My Reading Strategies

Since I teach in Primary and sometimes in Pre-Primary, I normally choose stories. 

When I read for small children, I try to create a magical atmosphere, where my pupils feel excited to listen to the story. First, I speak with my teddy bear "Wrinkles"and I ask him questions about the story. Then, I show some big storycards to my pupils and ask them some questions too or try to draw their attention to some specific features. I also enjoy using some props to motivate my children. I think my performance is dramatic, because I change the voices of the characters and I constantly vary the tone. 

Another useful technique is to hand out the flashcards so that pupils feel as an essential part of the story. They believe they are telling the story just by showing the big cards. 

Regarding older children (5th and 6th levels), I frequently use songs with English lyrics. Before listening to the songs, I carefully select them so that children can follow the lyrics and understand the gist of the songs. Therefore, these must be slow and on trend. They feel motivated to sing along at the same time they improve their English level. Moreover, the visual support is crucial to understand the song.

In order to feel encouraged to read, we need to master a certain amount of vocabulary. To achieve this goal, I usually play memory games. My favourite webpage is: https://eslgamesplus.com. My pupils are always ready to play them. Even shy students feel like coming to the front and enjoy themselves with the games.