Developmental Reading

1. Use activities that enhance critical, creative, and metacognitive reading skills
2. Analyze extrinsic and intrinsic factors that affect reading performance

PART I – CONTENT UPDATE

Theoretical Models in Reading

1. Bottom-up—depicts reading starting with the input of some graphic signals or stimulus. The role of
the reader is to get the meaning from the text based on the stimulus or the words used. This is also
called data-driven processing
Dechant (1991), citing Gove (1983), claims that the adherents of the BOTTOM-UP MODEL of
reading put forward the idea that:
a) it is imperative for readers to recognize every word in a selection so that they can
comprehend it;
b) word and sound-letter cues should be the primary tool that readers should use so that
they can identify unrecognized words;
c) the mastery of a series of word-recognition skills is the primary requirement for reading
acquisition;
d) the instruction should focus principally on the teaching of letters, letter-sound
relationships, and words;
e) accuracy in recognizing words is significant; and
it is important for readers to have the knowledge of discrete sub-skills

2. Top-down—depicts reading beginning with the cognitive processes occurring in the reader’s mind
as he or she reads. The role of the reader is to give meaning to the text based on the information
already held within the reader’s store of prior knowledge. This is also called concept-driven
processing.
Supporters of the TOP-DOWN MODEL of reading, according to Dechant (1991), put forward
that:
a) Even though readers do not recognize each word, they may be able to comprehend a
selection;
b) Meaning and grammatical cues primarily assist readers to identify unrecognized words;
c) The mastery of a series of word-recognition skills takes a back seat in comparison to
the use of meaning activities;
d) The reading of sentences, paragraphs, and whole selections should be the principal
focal point of instruction;
e) Reading for meaning is the central objective of reading rather than the mastery of
letters, letter/sound relationships, and words; and
f) The amount and kind of information obtained through reading is the most important
aspect of reading

2. Interactive—depicts reading as the process of constructing meaning through the dynamic

interaction among reader’s existing knowledge, the information suggested by the written language,
and the context of the reading situation.
The third model of reading, which is the INTERACTIVE MODEL, neither accepts nor rejects
the pure and extreme beliefs of the two earlier models. The advocates of this model put forward the
idea that:
a) Readers process letters and words at the same time as they formulate hypotheses
about the meaning of what is on the printed page (Dechant 1991);
b) Meaning simultaneously comes from a combination of different sources like
logographic knowledge, graphemic knowledge, phonological knowledge; orthographic
knowledge, morphemic knowledge, grapheme-phoneme correspondence, lexical
knowledge, semantic knowledge, syntactic knowledge, and schematic knowledge
(Dechant, 1991); and
c) Instruction should give a balanced emphasis to the teaching of whole texts and phonics

A Reading teacher should be…

A. Aware of one’s thinking process
B. Careful in examining one’s thinking process and the thinking process of others
C. Practicing one’s thinking abilities
When teachers do these, the learners are expected to benefit from them so that they may also be
developed to become critical, creative, and metacognitive readers.

The reading teacher should bear in mind that a CRITICAL reader:

 Must carefully examine his/her thinking and the thinking of others, in order to clarify and
improve own understanding
 Should examine and test suggested solutions to see whether they will work
 Need to test ideas for flaws or defects and must not be inhibited by fear of being aggressive and
destructive, nor have fear of retaliation, and over-evaluation
 Should engage in critical thinking activities such as thinking actively, carefully exploring
situations with questions, thinking for oneself, viewing situations from different perspectives,
and discussing ideas in organized ways.

Critical thinkers are—

 Skeptical (Just because it’s in print doesn’t mean it is right)
 Fact-oriented (Give me the facts and convince me that they are the relevant ones)
 Analytic (How has the work been organized? What strategies has the writer used?)
 Open-minded (Be prepared to listen to different points of view; do not be restricted by personal
biases)
 Questioning (What other conclusions could be supported by the evidence?)
 Creative (What are some entirely different ways of looking at the problem or issue?)
 Willing to take a stand (Is the argument convincing? What is my position on the issue)
 Those who show the ability to separate fact from opinion; recognizes propaganda techniques,
compares different sources of information; recognizes important missing information; draws
influences that are not explicitly stated, and identifies the author’s background and purpose.

The reading teacher should take into consideration that a CREATIVE reader:
 Uses his/her cognitive processes to develop ideas that are unique, useful, and worthy of further
elaboration
 Discovers a new or improved solution to a problem, or a set of new ideas
 Organizes ideas in different ways, and makes unusual comparisons
 Is not inhibited by conformity, censorship, rigid education and desire to find an answer quickly

The reading teacher should also remember that a METACOGNITIVE reader:

 Is aware of one’s mental processes such that one can monitor, regulate and direct them to a
desired end
 Has the ability to think about and control own learning
 Practices self-regulation and monitoring comprehension by answering the following questions:
1. Are there any words I don’t understand?
2. Is there any information that doesn’t agree with what I already know?
3. Are there any ideas that do not fit together because I can’t tell who or what is being talked
about?
4. Are there any ideas that do not fit together because I can’t tell how the ideas are related?
5. Are there any ideas that don’t fit together because I think the ideas are contradictory?
6. Is there any information missing or not clearly explained?

Dechant (1991) claims that a reading teacher has to have a comprehensive view that:
Reading is a… That includes the task …enabled by the factors and skills…
of…

SENSORY -letter cognition and -in visual processes, eye-movement skills, visual
PROCESS word recognition perception, left-to-right progression, and
kinaesthetic perception

-the association of -of hearing and auditory perception

sound with the symbol

PERCEPTUAL- -the association of -such as, one’s world experience, concepts and
COGNITIVE meaning with printed conceptual systems, culture, fund of linguistic
PROCESS symbols experience, topical knowledge, and vocabulary
and word meaning; and

-the within-text context, and the within-mind

 context

LANGUAGE -having the facility in -in listening and speaking proficiency; and
COMMUNICATIV language
E PROCESS -in understanding the phonological, syntactic, and
semantic systems

-the communication of -such as, commonality of experience and

meaning from writer to similarity with writer’s ode of expression; and
reader and the
apprehension of the -adequacy of cues in the text to assist the reader
meaning by reader in matching personal schemata with text
schemata

MEMORY -the registration of the -in selective attention;

PROCESS visual features of the
word in the sensory -rehearsal;
store and in long-term
-chunking;
memory
-organization;

-semantic decoding; and

-retrieval

Major comprehension strategies

 The preparational strategies
1. Previewing
2. Activating prior knowledge
3. Setting purpose and goals
4. Predicting
 The organizational strategies
1. Comprehending the main idea
2. Determining important details
3. Organizing details
4. Sequencing
5. Following directions
6. Summarizing
 The elaboration strategies
1. Making inferences
2. Imaging
3. Generating questions
4. Evaluating (critical reading)
 The metacognitive strategies
1. Regulating
2. Checking
3. Repairing

Stages of Reading Development

Stage One. Emergent Literacy (Birth to Five Years)

 Learn primarily through direct sensory contact and physical manipulation perception based
conclusions
 Experience difficulty putting experiences into words
 Rapid language growth
 Explore writing in the form of scribbles, letter-like forms, or invented spelling
 Egocentric
 Love being read to and cannot hear their favourite tales often enough

Stage Two. Early Reading (Kindergarten and First Grade)

 Manipulate objects and ideas mentally
 Can reason logically
 Have difficulty comprehending underlying principles
 Have evolving grasp of the alphabetic principle
Stage Three. Growing Independence (Grades Two and Three)
 Develop evolving fluency
 Extensive reading of both fiction and nonfiction
 Become more appreciative of stories involving the lives of others
 Judge their reading affectively and personally rather than by using standards
 May have difficulty explaining why they like a selection

Stage Four. Reading to Learn (Grades Four through Six)

 Wide application of word-attack and comprehension skills
 Much greater emphasis is placed on grasping informational text
 Vocabulary and conceptual load increase significantly
 Words in listening vocabulary increase

Step Five. Abstract Reading (Grades Seven and Up)

 Can construct multiple hypotheses
 Become more elaborate in evaluation of readings and reflect an evolving set of standards for
judging
 Have poorly developed concept of causation
 Like the elements of rhyme, repetition, and alliteration

A reading teacher has to be familiar with

 Factors that Help Emergent Literacy Learner’s Reading Development

 Background of experiences—exposure to various experiences, opportunities (oral expression,
listening, writing) and materials
 Language facility—opportunities for oral expression (conversation, discussion, oral reports,
storytelling, drama, etc.), listening, writing
 Interest in reading—oral reading, free silent reading, recreational reading, close reading/study of
literature, book clubs, paperbacks, magazines, and newspapers, poetry reading, poetry collections,
etc.
 Social and emotional development—individual and group communication and participation;
structured experiences so the child feels accepted and secure and develops desirable attitudes
toward himself and others (Language is a prime catalyst in social and emotional development)
 Physical development—other than good general health, vision and hearing acuity are most
important. Auditory discrimination of speech sounds suggests ideas like rhyming words and initial
sounds in words. The child’s need to make fine visual discrimination is obvious, suggesting early
activities with forms and shapes, and letter recognition, words beginning or ending alike, etc.
 Intelligence—data attest to the importance of mental age, but do not establish a particular point on
the mental age-continuum as the point below which children will not achieve success in reading.
Pre-reading activities, socio-economic factors, teachers, methods, and materials must be
considered in each individual situation

 Beginning Reading
1. Who are beginning readers?
 Kinder to grade 1 (Gunning, 2003)
 Anyone who have not been taught the conventional reading (Savage, 1994)
 A person learning to read in the second language (Folse, 1996)
What are their characteristics?
 Problem solvers
 Needing plenty of opportunities for choice
 Motivated through novelty
 Retaining information better if given a chance to master a few things well
 Needing TIME for learning
 Bringing more than an empty shell to school
2. When is the right time to tech beginning reading?
 A child is never totally ready or unready to read.
 When learners have achieved unity of their capabilities with their interests (Hittleman, 1978)
3. Appropriate approach in teaching beginning reading
 “Balanced Reading Instruction in Practice”
 FOUR CUEING SYSTEMS IN READING

Graphophoric
Cues

Schematic Cues Semantic Cues

Syntactic Cues

 Start with whole text. Grounding instruction in whole texts provides the basis for meaningful
literacy activities. Examples include the shared reading of poems or stories using big books or
charts. An active demonstration of the teacher’s own composing and spelling processes is
extremely powerful, as s/he models at the chalkboard, thinking aloud about what word will come
next or how a word is spelled.
 Focus on knowledge about the parts of language that may be useful for reading and
writing. Responding to all texts only at the holistic level is not enough. Instruction should include a
planned, systematic effort to highlight specific textual features and literacy devices as a variety of
materials are read, written, and discussed over time. Highlighting specific textual features helps
children form generalizations about language that they can apply to their own independent efforts
to read and write.
 Return to whole texts for application and practice. Planned opportunities to apply what has
been learned about the parts of language allow students to move from simply knowing about a
generalization to using that knowledge in a purposeful way. This also acknowledges the fact that
isolated language elements behave differently when paired with T as opposed to H. words such as
lead or wind not only mean different things in different contexts, they may be pronounced
differently. Effective beginning readers use word meaning and sentence structure, along with
sound-letter relationships, to approach unknown words.

 The Four-Pronged Approach (a literature-based integrated approach to teaching beginning

reading)

1. The goal of this approach is the development of:

 A genuine love for, habit and enjoyment of reading
 Critical thinking skills, starting with noting the important details of a selection, making
interpretations, making judgements and valuing
 Oral language and using the grammatical structures correctly
 Decoding and encoding skills
2. Characteristics:
 It is literature-based—uses a story or a poem (aside from a spring board for the other skills) for
developing genuine love for reading.
 It integrates literature and skills
 It is a balanced approach—uses whole language approach and explicit instruction
 It is made up of four components:
o Genuine Love for Reading (GLR)
o Critical Thinking (CT)
o Grammar and Oral Language Development (GOLD); has the following parts:
  Presentation lesson or introduction—uses the story as a spring board
 Teacher Modeling or Direct Instruction
 Guided Practice
 Individual Practice
o Transfer Stage

 How can teachers help improve comprehension?

 Assess prior knowledge and help them relate it to new ideas in the texts
 Teach words in the texts that label schemata important to the writer’s message
 Help students sharpen cognitive skills they may need to comprehend the texts
 Show students the way writers organize printed texts to help them “read the blueprints” more
accurately

 WHAT ARE EFFECTIVE COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES?

 Before Reading—activities that can activate students’ prior knowledge, while extending, refining,
and sometimes building the schemata
1. Overview—a strategy in which teachers tell students about the selection or assignment prior to
reading, serves to activate relevant schemata that students hold in long-term memory and often
enrich and refine those schemata. Advance organizers and structured overviews are examples of
this strategy.
2. Vocabulary Preview—a strategy that starts from identifying and selecting words that may cause
problems, then proceeds to explaining in advance these unfamiliar words to students. Teaching
problem words provides “anchors for new information,” provides opportunities to relate unfamiliar
concepts to familiar ones, and is one aspect of developing the general background knowledge
necessary for comprehension.
3. Structural Organizer—a strategy that teaches students to focus attention on the ways passages
are organized. Before students read an assignment, teachers should point out the basic rhetorical
frameworks underlying the discourse (enumeration, time order, cause-effect, problem-solution,
comparison-contrast), call attention to specific plans of paragraph organization, signal words, main
idea sentences, headings, and subtitles.
4. Student-Centered Study Strategies—PQRST, Triple S Technique, OK5R, PQ4R, S4R, PQ5R are
some strategies that provide for previewing, student-centered questions, and establishment of
purpose, as well as during- and post-reading activities
5. Teacher-Directed Lesson Frameworks—Directed Reading Activity (DRA), Directed reading-
Thinking Activity (DRTA), Guided Reading Procedure, Reciprocal Questioning (ReQuest) are
examples of strategies that give teachers a plan on which they can build lessons while some give
students strategies for approaching texts.
 While or During Reading—activities that can guide reader-text interactions, while reading is
taking place
o Question Answering
o Inserted Questions
o Immediate Oral Feedback
o Time Lines and Charts
o Listing Main Ideas
o Outlining
o Paraphrasing
o Summarizing
 After or Post Reading—activities that help students remember new ideas and information, while
providing teachers with feedback on how well texts have been understood
1. Follow-up pre- and during-reading activities
2. Have students talk about what they read
3. Have students write about what they read
4. Have students make up tests on their reading
5. Encourage students to respond to reading “creatively”

 Teaching Guidelines
1. Show students what to do before they begin to read in order to improve their comprehension
2. Plan activities to promote active involvement with texts while students read
3. Help students sharpen, develop and remember their interpretations of a text with appropriate after-
reading activities.
4. Take steps to help students internalize instructional strategies so that they become for them
learning strategies
 Steps in Applying Selected Strategies
a. Vocabulary Previews
1. Check the assignment and list words that may be important for students to understand.
2. Arrange these in a schema that shows the interrelationships particular to the learning tasks
3. Add to this schema words students probably already understand in order to highlight
relationships between the new and the known
4. Double-check the overview to make sure that major ideas are clearly shown and in a way that
students will understand
5. Share the structured overview with students, telling them why words were placed where they
were and asking them to contribute other words.
6. As students read, have them relate other new words and information to the graphic overview.
b. Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA)
1. The teacher has students survey an assignment using titles, headings, and pictures to get a
general idea of what the author is discussing. The teacher regularly asks, “What do you think
this section will be about? Why?”
2. The students read up to a point predetermined by the teacher.
3. The teacher asks similar questions but posed to reflect the reading; that is, “What was it about?
Were you correct? Why did you predict incorrectly?”
4. The group then reads on to the next stopping point, once again reading to find answers to their
questions.
5. The process continues until the completion of the assignment
c. Guided Reading Procedure
1. Prepare students by explaining important concept, building appropriate knowledge, and
providing directions for the actual reading.
2. Students read, trying to remember all they can
3. Students turn their books over on their desks and repeat all they can remember while the
teacher records this on the board
4. The teacher calls attention to information not remembered and suggests that students reread to
discover more
5. Students reread
6. Their new recollections are now recorded on the board but now in outline form
7. The teacher asks more questions to help students recall more from their reading and tries to
synthesize the new information with the information obtained by the first reading
8. Immediate feedback is given to students through a quiz.
d. ReQuest
1. Teacher and students read together a section of the text, usually the first sentence
2. The teacher closes the book and invites questions from the group
3. Next the students close their books, and the teacher asks them questions about what they have
read.
4. When the teacher believes that students understand that much of the text, the next section is
read and steps 1 and 2 are repeated
5. Once students become familiar with ReQuest and with the text, the teacher incorporates
predictions (as in DRTA)
6. The group now reads the remaining sections
7. The teacher checks out the predictions: “Were your guesses right? Where do you think you went
wrong?”
e. Encouraging Students to Talk About What They Read
1. Have students pretend to be television reporters who must sum up a “story” in two minutes.
After allowing few minutes for preparation, they can have individuals tell the central idea to the
group.
2. Students can be encouraged to explain what an in-class reading was all about to another
student absent the day it was read.
3. Teachers can ask, “What do you think are the (four) main important ideas of this text?”
4. Students can be asked to use the “5W’s plus H” model for some selections.

 Other Strategies in Reading in the Content Areas

1. Clink and Clunk
 Clink and clunk is an excellent means to assess what information the students have learned and
what information needs to be covered in more depth. This strategy helps students recognize the
information they need. It motivates students as they attempt to increase the information they
understand (“clinks”) and decrease what they do not understand (“clunks”).
 Procedure
Have students create two columns on their paper and label them “Clink” and “Clunk.” Next, have
the students read a passage, then list what they really understand (Clink) and what they do not
 understand (Clunk). As a group, discuss the clunks and try to clarify the information. This can be
done through direct teacher instruction or by allowing students who understand the issue to explain
it to class.

Language Arts Social Studies

Topic: Parts of Speech Topic: Roman Republic
Clink Clunk Clink Clunk
Nouns adverbs dictator plebeian
Verbs prepositions republic patrician
Adjectives interjections veto consul

Science Math
Topic: Solutions Topic: Equations and Inequalities
Clink Clunk Clink Clunk
Concentrated saturated Solving equations polynomials
matter diluted

 Assessment
After covering the material, discuss the Clink-Clunk list again to see if all the “Clunk” items can be
moved to “Clink.” Those terms in the “Clunk” column that are clearly understood can be moved to the
“Clink” column and any terms remaining in “Clunk” column should be explained further.

2. Circle-Seat-Center
This strategy allows students to work in small peer groups and go over all the information the teacher
would like to cover. The strategy is an excellent way to reinforce information in a variety of ways: The
Circle group focuses on verbal learning, the Seat group focuses on visual learning, and the Center
group focuses on tactile learning. This also allows students who learn through different modalities the
opportunity to learn through their strength.

 Procedure
First, instruct students to read the text. Following this, divide the class into three groups based on
instructional needs. Give each group an assignment: Circlr, Seat, or Center. The Circle group covers
information in the text with your assistance. The Seat group members individually or within their group
to go over the text information using worksheets and study sheets. The Center group works on
projects, individually or in the group, related to the information covered in the text. After a designated
amount of time, students rotate to another group.

Social Studies
Topic: Fall of Rome
Circle: Discuss text, including reasons for the fall of Rome.

Language Arts
Topic: Parts of Speech
Circle: Discussion and clarify the topic for students.
Seat: Students work identifying the parts of speech using worksheets or
skills sheets.
Center: Students create cards to be used in a game.

Science
Topic: Matter in Solution
Circle: Discuss the types of solutions
Seat: Complete worksheets or respond to questions at the end of section
 Assessment
Use teacher observation of information covered during discussion, correct answers on worksheets, and
evaluate information covered in projects to determine students’ level of comprehension.

3. Jigsaw
Jigsaw allows students to work with their peers and learn information from one another. This strategy
allows for all members of the class to receive information about an entire section in a text. It is a
collaborative strategy that ensures the participation of all students.

 Procedure
First, group three to six students in teams. Give each team member a topic on which to become an
“expert.” The team then split up and find the students from the other teams who are working on their
topic. After working in the topic groups, students return to their teams and present the information
they gained.

Language Arts
When reviewing a specific story, assign team members with
a component such as character, plot, setting, problem, or
resolution.

Social Studies
When studying the five themes of geography, assign each
member of a team one of the topics: location, place, human-
environmental interaction, movement and regions

Science
Give each member of a group a topic such as acids, bases,
and salts

Math
Use as review. After studying fractions, divide into groups
and assign each member a topic such as adding,
subtracting, dividing, and multiplying.

 Assessment
Determine students’ level of comprehension by the correct number of responses in a quiz or through
discussion on information presented by each item.

4. Partner Prediction
This strategy gives students the opportunity to work with their peers and make predictions about a
story or section. Because students are sharing their ideas with a partner, more students will be able to
discuss prediction and they will not feel self-conscious about speaking in front of the entire class. If a
student is having difficulties with prediction, partner him or her with someone who is able to do it, and
s/he will have the opportunity to see how the process is done.

 Procedure
First, identify places in the text to stop and predict what might happen next. Then read the title and fist
portion aloud and ask what students think the story will be about. Students should be seated next to
partners so they can share ideas with each other. This process is repeated throughout the reading.
When the end of the selection is near, stop and ask how students think it will end.
 Language Arts Social Studies
Topic: “Cats on the Run” Topic: Fall of Rome
Students discuss what this story Students discuss what this story may
may be about. As reading begins, be about. As reading begins,
students discuss what might students discuss what might happen
happen in the story. in the story.

Science
Topic: Plants
Students discuss what they know. Reading covers types of
trees and flowers. Students discuss how to tell the difference
and which ones they have seen, and they discuss what else
might be covered in the text.

 Assessment
Through teacher observation and discussion, determine accuracy of student predictions. Monitor the
involvement of individual, students during the paired retelling. Discussion can be used to determine
students’ level of comprehension by assessing their responses after reading. Encourage responses
from students who appear off task. Students should correctly respond to 80% of the questions during a
discussion. Change partners to increase accuracy if necessary.

5. Reciprocal Teaching
This strategy allows students to begin to work together and to “teach” each other as they take over the
discussion.

 Procedure
Begin by dividing the class into small groups. Each group should then read and discuss a short section
from the text. After all the groups have completed this, bring the entire class together and discuss the
information that was covered. Start by leading the discussion, then gradually decrease your input to
increase. Encourage the participation of all students.

Language Arts
Topic: Short Section of a Story
Ask the following questions: Why did the main character react
as s/he did? What is the importance of the setting in this story?

Social Studies
Topic: “Earth’s Human Geography”
Ask the following questions: Where do people live? Why do they
migrate? What problems will the growing population cause?

Science
Go over types of matter, or ask, What is an ecosystem?

 Assessment
Use discussion, quizzes, and observation to determine if material is understood. Observation should
include monitoring the involvement of individual students and their responses. Discussion can be used
to determine students’ levels of comprehension by assessing their responses after reading. Encourage
responses from students who appear off task. Students should correctly respond to 80% of the
question during a discussion or given on a quiz. Encourage students to assist one another.

6. Think-Pair-Share / Think-Pair-Square
This is a partner or group activity that allows students to work together to check for comprehension.
  Procedure
After reading a story or section of the text, students should think of things they already know, decide
what the reading reminds them of, and determine what might happen next. Students then “Pair and
Share” (two students) or “Pair and Square” (four students) and discuss the things they have thought
about.

Social Studies
After covering South America,
Language Arts
discuss people, culture, religion,
After covering a short story or
land, climate, and resources.
selection, discuss character, plot,
motivation, setting, and resolution.
Math
After reading a word problem,
Science
determine what is being asked,
After covering animal habitats,
what information is given, and what
discuss what animals need to
mathematical function or formula is
survive and how different animals
needed to solve the problem.
adapt.

 Assessment
Use discussion, quizzes, or test during or following the activity. Discussion can be used to determine
students’ level of comprehension by assessing their responses after reading. Encourage responses
from students whom appear off task. Students should correctly respond to 80% of the questions during
a discussion or given on a quiz or test.
PART II – ANALYZING TEST ITEMS

Directions: Read and analyze each item and select the correct option that answers each question. Analyze
the items using the first 5 items as your sample. Write only the letter of your choice in your answer sheet.

1. Mrs. Manuel believes in the power of environmental print to develop the pupils’ sight word
recognition, print orientation, and even comprehension in a meaningful way. Which of the following
materials is NOT an example of environmental print?
a. Old boxes of powdered milk
b. Chocolate bar wrappers
c. Car stickers
d. Big books
Analysis:
This question is all about the development of children’s literacy through exposure to authentic print, which
is referred here as environmental print. Choices A, B, and C are all examples of authentic materials
because they are made not for instructional purposes but for real-life purposes. Since the question
demands to identify the non-example of environmental print, it clearly implies that choice D is the correct
answer.

2. Ms. Custodio teaches preschool. She is preparing to employ a shared book experience activity for
her kindergarteners. Which of the following materials should Ms. Custodio probably need?
a. Flash cards c. Basal texts
b. Big books d. Word lists
Analysis:
This question demands for the materials that the teacher should be using in a shared book experience
activity. Choice A and choice D should be eliminated because the materials are clearly non-examples of
books. Leaving B and C as the remaining options, one has to eliminate choice C because learners are
assumed to have the same basal texts or textbooks. Choice B is the correct answer because big books are
appropriate for sharing through read-aloud something which characterizes a shared book experience
activity.

3. Ms. Adona asks her pupil to point the first word that should be read in the big book. Then, she asks
the pupil to point to the last word to be read. Which of the following assessment measures does Ms.
Adona employ in this situation?
a. Assessment of Reading Comprehension
b. Assessment of Spelling Ability
c. Concepts about Print Test
d. Vocabulary Test
Analysis:
This question asks for the assessment measure that the teacher clearly employs to her student. Choice A
should be eliminated since reading comprehension measures the ability to answer questions through the
information gleaned from the premises of the text with interaction to the existing schema of the reader.
Choice B should also be eliminated because the learner was not made to define, or at least tell the
meaning of the words that were pointed. Choice D should also be eliminated because the learner was
made to define, or at least tell the meaning of the words that were pointed. Choice C is the correct answer
because Concepts of Print Test measure the knowledge of readers about reading directionality, upper- and
lower-case letters, first and last words in sentences or paragraphs, and other conventions of printed texts.

4. Ms. Padilla is a Grade 1 Teacher who is concerned with building letters into words and words into
sentences. She uses flashcards so the pupils can sound out syllables and words correctly. What
reading model is reflected in Ms. Padilla’s instruction?
a. Bottom-Up model c. Interactive model
b. Top-Down model d. Schema model
Analysis:
This question shows the theoretical bases of Ms. Padilla’s reading instructional practices for teaching
beginning reading. Choice B, which is the top-down model, is obviously not the answer because the
practice using this model starts with the teaching of the whole texts rather than building on isolated parts.
Choices C and D, recognizes the teaching practice of Ms. Padilla, however, the emphasis of these models
focus on the use of relevant prior experiences, which are considered whole. Therefore, since the practice
of Ms. Padilla isolates the teaching of beginning reading by having the smallest element of language and
building it into bigger segments, the answer must be choice A.

5. Ms. Torres believes that her pupils need direct sensory contact and physical manipulation in the
classroom so that they learn easily and recall input effortlessly. What is the grade level of Ms.
Torres’ class?
a. Pre-school c. Intermediate
b. Primary d. High School
Analysis:
This is a question on stages of reading development. Choices C and D are obviously not the correct
answers because students in the intermediate and high school levels generally use abstract thinking.
Choice B may be taught through concrete experiences. Nevertheless, primary students already begin to
grasp the alphabetic principle so that they could start learning the abstract symbols of the graphemes and
the phonemes. The pupils under Ms. Torres’ class obviously need concrete experiences through direct
sensory contact so that later on, they will use these experiences to recognize the formal aspects of the
language. Therefore, the correct answer is choice A.

6. Mr. Morauda is a Grade 1 Teacher who plans reading instruction as a part of the language block. He
provides varied reading experiences that involve children sitting quietly, silently reading books or
making a book based on their own experiences. What theoretical model of reading does Mr.
Morauda show?
a. Bottom-Up model c. Interactive model
b. Top-Down model d. Schema model

7. One Grade 3 teacher of English to multilingual learners has just finished reading a story aloud to
the class. Which of the following is the best post-reading activity for the learner?
a. Provide students with a guide for reader-text interactions
b. Have students write about what they have read
c. Give them comprehension questions
d. Let them rest for a while

8. Mr. German is a teacher handling English for a culturally-diverse class. He would regularly read
aloud to his pupils, would provide time for free silent reading, recreational reading, and would lend
them magazines and newspapers. What factor in reading does Mr. German want to cultivate among
his pupils?
a. Emotional / social development
b. Physical development
c. Interest in reading
 d. Intelligence

9. Mr. Arce is a new grade 1 teacher who is unsure whether the pupils are ready for beginning reading
instruction. What must he observe before he begins his lessons?
a. The pupils are emotionally prepared for social interaction and competition
b. The pupils have achieved unity in their capabilities with their interests
c. The learners can respond to simple questions and instructions
d. The learners show desire to learn in class.

10. Teacher Millicent knows well that the text or the print material is one factor that affects reading. So
she tries to match the text with the ease or difficulty of student’s comprehension based on the style
of writing. What text factor does Teacher Millicent consider in the choice of reading materials for
her class?
a. Organization c. Readability
b. Format d. Content

11. Ms. Morallos teaches her grade 6 class how to write a summary of an expository text. In her
discussion, she explains what it is, models it through think aloud, and informs her pupils when and
how this skill learned in the classroom can be used even during their own free silent reading. She
provides them with guided and independent practice before she conducts an evaluation. What
approach to teaching is reflected in Ms. Morallos’ practice?
a. Indirect Instruction c. Intrinsic Instruction
b. Explicit Instruction d. Independent Instruction

12. ReQuest is a strategy used to develop learners’ ability in asking significant questions. The teacher
needs to model questioning skills and let the pupils practice the same until the learners are ready
to use the skill automatically. What is the best reason for teaching the learners this skill?
a. Learners become purposive when they set their own questions while reading
b. Teachers become confused by the questions asked by the learners
c. Teachers find time to review the questions of the learners
d. Learners feel important when they make questions

13. Mr. Gutierrez is planning to have a list of 200 words in Science for the school’s vocabulary
development program. After going through all the books used by his fourth grade pupils, he is still
in the dark as to what words need to be included in his list. Which of the following criteria should
NOT be the basis of Mr. Gutierrez for word selection?
a. High frequency words c. High utility words
b. Content area words d. Difficult words

14. Mr. Malaya is teaching a 3rd year high school class in world history. The students need note taking,
outlining, and study skills. If he wants to help the students learn these strategies, which of the
following skills should he model to them first?
a. Getting main idea c. Reciprocal teaching
b. Sequencing events d. Rhetorical patterns of expository texts

15. Which of the following beliefs is consistent with the bottom-up perspective in reading?
a. A reader could read a text when he uses his prior knowledge to make sense of the text
b. A reader could read a text when she selects only the meaningful segments in the text
c. A reader could read a text when she relates the text to other texts previously read
d. A reader could read a text when he can translate the visual symbols to their aural equivalent

16. Which of the following reading skills or strategies utilizes a bottom-up procedure in dealing with
unfamiliar words?
a. Inferencing c. Predicting outcomes
b. Structural analysis d. Using contextual clues
17. Before a reader could read the WORD, he must learn to read the WORLD first. What does this
imply?
a. Students or readers must know the names of the letter first before they will know what the
word means
b. Readers must know the sounds of the letters first before they will know what the word
means
c. Words are only representations of the concepts that the child or reader knows before
encountering the print
d. The text supplies the readers with the necessary knowledge they need to make sense of the
print

18. Mr. Velasquez explicitly teaches his students the rhetorical patterns of an informational text taken
from a science textbook. Which of the following does the teacher want to develop in the reader?
a. Print skill c. Formal schemata
b. Content schemata d. Vocabulary knowledge

19. Ms. Rebolledos uses the timeline as a graphic organizer to teach the readers to understand a given
expository text. Which of the following organizational structures might be the one used in the
exposition of the text’s information?
a. Cause and effect c. Enumeration-description
b. Comparison and contrast d. Sequential or chronological

20. Which of the following is the BEST reason why regression is a good metacognitive reading
technique?
a. Readers use it to search for keywords in a text
b. Readers use it to read a passage all over again
c. Readers use it to highlight important lines in the text for retrieval purposes
d. Readers use it to monitor comprehension when the text seems not to make sense

21. Edward is reading a book and he needs to know the meaning of the word “obliterate.” However, the
passage does not give enough clues for him to figure out what the word means. He decided to use
his pocket dictionary so he would know what the word means. Which of the following strategies
should he use so that he would know the meaning of the unfamiliar word?
a. Scanning c. Close reading
b. Skimming d. Careful slow reading

22. Ms. Sigua entered the classroom and posted images that she has taken from a story she is about to
tell the students. Before she started telling the story to the class, she grouped the students and
asked them to make a story out of the pictures posted on the board. Which of the following
approaches reflects the practice of the teacher?
a. Explicit Phonics c. Embedded Phonics
b. Basal Approach d. Language Experience Approach

23. Mrs. Dizon entered the classroom and showed a list of word families like cat, mat, rat, pat, and bat.
What approach is described in this situation?
a. Whole-language approach c. Literature-based approach
b. Language experience approach d. Phonics approach

24. Mr. Palo distributed K-W-L chart to his students so they could fill up the K and W columns. Which of
the following DOES NOT justify such activity?
a. Setting a purpose for reading
b. Activating prior knowledge
c. Confirming, revising, or rejecting an earlier assumption about a topic
d. Sharing assumptions related to the topic of the text to be read

25. Mr. Lilang wants to develop creative thinking in his students even before he asks his students to
silently read the short story for the day’s reading lesson. Which of the following activities should he
provide the students so he could achieve his aim?
a. Unlocking of vocabulary words by finding their meaning in the dictionary
 b. Asking the students to write story impressions out of the posted pictures of scenes taken
from the story to be read
c. Pronouncing five unfamiliar vocabulary words that will be encountered in the story
d. Asking the students to list down certain experiences they had, which may be related to the
main character in the story to be read

PART III – ENHANCING TEST TAKING SKILLS

Directions: Enhance your test taking skills by answering the items below. Write only the letter of the best
answer.

1. Which of the following results of an IRI graded reading passages is used to predict a learner’s
functional reading level?
a. Scores in a series of spelling tests
b. Number of words correctly pronounced per minute
c. Percentage of oral reading miscues and sight word recognition scores
d. Percentage of oral reading miscues and percentage of correct answers to comprehension
questions

2. Mrs. Sabate handles fourth grade English and is currently teaching simile and metaphor using short
stories for children. Which of the following lesson does she want the students to better understand?
a. Author’s use of figurative language
b. Author’s point of view
c. Use of text structure
d. Tone and mood

3. Mr. Salvador notices that his student, Robert, cannot decode sight words that are supposed to be
easy for students of his age. Which of the following activities, then, should Mr. Salvador provide for
Robert?
a. Constructing mental maps and graphic organizers
b. Answering comprehension questions using QAR
c. Phonemic awareness activities
d. Spelling drills and games

4. Among native speakers of English, students from Grade 7 and up are supposed to be ready for
abstract reading. What does this imply?
a. Learners on this stage are able to grasp informational texts
b. Learners on this level can construct multiple hypotheses
c. Readers on this stage can manipulate objects and ideas mentally
d. Readers on this level judge affectively and personally than by using standard

5. All the three reading theories recognize the role of the reader and the text in the comprehension
process. However, only the interactive model accounts for the role of the reading situation in the
meaning-making process. What factor does the interactive model consider in the reading process?
a. Outcome b. Task c. Context d. Purpose

6. The Four-Pronged Approach upholds the holistic and balanced instruction in beginning reading.
Which of the following principles characterize the most important characteristic of this approach?
a. The inclusion of critical thinking skills after reading
b. The development of genuine love for reading
c. The integration of whole language, literature, and explicit instruction
d. The heavy emphasis on grammar and oral language development

7. The reader’s prior knowledge plays a vital role in negotiating meaning and transaction with the
text. To enhance the schemata of the learners, Teacher Arabella exposes her grade 2 pupils to the
pragmatic use of language in their day to day life experiences so that they develop rich vocabulary.
What belief does the teacher manifest in this situation?
a. Word meanings aid textual understanding
b. Word pronunciation builds comprehension
c. Word knowledge is learned best in isolation
d. Word familiarity is gained in the classroom
8. In one Grade 6 reading class in public school, Teacher Samantha conducts a regular 10 minute
silent reading of an expository text in Science. What is the best silent reading activity that Teacher
Samantha can give her students?
a. Invite resource person to discuss the content of the material
b. Prepare reading road maps to guide reader-text interactions
c. Instruct them to write reflection journals on their notebook
d. Check understanding by asking post-reading questions

9. Mr. Siruet is a Science Teacher in Ilocos. He strongly believes that devoting 10-15 minutes for real-
time reading in the classroom and guiding the pupils’ interaction with Science materials before or
after doing an activity is better than just assigning them to read at home and make sense of the
text on their own. What could be the best explanation for Mr. Siruet’s reading practice?
a. Science is one subject that calls for inquiry and discovery
b. Science class does not require actual reading time in class
c. Time can be spent in more meaningful hands-on activities
d. Experience with print enriches vocabulary and understanding of Science concepts

10. Teacher Jeremiah is planning an integration lesson using Social Studies text for his Grade 5 English
class. Which of the following is the best thing to do to activate his pupil’s background knowledge?
a. Ask several critical questions
b. Make the pupils prepare an outline
c. Unlock difficult words by using the dictionary
d. Present advance organizer of the topic

11. Ms. Yelena handles Grade 4 classes in Makabayan. Before conducting any discussion, she makes
sure that her pupils have read the text by allotting 7-10 minutes of silent reading in the classroom.
Which of the following should NOT be done by Ms. Yelena during the silent reading activity?
a. Insert questions in selected parts of the text as guide
b. Make students fill in the blanks of the structured overview
c. Let students fill in the L column of the KWL chart
d. Leave the students to do what they want in reading silently by themselves

12. As a post-reading activity in any content-area reading class, which of the following should be
avoided by the teacher?
a. Have students talk about what they read
b. Ask questions to score comprehension
c. Have students prepare make-up test on their reading
d. Go back to the Anticipation Guide for some correction

13. Reading in the content area aims to help students make sense of the text and negotiate meaning
as readers actively interact with the text. Which of the following activities will best achieve this
goal?
a. Have the reading of the text be done at home
b. Make them read silently
c. Allow students to ask questions
d. Practice oral reading for fluency

14. A student asked the teacher to tell him the meaning of the word “disestablishmentarianism” which
he found in the text that the student read. Instead of explicitly stating the meaning of the word, the
teacher asked the student to segment the word and look for its base word, prefix, and suffixes so
that they may construct the meaning of the word through these word parts. Which of the following
vocabulary strategy did the teacher use to help the students arrive at the meaning of the unfamiliar
word?
a. Semantic feature analysis c. Structural analysis
b. Semantic mapping d. Context clues

15. Ronald is about to buy a book. After taking a book from the display shelf, he looked at the titles,
opened it and looked at the table of contents, then the summary found at the back cover. He
realized that what he took from the shelf is not what he needs. Which of the following strategies do
you think did Ronald do to decide why he does not need it?
a. Scanning c. Close reading
b. Skimming d. Careful slow reading
16. Which of the following words BEST lends itself to the teaching of structural analysis as a strategy to
unlock the meaning of an unfamiliar word?
a. Special b. Preschool c. Happiness d. Undesirable

17. Belinda is having a difficulty comprehending the novel, “Florante at Laura,” because the author’s
narration seems to be different than the actual order of events that have happened in the story.
Which strategy should the teacher model to Belinda so she would be able to understand the text?
a. Making a Venn diagram c. Rereading the text
b. Constructing a timeline d. Listing the events

18. Which of the following activities BEST develops creative reading?

a. Sounding out words while reading
b. Giving an alternative ending for a story to read
c. Looking at the author’s biography
d. Rejecting the premises of the author

19. Which of the following activities should be the last option for a metacognitive reader if he does not
make sense of the expository text he is reading?
a. Sounding out each word while reading the text
b. Questioning a detail that seems confusing
c. Rereading a part that suggest multiple meanings
d. Constructing a graphic organizer for the text

20. Mr. Javier has just ended the silent reading activity he provided for his students and he deems it
necessary to discuss the story. If he wants to model critical reading to his students, which question
should he likely ask himself?
a. Who are the characters in the story?
b. Why did the main character end up not to be successful?
c. Would it be unfair to close a fairy tale with a sad ending after the princess meets the prince?
Why?
d. If I were to write another beginning of this selection, how would I start this story?

21. Mrs. Corazon wants her students to respond creatively to the story they have just read in class.
Which of the following activities should be provided for the students so that she could achieve her
aim?
a. Writing a summary of the story read
b. Writing a letter to a character in the story
c. Listing down the events that happened in the story
d. Answering comprehension questions about the story

22. Which of the following activities is NOT appropriate in helping readers develop organizational
comprehension of expository texts?
a. Outlining
b. Creating and using graphic organizers
c. Unlocking vocabulary words through context
d. Identifying the topic, main idea, and supporting details

23. When Brylle read the sentence, “The bankruptcy made a run on the bank,” he thought that
bankruptcy literally ran on the bank. What explains this phenomenon?
a. The reader lacks auditory perception
b. The reader lacks sight word recognition
c. The reader has inadequate proficiency in listening and speaking
d. There is a mismatch between the reader and writer’s field of experiences

24. Ms. Jazmin prepared controversial statements, which are taken from the social studies text that she
is about to teach to her students. After this, when she met her class, she made them agree or
disagree to the statements and made them explain their reasons before they finally read the text.
What does the teacher clearly demonstrate in this situation?
a. Reading through elaboration strategies
b. Reading through organizational strategies
c. Reading through preparational strategies
d. Reading through metacognitive strategies
25. Mr. Manantan’s assessment of his students clearly reveals that they lack proficiency in identifying
the structure of different types of expository texts and have a difficulty plotting the details of these
texts when asked to convert the ideas into graphical representations. What should Mr. Manantan
teach and model?
a. The use of elaboration strategies
b. The use of organizational strategies
c. The use of preparational strategies
d. The use of metacognitive strategies