Using Pre-Reading Activities to Help Students to Get the Most Out of a Story

Welcomes to RELO Andes Webinars

Rob O’Leary
roboleary@hotmail.com

The Problem – Students
Unprepared to Read a New Text
• Thinking back to your school days, how many of
you read a story/poem in class (not necessarily
English) and did not understand what it was
about?
• What are some of the reasons why you did not
connect with the story/poem?

WutheringHeights
Summer Reading
1987, Notre Dame
High School, Utica,
New York.
- No reason given
for reading this
story.
- Very little
background on
author or time
period.
- No new vocabulary
taught.
- Nothing to gain
the interest of the
students.

HeightofBoredom
- Many students
were disengaged.
- Learned but did
not gain
perspective on
why the story or
author was so
important.
- Learned how to
write essays but
teacher did not
reach out to other
learning styles.
- Don’t remember
learning
significant new
vocabulary.

Poll Question:
• How many of you use pre-reading activities in
your classrooms on a consistent basis?
•- Always (100%)
•- Often (over 75% of the time)
•- Sometimes (50% or less)
•- What are pre-reading activities?

Pre-Reading Activities – The Whys
• One way to get more students involved in the
text is to use pre-reading activities.
• Some of the benefits are:
 Giving background knowledge (book, author,
etc.)
 Teaching difficult vocabulary
 Activating prior knowledge
 Supplying interesting details that make
students want to read
 Additional Ideas?

Solutions–Activity #1 Speed Dating
• Place students in two even lines facing each
other.
• Ask a question – Ex. Who has a baby brother or
sister in his/her family? Each student talks to
her/his partner. After one minute, Stop!
•Ask partners to share answers with the class.
•Next, one line moves down one place while the
other line stays in place. Everyone will have a
new partner.
•Ask a new question and repeat.
•Make sure questions are connected to the
lesson!

• How could you use this in your classroom?
• Let’s take an answer or two.

Party Time!
•Tea Party •Cocktail Party

Solutions–Activity #2 – Tea Party
• Question – What do people do at a party?
• Tea Party – students mingle and discuss the
upcoming story.
 After getting in groups, each student gets a
unique sentence from story.
 For three minutes students read their
sentences to as many other students as possible.
 Time called. Students sit in original groups
and tell at least one new sentence they heard.
Groups then must write a paragraph
incorporating at least four sentences and try to
figure out what story is about.

Solutions–Activity #2 – Tea Party
• Reflection: What benefits do students get from
this exercise?
• Do you feel this would work in your classroom?
Why?

Anticipating
•What will happen next...?

Solutions–Activity #3 – Anticipatory
Guide
• Anticipatory Guide is a series of statements that
relate to the story.
• In the ‘Before Reading’ box, students mark whether
they ‘Agree’ or ‘Disagree’.
• Compare answers with a partner.
• Full class – who ‘agrees’, who ‘disagrees’ and why.
Can be used for a debate.
• Students get into groups of four and use sentences
to determine what the story is about.
• After reading story, students go to the ‘After
Reading’ box and once again ‘Agree or Disagree’
•Did their opinions change after reading? Why?

What is a Novel or Something
Novel?

Solutions– Activity #4 – Novel Ideas Only
• Students are in groups of four or five.
• Write the name of the new story on the board.- On
The Road
• As a group, students must generate ideas about the
plot of the story.
• Three minutes. Each student writes a sentence.
• After time is called, count how many ideas for each
group.
• One group reads ideas. Other groups listen.
• Other groups will read their answers BUT can only
read new ideas. No repeating answers!
• If a group repeats an answer the class yells out,
“Novel Ideas Only!”

Solutions– Activity #4 – Novel Ideas Only
•Example:
•We think the story On the Road is about…:
•A man and his dog as they travel across Peru on
a motorcycle.
•A family taking a vacation to Disneyland and all
of the strange things they see.
•A woman who helps build roads through
mountains so medicine can be delivered to a
remote village.

Questions For the Participants
• In which grade levels can these activities be used?
Why?
• Do you regularly use pre-reading activities in your
class? Why or why not?
•What are some pre-reading activities you have done
in class?
• Can these techniques be used in something other
than a language class? (Science, History, etc.)

Questions From the Participants
• What questions do you have about these
techniques?
• What other questions can I answer today?

Final Poll
• How many of you will go back to your classroom
and try:
1. One of these strategies.
2. Two of these strategies.
3. Three of these strategies.
4. All of these strategies.

Thanks for joining us!
Check us out next month
▫ Presenter: Lisa Wakefield
▫ Location: Lima, Peru
▫ Topic: Interactive Vocabulary Strategies
▫ Date: November 15, 2017 (Pending)
▫ Time: 1500-1600

Using Pre-Reading Activities to Help Students to Get the Most Out of a Story

Using Pre-Reading Activities to Help Students to Get the Most Out of a Story

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Using Pre-Reading Activities to Help Students to Get the Most Out of a Story