Wanna know what should be in your ideal reading lesson plan? I’ll tell you! Have you ever felt like the reading material offered in textbooks is not cutting it? Maybe it’s too boring, or just not authentic? Or you do have some good materials, but the tasks students do are not meaningful? I’ve been there! I just cringed whenever I had to use these textbook exercises. So I tried to spice it up a little!
So what should be in your reading lesson plan? It’s a couple of activities that actually build on each other. And it’s a variety of ones, so that students are prompted into engaging with the material and getting everything out of it. Simple, right? Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through it!
Wanna skip this article? Grab this free Rad Reading Lesson Checklist to start planning your reading lesson now!
A reading lesson plan that works
Any lesson plan about reading should start with choosing the right text. The text you want students to read should be interesting to them and also be at the right level. Not too easy and not too hard. I use www.roadtogrammar.com and https://lexile.com to pinpoint the level.
All your reading lesson plans should start with an introductory activity. Activate students’ prior knowledge on the topic before you start reading, as well as any vocabulary that might come in handy. Show them images, objects or video material in relation to the text’s topic. Have a short discussion on what they already know about the topic. Then have students only look at non-text features, such as layout, pictures, colors, headings and titles, and sources to predict what is to come in the text.
Lesson plan on reading comprehension
Then a reading comprehension lesson plan should of course test reading comprehension. Test students’ understanding by asking them questions about the info in the text. Have them assess the tone and message the author tried to convey. Get them to infer meaning of vocabulary in the text. You can give them multiple choice questions, true/false statements, or open ended questions that require some more explaining. Let them show that they understand the information they’re reading.
Last, give students a meaningful task. Get them to transfer what they’ve learned from the text in a text that they produce themselves, be it spoken or written. It should be a reaction that shows their understanding of the information in the text. For example, a letter to the author of the article, or to someone in the article that is quoted. It could also be a talk show or a news broadcast on the topic.
Reading lesson plan example
An example of a fun reading lesson plan is provided if you click here. It’s free and might be good for your students. In any case, you can check out how I would create a lesson around a news article. See what you think!
Related articles:
Why this is the best strategy to do free reading with students
How to improve reading comprehension with newspapers
