Are you looking for ways to liven up reading discussion in your class? How to teach critical thinking skills to young learners? These tips will help you.

1. Guidelines for Effective
Reading Discussion
in Madagascar
Eva F. Andrianarivo, English Teaching Program,
Antananarivo, Madagascar
andrianarivofanja@yahoo.com
TESOL 2012
PHILADELPHIA

2. Objectives:
o Build up vocabulary and content
o Encourage critical thinking and communication for a purpose
o Develop multi-cultural understanding and awareness of global issues
o Stimulate reading discussion

3. Teacher’s Roles:
o Cultivate, Facilitate, Smooth reading discussion
o Highlight new concepts
oTeach a system of critical thinking
o Give clear directions
o Prepare
o Guide
o Monitor
o Assess / Evaluate

4. Students’ Roles:
o Organize information
o Plan
o Practice
o Express opinion
o Participate effectively

5. Effective Guidelines for Reading Discussion.
1. Reading comprehension: gist of the passage and main ideas.
2. Get facts from the passage and answer reading comprehension questions.
3. Using prior knowledge (certainty / probability) to make Inferences from the passage.
4. Practice reacting to key facts from the passage.
5. Relate to the passage. Practice linking facts from the passage to other realities.
6. Give discussion questions or statements. Take a position by answering the questions.
7. Make a list of arguments for and against the statements or questions to be discussed.
8. Discuss in groups of 3 or 4.

6. Useful Functions Checklist:
Advice
 Advantages / Disadvantages
 Agreement, appreciation, concession, determination
 Disagreement and criticism
 Cause and effect
 Comparison
 Contrast and contradiction
 Condition and hypothesis
 Desires and wishes
 Emphasis
 Giving opinion
 Liking and disliking
 Reacting
 Reporting
 Reproach
 Summing up ideas

7. Graphic Organizers :
For reading comprehension:
1. Main idea
2. Question Generation
3. Word map
To brainstorm ideas before discussion:
1. Cause and Effect
2. Compare / Contrast
3. Similarities / Differences
4. Reactions
For the discussion:
1. Performance Evaluation Parameters with four Rubrics:
• Vocabulary
• Content
• Grammar
• Pronunciation

8. MAIN IDEA MAP
To identify the main ideas in the text, to help understand how the ideas fit together. To
summarize and review the content of the passage.
Title: ………………………………………………………………..…………......................................
Main Idea: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Main idea 1: ………………………………………………….. Main idea 2: …………………………………………………...
………………………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………
Key facts : ………………………………………................... Key facts: …………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………
....…………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………
Main idea 3: …………………………………………….……… Main idea 4: ……………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………………………………..
Key facts: ……………………………………...................... Key facts: ………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………

9. Main Idea Map
To identify the main ideas in the text, to help understand how the ideas fit together. To summarize
and review the content of the passage.
Gist and Main Ideas:
1. Skim for the Gist or Main Idea of the passage: Underline the first sentence of each paragraph
(topic sentence) and the last sentence in the passage. Identify and double underline the key
words in each sentence.
Read all topic sentences and concluding sentence and see how the ideas are related:
CAUSE and EFFECT, COMPARE and CONTRAST, CHRONOLOGY, …
2. Scan: Underline key words in the comprehension questions.
Write the gist or main idea of the passage in a complex sentence, using any appropriate key word
and complex structure: Due to, As a result, Even though, Initially, Eventually, …
3. Get the main ideas of each paragraph: Read the Topic Sentence and pay attention to the
underlined words in the Topic Sentence. Look for repeated words in the paragraph. Use
them in a sentence that sums up the main idea of the paragraph.
4. Add key facts and important details to each main idea in the Main Idea Map.
5. Report to the class:
The first paragraph states that …
Here are the key facts and important details…

10. INFERENCE GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
To make inferences from hints in the passage. To develop critical thinking.
Hint: ………………………………………………………………………..
Why did he / she ….. ?
What might / must have happened before that ?
Hint : ……………………………………………………………………….
What made him / her decide to ……………………………. ?
Hint : ……………………………………………………………………….
What might / must happen next ?

11. Inference Graphic Organizer
To make inferences from hints in the passage. To develop critical thinking.
Getting ready:
o Pick up factual information from the passage.
o Draw a conclusion from those hints using the Inference Graphic Organizer.
The author implies that …
It can be inferred that …

12. WORD MAP
To identify and connect “key words”. To recall the central idea of the passage. To
develop vocabulary.
………………

13. Word Map
To identify and connect key words in the passage. To develop vocabulary.
Getting ready:
o Highlight the key words in the passage.
o Complete the Word Map in order to recall the central idea of the passage.
o Write several sentences about the passage while using those key words.

14. CAUSE AND EFFECT
To collect ideas and supporting details from the passage for the discussion. To develop
ability to think critically.
CAUSES: EFFECTS:
………………………………… …………………………………………………………
………………………………… …………………………………………………………
………………………………… …………………………………………………………
………………………………… …………………………………………………………
………………………………… …………………………………………………………
…………………………………
…………………………………
………………………………..
SOLUTIONS:
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………….

15. Cause and Effect
To collect ideas and supporting details from the passage for the discussion. To develop
ability to think critically.
Getting ready:
o Complete the Cause and Effect Graphic Organizer with key words and key facts
from the passage.
o Suggest solutions if there are not any in the passage.
o Report the ideas using verbs and then subordinators:
For causes:
… is caused by, results from, is due to …
The reason for +Noun is that …
because, since, as, for, due to, owing to …
For effects:
… causes, leads to, results in, triggers, brings about, …
consequently, as a result, therefore, …
For solutions:
To solve …, to reduce, to fight, to tackle, to crack down on, …

16. COMPARE AND CONTRAST
To link key facts and ideas from the passage to prior knowledge. To brainstorm ideas
for the discussion of two contrary opinions related to the passage. To think critically
and form strong arguments.
Advantages Disadvantages
……………………………………… ………………………………………
……………………………………… ………………………………………
……………………………………… ………………………………………
……………………………………… ………………………………………
……………………………………… ………………………………………
…………………………………..... ………………………………………
……………………………………… ………………………………………
……………………………………… ………………………………………
……………………………………… ………………………………………
……………………………………… ………………………………………
……………………………………… ………………………………………
………………………………........ ……………………………………...

17. Compare and Contrast
To link key facts and ideas from the passage to prior knowledge. To brainstorm ideas
for the discussion of two contrary opinions related to the passage. To think
critically and form strong arguments.
Getting ready:
o The discussion question gives two contrary opinions.
o Choose a position using specific reasons from the passage and from prior
knowledge to support your answer.
o Consider the advantages and list three or four advantages to form your
arguments FOR your position.
o Think critically by considering the disadvantages of your position. List a few
arguments AGAINST your position.
o Report arguments using:
Advantages:
The advantage of (+Noun / V.ing)… is that …
The good thing about … is that …
Disadvantages:
The disadvantage of … is that …
The problem of … is that …
The bad thing about … is that …

18. SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
To discuss similarities and differences of key facts and ideas from the passage to other
situations.
Situation in my
Facts from the text Country
SAME DIFFt
 ……………… ……… ………  …………..….
 ……………… ……… ………  ……………...
……… ………
 ……………… ……… ………
 ………………
 ……………… ……… ………  ………………
 …………….. ……… ………  ……………..
……… ………
 .................... ……… ……..
 .....................

19. Similarities / Differences
To discuss similarities and differences of key facts and ideas from the passage to other
situations.
Getting ready:
o Complete the graphic organizer with important facts from the passage.
o Think about similar or different situations from your country (or another) and
complete the graphic organizer.
o Check (√) if the facts are similar or different.
o Use subordinators and verbs to talk about these facts:
For Similarity::
similarly, likewise,
… is similar to, resembles, …
For Differences:
in contrast to, while, whereas, however, unlike,…
… differs from, contrasts with,…

20. REACTIONS
To react to key facts and ideas from the passage. To brainstorm ideas for the discussion
• Fact:
• Reaction:
• Reasons:
Main Idea 1 • Contrary to fact:
• Fact:
• Reaction:
• Reasons:
Main Idea 2 • Contrary to fact:
• Fact:
• Reaction:
• Reasons:
Main Idea 3 • Contrary to fact:

21. Reactions
To react to key facts and ideas from the passage. To brainstorm ideas for the discussion
Getting ready:
o Make a list of important facts from the passage.
o Write down your reactions to these facts and ideas by using the following:
I find it + Adj.ing that ….
It is + Adj.ing that …
o State a few reasons for your reaction.
o To form strong reactions, change facts from the passage into contrary-to-fact
statements by using unreal conditionals for the present and past:
If (past), would + V
If (past perfect), would / could have + P.P.

22. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PARAMETERS
To evaluate students’ performance during the discussion. To assess ability to interact in
English, handle questions, support opinions, clarify points of view.
PARAMETER RUBRIC CREDITS /15
Participation - Little participation 0
- Adequate participation 1
- Large participation 2
Pronunciation -Many errors – Interferes with understanding 0
comprehensibility - Few consistent errors but comprehensible 1
- Comprehensible and clear 2
Vocabulary: breadth -Limited, inadequate, inaccurate, unable to rephrase 0
and precision of -Use frequent circumlocution 1
usage - Adequate, less frequent circumlocution 2
- Extensive, appropriate, accurate usage 3
Content -Limited arguments – Irrelevant support 1
- Adequate supporting arguments 2
-Appropriate and enough supporting arguments with examples 3
Structure and -Major structural errors - Incorrect utterances 0
Grammar - Definite structural problems – Correct utterances 1
- Minor structural errors – Many utterances correct 2
- Very good control – Most utterances correct 3
Fluency -Speech halting and fragmentary – Long unnatural pauses 0
- Less frequent hesitation with some incomplete sentences 1
-Quite fluent – Natural and continuous speech 2