Improving Reading Comprehension Through Story Reading Essay

Improving Reading Comprehension Through Story Reading - Essay Example A related goal is helping students to practice the complex cognitive and linguistic operations brought about by reflective student engagement in critical thinking. The activities are planned for a particular story unit are all related to the story and the process of understanding the literature better. The goal of stories is to stimulate one’s thinking and imagination. The activities were designed based on Luke and Freebody’s Four Resource Model (1992). The Code Breaker activities aim to unlock difficult words that may serve as barriers to the readers’ full comprehension of the story. It also serves to clarify certain concepts that would facilitate the understanding of the story. The Meaning Maker activities test the readers’ pick up of concepts and how they may relate it to previous experiences or to practical situations in real life. Note that the activities do not necessarily relate to the story, but that is precisely how the text contributes to the readers’ literacy – applying concepts from the story to real life. 1. Sequencing Events: Have a number of strips of paper ready. On each strip, write down a phrase or sentence depicting a specific event in the story. Present the event strip to the class in a random order. Let them reconstruct the story using the event strips. 2. Making the Setting Concrete: Each child must come up with a creative brochure about the setting of the story. Pictures and diagrams/ drawings may be used, and a creative, persuasive text must be written to tell something about the place. 3. Let the children do a mind map of the story. With the main characters in the middle of the map, create branches and sub-branches of events to complete the story. Make headings of the branches are written and represent the events with drawings. One glance at the mind map will allow the viewer to decipher what the story is about.