Pre-Reading Activities for Middle School Students - Research Paper Example

 Pre-Reading Activities for Middle School Students ABSTRACT These are activities that will help students enjoy reading; read for information; develop their comprehension skills; and develop their writing skills. The objective of this pre-reading activity, is to help students o develop their comprehension skills: to process information and to express themselves through writing. Using the passage “The Montgomery Boycott,” students will do the following worksheet. This exercise should take twenty minutes. Teacher will explain to students what each section of the activity means, and do an example of each with students. QAR WOOKSHEET Right Here (answer is in the text) 1. In 1955, in Montgomery, were blacks allow to sit in the front of the buses? 2. Who was Claudette Colvin? 3. What is the name of the church where the first boycott meeting was held? Author and you (answer not in the story) 1. When did Coretta Scott King Scott died? 2. How old was she when she died? 3. How many children did the King’s have? Name them. Think and search (put it together) 1. Give the day, date, month and year of the Montgomery boycott. 2. On the night after the first day of the boycott, what is the title of the song the people song? 3. Was the boycott a success? On my own (don’t even need to read the story to find the answer) 1. Who was Coretta King Scott? 2. Who was Rosa Parks? 3. How did Dr. Martin Luther King died PRE-READING ACTIVITIES TWO 4 According to Dahloan Hembree, “QAR” is a reading strategy that requires the students’ background knowledge, and information in the text that is being read. This strategy has four types of questions: right there; think and search; author and you; and on your own. Teacher will explain activity to students. A “QAR” worksheet means, question answer and relationship. The first set of questions, right here, is found in text where the word or phrase occurs; think and search answers are in the text, however, they will have to search for the answers; about the author, the reader answers question about the author from his background knowledge; and on your own, the reader does not need to read the text to find the answers. Tthis second activity is a writing exercise, the objective is to develop student’s imagination; and to increase their ability to use action verbs and descriptive words in a germane manner. Students will be given thirty minutes to write about the “Montgomery Boycott” as if they were a reporter and witnessed the incident. They will given one sentence by teacher to use anywhere in their report. Students will use the following words and phrases in their account, however, they are not required to use every word or phrase. Write as if you were a reporter, reporting the “Montgomery Boycott.” Include the following words and phrases in your report. These words can be used in any form (pasts, present, singular, or plural etc.), and you are not required to use every word or phrase, nonetheless, use as many as you can. Use the following sentence anywhere in your report. “The early dawn broke to the sound of bleating footsteps and buzzing voices.” dash grab drag jump shout scream trot jubilant determine run PRE-READING ACTIVITIES TWO 5 exhaust swarm joyful delirious bitterly cold razor sharp wind the odyssey for justice sea of people birth of a new era fight for justice sweet revenge rainbow of colors eye of the storm The objective for this third activity, is to help students to recognize topic sentence, and to use it predict outcome. This exercise will take fifteen minutes. Using the same passage “Montgomery Boycott” Teacher will give students a work sheet divided with two columns, topic sentence on one side and suggested prediction on the other side. Students will be asked to circle the sentence that they think best answer what the paragraph is about to discuss. On the worksheet, choose the best answer that will predicts how the paragraph will develop. Of all the facets of segregation in Montgomery, the most degrading were the rules of the Montgomery City Bus Lines. 1. The paragraph will explain the high cost of bus fares. 2. The paragraph will discuss how few whites ride on the bus 3. The paragraph will discuss how badly blacks are treated by the bus lines. The fuel that made that slow-burning fire blaze up was an almost routine incident. 1. The paragraph will discuss how the “Montgomery Boycott” was initiated. 2. The paragraph will discuss a fire in Montgomery. 3. The paragraph will discuss a slow leaking gas line. PRE-READING ACTIVITIES 6 How could he make his speech militant enough to rouse people to action and yet devoid of hate and resentment. 1. The paragraph will discuss a college professor’s speech. 2. The paragraph will discuss a peaceful march. 3. The paragraph will discuss a speech that encouraged action and peace. Mr. Nixon was a fiery Alabamian. 1. The paragraph will discuss who is Mr. Nixon 2, The paragraph will discuss Mr. Nixon setting fire to buildings. 3. The paragraph will discuss Mr. Nixon’s unpleasant disposition. Our greatest concern was how we were going to reach the fifty thousand black people of Montgomery 1. The paragraph will discuss how to get telephone in the homes of blacks in Montgomery. 2. The paragraph will discuss the how fifty thousand blacks were reached. 3. The paragraph explain how blacks communicate in the 50s. Melaine Simpson, states that: “Pre-reading activity should be an essential practice in every English classroom. According to Smith and Ragan, ...Pre-reading strategies are effective because, ‘in order for information to be meaningful, it must be integrated with related prior knowledge.’” There was a time, (students might say in the dark ages) when the only past-time for young people was either to go outside and play a game that requires physical activity, or read. In this PRE-READING ACTIVITY TWO 7 age of advanced technology, students are bombarded with so many different types of entertainment, so much so, they are unable to choose. Unfortunately, reading is not usually one of these entertainment. Therefore, the onus is left to teachers to inspire and make reading enjoyable for students. PRE-READING ACTIVITIES 8 Reference Hembree, Dahloan. (2008, June). QAR Specific Reading Strategy: How to Use it in the Classroom. Retrieved from www.assiciatedcontent.com/article/128040/qar_reading_strategy_how_to.html?cat=4 Scott King, Coretta. (2003). MONTGOMERY BOYCOTT. THE LANGUAGE OF Literature. Evanston, Illinois. 124-132. Simpson, Melaine. (2010, May). Pre-reading Strategy for the English Classroom. Retrieved from www.suite101.com/content/pre-reading-for-the-english-classroom-a241483 Read More