EDF3306 Literacy Assessment 2:
Reading Comprehension
Predicting
Learning activity one
Use the book Just Another Ordinary Day by Rod Clement. This book has relatively normal text, with crazy and interesting pictures which are a stark contrast to the text as seen on the pages below (click the arrow to see the next page):
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Read the first page to students without showing them the picture and ask them to draw their own picture of what they think is happening.
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Show them the first picture in the book and compare it to their own.
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Repeat this with each page.
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As you read the book, the students’ pictures for each page will become more and more imaginative. Talk to them about why this is, i.e. how they are using their prior knowledge to predict what the next picture will look like.
Learning activity two
Bring an unusual object into class and ask students to predict what it might be used for. For each prediction that a child makes, ask them to explain why they think that.
You may like to bring several objects and ask students to fill out a table with one column for their prediction about each object and another column with the evidence that led them to make that prediction. The focus is on students understanding that predictions are not just random guesses, but are based on known facts and prior knowledge.
Alternatively, you could show students an excerpt of the game show Liars Club in which contestants have to predict what antiques and obscure objects are used for.
