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Lesson plans for reading


When assembling lesson plans for reading, a few basic things must be kept in mind. You must construct them knowing who your students are – their grade level, their interests, any difficulties that they might have. You must also understand the goal of your lesson plans. Lesson plans for reading comprehension, for example, stress challenging reading where the point is to let the student learn how to decipher more difficult material. Lesson plans for reading fluency, on the other hand, employ a comfort level book – that is, a book a few steps below where the student can be pushed to read, at the level at which he or she is comfortable reading. This will allow the student to develop speed and natural phrasing, and also to build confidence in his or her reading ability, by reading a book which is not a struggle. Remember, it's bad to make students struggle with something beyond their level all the time. They will begin to think that, if it doesn't get easier, it means that they are stupid, and will become discouraged from even trying.
 


When constructing lesson plans for reading comprehension, the more interesting the material is to the students, the greater their success will be. The key is to find something that they like, and that is a little bit above their comfort level, but not so hard that they won't be able to figure out. The teacher then uses the text to test and improve their ability to understand and assimilate what they read. So, for example, the teacher can read a page and quiz the student on what it means, then have the student read a page and try to think of questions to ask the teacher.

An even more useful tool for lesson plans for reading comprehension, is to make the student take notes on the characters and plot as they go along. Character notes can be taken on three by five cards, while plot synopsis can be kept on regular loose leaf paper. At the end of each lesson plans for reading, there can be a set of questions which the students have to answer, either alone or in groups. This will insure that the students take care to pay attention while they read, and that they really understand what it is that they have read. Classroom discussion is also a valuable tool for lesson plans for reading, to get the more verbally oriented students involved.

As an instructor of English (reading, writing, lit, creative writing, etc.) and as an online course developer, I have found many valuable teacher resources for linguistic, literary, and rhetorical disciplines in particular and for education and teaching in general, and just as many more with lesson plans for reading, in particular. Some of these lesson plans for reading cover days and weeks and include peer work suggestions, interactive games and quizzes and maps, and dynamic and thorough strategies for cross-referencing studies.

For instance, I used THE TIME MACHINE one semester/quarter. After a few decent lesson plans for reading, I found this amazing site that enshrines the author and novel, practically, doing great justice to the writer, the work, and to students who are offered pre-reading, reading, and post-reading tasks and activities (as well as writing ideas/prompts). Here it is: The Time Machine High School Teacher’s Resource Page(s) - Http://www.sff.net/people/ james.van.pelt/wells/ timemachine.htm .

Another example regards Harper Lee’s classic. For lesson plans for reading TO KILL a MOCKINGBIRD, I started at EdHelper.com; continued with the fantastic chapter-by-chapter studies of vocabulary words with The Student Survival Guide found at this URL: http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Belmont_HS/tkm/; and ended using so much of the many interactive lesson plans for reading found at SCORE, the site designed and run by Schools of California Online Resources for Educators.

For lesson plans for reading Achebe’s THINGS FALL APART, I found brilliant pre-reading historical, anthropological, and cartological exercises at such wonderful sites as http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/things/thingstg.html. This site features a five-part cyber guide that lends itself to weeks and weeks of pre-, during-, and post-reading work.

And for lesson plans for reading, pre-reading, interim reading, and post-reading tasks, experiments, peer-work, and quizzes and tests, I found such sites as those sponsored, designed, and maintained by educators at all levels—at Proteacher.net; Teachers.net; TeacherOz.com; Webenglishteacher.com; sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/ staff/dehogue/AP/teachers/main.htm; readwritethink.org; teachersfirst.com; Awesomelibrary.org; mrscassel.com; and Teachnet.com to be imperative for fresh and effective teaching approaches.

One of the obvious boons of the worldwide web is the facility of accessing quality lesson plans for reading, writing, and any other discipline. Usually designed, written, and submitted by fellow instructors, these materials lend themselves to professional development, and (again obviously) contribute to the enhancement of classroom (or virtual classroom) learning of concepts, strategies, methodologies, and skills. I hope you have found here something worth pursuing in your search for the fresh and engaging and effective!
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