| With Christmas and Hanukah just around the | | | | 3. Picture drawing. Students draw and/or collect |
| corner, consider holiday reading activities as part | | | | pictures to illustrate scenes and/or characters. |
| of your curriculum. After-reading activities are the | | | | Students can also use recordings and |
| most loosely defined activities, since they build on | | | | accompaniment of music and other sound effects. |
| students prior knowledge and themed reading | | | | Class Reading Activities Using a Class Reader |
| lessons. Students can do these activities in | | | | A class reader is one particular reader chosen for |
| conjunction with the class reader or individualized | | | | the whole class to read for a certain length of |
| reading about the holidays - the most important | | | | time. Make sure the class reader is graded so that |
| issue being they should be offered a choice of | | | | the text is understandable and the vocabulary is |
| activities. This enables trust between teacher and | | | | not too difficult. |
| student, and helps nurtures the skills of | | | | Teaching Suggestions. It is useful for the teacher |
| independent and deeper reading. | | | | to read the first book aloud for all beginner or |
| After-Reading Holiday Activities | | | | elementary school classes. It is not suggested the |
| 1. Keeping a reading diary. Students make entries | | | | students read aloud for fear of being 'tested' on |
| in their diaries connecting their feelings to the | | | | pronunciation or other inaccuracies. |
| process of reading. Students write about the | | | | Procedure for Working with the Class Reader |
| characters or setting or plot, sometimes related | | | | 1. Elicit what the students know about the subject. |
| to a personal experience. For ESL reading classes, | | | | 2. Go over cover art and title. |
| students may be encouraged to write in their | | | | 3. Use pictures for asking questions and writing |
| mother tongue if they have not reached a | | | | new vocabulary. Cover the text with a paper |
| comparable level of written proficiency. | | | | mask and ask the class to talk about the pictures |
| 2. Write the end of the story. The student is | | | | and note down new vocabulary while comparing |
| invited to write the end of the story. One | | | | their notes of the story to the version of the |
| creative idea: student produces a graph of 'good | | | | text. |
| fortune' and 'bad fortune' for one of the central | | | | 4. Another way to get into the text is to |
| characters. This can be accompanied with | | | | compare the text to student's knowledge of the |
| explanations for the character's good or bad | | | | text by watching a movie or play or anything else |
| fortune. | | | | staged. |