Chapter 3: The Teaching and Assessment in Reading

The world now is beset with the massive advancement of science, technology, and
communication. This fact has engendered various opportunities in all sectors of society. Obviously, the
utilization of technologies, transactions may they be personal or work-related have become more
facilitative compared to the times when people generally managed their activities manually/personally.
Collaborations worldwide have been made accessible. Virtual cross-cultural interactions created a wider
sphere of unity in the midst of diversity. In other words, as information technology becomes ubiquitous,
engagements become fluid. As a result, many people tend to be dependent on these tools.

This scenario despite its humungous advantages, has undeniably affected other facets of a
person's integral life skill. Many people young and adults generally seem to simply take in the needed
information from the electronic devices without analyzing and evaluating information. The latter is a
very important reading skill that needs to be developed and enhanced in academic institutions. Since
this reality has somehow sipped through the system of a technology-driven society, this has become the
challenge of teachers especially prospective teachers like you. Taking a proactive response to this
nagging challenge, academic institutions can revitalize the value of reading, it being a life skill.

This Chapter of the book, therefore, encompasses the essentialities of reading for various
purposes. In the academe, it is given premium as this serves as a tool in understanding and actualizing
21 century skills. As a macro skill, reading which aims towards the development of critical and creative
thinking skills is primarily inculcated in the academic environment. Since this involves a complex process,
you who are prospective teachers need to be equipped with fundamental preparations which can
address the varying needs of students. Basic preparations among others include the research-based
learning plan, differentiated learning tasks as well as assessment measurements.

Learning Outcomes

It is in this context that after a semester, you are expected to achieve the following learning
outcomes:

 select differentiated learning tasks in teaching reading to suit

 learners' gender, needs, strengths interests, and experiences; demonstrate how to provide
timely, accurate, and constructive feedback to improve learner performance in the different
tasks in reading through simulations;
 craft a learning plan according to the English curricula that is developed from research-based
knowledge and principles of reading and the theoretical bases, principles, methods, and
strategies in teaching these components; and
 conduct a teaching demonstration of the assigned learning competencies in reading.

REPORTER 1
Lesson 1: The Value of Reading
Reading being a life skill has been inculcated in the school system from the time the child enters school.
To recapture how this skill is given premium in teaching and learning, authorities have shared their
varied but parallel ideas.

On Reading:

Stanley, (2007). Reading is a process of reconstructing meaning from written text. It is a complex
skill requiring the coordination of interrelated sources of information.

Reading is defined as a cognitive process that involves decoding symbols to arrive at meaning.
(www.teachreading.info2013)

Denchant (1991) as cited by Macceca (2007), reading is a visual process that begins with one's
ability to use one's vision to interpret graphic symbols.
Short, K and Harste, J,1996 added that it is an active process of constructing meanings of words.
It is likewise a number of interactive processes between the reader and the text, in which readers use
their knowledge to build, create, and construct meaning. (https://www.tesol.org)

Sheridan, E. (1991). The traditional skills model view of reading is a bottom- up or data-driven
processing model. In this view of reading, letters are perceived in a left to right sequence until a word is
perceived as a whole; meaning is obtained and related to other words in the sentence, thus activating
the dominant schema and its particular concepts.

Ravinder, S. (2019) expressed then that reading being a process that involves recognizing words,
it leads to the development of comprehension.

On Reading Comprehension

After being exposed to the ideas of reading from the different authorities, comprehension, the
essence of reading is hereby defined and explained by the other set of experts:

Snow, C. (2010) expressed that comprehension is the process of simultaneously constructing and
extracting meaning through interaction and engagement with print The success of a comprehension
event depends on a good match of reader skills, text difficulty, and task definition. Moreover,
comprehension according to the Kto12 Reader Reading Instructional Resources is an intentional, active,
interactive process that occurs before, during, and after a person reads a particular piece of writing.

Denchant (1991) states that reading comprehension refers to understanding what is read, so
readers must be able to cognitively process the words by drawing meaning from their own experience
and knowledge to understand the author's message.

Anderson (1994) expressed that comprehension is activating or constructing a schema that

provides a coherent explanation of objects and events mentioned in the discourse.

Abao, E. et al. (2009) stated that reading comprehension is an active interchange of ideas and
expression of thought. Being a life skill, reading involves creative and critical thinking skills of events
through which the intended message and values are brought forth to reality.

Conscious of the ultimate purpose of reading which is comprehension and its value for
successful functioning in our society, Kendou, P (2015), noted that it is very essential that you will have
clearer and richer ideas about this macro skill.

Understandably, you have been familiar with this life skill from the time you started school. More
so as prospective teachers of English where this skill has been built in as part of your academic pursuit,
you are expected to be adept with this real-life skill.

On Purposes of Reading

These aforementioned ideas of reading lead you to realize its value to any student's academic
undertaking. According to Hammer (2009), reasons for reading include students' career, language
acquisition, students' vocabulary knowledge. modeling English writing, introducing topics, stimulating
discussion.

In addition, Charlton, E. (2019) expressed that reading could help you live longer, you may
absorb more from a physical book; you may develop the skills for the future; it builds your vocabulary
and it wards off brain deterioration.

Seeing the value of reading as a tool subject, students need to conscientiously learn reading and
meaningfully assimilate value. Reading has to be well-taught to the students and teaching strategies
need to be judiciously selected. With this in mind, as prospective teachers, you need to be reminded of
the important principles in teaching reading so that academic engagement becomes relevant and
sustainable.
REPORTER 2
LESSON 2: Onboarding to Reading Instruction
On Principles of Teaching Reading

Any academic undertaking like reading instruction, must be anchored on and measured against
certain principles. The following authorities share their thoughts about these:

Graves, M, et al.(2007) offers the following instructional principles in teaching reading: 1)

building positive attitudes and perspectives; 2) provide a balanced instructional framework; provide
consistent instructional structure and use time effectively; 3) provide text that students can read
successfully; 4) provide time for word study; 5) encourage independent reading; 6) coordinate
intervention instruction and classroom instruction.

Voinalovych, L. (1999) added the following principles of teaching reading: 1) encourage students
to read as often and as much as possible. The more students read, the better; 2) students need to be
engaged with what they are reading; 3) encourage students to respond to the content of a text and
explore their feelings about it, not just concentrate on its construction; 4) prediction is a major factor in
reading. When we read texts in our language, we frequently have a good idea of the content before we
actually start reading; 5) match the task to the topic when using intensive reading texts, and good
teachers exploit reading texts to the full.

Putting in your consciousness the essence of these identified principles in teaching reading, it is
likewise important for you to be familiar with the theories of teaching reading as embedded in the
successful instructional delivery.

Shahin, V. (2000) posits that just like teaching methodology, reading theories (Traditional View,
Cognitive View, and the Metacognitive View) have had their shifts and transitions. Starting from the
traditional view which focused on the printed form of a text and moving to the cognitive view that
enhanced the role of background knowledge in addition to what appeared on the printed page, they
ultimately culminated in the metacognitive view which is now in vogue. It is based on the control and
manipulation that a reader can have on the act of comprehending a text.

Nunan, (2001) said that schema theory is based on the notion the past experiences lead to the
creation of mental frameworks that help us make sense of new experiences. As noted, in activating and
building the schemata the following are emphasized: Pre-Reading (Predicting, Semantic Reconciled
Reading); During Reading (Skimming, Scanning, Note-taking Guess, Analyze Vocabulary) and Post -
Reading (Questions, Mind-Mapping and Summarizing)

Anderson (1994) presents research showing that recall of information in a text is affected by the
reader's schemata and explains that "a reader comprehends a message when he is able to bring to mind
a schema that gives account of the objects and events described in the message."

The ones mentioned are just a few exemplars of the theories of teaching reading. To further
enrich your understanding and exposure to these topics you can further access these through the wide
array of information from different sources.

REPORTER 3
On the Teaching of Reading

With the aim to improve students' comprehension and enable them to effectively and
responsibly function in society, teaching strategies are highly paramount as these facilitate meaningful
learning. They have to be judiciously selected considering the students' demographic profile to ensure
that the comprehension skills considered as life skills will be well-assimilated so that students can
eventually apply them in a real-life situation.
The following authorities share views and ideas on strategies in the teaching of reading that
ensure that these will help students develop their critical and creative thinking skills.

According to MacEwan, E (2007) to improve student's reading comprehension, teachers should

introduce the seven cognitive strategies of effective readers like Activating; Inferring; Monitoring-
Clarifying; Questioning; Searching-Selecting and Summarizing.

Cox, J. (2017) noted that in order for all of the students to be confident readers, teachers can
provide students with a few effective teaching strategies for reading like utilizing graphic organizers;
utilizing technology; activating prior knowledge: using a word wall, and student choice.

Barber, S. (2016) stated that students need good reading skills not just in English but in all
classes. She shared some ways you can help them develop those skills. These strategies help ensure that
texts appeal to the senses; teachers guide students in setting reading goals, vary text length; offer
opportunities for reading choice then assess content and skill.

Duke and Pearson (2002) recommend teachers for the ways comprehension is embedded into
daily literacy lessons. In his article, a supportive classroom context to promote comprehension must be
developed. According to him, teachers need to ensure their students read engaging texts for significant
amounts of time; select texts for students which support authentic learning (i.e. interest-based or topic-
based texts); provide a range of texts (multimodal, print-based, images, animations. graphic
representations, video, audio, diagrams/charts, newspapers/magazines fiction, non-fiction) for students
to read in various genres (i.e. texts on different topics or different text types about the same topic);
identify and discuss vocabulary from rich texts with their students; provide time for students to talk to
each other about the texts they read and have listened to and provide time for students to write and
reflect on their reading.

A lot of people think that reading as a tool subject is easy to learn and apply comprehension. its
complexity. Remember that the ultimate goal of reading is comprehension. Easy it might seem but it
bears challenges in the process of letting the students understand, analyze or even evaluate reading
materials. Based on knowledge and experience of teaching reading, the following strategies/activities
are found effective. Always remember that making students learn and enjoy as they understand and
apply the reading skills to real life is an art. Therefore, it needs to be carefully planned and meaningfully
facilitated.

1) Be conscious of the skills to be developed among the students. These are considered life skills, hence
they should be given premium in the teaching- learning engagement.

a. Noting Details. Understanding the details will help you understand the selection better.
(Villamin, et al.) Furthermore, details guide the readers to understand parts of the whole.
Abao(2009)

b. Following Directions. This skill is putting adherence to what is/are set for order and discipline.
There are myriads of situations in life where people can't just do things on their own, instead,
they must follow directions. In actual life experiences, people and events turn out better if there
is faithful adherence to this very important skill. Warman, R (1992) said that the motivation of all
communication is the giving and following of instructions/directions.

c. Sequencing Events. It is the arrangement or proper organization of things and events. If

responsibilities are done in proper sequence, things and people become organized and
systematic. In reading this is very essential as this guides the reader to organize and come up
with a general understanding of the written text or reading material.

d. Distinguishing Fact from Opinion. A fact is an event/ situation that is proven and tested based
on data while an opinion is a personal belief about a person/event or a situation that still needs
to be proven. This skill guides the reader to ensure that as ideas are presented either through
facts or opinions, he/she can weigh situations before a decision is arrived at.

REPORTER 4
e. Determining Cause and Effect Relationship. This denotes that every action happens based on
a cause and the result of the action is the effect. Being so, words and actions need to be well-
thought of to engender peace and prosperity. As one reads, he/she needs to be responsible in
his/her actions/reactions based on the given premise/s.

f. Predicting Outcomes. It is to foretell what future actions lie ahead based on the present
situation. It is therefore important to learn to prepare for future events so as not to be caught in
an adverse situation. This is really given value in reading as one is led to well- thought-of real-life
plans.

g. Getting the Main Idea. It is identifying the gist of the text, thus giving focus to the essentials.
This skill is indeed useful as people give credit to brevity and conciseness of ideas based on the
supporting ideas of the matter.

h. Skimming and Scanning. These skills involve the act of reading that needs to be done fast to
get the intended meaning of the selection within a short period of time.

Skimming is the act of quick reading from the start of the selection until the end in order
to get its intended meaning. This is actually a skill on getting the main idea, just simply done fast.
Scanning is the act of quick reading which is used to look for specific information and that the
eyes need to move quickly to the page seeking for specific answers.

These reading skills are noted as life skills because they are not just applicable in written
texts/situations but in real life as well. It is in this context that as you teach, choose a reading
material that can be richly infused by these skills. It takes a skillful teacher to translate a reading
skill to reality through meaningful learning experiences.

2) Know your students. Your ample knowledge on the demographic profile of your students will give you
an idea on the kind of reading material to offer based on the set of competencies, learning activities, and
scaffolds (differentiated if possible) and its attainability within a given time frame.

3) Consider the following major stages as well as sample activities in the teaching methodology.

3.1. Pre-Reading. This is a lead-in stage that allows the readers to activate their prior knowledge
and create a schema based on the upcoming selection to be taken up. The following are the
sample suggested activities:

3.1.1. Critical Vocabulary. These are the unfamiliar words found in the selection/reading
material. To facilitate understanding of the material, unlock them operationally using any
of the following clues:

 Context Clues. These are cues that help the students understand the meaning of
unfamiliar words. They are used in meaningful situations as related to the text.
They come in the form of definition, explanation, synonym, antonyms, and
appositive.
 Picture Clues. Images representing unfamiliar words can be shown to give an
idea of what the word means.
 Configuration Clues. These are figures represented by short and long boxes that
correspond to the size of the letters in the given word.

3.1.2. Directed Reading Activity. It is a comprehension strategy that guides students in

asking questions about a text, making predictions, and then reading to confirm or refute
their predictions. The DRTA process encourages students to be active and thoughtful
readers, enhancing their comprehension. (Reading Rockets)

3.1.3. Anticipation Guide. It is a comprehension strategy that is used to activate

students' prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic. Before reading,
students listen to or read several statements about key concepts presented in the text;
they're often structured as a series of statements with which the students can choose to
agree or disagree. Anticipation guides stimulate students' interest in a topic and set a
purpose for reading. (Reading Rockets)

3.2. During Reading. These are the reading strategies and activities during the reading proper.

3.2.1. Page Encounter. After reading each page of the reading material, students in pairs
discuss/share an experience in pairs about the part of the material read, After, they
proceed reading and will do the same.
3.2.2 Reading Interface. This strategy can be done when students read the material
alternately in pairs or two big groups. Oral reading proficiency is given importance in this
activity. In the process, they can take turns in asking questions.

3.2.3. Visualizing Highlights. When the teacher/student reads the selection, the other
students illustrate the important events on paper.

REPORTER 5
3.3. Post Reading. This stage of reading activity is done after a story/ selection is read. Since
reading is basically comprehension, the following activities may help assess how much the
students understand the reading material.

3.3.1. Dimensional Questions. After reading and discussing the story and the realization
of its competencies, the teacher assesses how much the students have learned. It
follows the following dimensions: literal (recognition of facts); inferential (reasons why
events happen), critical evaluation (justifying opinions and forming judgment), and
integration (infusion of values called for by the story and its competencies).

3.3.2. Graphic Organizers. These are illustrations that the students can use to capture
their understanding of the story/competencies. Thereafter, they explain the graphic
organizer they have created.

4.) Creative Writing. This activity elicits the students' holistic understanding of the selection thru their
individual creative written activity. This may come in a form of scripts, short stories, commentaries, and
others. Top of Form

Lesson 3: The Assessment of Reading Performance

Assessment plays a critical role in teaching and learning. These are measures to ascertain how
and how much of the instructional delivery is carried out. Simply take note that assessment is basically
the alignment of the objectives/outcome to the activities being carried out. Well-thought-of learning
outcomes if not appraised within or after the teaching and learning engagement, become ineffective. In
teaching reading, there are assessment activities that are predominantly adopted towards the
attainment of comprehension skills.

On the Concept of Assessment

Assessment in reading instruction allows the students to check their own understanding and
monitor progress in the attainment of learning objectives and the development of reading
comprehension skills. Likewise, this prompts you, prospective teachers that every academic engagement
is within the realms of the intended learning outcomes. This is the reason why many consider this as a
critical part of teaching-learning because as teachers, you need to ensure that the assessment
measures/activities capture what you intend them to demonstrate within a time frame. More valuable
ideas/concepts, as well as purposes, are herein shared by renowned authorities and from research
findings.

Allen (2004) claims that assessment involves the use of empirical data om student learning to
refine programs and improve student learning. Moreover, Huba and Fred (2000) said that assessment is
the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources to develop a deep
understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their
educational experiences. The process culminates when assessment results are used to improve
subsequent learning.

REPORTER 6
Erwin (1991) expressed that assessment is the systematic basis for making inferences about the
learning and development of students. It is the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting,
analyzing, interpreting, and using the information to increase students' learning and development.
Palomba and Banta (1999) posit that assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of
information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and
development. Top of Form

On Purposes of Assessment in Reading

Assessments are essential tools teachers of reading teachers as they navigate reading
instruction. While overarching content and competencies can be taught to a group of children at the
same time, you need to look into the varying needs of students so that they can be appropriately
addressed. One basic purpose of assessment in reading whether formal or informal is primarily to
ascertain if the objectives/outcomes set for the day's lesson are successfully carried out. Moreover, it
serves to diagnose their strengths and weaknesses especially in the development as well as the
enrichment of the reading comprehension skills. The following authorities as well as from research
findings share their ideas as well on the purposes of assessment.

According to Ghaicha, (2016) Assessment results, along with other measurement data (such as
those obtained through periodic surveys), are valuable tools for educational institutions. They assist in
evaluating the effectiveness of institutional practices by tracking the functioning of different components
of the assessment system.

Bachman (2004) stressed that assessment is the process by which a quantified value, usually
numerical, is assigned to the attributes or dimensions related to students' performance while measuring
ability or aptitude in such a way that the student's quality of performance is preserved.

Gallagher (1998) says that measurement/assessment is the process of quantifying the degree to
which someone or something possesses a characteristic, quality, or feature. It can be done by counting
how many correct responses a student gives in relation to the total, or by assigning a percentage, or
assigning a student a numerical score.

Marion, R. (2007) noted that assessment creates dynamic purposes in instruction. According to
him, assessment drives instruction in the sense that it informs instructors what students know and do
not know at the outset as set in the direction of a course, Assessment drives learning. This means that
assessment determines what and how students learn depending on how they think they will be
assessed. He further expressed that assessment informs students of their progress as this provides the
students feedback so they become aware of their strengths and challenges with respect to course
learning outcomes. Apart from this, according to him, assessment informs teaching. It is explained that
student accomplishments offer instructors insights on the effectiveness of their teaching strategies.

The aforementioned denotes that students' performance is then a manifestation of their degree
of attainment of the desired learning outcomes given at the onset of the lesson. Once students are made
aware on the value and purposes of assessing their comprehension skills, especially on the attainment of
critical, creative thinking skills as well as emotional management, they too, become conscious of how
well they can manage their own learning. In the teaching of reading, this is likewise a good avenue for
you to reflect on your knowledge, skills, and attitude in teaching the said subject whether to improve or
enhance teaching practices. Through the rigorous analysis of instruction, you can clearly look into the
challenges and opportunities to support students' learning in a much more relevant and meaningful way.

REPORTER 7
On Types of Reading Assessment

As prospective teachers, it is of great value that apart from understanding the concepts and
purposes of assessment in reading, you need to be further exposed on the types of reading assessment
as well. Herewith are some samples:

In TeachThought, it is noted that the six types of assessment help measure the understanding of
whatever is the material at hand. These are: Diagnostic as pre-Assessment whereby students strengths,
weaknesses, knowledge, and skills are being assessed. Next is formative assessment where students'
performance is monitored and checked during instruction, and usually occurs regularly throughout the
instruction process. Another type of assessment is the summative assessment. This measures students'
achievement at the end of instruction. The norm- referenced assessment is the comparison of students’
performance against other students in a much larger group. The criterion-referenced assessment
measures a student's performance against a goal, specific objective, or standard. Lastly, according to
TeachThought, interim or benchmark assessment is done to evaluate a student's performance at
periodic intervals, frequently at the end of a grading period. A benchmark assessment is a type of
interim assessment so it could be useful for communicating important facts and data to stakeholders for
future actions.

In the teaching of reading, the primary focus of assessment is on the development of the reading
skills that eventually guide the students to become critical and creative thinkers. Word recognition for
early graders and critical vocabulary development for the advanced graders are given importance as well
as these obviously lead to the understanding of the written texts. Once these assumptions are well-
placed, teaching and learning activities in reading become purposeful and effective.

Another type of reading assessment is the Informal Reading Inventory (IRI). This is an
assessment tool that serves to diagnose, develop and remediate phonological knowledge, vocabulary as
well as reading skills that need to be further developed/reinforced by the students. It contains graduated
activities by which students from the different grade levels can achieve according to the level of
difficulty. According to Scott, (2021) IRI is a primary assessment tool for teachers to create lesson plans
for individual students in order to evaluate language usage and determine what students have not been
exposed to in the classroom at the beginning of the school year.

Obviously, these reading assessment tools are highly essential in ensuring that the activities
provided are primarily geared towards the attainment of the reading skills as these students are guided
that these skills are not only for academic purposes but for the actualization of real-life experiences.

In addition to the aforementioned, the following reading assessment activities are herein offered:

A. Phonological Awareness. It is a basic reading skill that focuses on the understanding that
spoken words comprise the individual sounds of the spoken language. This means to say that if
sounds of individual letters are appropriately and correctly produced, ideas become
comprehensible. If this is consciously practiced, there is an ease of utterances. In the English
language on which reading instruction is anchored, clear production of sounds, clarity of the
voice, and correct mouth formation are the requisites to the comprehensibility of spoken words.

Phonemic awareness performance (Put Reading First, 1998). is a strong predictor of

long-term reading and spelling success. Blachman (2000) added that students with strong
phonological awareness are likely to become good readers, but students with weak phonological
skills will likely become poor readers. It is estimated that the vast majority-more than 90 percent
of students with significant reading problems have a core deficit in their ability to process
phonological information (Blachman, 1995). Gillon (2004) posited that phonemic awareness
performance can predict literacy performance more accurately than variables such as
intelligence, vocabulary knowledge, and socioeconomic status.

Having identified the value of phonemic awareness towards reading performance, it is

therefore your strategy that matters to have this carried out in class activities.

REPORTER 8
The following are some practical activities that help develop and reinforce phonemic awareness
and are herein suggested:

1. Exercising the Vocal Cords. You guide the students to open their mouth: inhale, exhale, and
thrust a vibrating sound out coming from the diaphragm. This can be done in 3-5 minutes
2. Letter Word Recognition and Articulation. You draw a paper with an identified letter on it.
As you present the drawn letter to the students, you call them at random and let them name
anything that starts with the letter presented. As the student says the word, you pay
particular attention to the proper articulation of the word. Then the activity continues for 5
minutes.
3. Name Identification. You call on any student to approach a classmate whom he/she
considers exciting to know about. The student utters the name of his/her classmate with
correct articulation and shares what he/ she is excited about him/her.
4. Spoken Expressions. You provide the students with varied activities that consciously focus
on the correct production of sounds of letters and words. Examples of these are individual
and team presentations of song rendition, role play, dialogue, and others.
5. Building Acronym. Students use their family names or most cherished virtue as an acronym.
Then they read their output with well-articulated word utterances.
6. Vocabulary Development. This refers to the words that people know and appropriately use
in certain conditions. This is a process of acquiring words. The choice of words matters a lot
in the way ideas are expressed. It builds or destroys meaning as well as relationships. This,
therefore, necessitates a well-thought-of choice of words.

Seeing the value of vocabulary development to reading, a basic requisite towards its
acquisition is to read every day. Rich exposure to written materials is a keystone to curb
vocabulary deficiencies.

Here are some activities on vocabulary development that can be employed in a reading
class:

 Word Rally. A big idea is presented on the board/screen. The students are called to
write/type other words similar to the one presented. This can be done in 2-3 minutes.
After, any student is identified to use any of the words in meaningful contexts.
 Emoji Interpretation. A newspaper caricature or an emoji is presented and students
describe it by choosing the appropriate word. You provide a number of terms to serve as
a basis for the student's choice. After the identification of the right term, any student
can use it in meaningful contexts.
 Story Development. You present a topic like globalization, collaboration, environmental
issues, etc. Students write terms to describe any of the topics given. Use the terms in
forming into a short story, an ad, a commentary, etc.
 Word Hunt. Any student presents the assigned latest issue of the country local
community. Other students guess what the highlight of the issue is and, in a race, they
find an appropriate term from the thesaurus to describe it. The first one to offer the
most appropriate term is considered a winner.
 Story Transformation. Undeniably children's books contain simple words that fit in to
the ability of the children to understand. Here, the students are instructed to transform
the children's story that may be appropriate for adult reading using the same plot.
Obviously, terms here vary between children's and adults' understanding

REPORTER 9
B. Comprehension

Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. To be able to accurately

understand written material, children need to be able to (1) decode what they read; (2) make
connections between what they read and what they already know; and (3) think deeply about what they
have read. (Reading Rockets)

According to Tierney (1982) comprehension or extracting meaning from what you read is the
ultimate goal of reading. The process of comprehension is both interactive and strategic. Rather than
passively reading text, readers must analyze it, internalize it and make it their own. To read with
comprehension, developing readers must be able to read with some proficiency and then receive explicit
instruction in reading comprehension strategies.

This being the ultimate aim of reading, comprehension skills need to be deep-seated in the
academic experiences of the students.
Here are some reading assessment activities that can help reinforce the students' reading
comprehension skills:

1. Caricature Analysis. The students interpret the meaning of the caricature while relating its
essence to their own experiences.

2. Interpreting Graphs. Look for any relevant data presented in graphs. Then interpret
objectively the facts and provide proactive measures for a way forward.

3. Problem-Solution Rote. In a pair, the first student poses a problem; the other one offers a
relevant solution. After, this is done in vice-versa. They may present this to the class if time
permits.

4. Symbol Translation. You present the flags of the different countries in the world. Students are
given the freedom to choose the flag that attracts them or that signifies meaning to them. They
are called individually to explain or give interpretation to the symbols of the chosen flag. To
check the veracity of the interpretation, students are instructed to refer to the official source of
information.

5. News Item Analysis. Students read news articles from different sources: print or non-print.
They pick one issue that interests them and they identify the cause (what might have caused the
issue) and the effect (probable result)

REPORTER 10
C. Fluency. This is a reading skill that gives credence to the smooth transition of words thus creating a
comprehensible idea. With this in mind, practice in oral communication is very essential.

Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. To
understand what they read, children must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud or
silently. When reading aloud, fluent readers read in phrases and add intonation appropriately. Their
reading is smooth and has expression. (Reading Rockets)

Nieporent (2012) noted that reading fluency is the ability to read accurately, smoothly, and with
expression. Fluency is important because it bridges word recognition and comprehension. It allows
students time to focus on what the text is saying. They can make connections between what they are
reading and their own background knowledge.

From the Big Ideas in Beginning Reading, fluency (automaticity) is reading words with no
noticeable cognitive or mental effort. It is having mastered word recognition skills to the point of
overlearning. Fundamental skills are so "automatic" that they do not require conscious attention.

The following are suggested activities that can help develop or reinforce students' fluency skills.

1. The Last Word is Mine, The students are grouped into 4. Then you present a pressing issue or
a title of a story to each group alternately. In a span of 10 seconds, each student in the group
says something about the topic/story. After 10 seconds the student stops. His/her last word
becomes the first word of the next student/speaker. This process continues until the last student
of the group is able to say something and close the topic/story.

2. Free Talk. Given a photo/image of their interest, the students are tasked to say something
about it without obstruction. You may note the students' correctness and miscues along the way.

3. Compensatory Strategies. These are mechanisms that aid students in making their oral
communication comprehensible without distracting meaning. These are cues that are
consciously employed but not very noticeable to the receiver. The use of common expressions
like actually; let me see, ahm; okay, etc; and certain gestures convey a message that the speaker
is still looking for the right terms. If done unnoticeably this is fine. Much better still if the
students/speakers are provided with rich opportunities to communicate orally to attain
smoothness of delivery of ideas.

4. Mini-Debate. The class is divided into 2 groups. A debatable proposition is presented. You
assign group 1 to present the affirmative side of the topic and group 2 to present the negative
side. With facts on hand, the rebuttal starts. You give close attention to the oral communication
skills delivered by the students.

5. Phone/Messenger Conversation. A scenario is provided to both parties: the caller and the
receiver. The caller starts with his/her concern and this shall be replied to appropriately by the
receiver. The conversation is observed by the teacher and the rest of the students and they give
comments after.