The mystery of allegra activities

Reading skill:

Reading is also the language skill which is easiest to keep up making reading an enjoyable activity is a very important part of the language learning experience.

Aproaches to reading:

Many five to ten yeras old are in the process of learning to read in their own language. There are a number of different ways to approach the introduction of reading in a foreign language:

- Phonics: This approach is based on letters and sounds: we teach the pupils the letters of the alphabet and the combination between them, we show them how to pronounce some of words

- Look and say: This approach is based on words and phrases, and makes a lot of use of flashcards: it is very usual to start by teahing everyday words which are already familiar to the children, the teacher shows them the word and says it while she is pointing to the object. Finally the repeat the word; matching words and pictures, pointing to the object on the card, guessing which card Teddy has picked out of the hat, this approach encourages recognition of a range of words and phrases before reading a test

- Whole sentence reading: here the teacher reaches recognition of whole phrases and sentences which have meaning in themselves: the words are not presented in isolation, but as whole phrases or sentences

- Language experience approach: this approach to reading is based on the child´s spoken language: the teacher writes down a sentence for the child to read which is based on what the child has said

Activities before, during and after the reading process

Activities before: these activities introduce the topic and increase the children´s motivation. During the realization of these activities, children mustn´t have the text present. Some are: Checking the knowledge about one topic, Describing the picture present on the text, ´To personalize the topic using a conversation or questions/answers

Activities during: The exercises more important are the questions: The answers must be in the text; before answer the questions, children must have the text present to consult them in case of doubt; to accept mistakes.... These activities must help children in developing skills:1) skimming: to read a text quickly, 2) scanning: to make a general view of the text, 3) lectura detallada: to read the text with a lot of attention to obtain information more complete

Activities after: These activities have the objective to interiorize the language, speak and understanding oral messages. These are examples of activities after reading: reading a letter and writing another similar; doin a crossword, using the vocabulary in the text; to prepare a role play