This is presentation was given at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí's 2013 ELT conference on a new series from Compass Publishing called Reading the World Now. The presenter at the event was Rebecca Elliott, we'd like to acknowledge her kind support and guidance in the development of this presentation. Lots of great reading comprehension extension activities herein! We welcome your feedback on facebook.com/compasspublishing, on twitter @CompassELT, on our hompeage www.compasspub.com, or through email info@compasspub.com. Thanks for the views!!!

2. Today’s Topics
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How do we teach reading comprehension ?
What is reading comprehension?
What are the steps to reading comprehension?
What do good readers do?
And…. We will take a look at Reading the World Now

3. How Do We Teach Reading Comprehension?
Before …
- Assume the after a student can decode, comprehension needs to be
tested
- Comprehension improves through the teaching of specific comprehension
skills
Now …
- Students must be taught how to flexibly apply many strategies to truly
understand the text.

4. Really, What Is Reading Comprehension?
Language
Knowledge
Reading
Comprehension
Metacognition
Fluency

5. How Do Students Develop Reading Skills?
Independent
Modeling
ProcessOriented
Guided
Practice

6. What Do Good Readers Do?
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Use background knowledge to make predictions.
Identify key areas in the text that they are reading.
Be aware of, and familiar with, text structures.
Monitor their own comprehension and adjust their reading
strategies if needed.
• Use a variety of reading strategies effectively.
• Paraphrase, explain, and summarize information.
• Come to their own conclusions.

7. What Are the Steps to Reading Effectively?
Activate Prior
Knowledge and
Vocabulary
Check Reading
Comprehension
Use Reading
Skills
Extension
Activities
Check
Vocabulary
Comprehension

8. Activating Prior Knowledge
Activating prior knowledge is ESSENTIAL for second language learners.
• Describe a picture (using specific language structures or vocabulary).
• Give students 1 minute to brainstorm all the words they can think of
related to a unit title.
ARE YOU A LONER OR A PEOPLE PERSON?
• Discuss pre-reading questions (from the book or have students
generate their own ideas).
CAMERAS CLICKING THROUGH THE AGES
• Have students work in groups to predict what they think they will be
reading about (general or specific).
• For advanced learners, assign a pre-reading research assignment.

9. Activating Vocabulary
Students need to know 90%-95% of the words in a text to be
able to understand what they are reading.
• Think about the unit topic.
• Look at the layout (design and text) for clues about the
reading.
• Put words in categories (everyday words, academic
words, new words, etc.).
• Make logical guesses about the meaning of any unknown
words.

10. Pre-Reading and Vocabulary
Pre-Reading Questions:
 Activates student schema related to
topic and content
 Perfect warm-up questions for small
groups
Vocabulary Preview:
 List of target vocabulary
 Basic recognition check/ definition
matching
www.compasspub.com/RWN

11. Reading Skills
Now we are ready to read!
How can we get our students to read for meaning?
• Skimming - Reading for getting a general understanding of
something (Newspaper)
• Scanning – Reading to get a specific piece of information
(Conference Schedule)
• Intensive Reading – Reading shorter texts for very accurate details
(Reading Comprehension Book)
• Extensive Reading – Reading for pleasure, usually longer texts
(Graded Readers)

12. Reading
Reading:
 An original passage containing the target words in context
 Side notes with key information for added comprehension & learning
www.compasspub.com/RWN

13. Reading Comprehension Activities
How do you approach reading comprehension in your
classroom?
• Summarize students’ understanding of materials.
• Ensure knowledge (main idea, details, facts vs.
ideas, inference, author’s purpose).
• Assess students’ understanding of a text through summarizing
and note-taking activities.
• Give students the opportunity to think about and process
what they have read.
• Let students express ideas using their own words.

14. Reading Comprehension
Activities
Reading Comprehension:
 Comprehension questions
including
true/false/inference, main
idea, fact/detail, purpose, summar
izing/note-taking
 Supports the understanding of the
passages
www.compasspub.com/RWN

15. Why Is Vocabulary Important?
• Reading comprehension depends on the meaning students
give to words.
• The more words students know, the more they can read and
understand.
• In order to be able to remember new words, students must
practice and apply.
How many times do we need to see and practice new vocabulary
and language structures to be able to remember them?
On average, 15 times!

16. Vocabulary Review
Vocabulary Review:
 Reinforcement of target vocabulary
through focus on context &
practice/usage activities
 Further practice of the key words
www.compasspub.com/RWN

17. Free Supplement from the
smart learning experts at
Compass Media!
Use our application to
take a quiz available
for each chapter
Vocab
screenshot
Compete with friends
and students around
the world to get the
highest score!
Vocabulary review
activities help to
reinforce the key
terms
www.compasspub.com/RWN

18. Why Are Follow-Up Activities Important?
• They integrate the skills learned throughout the unit through a
variety of activities.
• They reinforce vocabulary and grammar in context.
• They allow students to reflect on what they have learned.
• They allow students to apply other strategies to reflect on
what they have learned.

19. Language and Discussion
Language Focus and Meaning:
 Extension activities focused on
variations in target vocabulary
word forms, grammar practice
Discussion Topics:
 Discussion questions for wrap-up
and review
www.compasspub.com/RWN

20. Features:
 Three book advanced reading comprehension series
 Each book contains 12 Chapters and 24 Units
 6 pages per unit
 Thematically organized paired readings covering a broad range of fields of
students’ interest
 Comprehension activities focused on recalling facts and details from passage
along with making inferences of implied information and writers’ purposes
 Vocabulary development activities specifically targeting mid-frequency and
academic words
 Language reinforcement and extension activities developed around word-form and
grammar-based practice
 Audio recordings of reading passages included on MP3 CD
 A free App is available for each book for review, quizzes, and fun!
www.compasspub.com/RWN

21. Reading Comprehension
It is important to:
• Preview the topic and vocabulary.
• Read in different ways to achieve different goals.
• Use a variety of reading comprehension activities.
• Review the vocabulary within context.
• Give extension opportunities.
WHAT IS ONE NEW THING YOU WILL TRY IN
YOUR READING CLASSES?

22. Thank you!
www.facebook.com/compasspublishing
@CompassELT
www.compasspub.com/RWN