The English Hour: Training Module

in n i Tra

e l u d o gM

Ministry of Education Malaysia Pusat Perkembangan Kurikulum 2002

The English Hour

Training Module  “Why are you doing the English Hour?”  “Know Your Pupils”  “Know Your Books”  “Know How to Teach Your Books”

Tahap 1 English Hour

e l u d o gM

in n i Tra

Ministry of Education Malaysia Pusat Perkembangan Kurikulum January – May 2002

The English Hour

Training Module “Why are you doing the English Hour?”

Tahap 1 English Hour

The English Hour

Reading as Backbone of The English Hour The National English Hour has as its base a reading programme based on an established reading scheme. The MOE uses 2 schemes: - The Ladybird Series - The Sound Start Series The aim of the National English Hour is to bring up attainment levels in English, beginning with Tahap 1.

Tahap 1 English Hour

The English Hour

Section 1 AIMS OF THE ENGLISH HOUR

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The English Hour

The Malaysian National English Hour is aimed at building up in primary pupils the ability to read and write in English with confidence. At the end of the programme, pupils should be able to: A

ims

Read well, i.e. fluently and understand what they read Able to use reading cues such as phonics, graphic, syntactic and contextual cues to help them read new words and to correct their own mistakes Tahap 1 English Hour

The English Hour

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Aim

Understand the English sound system, the English spelling system and use these to read and spell correctly Have an interest in words and their meanings and a have a continually growing vocabulary Be interested in books, read with enjoyment and are able to give their opinion about why they enjoy or do not enjoy a particular book Develop their imagination and thinking skills through reading Tahap 1 English Hour

The English Hour

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Aim

Able to write short and simple sentences using vocabulary they have mastered, using their knowledge of English sentence patterns and grammar and using ideas that they have gained through their reading Is self-motivated to read books on her/his own for pleasure or to get at particular information Tahap 1 English Hour

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Section 2 ASPECTS INVOLVED IN LEARNING TO READ

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Knowledge of Reading Strategies Helps Pupils Read

Successful readers are able to use a range of strategies or skills to get at meaning, or, in other words, to understand the meaning of a text. Aspects of Successful Reading phonics (sounds and spelling)

knowledge of content

Text word recognition and graphic knowledge

grammatical knowledge

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How English Words Appear to Pupils When pupils first begin to read English, the words will not make sense to them. The words will just appear as symbols or pictures that has a shape and a pattern. Pupils may not understand that the letters make sounds different from the sounds of Malay. Pupils therefore must be taught how single letters sound in English and how combined letters sound and how these sounds have meanings attached to them. Sounding out words in a book is in fact reading, but the reading must also carry meaning. So, in addition to reading (sounding out words), pupils must also be taught the meanings of the words they are reading. Sounding out English words and learning the meanings of English words must be taught step-by-step by the teacher. Pupils cannot be expected to be able to do this after the teacher has read the words once or twice. The teacher’s modelling (own reading) and continuous guidance are critical before pupils will learn to read. Tahap 1 English Hour

The English Hour

How Pupils Learn to Read English When pupils begin to learn to read in English, they must be taught the following: Trained to be able to see the separate sounds in words Learn the English sounds of letters and the English sounds of combinations of letters (e.g. ‘a’ is ‘eh’ not ‘ah’ as in Malay or that ‘-tion’ is ‘shen’). Learn to read by sounding out the separate parts in a word (e.g. ‘sitting’ is ‘sit’ and ‘ting’) or blending letters (e.g. ‘sleeping’ is ‘sleep’ and ‘ping’ where ‘slee..’ is a blend). Reinforce the reading cues by writing words as they sound but following the set patterns for English spelling.

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The English Hour

Books of 2 Levels of Difficulty are Used ▼ Books for the teacher to read to the class, i.e. for ‘modelling’ and for guided reading activities ▼ Books for independent reading i.e. pupil reads on her/his own Books for modelling and shared reading may be complete stories. These books are at a level that pupils cannot read on their own Books for independent reading are books that pupils can read on their own -independently. At the beginning stages, this may be pitched at word level Teachers should teach reading at all 3 levels, i.e. word level, phrase and sentence level and text level as the occasion deems appropriate Different reading strategies (cues) will be used for word, phrase and sentence level reading Tahap 1 English Hour

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Section 3 LEARNING OUTCOMES What Pupils Should Know

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Structure for Teaching Word level work

Grammar and punctuation

Phrase and Sentence level work

Phonics, spelling, vocabulary

Text level work

Comprehension and simple writing

Stages in Learning to Read – Year 1 to Year 3 Word level work

Phrase and Sentence level work

Text level work

Year 1

Aware of sounds of letters, know some phonic rules & spelling

Beginning to be aware of rules of English grammar, e.g. gender of pronouns, plural, etc.

Understand that print carries meaning, comprehends storyline, writes words and short phrases

Year 2

Aware of sounds of letters/blends, phonics, spelling Word recognition skills, extends vocabulary, develops handwriting

Aware of English grammar, sentence construction, punctuation

Understands storyline of books read by teacher and books s/he reads on his own, understands some details, composes phrases and simple sentences of her/his own

Year 3

Phonic awareness, pronunciation, spelling strategies, spelling conventions and rules, extends vocabulary, pays attention to handwriting

Aware of English grammar, sentence construction, punctuation

Understands storyline of books read by teacher and books s/he reads on her/his own, understands some details, composes simple sentences of her/his own Tahap 1 English Hour

The English Hour

Expected Outcomes at Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3

By Year 1, pupils are familiar with books written in English, a language that is different from their own language. By Year 2, pupils should be able to read books at sentence level well. By Year 3, pupils should be able to read simple stories and informative writing that has short sentences and vocabulary control. Reading skills include having a stock of vocabulary, knowledge of the English sound system (phonology) and phonics (sounds), a growing understanding of how English grammar works and how English sentences are constructed Tahap 1 English Hour

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Monitoring Children’s Progress in Reading The 5 Reading Milestones tell teachers at which level a particular child is reading. Children usually show several behaviours (indicators) that show the teacher her/his reading level. Although sometimes the indicators cross over a few milestones, nevertheless, experience shows that indicators do tend to cluster at a quite definite reading milestone. Experience also shows that children’s progress is not orderly. Children may remain at one milestone for a very, very long time, then, they suddenly make rapid progress and move through other milestones very quickly. The other thing for teachers to remember is that pupils in one class may be at different milestones at any one time. Therefore teachers should not expect the same reading ability from all the pupils, but must be sensitive to what a pupil can and cannot do. Tahap 1 English Hour

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Principles of Teaching Reading in The English Hour The Teacher’s Role    

Emphasis on teacher’s direct teaching modelling, i.e. shows pupils how a story should be read properly continuous support & help attention to meaning of words, pronunciation, spelling

Implementing this programme will be challenging and teachers will encounter a lot of difficulties along the way. Accept this as a given. Teachers should not expect things to be perfect straightaway – it will take a long time before things settle down and the programme become truly workable and easy to carry out. Tahap 1 English Hour

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Teacher’s Modelling - modelling, i.e. shows pupils how a story should be read properly

MODELLING In ‘modelling’ the teacher herself reads to the class or group, and is so doing, gives the best example or model of what good reading is. In other words, the teacher acts as a ‘role model’. A role model is someone the child wants to copy or become. MODELLING is one strategy the teacher uses in structured reading Tahap 1 English Hour

The English Hour

The Importance of Teacher’s Modelling Modelling means that teachers set an example as to how something is done in the proper way. Modelling reading means that the teacher will read at a good speed, reads fluently, pronounces her/his words well, uses proper English intonation and pauses or stops at appropriate places following the punctuation marks in the text. The teacher reads with expression i.e., her/his voice sounds angry when the character who is speaking is angry, and so on. Tahap 1 English Hour

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The Pupil’s Role Emphasis on pupil’s being - aware of their own role & responsibility in mastering reading strategies aware of the progress they are making in their reading and the need for her/him to monitor her/his own learning closely - aware of the need to learn spelling and pronunciation rules as well as self-help strategies in learning to read The pupil should be given lots of opportunities to interact with print (in reading and writing) These interactions should be relevant, i.e. in the context of their everyday lives, e.g. reading instructions on boxes, labels on cans, etc. Tahap 1 English Hour

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Children can only focus on learning one thing at a time Rule: Do not give too many things at one time

Pupils can deal with only one or two things at one time. Therefore the teacher’s ‘focused word work’ session should concentrate on a particular language point. Pupils should be allowed to master these discrete language points over time. Once these points are mastered one by one, they will add up to reading skills. For example, when engaged in shared reading with the teacher or with ‘focused word work’ story one pupil may be focusing on the meaning, pronunciation and spelling of a word; another pupil may be engrossed in one of the characters – both pupils may not be able to take in the teacher’s explanation of punctuation,because their memory can only handle one or two things at one time.

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What the child already knows that is present in the story makes the child understand the story In order to understand a story, the child must already have some knowledge of what is being talked about

Reading only makes sense when the child have prior knowledge of something similar in their lives. Prior knowledge acts as pegs to connect what is already known to what is new. If this is not done, the idea or concept in the story will not make sense. For example, is a story shows a house and a boy then the child ‘expects’ a story that will involve a father and mother, or food, etc. The child’s world at this point of time revolves around home and family. This means that is a story, let us say concerning rocks on Mars, or a Nordic or Tibetan festival will not make sense to the child because the child will not be able to make the connection to her/his own life, resulting in her/him not understanding the story or text. Rule: The theme of a story must be familiar to the pupil Tahap 1 English Hour

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Spelling Build up pupil’s spelling skills by: 

studying how words are formed – i.e. derivations, origins, morphemic units

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visual patterning activities

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identifying critical features of words

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using spelling resources – e.g. dictionary

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word sorting

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build up personal lists

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other strategies – individual teacher’s and pupil’s own discoveries

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Principles of Structured Reading in The English Hour The aim of reading is to get meaning from the words contained in a text Reading involves many separate skills combined together Reading is an active and continuous process that involves the continuous construction of meaning from the words in the text. People keep improving their reading skills all throughout their lives. Self-help reading strategies are important to get at meaning in a text.

Being good at reading is a conscious acquisition process and cannot be left to chance. A lot of reflection, review and self examination is called for. Tahap 1 English Hour

The English Hour

Pupils and Reading Pupils should be aware that there is a purpose to their reading. Purposeful reading means that a pupil is able to derive meaning from a piece of writing or text. Reading requires an understanding of the grammar of the language. Pupils should be trained to realise that when they reading they have to apply certain skills and techniques. Teacher-pupil interaction during shared reading sessions allow for immersion in the English language. Skills and strategies are not learnt singly or mechanically, but in the context of a wholistic language activity. Tahap 1 English Hour

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Teaching the child to read The teacher should create a language rich environment – in this environment, words, phrases and sentences are displayed in a meaningful context The teacher should read to the pupils every day. The teacher should make lots of books available to the pupils. The teacher should make sure that the pupil reads something on her/his own every day. The teacher should try to make time to guide each child’s reading as much as is possible. The teacher should point out reading strategies, discuss these strategies so that pupils may be able to pick up these strategies to assist them in their reading. Tahap 1 English Hour

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Teaching the Pupil to read The teacher should teach pupils how to judge whether the reading strategies they are using serve them well. The teacher should make pupils confident in commenting or giving an opinion on a story, characters, etc. in a story, and to make them feel that their opinions are valued. The teacher should encourage pupils to be brave in making guesses about the meaning of an unfamiliar word or the meaning of a text read. The teacher should focus on what the pupil has achieved rather than what s/he has not achieved. Tahap 1 English Hour

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Thinking and reflection are important The English Hour is based on a cognitive view of language learning. This means that the pupil is always thinking and always trying to figure out patterns and rules of the English language. This approach is the exact opposite of the ‘drill’ method which is based on the belief that pupils can pick up language unconsciously.

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You will Succeed as long as You do not move on to the next set of words, phonics, spelling until pupils have mastered them. However, to avoid boredom, you can stop doing the book you are doing for a while and do songs poems and games, using the same words, sounds and spelling. Go back to the same book, set of vocabulary etc. when pupils are refreshed. Tahap 1 English Hour