Strategies for developing reading skills for adults

1. Whole Class
Reading
STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING READING AND ORAL COMMUNICATION
SKILLS WITH STUDENTS IN A MULTI-LEVEL ADULT LITERACY CLASS
WRITTEN BY MARIANNE SLADE

2. Choose a text for your students
 Authentic (realistic)
 Familiar
 Relevant
 Useful
 Interesting

3. Display the text
 Either display the text on a screen at the front of whole class
OR
 Give copies to individuals, pairs or groups of students

4. Prepare to analyse the text
The text anlaysis discussion also provides the opportunity to promote oral
communication skills e.g.
attentive listening sharing own ideas active participation
respect for other opinions and perspectives clear speech

5. Sample analysis questions (prior to reading)
 What type of text is this? (e.g. notice, label, timetable, news article)
 What are some features of the text? (Discuss title, headings, bullet points, paragraphs,
illustrations, diagrams, photos, symbols, icons, columns and rows, font sizes and colours etc.)
 Where would we find this type of text? (Internet, newspaper, reference book, recipe
book, car manual, workplace, brochure in a travel shop, in a hospital, on a container, on a packet etc.)
 Who is the author? (or organization)
 (Level 3) Is the text credible? How do you know?
 Why might people want to read this text?
 What do we already know about this topic? – share any prior knowledge

6. Read the text aloud
Alternate between:
Whole class reading a section of the text aloud - (at a slow and steady pace)
Individuals reading a section of the text aloud - others listen and follow along with their eyes
Encourage students to practice decoding and comprehension strategies while reading e.g.
 Sound out letters and syllables to decode new words
 Predict or guess a word by using context clues
 Underline new or difficult words
 Re-read sentences to aid understanding
 Pause at commas and full stops
STOP regularly to talk about any interesting words, sentences, phrases, information or punctuation .

7. Discuss the text (oral discussion)
Invite and encourage students to:
 Talk about the messages in the text
 Share own thoughts and opinions

8. Include questions that develop
higher level thinking
According to Dr Benjamin Bloom there are 6 levels of thinking - Bloom’s Taxonomy 2001 revised edition
 Level 1 –RECALL of facts or basic concepts e.g. What is the title?
 Level 2 –UNDERSTANDING of facts and ideas e.g. What are the main ideas in this text?
 Level 3 –APPLICATION of acquired knowledge to new situations – How would you use this
information next time you have to apply for a job?
 Level 4 –ANALYSIS of information and ideas e.g. What are the causes of this situation?
 Level 5 –EVALUATION of information and ideas e.g. How would your life change if you followed
this advice?
 Level 6 –CREATION of information into new solutions e.g. Can you create your own recipe based on
the format of this text?
A variety of questions asked, covering all these levels, will develop critical thinking skills of students.

9. Sample questions to spark critical thinking
GDC Foundation

10. Sample follow up activities which involve
students in re-reading the text – Page 1
 Write a summary of the text (handwritten or typed on computer)
 Make a word poster using words in the text
 Create a brochure
 Write an opinion piece about the topic of the text
 Draw a cartoon or illustration depicting information in the text
 Create a flowchart showing steps in the process
 Practical – follow steps in the text to perform a task e.g. bake a cake
 Create a set of quiz questions about the text to ask others in the class
 Create a board game

11.  Research and write/type a profile about the author or organization
 Research and write/type more information on the topic
 Compile a word list of nouns, verbs, adjectives in the text
 Compile a list of interesting words in the text and their meanings
 Write a reply or response to the text
 Create a word puzzle on grid-lined paper (using words from the text)
 Write a poem or song related to the topic
 Compile an alphabetical list of words in the text
 Create a PowerPoint presentation to share with the class
Sample follow up activities which involve
students in re-reading the text – Page 2

12. Reading Skills to reinforce
 ACSF Level 1
 Locate one or two pieces of
information
 Identify information in diagrams, table,
maps or plans (if applicable)
 Identify some words and meanings
 ACSF Level 2
 Locate, identify and interpret specific
information and ideas in the text
 Compare and contrast information
 Interpret some words and meanings
 Recognise functions of some words e.g.
verbs, nouns, adjectives, prepositions
 ACSF Level 3
 Locate, identify, interpret and evaluate information in the text
 Make links between ideas in a text
 Integrate (link up) a number of ideas in a text
 Compare facts and opinions
 Consider the tone and style of language used
 Consider the validity of the text
 Make inferences (by interpreting what is not stated)
 Infer the author’s stance (bias)
 Interpret (explain) and extrapolate information (guess what
might happen) from texts containing graphs and diagrams (if
applicable)
 Interpret words and meanings
 Recognise functions of words e.g. verbs, nouns, adjectives,
adverbs, prepositions
 Recognise and understand some common idioms, slang,
abbreviations, acronymns, and some specialized vocabulary