1. Reading strategies for Developing reading skills among students
Presented by Mr. Stanislas Birame FAYE

2. Reading skills Sociolinguistic competence Strategic competence
Identifying the type of material
Understanding the organization of the material
Strategic competence
Understanding the gist
Locating specific information
Inferring meaning
Linguistic competence
Recognizing the language patterns
Critical competence
Interpreting material content
Evaluating critically the material content

3. STRATEGY FOR Helping students IDENTIFY THE TYPE OF MATERIAL
A) Skimming (reading only the subtitles or section headings/reading the first and last sentences of a paragraph)
B) Scanning for indicators
Tells a story
Gives information about a phenomenon
Portrays a person, place or an object
Gives instructions
Defends an idea or opinion
Text
Tells a story
Gives information about a phenomenon
Portrays a person, place or an object
Gives instructions
Defends an idea or opinion
Details
Characters
Chronological structure
Simple past
The first or third persons of the singular or plural
Connectors indicating time
Etc.
Explanation of the causes and consequence of a phenomenon
Facts , data about a phenomenon from different sources
Words indicating cause and effect
Definitions
Physical details (colour, size, amount, shape)
Moral details (generous, helpful)
words used for comparison or contrast
descritptive adjectives
Imperative
Sequence words (first, then, next …)
must / musn’t
direct language
procedure illustration
Technical vocabulary
Position statements
Appealing to the reader’s emotion
Evidence to convince the reader
Causual connectors

4. Comparison-and-contrast
Strategy for helping students know how to analyse the structure of a material
Get your students analyse a material structure with diagrams/graphic organizers!
Narration
Argumentation
Sequence
Problem & solution
Cause-and-effect
Comparison-and-contrast
Directions
STRUCTURE
Beginning of the story (character, place, character’s objective)
Middle of story (problem, solution)
End of the story (outcome)
Main ideas
Supporting details
Initiating event
Event 2,
Event 4 Event 5
Final event
Described event/phenomenon
Physical details
Moral details
Facts
Phenomenon
Cause
Consequence
Compared elements
Similarities
Differences
Starting phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Final phase
SIGNAL WORDS
before, after, finally, etc.
Besides, in my opinion, in brief, etc.
first, second, third, etc.
the question is , to solve this
as a result, because, etc.
compared with, different from, etc.
first of all, next, last, etc.

5. STRATEGY FOR HELPING STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE GIST OF MATERIAL
Phase 1: Skimming (reading only the subtitles or section headings/reading the first and last sentences of a paragraph);
Phase 2: Predicting the material content by using the strategy of 5 WH-Questions (who, what, where, when, why);
Phase 3: Reading thoroughly to check the information transferred in the chart.
QUESTIONS
Who ?
What?
Where ?
When ?
Why ?
ANSWERS

6. Strategies for helping students guess the meaning of a word or sentence?
Bottom-up strategies: guessing meaning on the base of prefixes/suffixes, prepositions (phrasal verbs), compound words, words nature, root words and etymology, etc.
Top-down strategies: guessing meaning on the base of:
Context clues
Background
Word/Sentence
Context clues
Inference
Kinship
Definition, Restatement, Example, Comparison, Contrast, Cause and effect, Discourse markers, Supporting details, Synonyms/Antonyms
Word/Sentence
Background
Inference
To grasp
Background knowledge, background experience

7. Strategy for helping students locate specific information
Phase 1: Turn the required information into question;
Phase 2: Skim the subtitles, headings, sections or base on the text structure to choose the appropriate block of information;
Phase 3: Scan the chosen block of information to find the answer to the question.

8. Use a reading material to study the following points:
Strategy for helping students recognize the patterns of the English language
Use a reading material to study the following points:
Words structure / nature / function
Sentence structure
Language register (formal/informal)
Genre (fiction, nonfiction)
Communicative value (function) of grammatical structures, discourse markers
Abbreviations and symbols meanings

9. Interpreting material content
Strategies for helping students to interpret the material content and analyze the author’s intentions
Interpreting material content
Analyzing the author’s intention(s)
DESCRIPTION(S)
INTERPRETATION(S)
Write down this column descriptive details related to the phenomenon, person, object or the place in question!
Basing on the descriptive details, tell what you think about the phenomenon, person, object or the place in question!
CONTENT
RESTATEMENT
FORM
REASON
What does the author say?
What does the author mean?
How does the author say it?
Why does the say it that way?
Material
Reformulation of the author’s allegation
Figures of speech
Register, style
Tone
Sentence structure
Lexical choice
Etc.
Interpretation of the author’s intention

10. Questions raising suspiciousness
Strategies for helping students to evaluate critically a material content
From curiosity to suspiciousness
Cultural confrontation
Ask students to confront their social values, cultural beliefs, lifestyle, behaviour with the ones addressed by the material and work out strong and weak points!
Questions raising suspiciousness
Possible answers
Are author’s assertions objective or subjective?
Fact, opinion, belief, theory, conviction, assumption, valeur
Does the author make use of persuasive evidence?
Published data, anecdotes, speculations
Does the author adopt a stance?
Bias, neutral, opponent
Are the author’s information sources reliable?
Rumour, specialist, study, layman

11. Closing words
“It is better to read a little and ponder a lot than to read a lot and ponder a little.” says Denis Parson Burkitt
Because
“Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting” says Edmund Burke So
Let’s empower our students so that they may be able to read thoughtfully.