STRATEGIES OF TEACHING

READING
AND WRITING
E LT 2 0 5 , TA S K 3

E LV I E T. B A L E N D R E S
 READING
TECHNIQUES
SKIMMING - is a technique where you quickly glance over the text to get a
1. general sense of its content.
• It involves looking at headings, subheadings, and the first and last
sentences of paragraphs to extract key information without reading
every word.
• It's useful for quickly reviewing material and deciding whether it's
worth reading in more detail.
 READING
TECHNIQUES
SCANNING - is a reading technique that involves quickly looking through a text to
2.
locate specific information or keywords.
• It's useful when you're searching for specific details rather than reading
the entire content.
• To scan effectively, focus on headings, subheadings, and keywords,
and allow your eyes to move swiftly over the text.
• This technique helps you quickly identify relevant sections without
reading every word.
 READING
TECHNIQUES
CLOSE-READING -is a literary analysis technique that involves carefully examining
3. a text to uncover deeper meanings, nuances, and themes.

• It involves scrutinizing the language, structure, and literary devices

used in the text to understand the author's intentions and the text's
significance.
• Close-reading encourages readers to pay attention to details and make
connections between different parts of the text to gain a richer
understanding of its layers of meaning.
CLASSROOM
ACTIVITY

SCANNING
Objective: To help students develop scanning skills and practice finding
specific information quickly.
1. Prepare a set of short passages or excerpts from various texts, such
as books, articles, or websites. Each passage should contain specific
information that the students need to find.
2. Create a list of questions or statements related to the passages. The
questions should require students to locate specific details within
the passages.
3. Create a list of questions or statements related to the passages. The
questions should require students to locate specific details within
the passages.

SCAVENGER HUNT
SCANNING
Objective: To help students develop scanning skills and practice finding
specific information quickly.
4. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
5. Distribute the passages and questions to each group. Explain
that their task is to quickly scan the passages to find the
information needed to answer the questions.
6. Set a timer for a specific duration (e.g., 5-10 minutes) for each
round of the activity.
7. Encourage the groups to discuss and work together to identify
the relevant information in the passages.

SCAVENGER HUNT
SCANNING
Objective: To help students develop scanning skills and practice finding
specific information quickly.
8. After the timer goes off, have each group share their answers
and the location of the information within the passage. Discuss
the strategies they used to scan and find the answers quickly.
9. Repeat the activity with different passages and questions,
gradually increasing the complexity of the information they
need to find.
10. Wrap up the activity with a class discussion about the
importance of scanning skills in real-life situations, such as
finding information in books, articles, or websites quickly.

SCAVENGER HUNT
SCANNING
This activity helps students develop their ability
to quickly locate specific information within a
text, which is a valuable skill for research,
reading comprehension, and information retrieval.

SCAVENGER HUNT
SCANNING
Reader’s Response

Close-Reading Activity
Encourage students to share their personal reactions and
interpretations of the text. This station allows for open discussion
and exploration of diverse perspectives.
• Reader’s response strategy is an approach to reading and
understanding literature that focuses on the reader’s personal
and subjective experience with the text.
• Instead with just analysing the author’s intention or the text’s
objective meaning, this strategy emphasizes how readers relate
to and interpret the text based on their own experiences,
feelings and perspectives.

Reader’s Response
Close-Reading Activity
• It encourages readers to make connections between the text
and their own lives, emotions, and beliefs, leading to a deeper
and more engaging reading experience.

o This strategy is often used in education to promote

critical thinking, empathy and more active
engagement with literature.

Reader’s Response
Close-Reading Activity
 Steps:

1. READ: start by reading the text thoroughly. Pay attention to

your initial thoughts, feelings and reactions as you react.

2. REFLECT: after reading, take some time to reflect on your

personal reactions to the text.
• What emotions did it evoke?
• Did it remind you of any personal experience or
memories?

Reader’s Response
Close-Reading Activity
 Steps:

3. MAKE CONNECTIONS: identify any connections between

the text and your own life, beliefs or experiences. This could
include similarities or differences in your own situation and
those of the characters.

4. ASK QUESTIONS: pose questions to yourself about the text.

These could be about the characters’ motivations, themes or
events.

Reader’s Response
Close-Reading Activity
 Steps:

5. SHARE OPTIONS: express your opinions and

interpretations of the text. Explain why you feel a certain way
about the characters, plot or themes.
6. ANALYZE YOUR REACTIONS: think about why you
reacted tot eh text in the ways you did. Consider how your
background, culture and personal experiences influence yours
perspective.

Reader’s Response
Close-Reading Activity
 Steps:

7. DISCUSS WITH OTHERS: engage in discussions with

peers, book clubs or teachers about your responses. Hearing
different viewpoints can broaden your understanding of the
text.
8. SUPPORT WITH EVIDENCE: use evidence from the text
to support your interpretation and reactions. This helps to
ground your response in the text itself.

Reader’s Response
Close-Reading Activity
 Steps:

9. WRITE A RESPONSE: put your thoughts and reactions into

writing. This could be in the form of journal entries, essays or
other written pieces.
10. REVISE AND REFLECT: review and revise your written
response, if necessary. Consider how your understanding of
the text has evolved through the process.

Reader’s Response
Close-Reading Activity
 Remember
 This strategy encourages a personal and subjective
engagement with the text.

 It’s about discovering how the text resonates with you as

an individual reader, and it can lead to deeper insights
and a more meaningful connection with the material.

Reader’s Response
Close-Reading Activity
 WRITING
- Writing strategies are techniques
and approaches that writers use to
effectively communicate their
ideas, engage their audience, and
convey their message.
Types of writing:
 Narrative Writing: Tells a story, often fictional, using
characters, setting, and plot to engage the reader. It could be in
the form of short stories, novels, or even personal anecdotes.
 Descriptive Writing: Creates a vivid picture by using sensory
details to describe people, places, objects, or events. This type of
writing often appeals to the reader’s senses.
 Expository Writing: Aims to inform or explain a topic to the
reader. It includes essays, articles, reports, and textbooks. The
writing is clear, concise, and organized logically.
Types of writing:
 Persuasive Writing: Seeks to convince the reader to adopt a
particular opinion or take a specific action. It uses logical
reasoning, evidence, and emotional appeals to sway the audience.
 Argumentative Writing: Similar to persuasive writing, but it
places a stronger emphasis on presenting logical arguments, often
with a focus on presenting and refuting counterarguments.
 Reflective Writing: Involves introspection and exploration of
one’s thoughts and feelings about an experience or topic. Often
used in personal journals, diaries, and personal essays.
Types of writing:
 Technical Writing: Communicates complex information in a clear
and concise manner. It’s often used in manuals, guides, reports,
and scientific papers.
 Creative Writing: Emphasizes imagination and artistic
expression. It includes poetry, short stories, novels, and plays.
The focus is on creating unique and evocative language.
 Academic Writing: Used in educational settings to present
research, analysis, and ideas. It adheres to specific formatting and
citation styles and is often found in academic papers, essays, and
dissertations.
Types of writing:
 Journalistic Writing: Informs the public about current events and
news. Journalists use concise, factual language and adhere to
journalistic ethics.
 Business Writing: Used in professional settings to communicate
within a business context. It includes emails, memos, reports, and
business proposals.
 Letter Writing: Conveys personal or professional messages
through written letters. It can be formal, informal, or even
persuasive.
Types of writing:
 Speech Writing: Involves crafting speeches for public speaking
engagements. It requires attention to tone, rhythm, and the needs
of the speaker and the audience.
 Scriptwriting: Involves creating scripts for various mediums,
including film, television, theater, and radio. It focuses on
dialogue, action, and visual cues.
 Blogging: Writing content for blogs, which can cover a wide
range of topics and writing styles, from informative to personal.
 These types of writing often overlap and can
serve different purposes depending on the
context and the intended audience.
CLASSROOM
ACTIVITY
Narrative Writing
 Collaborative Story
Creation
 Objective: To encourage creativity, teamwork,
and practice in narrative writing.
 Materials: Paper, pens/pencils, whiteboard
(optional)
 Instructions:
• Introduction (10 minutes): Begin by discussing what
narrative writing is and its key elements (characters, setting,
plot, conflict, resolution). Use examples from well-known
stories to illustrate these concepts.
• Story Starter (10 minutes): Provide the class with a story
starter sentence or scenario. For example: “Once upon a
time, in a mysterious forest, a young explorer stumbled
upon a hidden path that led to...”. This will be the beginning
of the story.
 Instructions:
• Character Brainstorm (15 minutes): Have the class
brainstorm and create a list of characters that could be
introduced in the story. Encourage them to think about their
roles, personalities, and motivations.
• Setting Exploration (15 minutes): Discuss the setting in
more detail. Ask the students to describe the environment,
time period, and any unique features of the world they’re
creating.
 Instructions:
• Plot Development (20 minutes): In groups or as a class,
outline the major events of the story. What challenges will
the characters face? What will be the climax? How will the
  conflict be resolved?
• Writing Time (30 minutes): Give students time to start
writing their own version of the story based on the
collaborative plot outline. Encourage them to focus on
descriptive language, character development, and engaging
dialogue.
 Instructions:

• Peer Review (15 minutes): Have students exchange their

stories with a partner for feedback. They can discuss what
they liked, what could be improved, and whether the story
stays true to the collaborative plot.
 
• Revision (20 minutes): Based on the feedback received,
give students time to revise and edit their stories for clarity,
coherence, and overall quality.
 Instructions:

• Sharing (15 minutes): Invite volunteers to share their stories

with the class. This can be done orally or by having
students read aloud their work.
• Reflection (10 minutes): Conclude the activity with a
discussion on what the students learned about narrative
writing, collaboration, and the creative process. Ask them to
reflect on the challenges they faced and the strategies they
used to overcome them.
 Sensory Observation and Descriptive
Writing
OBJECTIVE: To enhance students’ descriptive writing skills
by engaging their senses and using vivid language.
Materials: Objects with varying textures, colors, and smells
(e.g., a piece of fruit, a smooth stone, a fragrant flower, etc.),
paper, pens/pencils, whiteboard (optional)

W R I T I N G
 Sensory Observation and Descriptive
Instructions: Writing
• Introduction (10 minutes): Begin by discussing the
importance of descriptive writing and how it engages the
reader’s imagination. Emphasize the use of sensory details
(sight, sound, touch, taste, smell) to create a vivid picture.
• Sensory Exploration (15 minutes): Introduce the objects
you’ve gathered and ask students to take a few minutes to
explore them using their senses. Encourage them to
observe textures, colors, shapes, scents, and any other
sensory aspects.

W R I T I N G
 Sensory Observation and Descriptive
Instructions: Writing
• Sensory Discussion (10 minutes): Lead a class discussion
where students share their observations. Write their
sensory descriptions on the whiteboard. Discuss how using
sensory details can enhance writing.
• Descriptive Brainstorm (15 minutes): Give each student a
different object. Instruct them to brainstorm words and
phrases that describe the object’s sensory qualities.
Encourage them to think about similes and metaphors.

W R I T I N G
 Sensory Observation and Descriptive
Instructions: Writing
• Descriptive Paragraph (20 minutes): Ask students to write a
descriptive paragraph about the object they were given.
They should incorporate the sensory details they
brainstormed and aim to create a vivid image in the reader’s
mind.
•  Peer Review (15 minutes): Have students exchange their
paragraphs with a partner. Partners can provide feedback
on the effectiveness of the sensory descriptions and offer
suggestions for improvement.

W R I T I N G
 Sensory Observation and Descriptive
Instructions: Writing
• Revision (20 minutes): Give students time to revise their
paragraphs based on the feedback they received. Encourage
them to refine their descriptions and experiment with
sentence structures.
• Gallery Walk (15 minutes): Display the descriptive
paragraphs around the classroom. Allow students to walk
around and read their classmates’ work. This can inspire
further ideas and discussions.

W R I T I N G
 Sensory Observation and Descriptive
Instructions: Writing
• Sharing and Discussion (15 minutes): Select a few students
to share their descriptive paragraphs with the class. Discuss
what techniques were particularly effective in creating vivid
imagery.
• Reflection (10 minutes): Conclude the activity by asking
students to reflect on the experience. What did they learn
about using sensory details in descriptive writing? How can
they apply these skills in future writing?

W R I T I N G
 Sensory Observation and Descriptive
Instructions: Writing
• Sharing and Discussion (15 minutes): Select a few students
to share their descriptive paragraphs with the class. Discuss
what techniques were particularly effective in creating vivid
imagery.
• Reflection (10 minutes): Conclude the activity by asking
students to reflect on the experience. What did they learn
about using sensory details in descriptive writing? How can
they apply these skills in future writing?

W R I T I N G
 Sensory Observation and Descriptive
Writing
 This activity encourages students to
engage their senses, think creatively,
and practice using descriptive language
to make their writing more engaging
and immersive.

W R I T I N G
THANK YOU

ELVIE T. BALENDRES