Chapter 1:

Five methods that are popularly used to teach children how to read are explained below. The reading methods are: i. ii. iii. iv. v. Alphabetic method Phonic method Look and say method Whole sentence approach Language experience approach

Different Text Types

1. 2. Social-culture information: This is what the readers know about the world in which they live in. Semantic Information: This is what the readers knows about the words in the world in which they live in.

Skimming
Skimming means running through the entire article or text quickly without stopping.

Scanning
Scanning is finding something specific in a text. It is used when looking for specific information in any text type.

Main Ideas
The main idea or the topic sentence is the focus of the paragraph, and the details explain the main idea.

Supporting Details
Supporting details explain the main idea or the topic sentence.

Chapter 2:
Fact and Opinion
A fact is a statement that can be proven. An opinion is a view that arises from a persons feelings about a subject or issue.

Cause and Effect Relationships

An action, which is a cause, leads to an event, which is the effect.

Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions

We need to infer before draw conclusions. An inference is the process of making a conclusion based upon facts or premises.

Make Comparisons
Making comparisons involves identify similarities (compare) and identify differences (contrast).

Predict Outcomes
Good readers become actively engaged in their reading. They often ask themselves questions about what they are reading, try to answer the questions as they go along and make predictions. This type of active reading which engages the readers mind fosters comprehension. The SQ3R System for Reading can guide you in formulating questions about the material you read and improve your reading. S: Survey Survey or preview the material you are about to read. You should note titles, subtitles, illustrations, photographs, tables or charts. Try to get an idea about the material before you start reading . Q: Question As you are surveying, think of questions you have about the material. Consider what you already know about the material and what you would like to learn. Write down your questions. Think how you might answer them . 3R: Read, Recite, Review The first R stands for read. As you read the material, try to find the answers to your questions. The second R stands for recite. When you find the answer to a question, pause and repeat the answer to yourself. You may also write it down. This will help you to remember the answer. The third R stands for review. After you are done reading, go over the material once more. Look for answers to any questions you still have and double-check facts. Reviewing will help you to remember what you read.

The audio-lingual method which was very popular in the 1950s and 1960s was based on the behaviourist theory of learning. Some reading theories in tandem with this belief include:

a. Phonemic Theory
The theory postulates that the English language is phonemically regular. It is also noted that once a child has learned the phonemic elements, he or she can master the pronunciation of the word by putting the letters together to form sounds in blended sequence. Subsequently meaning is attached to the whole word being read.

b. Keywords System (Semantics)

In relation to the phonemic theory the keywords system to reading is ackowledged. Keywords are words that a reader can recognise and understand on sight as a result of prior exposure via vocabulary association or drilling. Over time learners will possess a large store of keywords which then serve as the basis for reading and comprehension of texts or passages. Sight word skills and the whole word method (Perason & Johnson, 1992) are two examples employing the keywords system theory.

c. Syntax Program
In discussing keywords system we see the need for providing at least basic knowledge of language structures, in addition to word recognition ability including grammar rules and word usage in given context or situation (forms and functions). As readers make progress in their reading skills, they can be taught how to use syntatic processing means such as use of different word classes or subject-verb agreement rules, to help them understand what they read. These help clarify the relationship between words in sentences. By now, they should know the language rules and understand how these affect meanings of sentences.

Piagets theory of cognitive development and operational stages for example has significant implications in education. Some reading theories in tandem with this belief include:

a. Contextual Analysis
One reads to understand the content of the text or passage. At times we cannot recognise all the words in the text, which we subsequently ignore. Sometimes the unfamiliar word may be important but we can deduce or infer what the word means. The words surrounding an unknown word and the general meanings included in the surrounding text often contain clues to the meaning of the unfamiliar word. The reader therefore has to be guided by the holistic skill of analytical thinking.

b. Conceptually Driven Deduction (Top-Down)

A text is easier to understand if one has some prior kowledge of the subject matter presented. Our background experience and knowledge also includes our awareness of language. Competent readers utilise all aspects of their background knowledege and conceptual awareness to make meaningful expectations about a text, before, during and after reading it. As reading is a continuous on-going mental (cognitive) process, we revise, adjust our expectations and make new ones as we read further, usually from the most known (top) to the least known (down).

c. Parallel and Serial Processing (Bottom-Up)

Heuristic top-down deduction (processing) which involves to reduce the number of vocabulary that will be rejected, will also enhance comprehension of new or unfamiliar vocabulary, ambiguous words, and sentence structures. In the example of bottom-up processing, as each word was added, all possible meanings of a certain word were derived including ambiguous meanings in parallel with familiar meanings. Reading sesions that are performed successively rather than at the same time, regardless of duration or time frame are called serial processes.

d. Left-to-Right Heuristics Bottom-Up Processing

We may use heuristics in bottom-up routines, eg, the word coach can be read as a noun or verb. Depending on contextual and structural clues readings and meanings can be changed or adjusted as well as reviewed just as we read in the conventional manner, ie left-to-right. The difference between heuristic top-down and heuristic bottom-up procedures is the level at which the inference is made: Top-down procedures heuristics apply to the whole sentence or clause (sentence-level); bottom-up, apply to the most likely sense or part of speech of the word (word-level).

READING APPROACHES
Reading approaches are viewed as manner or methods used to enhanced or facilitate reading. Approaches are holistic in manner and general in application.

a. The Phonemic Approach

The phonemic approach of teaching reading focuses on the relationship between the English pronunciation of letters or the combination of letters that produce them. Isolated sounds are learnt first, followed by production of sounds together to form words and subsequently reading of sentences. Phonemic approach stresses on three important elements, namely rote learning sounds repetition and learning of individual parts before combining them into wholes.

b. Sight Word Method (Whole word)

Based on the keywords theory and as an extension of the phonemic approach, whole word or sight word method impose that a reader can recognize on sight are known as the reader sight (whole) words. Sight words can be acquired by constant exposure to them in meaningful contexts. Hence, this method utilises drill-like activities and usually involve repetition using various techniques and materials. Nevertheless, it is important that readers have basic exposure to and knowledge of the letters of English language to effectively learn the target words.

c. Word Attack Method

This method can be used together with sight word method to consolidate understanding meaning of words. Strategies such as using picture clues, contextual clues and at a more advance stage the dictionary can be utilised to facilitate word meaning comprehension. Subsequently, structural clues such as knowledge of some common prefixes and suffixies as well as root words can help readers to understand unfamiliar vocabularies.

d. Authentic Experience Method

This method uses the readers own language experience as the basis for reading skill development. It also stresses on the need to include the other three skills namely, listening, speaking and writing. The reader first uses his or her own words t say what he or she wants to say. He or she then sees the same word or words printed on paper for him/her to read and copy and to read again. The reader plays the role of an author transfering experience to words and to print and reading it all over again. The reader tells of his/her own interests, needs and experiences. An important element of the method is that ...as the readers put in writing their own authentic experiences they build interest and the need to read more.... (Allen, 1998).

e. The Big Book Approach

This approach uses childrens common love for stories to promote reading among them. The children in a class will share a single copy of a story book with the teacher. The children listen attentively as the teacher narrates the story, line by line and word by word. To ensure that all the children can follow the printed text closely, the pages of the book are made extra large, hence the term Big Boo. Large pictures are usually included in the text. In this approach, learning to read the language itself can take place at the same time. The pictures, graphics and other support elements should enable the learner to follow and understand what is being read. Stories provide a suitable context for most learning activities. It allows purposeful integration of all language skills as well as the study of language rules and vocabulary in a meaningful context.