of? (Magazines, websites, etc.)
- 25. Surveying the Text • Surveying the text means looking at all the information ‘around’ the text itself. • For example, reading the title or headline, looking at the pictures, looking at the type of publication (magazine, news, research). • These can all give us clues as to what the text might be about, and this can help make it easier to understand when it comes to actually reading.
- 26. Let’s Look at an Example... Without actually reading the text, what information can you get on the page (e.g. headings, pictures, the website title, etc). • What kind of text do you think this is? (news article, etc…) • Is there any information about the author/publication? • What kind of writing would you expect to find in this type of text (informative, argumentative) • What else can you guess about the text?
- 27. Make a Prediction About the Text • Now that you have surveyed the text, you probably have some idea of what the text might be about. • When reading in a first language, we naturally make some predictions about what the text will be about before we even start reading. • It doesn’t really matter if we’re right or wrong, but having some kind of prediction gives us a starting point for trying to understand the text.
- 28. • Now write a sentence summarising what you think the text will be about. • E.g. “The text is about people donating food by putting it in community fridges”. Make a Prediction About the Text
- 29. Skim Reading Reading for Gist
- 30. Reading for Gist • You have probably done this in English class before • This is a common English class teaching technique, and it is also a useful. • Reading for gist allows us to get a general overview of the text and what it is about, to make it easier to understand what we are reading.
- 31. Reading for Gist: A 1 • I will show you a passage. • Quickly skim read each text and try to get the ‘gist’ of what it says. • Don’t try to read or understand every word. If you don’t understand something just keep going. • Are you ready???? • I will only give you 5 minutes to skim this text. • Take notes. • Write a brief summary. (2 minutes) • Check whether your predictions were correct!
- 32. Here is a brief summary of the article so that you can check your understanding:
- 33. Artemis I Mission NASA's Artemis I mission was launched on November 16, taking the Orion spacecraft on a journey around the moon and back. This mission did not have astronauts on board, but rather passengers such as a Snoopy toy, a mannequin called Moonikin Campos and figures from the Lego Space Team, who were part of Build to Launch, a free online program run by Lego Education and NASA. The program aims to teach kids about NASA's work and challenges. NASA plans to have Americans back on the moon around 2025 with planned future missions. They plan to set up a lunar base camp near the moon's south pole to study long-term space travel effects on people. Ultimately, NASA wants to send astronauts to Mars.
- 34. Reading for Gist: A 2 • I will show you a passage. • Quickly skim read each text and try to get the ‘gist’ of what it says. • Don’t try to read or understand every word. If you don’t understand something just keep going. • Are you ready???? • I will only give you 5 minutes to skim this text. • Take notes. • Write a brief summary. (2 minutes) • Check whether your predictions were correct!
- 35. Community Fridges Community fridges are being placed around the US to provide free food for those facing food insecurity in the area. These fridges are often staffed by volunteers and contain donated food from local restaurants and community groups. Some fridges may even provide baby items such as diapers. Community fridge groups, such as the ICT Community Fridge Project and the Buddy System MIA, have been set up in different parts of the US. These groups aim to offer free food for families without access to sufficient groceries or funds to purchase food.
- 36. Reflection • How did you guess about the text? • What clues did you see on the pages that helped you?
- 37. Links: • https://www.timeforkids.com/g2/artemis-blasts-off-to-the-moon/ • https://www.timeforkids.com/g2/legos-in-space-g2-5-plus/ • https://www.timeforkids.com/g2/filling-a-need-g2-5-plus/?rl=en- 540 • https://www.snexplores.org/article/mars-quakes-volcanic- activity-magma-planet-nasa-insight • https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-can-polar- bears-survive-longer-in-a-changing-climate/ • https://www.snexplores.org/article/playing-video-games-may- improve-memory-attention
- 38. Thank you!
Editor's Notes
- #4: Give the students the text “TEXT 1” or show the text on the slides following the questions.
- #6: Optional slide – show the SS the text in the slides if you choose, or just use the file.
- #7: Optional slide – show the SS the text in the slides if you choose, or just use the file.
- #11: Give the students the text “TIME for Kids - Filling a Need”
- #14: Optional slide – show the SS the text in the slides if you choose, or just use the file.
- #15: Optional slide – show the SS the text in the slides if you choose, or just use the file.
- #27: Show the students text 1 – ABC news, GPT AI app.
- #31: Give students the file on Mars earthquakes or the future of polar bears.