Importance of Preparing before Reading - Assignment Example

b. Unpacking of text into commonsense language Stage 1 - Preparing before Reading According to Rose (2007), this stage is very important to the students before reading the text because it can offer them an idea about the content to ensure adequate experienced knowledge to acquire the text. The first stage of this process will entail comprehensive preparation of the students prior to the reading. This according to Rose (2007, p. 14) plays an integral niche in orienting the students to the genre as well as the field of the text. In addition, Pang et. al (2002, p. 13) determined that this plays an integral role in helping the students have increased prior knowledge which is vital in facilitating comprehension in the detailed reading stage analyzed in the subsequent discourse. The importance of this process is also underpinned by Jia (2004, p. 98). In the course of explaining the text on stress challenges confronting these students, the teacher will provide each student with the copy of the text, where one of them will read it aloud to the others. This will enable all of them to have a rough idea of what it entails and what is expected of them in the detailed reading stage. This will ensure that the students are not only well versed with the text but also prepared for the next stage. Stage 2 - Detailed Reading This is an elaborative stage where the teacher will communicate the sentences in the text in the most rudimentary language which is understandable to students. This is because this text has medical jargons as previously mentioned which might be problematic to understand by the students. This will be fortified by the use of diagrams to explain the medical background behind the cause and effect of stress in human beings. This is particularly important in facilitating comprehension, a fact which is supported by Mowshowitz (2009, p. 2) who determined that diagrams are fundamental in to the students in the sense that they convey robust correlations which are virtually impossible to put into words. This will be accompanied by elaboration of difficult terms. This will be supported by position cue where the teacher will point to the students where they can get the necessary information, followed by the meaning cue whereby the meaning of this information is provided in a simplistic language. The interaction moves of ‘focus’, ‘prepare’, ‘identify’, ‘propose’, ‘affirm’, ‘reject’ and ‘elaborate’ will be utilized in this stage. This is whereby the focus will be outlined and the students will be prepared to identify the various variables in this text. Eventually, the students will be asked to propose some information based on their prior experience and the teacher will affirm the precise responses, and mildly reject the unsuitable ones. 4. Tying the Theoretical to the Practical At a very basic level, this approach is informed by the inference by Rose and Martin (2007, p. 2) who determined that while reading an academic text, it is paramount to be cognizant its genre, its field, tenor as well as its mode. This is founded on the fact that each particular genre is bound to be received in a particular mode and still, ought to receive a specific status which includes even the discussions which are entrenched with an author function (Bawarshi, 2000, p. 338). After the genre has been demarcated, then the students will proceed to identify the cause and effect relationships in this text. It is worth noting that Padua (2011, p. 6) determined that through understanding the cause and effect relationship if variables in a certain phenomenon, the students are endowed with the capacity of understanding the author’s organization of thoughts and this is instrumental in placing the students in a favorable niche to better comprehend the text in discussion. In addition, this fosters a more comprehensive knowledge of the text structure, for instance, a combination of variable A and B culminates into result C. This is imperative in enabling the students to have more profound anticipations and be endowed with greater flexibility in their thinking in regard to the intentions of the author (Padua, 2011, p. 6). It is also imperative to be cognizant of the fact that when students are confronted by an increased number of text, there are usually enormous complications in the course of finding the cause and effect relationships in the text. This amplifies the importance of visual representations in this process; charts. The importance of visual representations in the course of identifying the cause and effects in a certain text has been cited in diverse literature, which includes but not limited to Duke & Pearson (2002), Dymock& Nicholson (2007), PREL, (2008) and Williams, et al., (2005) among others. Thus, the charts used in the various activities as expounded in the preceding section will be help the students in having a sought of a conceptual framework in regard to the interrelation of the variables, for instance, enormous stress (cause) results to diseases like depression (effect). This is imperative in comprehension of the entire text which will be imperative in latter processes like paraphrasing. The approach of scaffolding has also been underpinned in the above activities. According to Rose et. al (2003, p. 42), scaffolding can be perceived to refer to the help that the teacher can provide to the students aimed at incapacitating them to work in a more elevated level that that which is possible when they work on their own. This term was first used to describe the process of learning at the family level by Ninio and Bruner (1978) in their work, The achievement and antecedents of labeling. The importance of scaffolding as embedded in the above activity is supported by Rose et. al (2003, p. 42) who determined that this helps in enabling the learners to attain elevated success while they undertake complex skills which are practically new to them and as their competence heighten, there is gradual withdrawal of scaffolding aimed at nurturing independence among these students. Thus, tying scaffolding as a central part in these activities, more specifically in activity 2 will play a major role in not only increasing the comprehension of the students but also in helping the weaker students to achieve more enhanced independence while undertaking the tasks at hand and bring them to the same level with the more conversant students. This will be fundamental in facilitating a similar pace among all the students in this process. Nonetheless, it is imperative to be cognizant of the fact that scaffolding interventions will only be considered when it is absolutely necessary, for instance, when a weaker student needs some assistance, but in case this situation does not arise, the students will be given the opportunity to independently do the work. This is imperative in forming a student-centered class where at different times, the students are encouraged to work alone, in pairs or in groups with the teacher playing a minimal role of a facilitator (Jones, 2007, p. 2). This approach is also important based on the fact that it allows increased discussions among the students, fosters the level of socialization, helps the students to more confidently share their experiences as well as helping each other out which is important in improving their reading and writing capacities, mastering of knowledge and skills as well as comprehending the entire learning process (Marks, 2000, p. 155). The final stage in activity 3 as previously mentioned entails joint rewriting where the students will complete writing the whole segment on the board. This is an important step in their journey towards improved reading and writing of the language, paraphrasing it so that it conveys the novel meaning despite the alteration of the wording. At this stage, the input of the teacher is required. This latter fact is supported by Rose and Martin (2007, p. 15) who determined that while the students are engaged in the wording selection and proceed to scribe the re-written sentences on the board, the teacher ought to be proactive in elaborating the different language issues at different levels, for instance, in terms of grammar (like the tenses) or graphology (paragraphing, punctuation, letter formation and cases) among other areas so that the students can engage in more profound practice while putting this context into utility. Thus, this latter task in activity 3 will narrow down the concentration of the students to the patterns in these words which will be fundamental in enhancing their individual writing skills once they are outside the group set-up. This will be imperative in promoting their level of autonomy in reading and writing, motivate them towards more profound analysis as well as greatly impact on their academic lives in the learning institutions which will mark an enormous success of this approach which is focused at enhancing the reading and learning capacity of these students. Conclusion From the preceding discourse, it is apparent that students undertaking English as a second language often encounter massive challenges in their academic lives, mostly in institutions where this is the primary language. The process detailed in the preceding sections is aimed at enhancing the competence of these students in their reading and writing undertakings. The above assignment has been instrumental in helping me acquire robust knowledge in regard to how the students can be empowered to individually undertake activities which will enhance their English reading and writing skills which will eventually translate into their academic lives in their diverse learning institutions. References Bawarshi, A., 2000, ‘The Genre Function’, College English, Vol. 62, No. 3, pp. 335-360. Dymock, S. & Nicholson, T., 2007, Teaching text structures: A key to nonfiction reading success, Scholastic Teaching Resources, New York, NY. Duke, N. & Pearson, P. D. 2002, ‘Effective practices for developing reading comprehension’, in A. E. Fastrup& S. J. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to sayabout reading instruction (3rd ed.), International Reading Association, Newark, DE, pp. 205-242. Jia, Y., 2004, English as a second language teachers’ perceptions anduse of classroom-based reading assessment, PhD Dissertation, Texas A&M University. Jones, L. 2007, The Student-Centered Classroom, Cambridge University Press, New York. Marks, H.M., 2000, ‘Student Engagement in Instructional Activity: Patterns in the Elementary, Middle, and HighSchool Years’, American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 153-184 Mowshowitz, D., 2009, ‘Teaching Scientific Concepts & Problem Solving’, retrieved 5th November, 2012 . Ninio, A., &Bruner, J.1978, ‘The achievement and antecedents of labeling’, Journal of Child Language, Vol. 5, pp. 1-15. Padua, J.F., 2011, ‘Text Structure: Cause and Effect’, retrieved 5th November, 2012 < http://www.prel.org/media/176015/ce_eis.pdf>. Pang, S.E. et al. 2002, ‘Teaching Reading’, retrieved 5th November, 2012 < http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/archive/publications/EducationalPracticesSeriesPdf/prac12e.pdf>. Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, 2008, Pacific CHILD teachers’ manual, HI, Honolulu. Rose, D., et. al., 2003, ‘Scaffolding academic reading and writing at the Koori Centre’, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, Vol. 23, pp. 41-49. Rose, D. 2007, ‘Reading to Learn; Preparing for Reading and Writing’ retrieved 5th November, 2012 . Rose, D. & Martin, J. R., 2007, ‘Interacting with Text: the role of dialogue in learning to read and write’, Foreign Studies Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1-20. Williams, J., Nubla-Kung, A., Pollini, S., Stafford, K.B., Garcia, A., & Snyder, A., 2005, ‘Teaching cause-effect text structure through social studies content to at-risk second graders’, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 111-120. Read More