Evaluating+Reading+Materials


 * Evaluating Reading Materials **

When preparing reading lssons for ESL students, it is important to properly and carefully select the reading materials. As teachers, we should look for things such as level, content, activities available, and illustrations. The following is an example of an evaluation of three types of literature: basal readers, non-fiction books and picture books.

many basal readers available with the first grade edition of Pearson Education’s reading book. The book is very suitable for first graders, both ESL and non-ESL. In my opinion, this basal reader is perfect for ESL students due to the topic, the vocabulary and the illustrations in the book. This book does not have specific discussion questions listed in the book; however, the teacher can easily create a list of questions to capture and engage the students in the story. Since the story is about winter, the teacher can prompt discussion questions about that particular season and what students enjoy about it as well as other seasons. The topic of the story is something that all students can relate to and share experiences about, making it easy to form discussions. **Metacognitive Activities-** This book lends itself to many pre and post reading activities. Due to the topic of this book, students can brainstorm what they believe the book may be about. After reading the story, students can create their own form of ‘winter’s song’. There are many activities that can be tied in with the specific topic of winter, as well as a broader topic, seasons. **Vocabulary**- Winter’s Song has a word study located in the back of the book. This would be very helpful for ESL students in promoting their Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) as well as Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). The vocabulary is appropriate for the grade level of the text. **Illustrations-** The illustrations in this basal reader are great for ESL students. The illustrations are very well designed to flow with the content of the story. It is helpful for students to have a visual cue when they come across an unknown word or words. The illustrations also help to build an understanding of the story which can help students with comprehension. **Overall Evaluation**- This book would be a wonderful complement to a unit on winter. The book can also be used to go along with a lesson on rhyming words, as there are some sections throughout the book that contain rhyming words. ||= **Discussion Questions**- This non-fiction book about the season of summer has a great deal of discussion questions embedded in the book. The table of contents lists each section of the book, all of which are written in question form. For example, the third section of the book is titled, “What can you see in summer?” Each of the sections provides a great discussion question for students. **Metacognitive Activities-** This book provides many opportunities for metacognitive activities. Students can engage in several pre and post reading activities such as creating a Venn Diagram or a graphic organizer to list similarities and differences between summer and other seasons. Also, the book provides a one question quiz, with the answers in picture format. **Vocabulary**- This book has a great list of vocabulary words. ESL students would benefit greatly from this book due to the picture glossary located in the back. Also, all of the vocabulary words are in bold print throughout the book. **Illustrations**- The illustrations in this book are actual pictures. This really helps the students to see actual images of vocabulary words and other things happening in the story. The pictures make is easier for ESL students to connect with the story and the vocabulary words. **Overall Evaluation-** This book would be very helpful to low proficiency ESL students. I would use this book when discussing seasons or before summer break. || **Discussion Questions**- Teachers can create many discussion questions around the topic of this book. Many students have beach or vacation experiences to discuss and share with the class. **Metacognitive Activities**- There are many activities that can go along with this book. Before reading, students can complete a web diagram to list things found at the beach, or things to do at the beach. Students can engage in pre and post writing prompts about their own beach experiences, or what they would do on their own ‘beach day’. **Vocabulary**- While this book has some wonderful vocabulary in it, there are a few words that may be troublesome for some ESL students. For example, in the book the author describes the sand crabs as //scurrying// and refers to a picnic as a //banquet//. Depending on the proficiency level of the ESL student, they may have a hard time with words like scurrying and banquet. Overall, the book does provide great vocabulary for describing a beach day such as, “The Ocean’s Salty Breeze.” **Illustrations-** The illustrations in this book go along well with the story. ESL students can gain a great deal from the pictures to really connect with the story. **Overall Evaluation-** This book would be best appropriate for first and second grade students. However, more attention should be placed on vocabulary if being used in first grade. The book is perfect for reading before spring and/or summer break. It would also be beneficial during a unit on summer or seasons. ||
 * Basal Readers ||= Nonfiction Books || Picture Books ||
 * **Discussion Questions-** This book is one of the


 * Contact Information **



Ms. Haller bnh2x@mtmail.mtsu.edu 931-933-1320