This document provides guidance for teachers on developing students' reading and writing skills in English. It discusses reading and writing as receptive and productive macroskills and emphasizes the importance of meaning. Several activities are suggested to help students connect sounds and letters, recognize words and phrases, develop reading independence, and enjoy the writing process. The document stresses linking reading and writing with speaking and listening, allowing student choice and creativity, and praising all student efforts to build confidence.

1. Reading and Writing Macroskills
and the YLE.
Practice II-2.013
Teacher trainers: Braun, Estela
Monserrat, Liliana
Student-teacher: Martin, Melisa N.

2. Introduction: Receptive Vs.
Productive skills
☺Reading is a receptive skill as well as listening
☺Writing is a productive skill as well as
speaking
☺Learning languages means acquiring these set
of skills. Students need meaningful, interactive
practice in the 4 macroskills

3. Points to consider
• All children have to learn how to read and write.
• Meaning is the most important element in reading just as it
is in listening.
• Just as listening came before speaking, so reading comes
before writing.
The teacher should think about:
• How old are the children in her/his class.
• If they can read and write in their mother tongue.
• If they know the roman script.
• If they know there are different spellings for similar sounds
in English.
• And what words might beginners recognize already.

4. Reading in English
•They can use other clues to understand the
written word (pictures and sounds)
•They do not need to understand everything
fully, just key words and general meaning.
•Learning to read in English is not as difficult if
children can read in their own language, even if
it is written in a different script.

5. Connecting sounds and letters
Suitable activities to help pupils develop reading
strategies:
• ‘Read and do’: give them short written instructions on
cards to follow (point to the window…)
• ‘Look and say’: understand the association between
what they hear and what they read 3rd Mid-termLook
and say approach.doc
• Play alphabet games: memory games (using letter
cards), initial letter games (recognize and collect the
first letters of different words), feel the letter (close
their eyes and touch cut-out sandpaper letters on
cards)

6. Connecting sounds and letters
• Make an alphabet frieze with card spaces
underneath for lots of extra words that
children can recognize and read
• Phonic approach 3rd Mid-termPhonic
approach.doc
• Words that children know or half-know
from their mother tongue 3rd MidtermWords they already know.doc

7. Sound recognition with clusters
*Make children aware of the patterns in:
• Final word endings that rhyme in songs and chants
• Games and songs with a focus on beginning sounds
• Displays or games that emphasize a particular sound
*Help them focus on visual sound patterns: pl in
plant,planet,plane,etc; st in star,stamp,story
*Talk about these patterns with the children-help them to see
how they can use this awareness to guess words
*Let children point to these patterns/words when you are all
reading something together
*Colour/highlight these patterns on word cards

8. Speaking to reading-helping sound
and word recognition
Help learners to remember and pronounce new
vocabulary while they are learning:
• About rhythm and intonation
• How to associate meaning and sound with the
written word when they read
*Clever parrot game: children only repeat the
word on the card

9. Word recognition
• Label things in the classroom, even pictures/photos
that you use
• Keep sets of pictures and new words and phrases
children have learnt recently in a special display área
• Let the children play at being teacher to revise these
words and phrases
• Hand out wishes cards and praise cards with short
phrases that children can bring home and read to
their parents (have a nice weekend, well done,
fantastic, ect)

10. Helping children recognize phrases
Children acquire words and pharases when they listen; they
are unconsciously learning about word order.
Activities:
• That consolidate what they have heard and show them the
same patterns, written down
• That allow children to slowly become aware of word order.
• Early reading material: what children make up themselves
• Make up group chants based on what the children already
know and using the phrases the children can read out.
• Pick out phrases that you can use for matching games from
reading material.
• Use picture cards and cards with labels or short phrases or
descriptions. Ask the children to find the picture to match
the writing

11. Reading independently
• When children can read silently on their own, they are
developing confidence and independence.
• Children should always have time to look at a written text
before reading it aloud.
• Prediction is an important part of our thinking process.
Children need to practise thinking anout and guessing what
comes next.
• Children can learn to predict what a word means from:
-context
-pictures
-what they know about a topic, etc.

12. Encouraging children to develop as
readers
• Have a reading area in the classroom with good
picture books and reading cards with pictures
• Have reading material writen by you and the children
• Have simple information cards or books about other
countries
• If you have audio books, let the children read and
listen at the same time
• Play games where reading is needed to find out
information, such as treasure hunt clues.

13. Writing in English
• Age
• Degree of familiarity with roman script
• When children write, they have to pay attention to:
*develop finger control and be tidy
*form letters
*become familiar with the relationship between sound
and spelling in English
*keep the picture of the letters in their minds
*learn when to use capital letters and how to
punctuate.

14. Using computers
When using electronic aids/computers, they
need to:
*learn the keyboard layout
*learn how to type, ideally using all their fingers
and sitting properly
*learn some English expressions for using a
computer/email.

15. Enjoy it!
Like the other 3 language skills, writing is about
meaning.
-Early writing activities (copying, tracing and making
letter shapes)
-Finding the letters for computer work is a matter of
recognition and developing keyboard skills.
BUT children always have to think about the meaning
of what they are writing.
Whatever the lesson focus is, children should enjoy the
activity and feel successful.

16. Writing the alphabet
Very young learners enjoy:
-singing the alphabet song
-making the letters
-writing in different colours
-chatting in their mother tongue while doing
d ’s
their writing
an
n
es ildre
s
rai ch
p
er s on
h
ac ent
Te m
om ng
c ti
i
wr

17. Writing the alphabet
• Practice letter shapes
by:
*Palm-writing: feel the
shape and say the letter
*Back-writing: feel the
shape and write the
letter (learning with
their bodies)
• Tracing over dot letters
• Using letter cut-out og
rough paper and stuck
on cards
• Tracing the shape in the
air-air writing
• Asking children to put
their names or initials
on their drawings and
other artwork

18. From speaking to writing and from
reading to writing
When children can physically make the letters of the
alphabet or use a keyboard, they can do activities to
practise their writing (tracing by hand, finishing
words,etc)
But as meaning is the MOST important aim of writing,
it is always important to link these activities with
what children already know and what they are
learning
Writing for someone else, not just the teacher, is
important. Purpose for writing

19. Linking with other skills
• Spelling is a link between reading and writing.
People often have to spell names and
adresses out loud (telephone communication)
• Use a new password each day in class. Ask
children to write it the day before so they
learn it and say how it is spelt in their next
class.

20. Different kinds of writings
• Children also need help in writing longer,
continuous pieces of writing, such as recipies
or short stories
work together, help one
another and leanr to co-operate.
• Writing individually, freely and creatively.
• Have fun making a book ; it gives them a
feeling of achievement (make things for
others to see)
• Write to penpals (keypals)

21. Writing freely
• Give children as much
control as possible over
what they are going to write
about and how. Let them
write about what they are
interested in
• Have regular days for
checking mail and particular
days por emailing so that
children can plan and think
about what they are going
to write
• Encourage the children to
be autonomous, e.g: send
them to other sources to
teach them how to solve
problems,etc
• If children make a book,
they can add other books
with the same characters.
Their characters can go on
to have different
experiences, e.g: Zozie’s
holiday, Zozie’s great
adventure,etc.

22. Conclusion
• Writing is a physical skill and a language skill
• Writing comes after other language work-prepare children to start to
write
• Accept that pupils will make hadwriting and/or spelling mistakes
(corrected over time and not as important as their effort)
• Praise and respect all efforts, no matter how small
• Display as much of the pupils’ writing as you can
• Keep all their written work and reuse it in other ways if you can
• When children are preparing to write they need:
*support and preparation
*to listen to you
*to talk and comment
Description of Monsters-APCI-1st grade 2013.wmv

23. Bibliography
 Reading in English. Rod Ellis (page 66-81).
Second Language Adquisition.
 Writing in English. Rod Ellis (page 82-95).
Second Language Adquisition.