Reading being a life skill has been inculcated in the school system from the time the child
enters school. To
recapture how this skill is given premium in teaching and learning, authorities have shared their varied but
parallel ideas.
Stanley, (2007). Reading is a process of reconstructing meaning from written text. It is a complex skill
requiring the coordination of interrelated sources of information.
Reading is defined as a cognitive process that involves decoding symbols to arrive at meaning.
(www.teachreading.info2013)
Denchant (1991) as cited by Macceca (2007), reading is a visual process that begins with one's ability to use
one's vision to interpret graphic symbols.
Short, K and Harste, J,1996 added that it is an active process of constructing meanings of words. It is likewise
a number of interactive processes between the reader and the text, in which readers use their knowledge to
build, create, and construct meaning. (https://www.tesol.org)
Sheridan, E. (1991). The traditional skills model view of reading is a bottom-up or data-driven processing
model. In this view of reading, letters are perceived in a left to right sequence until a word is perceived as a
whole; meaning is obtained and related to other words in the sentence, thus activating the dominant schema
and the era of its particular concepts.
Ravinder, S. (2019) expressed then that reading being a process that involves recognizing words, it leads to
the development of comprehension.
On Reading Comprehension
After being exposed to the ideas of reading from the different authorities, comprehension, the essence of
reading is hereby defined and explained by the other set of experts:
Snow, C. (2010) expressed that comprehension is the process of simultaneously constructing and extracting
meaning through interaction and engagement with print The success of a comprehension event depends on
a good match of reader skills, text difficulty, and task definition. Moreover, comprehension according to the
Kto12 Reader Reading Instructional Resources is an intentional, active, interactive process that occurs
before, during, and after a person reads a particular piece of writing.
Denchant (1991) states that reading comprehension refers to understanding what is read, so readers must be
able to cognitively process the words by drawing meaning from their own experience and knowledge to
understand the author's message.
Anderson (1994) expressed that comprehension is activating or constructing a schema that provides a
coherent explanation of objects and events mentioned in the discourse.
Abao, E. et al. (2009) stated that reading comprehension is an active interchange of ideas and expression of
thought. Being a life skill, reading involves creative and critical thinking skills of events through which the
intended message and values are brought forth to reality.
Conscious of the ultimate purpose of reading which is comprehension and its value for successful
functioning in our society, Kendou, P (2015), noted that it is very essential that you will have clearer and
richer ideas about this macro skill.
Understandably, you have been familiar with this life skill from the time you started school. More so as
prospective teachers of English where this skill has been built in as part of your academic pursuit, you are
expected to be adept with this real-life skill.
On Purposes of Reading
These aforementioned ideas of reading lead you to realize its value to any student's academic undertaking.
According to Hammer (2009), reasons for reading aclude students' career, language acquisition, students'
vocabulary knowledge. modeling English writing, introducing topics, stimulating discussion.
In addition, Charlton, E. (2019) expressed that reading could help you live longer, you may absorb more from a
physical book; you may develop the skills for the future; it builds your vocabulary and it wards off brain
deterioration.
Seeing the value of reading as a tool subject, students need to conscientiously learn reading and meaningfully
assimilate value. Reading has to be well-taught to the students and teaching strategies need to be judiciously
selected. With this in mind, as prospective teachers, you need to be reminded of the important principles in
teaching reading so that academic engagement becomes relevant and sustainable.
On Principles of Teaching Reading
Any academic undertaking like reading instruction, must be anchored on and measured against certain
principles. The following authorities share their thoughts about these:
Graves, M, et al. (2007) offers the following instructional principles in teaching reading: 1) building positive
attitudes and perspectives; 2) provide a balanced instructional framework; provide consistent instructional
structure and use time effectively; 3) provide text that students can read successfully; 4) provide time for word
study; 5) encourage independent reading; 6) coordinate intervention instruction and classroom instruction.
Voinalovych, L. (1999) added the following principles of teaching reading: 1) encourage students to read as
often and as much as possible. The more students read, the better; 2) students need to be engaged with what
they are reading; 3) encourage students to respond to the content of a text and explore their feelings about it,
not just concentrate on its construction; 4) prediction is a major factor in reading. When we read texts in our
language, we frequently have a good idea of the content before we actually start reading; 5) match the task to
the topic when using intensive reading texts, and good teachers exploit reading texts to the full.
Putting in your consciousness the essence of these identified principles in teaching reading, it is likewise
important for you to be familiar with the theories of teaching reading as embedded in the successful
instructional delivery.
Shahin, V. (2000) posits that just like teaching methodology, reading theories (Traditional View, Cognitive View,
and the Metacognitive View) have had their shifts and transitions. Starting from the traditional view which
focused on the printed form of a text and moving to the cognitive view that enhanced the role of background
knowledge in addition to what appeared on the printed page, they ultimately culminated in the metacognitive
view which is now in vogue. It is based on the control and manipulation that a reader can have on the act of
comprehending a text.
Nunan, (2001) said that schema theory is based on the notion the past experiences lead to the creation of
mental frameworks that help us make sense of new experiences. As noted, in activating and building the
schemata the following are emphasized: Pre-Reading (Predicting, Semantic Reconciled Reading); During
Reading (Skimming, Scanning, Note-taking Guess, Analyze Vocabulary) and Post -Reading (Questions, Mind-
Mapping and Summarizing)
Anderson (1994) presents research showing that recall of information in a text is affected by the reader's
schemata and explains that "a reader comprehends message when he is able to bring to mind a schema that
gives account of the objects and events described in the message."
The ones mentioned are just a few exemplars of the theories of teaching reading. To further enrich your
understanding and exposure to these topics you can further access these through the wide array of information
from different sources.
On the Teaching of Reading
With the aim to improve students comprehension and enable them to effectively and responsibly function in
society, teaching strategies are highly paramount as these facilitate meaningful learning. They have to be
judiciously selected considering the students demographic profile to ensure that the comprehension skills
considered as life skills will be well-assimilated so that students can eventually apply them in a real-life situation.
The following authorities share views and ideas on strategies in the teaching of reading that ensure that these will
help students develop their critical and creative thinking skills.
According to MacEwan, E (2007) to improve student's reading comprehension, teachers should introduce the
seven cognitive strategies of effective readers like Activating; Inferring: Monitoring-Clarifying; Questioning;
Searching-Selecting and Summarizing.
Cox, J. (2017) noted that in order for all of the students to be confident readers, teachers can provide students
with a few effective teaching strategies for reading like utilizing graphic organizers; utilizing technology;
activating prior knowledge; using a word wall, and student choice.
Barber, S. (2016) stated that students need good reading skills not just in English but in all classes. She shared
some ways you can help them develop those skills. These strategies help ensure that texts appeal to the
senses; teachers guide students in setting reading goals, vary text length; offer opportunities for reading
choice then assess content and skill.
Duke and Pearson (2002) recommend teachers for the ways comprehension is embedded into daily literacy
lessons. In his article, a supportive classroom context to promote comprehension must be developed.
According to him, teachers need to ensure their students read engaging texts for significant amounts of time;
select texts for students which support authentic learning (i.e. interest-based or topic-based texts); provide a
range of texts (multimodal, print-based, images, animations, graphic representations, video, audio,
diagrams/charts, newspapers/magazines, fiction, non-fiction) for students to read in various genres (i.e. texts
on different topics or different text types about the same topic); identify and discuss vocabulary from rich
texts with their students; provide time for students to talk to each other and reflect on their reading. about the
texts they read and have listened to and provide time for students to write and reflect on their reading.
A lot of people think that reading as a tool subject is easy to learn and apply the students understand, analyze or
even evaluate reading materials. Based on comprehension. Easy it might seem but it bears challenges in the
process of letting knowledge and experience of teaching reading, the following strategies/activities are found
effective. Always remember that making students learn and enjoy as they understand and apply the reading skills
to real life is an art. Therefore, it needs to be carefully planned and meaningfully facilitated.
1) Be conscious of the skills to be developed among the students. These are considered life skills, hence they
should be given premium in the teaching-learning engagement.
a. Noting Details. Understanding the details will help you understand the selection better. (Villamin, et al.)
Furthermore, details guide the readers to understand parts of the whole. Abao (2009)
b. Following Directions. This skill is putting adherence to what is/are set for order and discipline. There are myriads
of situations in life where people can't just do things on their own, instead, they must follow directions. In actual
life experiences, people and events turn out better if there is faithful adherence to this very important skill.
Warman, R (1992) said that the motivation of all communication is the giving and following of
instructions/directions.
c. Sequencing Events. It is the arrangement or proper organization of things and events. If responsibilities are
done in proper sequence, things and people become organized and systematic. In reading this is very essential as
this guides the reader to organize and come up with a general understanding of the written text or reading
material.
d. Distinguishing Fact from Opinion. A fact is an event/ situation that is proven and tested based on data while an
opinion is a personal belief about a person/event or a situation that still needs to be proven. This skill guides the
reader to ensure that as ideas are presented either through facts or opinions, he/she can weigh situations before a
decision is arrived at.
e. Determining Cause and Effect Relationship. This denotes that every action happens based on a cause and the
result of the action is the effect. Being so, words and actions need to be well-thought of to engender peace and
prosperity. As one reads, he/she needs to be responsible in his/her actions/reactions based on the given
premise/s.
f. Predicting Outcomes. It is to foretell what future actions lie ahead based on the present situation. It is therefore
important to learn to prepare for future events so as not to be caught in an adverse situation. This is really given
value in reading as one is led to well-thought-of real-life plans.
g. Getting the Main Idea. It is identifying the gist of the text, thus giving focus to the essentials. This skill is indeed
useful as people give credit to brevity and conciseness of ideas based on the supporting ideas of the matter.
h. Skimming and Scanning. These skills involve the act of reading that needs to be done fast to get the intended
meaning of the selection within a short period of time.
Skimming is the act of quick reading from the start of the selection until the end in order to get its intended
meaning. This is actually a skill on getting the main idea, just simply done fast.
Scanning is the act of quick reading which is used to look for specific information and that the eyes need to move
quickly to the page seeking for specific answers.
These reading skills are noted as life skills because they are not just applicable in written texts/situations but in
real life as well. It is in this context that as you teach, choose a reading material that can be richly infused by these
skills. It takes a skillful teacher to translate a reading skill to reality through meaningful learning experiences.
2) Know your students. Your ample knowledge on the demographic profile of your students will give you an idea
on the kind of reading material to offer based on the set of competencies, learning activities, and scaffolds
(differentiated if possible) and its attainability within a given time frame.
3) Consider the following major stages as well as sample activities in the teaching methodology.
3.1. Pre-Reading. This is a lead-in stage that allows the readers to activate their prior knowledge and create a
schema based on the upcoming selection to be taken up. The following are the sample suggested activities:
3.1.1. Critical Vocabulary. These are the unfamiliar words found in the selection/reading material. To facilitate
understanding of the material, unlock them operationally using any of the following clues:
Context Clues. These are cues that help the students understand the meaning of unfamiliar words. They are
used in meaningful situations as related to the text. They come in the form of definition, explanation,
synonym, antonyms, and appositive.
Picture Clues. Images representing unfamiliar words can be shown to give an idea of what the word means.
Configuration Clues. These are figures represented by short and long boxes that correspond to the size of the
letters in the given word.
3.1.2. Directed Reading Activity. It is a comprehension strategy that guides students in asking questions about a
text, making predictions, and then reading to confirm or refute their predictions. The DRTA process encourages
students to be active and thoughtful readers, enhancing their comprehension. (Reading Rockets)
3.1.3. Anticipation Guide. It is a comprehension strategy that is used to activate students' prior knowledge and
build curiosity about a new topic. Before reading, students listen to or read several statements about key
concepts presented in the text, they're often structured as a series of statements with which the students can
choose to agree or disagree. Anticipation guides stimulate students' interest in a topic and set a purpose for
reading. (Reading Rockets)
3.2. During Reading. These are the reading strategies and activities during the reading proper.
3.2.1. Page Encounter. After reading each page of the reading material, students in pairs discuss/share an
experience in pairs about the part of the material read, After, they proceed reading and will do the same.
3.2.2 Reading Interface. This strategy can be done when students read the material alternately in pairs or two big
groups. Oral reading proficiency is given importance in this activity. In the process, they can take turns in asking
questions.
3.2.3. Visualizing Highlights. When the teacher/student reads the selection, the other students illustrate the
important events on paper.
3.3. Post Reading. This stage of reading activity is done after a story/selection is read. Since reading is basically
comprehension, the following activities may help assess how much the students understand the reading
material.
3.3.1. Dimensional Questions. After reading and discussing the story and the realization of its competencies, the
teacher assesses how much the students have learned. It follows the following dimensions: literal (recognition of
facts); inferential (reasons why events happen), critical evaluation (justifying opinions and forming judgment),
and integration (infusion of values called for by the story and its competencies).
3.3.2. Graphic Organizers. These are illustrations that the students can use to capture their understanding of the
story/competencies. Thereafter, they explain the graphic organizer they have created.
4.) Creative Writing. This activity elicits the students' holistic understanding of the selection thru their individual
creative written activity. This may come in a form of scripts, short stories, commentaries, and others. Top of Form
