Reading Lesson Activities 20170872

Reading Lesson Activities and the Western Australian Curriculum

Issac Hood
University of Norte Dame
Fremantle
 Reading Lesson Activities
Strand
Literature
Encounter literature
being created for
various reasons and
purposes and react to
the retelling of a literary
text (ACELT1580a)
Respond to texts
listened to, viewed or
read (ACELT1783a)
Efficient readers use all
their senses to continually
create images as they read
text. The images that
individuals create are based
on their prior knowledge.
Sensory images created by
readers help them to draw
conclusions, make
predictions, interpret
information, remember
details and assist with
overall comprehension
(First Steps. Pg. 118)
Share feelings and
thoughts about the
events and characters in
texts (ACELT1783)
Predicting helps readers to
activate their prior
knowledge about a topic, so
they begin to combine what
they know with the new
material in the text.
Predictions are based on
clues in the text such as
pictures, illustrations,
subtitles and plot.
20170872
Western Australian Curriculum – English
Children’s Literature – The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Year Level – Pre Primary
Reading Activity Resources
Retell the Hungry Caterpillar using an Australian  An Australian Version of
animal The Very Hungry
Caterpillar with words
Recreate the hungry caterpillar but substitute the setting left out
and character for the Australian outback and a native
Australian animal. Leave out elements of the story and
as a class fill them in.
E.g. The joey ate a ___ and afterwards he felt ___.
1. Read the book aloud to the class
2. Pause at the blank spaces in sentences and get
the students to help fill in the missing words.
3. Once the book is complete reread it aloud
without stropping
Listen Draw Read  A blank copy of the
1. Read the hungry caterpillar aloud to the students hungry caterpillar for
each student
but do not show them the pictures
 Textas and pencils
2. Read page by page and allow the students time
to create their own illustrations based on what
they hear
3. Once you have finished re-read the book but this
time show the pictures
4. Afterwards give students a few minutes to
discuss in pairs what the differences were and to
present their illustrations to each other
Guess Listen Share
1. Students make predictions in their groups based
on the illustrations on the first and last page
2. Groups pair up and share ideas, discussing what
they think and why
3. The teacher reads the hungry caterpillar aloud
4. Students pair up and reflect on how they felt
compared to their predictions and what actually
happened.
 Reading Lesson Activities
Strand
Language
Respond to images and
words in texts
(ACELA1786a)
Efficient readers take
information from a text and
add their own ideas to make
inferences. During the
process of inferring, readers
make predictions, draw
conclusions and make
judgments to create their
interpretations of a text.
Respond to vocabulary
used in everyday
experiences
(ACELA1437a)
Understand that
language can be used to
explore ways of
expressing needs, likes
and dislikes
(ACELA1429)
As students read and use
synthesising,
they stop at selected places
in a text and think about
what has been
read. This encourages them
to keep track of what is
happening
in the text.
20170872
Reading Activity Resources
Reading to guess  Photo copies of the
1. In a small group, students are given 2 pages with hungry caterpillar
a page missing in between
2. They must read both pages and then create their
own page to replace the missing one
3. Students must try and use the context of both
pages to create the missing page
4. At the end all the pages are put together and then
compare how similar the original book is to the
student made
(This task is facilitated by the teacher during an activity
rotation session)
Sorting the Book
1. The teacher reads through the book aloud
2. They must use the book to categorise words, into
either naming, doing or describing words
3. The teacher will pause at a word and then
discuss with students as to where the word
belongs in the categories
4. Throughout the book students should cover at
least 2 words from each category
How does he feel  Big picture of the
1. Read the hungry caterpillar aloud to the class hungry caterpillar
2. Whilst reading have one face stuck onto the  4 caterpillar faces to
stick on
picture of the hungry caterpillar
- There are 4 faces that can be used
Happy, hungry, sick, full
3. Whilst reading the teacher will stop at selected
parts of the book and ask students if they think
the face should change
4. The teacher will ask why the students think the
face should change and how they know what the
hungry caterpillar is feeling
 Reading Lesson Activities 20170872

Strand Reading Activity Resources

Literacy
Use interaction skills
including listening
while others speak,
using appropriate voice
levels, articulation and
body language, gestures
and eye contact
(ACELY1784)
Efficient readers continually
think of questions before,
during and after reading to
assist them to comprehend
text.
Deliver short oral
presentations to peers
(ACELY1647)
Students may need extra
encouragement to create
images with lots of detail or
those that go beyond the
literal information in the
text.
Mat Reading
1. The teacher reads the book aloud to the students
on the mat
2. The teacher stops at appropriate places in the
book to ask the students questions
3. At first the teacher asks questions but as the
reading goes on the students are guided into
asking their own questions about what will
happen next
4. E.g. Teacher “if I stopped reading now, what
questions would you ask me about the rest of the
book?”
5. Throughout the lesson students practice their
whole body listening skills by sitting up straight,
not calling out and looking at the teacher etc.
What Am I  Clue cards related to the
1. Students have a deck of Clue Cards very hungry caterpillar
2. Each card has a picture from something in the
book, the very hungry caterpillar
3. The card will have clues on it describing the
picture on the card. For example if there was a
picture of an ice cream, the card might say, its
very cold, it tastes sweet, its pointy and it looks
pink and white.
4. One student will present the clue to the other
student and then the second student must skim
through the book and try and guess what the clue
was describing.

References
Department of Education, 2013. First Steps: Reading Resources.

Tierney, R. J. (1985). Reading strategies and practices. A compendium. Allyn and Bacon

Order Dept., 200 Old Tappan Rd., Old Tappan, NJ 07675.