GELYN E.

LAGAPA, LPT Page 0

ENG 108 – The Teaching and Assessment of the Macroskills Module 6
 PASSI CITY COLLEGE
City of Passi, Iloilo

SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

MODULE 6:

Teaching and Assessing Reading Skills

Module Overview:
This module will guide the students to be equipped with fundamental preparations which
can address the varying their needs. Basic preparations among others include the research-based
learning plan, differentiated learning tasks as well as assessment measurements.

Module Outcomes:
At the end of the module the learner should have:
• discuss the importance of reading;
• identify principles of teaching reading;
• select differentiated learning tasks in teaching reading to suit learners’ gender, needs,
strengths interests, and experiences.

Module Content:
✓ The Assessment of Reading Performance
• On the Concept of Assessment
• On the Purposes of Assessment in Reading
• On Types of Reading Assessment

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ENG 108 – The Teaching and Assessment of the Macroskills Module 6
 The Assessment of Reading Performance

Expose
On the Concept of Assessment
Assessment in reading instruction allows the students to check their own understanding
and monitor progress in the attainment of learning objectives and the development of reading
comprehension skills. Likewise, this prompts you, prospective teachers that every academic
engagement is within the realms of the intended learning outcomes.
More valuable ideas/concepts, as well as purposes, are herein shared by renowned authorities
and from research findings.
Allen (2004) claims that assessment involves the use of empirical data on student
learning to refine programs and improve student learning. Moreover, Huba and Fred (2000)
said that assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and
diverse sources to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do
with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences. The process culminates when
assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning.
Erwin (1991) expressed that assessment is the systematic basis for making inferences
about the learning and development of students. It is the process of defining, selecting,
designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using the information to increase students'
learning and development.
Palomba and Banta (1999) posit that assessment is the systematic collection, review, and
use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student
learning and development. Top of Form

On Purposes of Assessment in Reading

The following authorities as well as from research findings share their ideas as well on
the purposes of assessment.
According to Ghaicha, (2016) Assessment results, along with other measurement data
(such as those obtained through periodic surveys), are valuable tools for educational
institutions. They assist in evaluating the effectiveness of institutional practices by tracking the
functioning of different components of the assessment system.
Bachman (2004) stressed that assessment is the process by which a quantified value,
usually numerical, is assigned to the attributes or dimensions related to students' performance
while measuring ability or aptitude in such a way that the student's quality of performance is
preserved.

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ENG 108 – The Teaching and Assessment of the Macroskills Module 6
 Gallagher (1998) says that measurement/assessment is the process of quantifying the
degree to which someone or something possesses a characteristic, quality, or feature. It can be
done by counting how many correct responses a student gives in relation to the total, or by
assigning a percentage, or assigning a student a numerical score.
Marion, R. (2007) noted that assessment creates dynamic purposes in instruction.
According to him, assessment drives instruction in the sense that it informs instructors what
students know and do not know at the outset as set in the direction of a course. Assessment drives
learning. He further expressed that assessment informs students of their progress as this
provides the students feedback so they become aware of their strengths and challenges with
respect to course learning outcomes. Apart from this, according to him, assessment informs
teaching..
The aforementioned denotes that students' performance is then a manifestation of their
degree of attainment of the desired learning outcomes given at the onset of the lesson.

On Types of Reading Assessment

As prospective teachers, it is of great value that apart from understanding the concepts
and purposes of assessment in reading, you need to be further exposed on the types of
assessment as well, Herewith are some samples:

In Teach Thought, it is noted that the six types of assessment help measure the understanding of
whatever is the material at hand. These are:
Diagnostic as pre-Assessment whereby students' strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, and
skills are being assessed.
Formative assessment where students' performance is monitored and checked during
instruction, and usually occurs regularly throughout the instruction process.
Summative assessment. This measures students' achievement at the end of instruction.
Norm- referenced assessment is the comparison of students' performance against other
students in a much larger group.
Criterion-referenced assessment measures a student's performance against a goal,
specific objective, or standard.
Lastly, according to Teach Thought, interim or benchmark assessment is done to
evaluate a student's performance at periodic intervals, frequently at the end of a grading period.
A benchmark assessment is a type of interim assessment so it could be useful for communicating
important facts and data to stakeholders for future actions.

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ENG 108 – The Teaching and Assessment of the Macroskills Module 6
In the teaching of reading, the primary focus of assessment is on the development of the reading
skills that eventually guide the students to become critical and creative thinkers. Word
recognition for early graders and critical Vocabulary development for the advanced graders are
given importance as well as these obviously lead to the understanding of the written texts.
Another type of reading assessment is the Informal Reading Inventory (IRI). This is an
assessment tool that serves to diagnose, develop and remediate phonological knowledge,
vocabulary as well as reading skills that need to be further developed/ reinforced by the students.
It contains graduated activities by which students from the different grade levels can achieve
according to the level of difficulty.
According to Scott, (2021) IRI is a primary assessment tool for teachers to create lesson
plans for individual students in order to evaluate language usage and determine what students
have not been exposed to in the classroom at the beginning of the school year.

In addition to the aforementioned, the following reading assessment activities are herein offered:
A. Phonological Awareness
It is a basic reading skill that focuses on the understanding that spoken words comprise
the individual sounds of the spoken language. In the English language on which reading
instruction is anchored, clear production of sounds, clarity of the voice, and correct mouth
formation are the requisites to the comprehensibility of spoken words.

Phonemic awareness performance (Put Reading First, 1998). is a strong predictor of

long-term reading and spelling success.
Blachman (2000) added that students with strong phonological awareness are likely to
become good readers, but students with weak phonological skills will likely become poor
readers. It is estimated that the vast majority-more than 90 percent of students with
significant reading problems have a core deficit in their ability to process phonological
information (Blachman. 1995). Gillon (2004) posited that phonemic awareness
performance can predict literacy performance more accurately than variables such as
intelligence, vocabulary knowledge, and socioeconomic status.

The following are some practical activities that help develop and reinforce phonemic awareness
and are herein suggested:
1. Exercising the Vocal Cords.
You guide the students to open their mouth: inhale, exhale, and thrust a vibrating
sound out coming from the diaphragm. This can be done in 3-5 minutes

2. Letter-Word Recognition and Articulation.

You draw a paper with an identified letter on it. As you present the drawn letter to
the students, you call them at random and let them name anything that starts with the
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ENG 108 – The Teaching and Assessment of the Macroskills Module 6
 letter presented. As the student says the word, you pay particular attention to the proper
articulation of the word. Then the activity continues for 5 minutes.
3. Name Identification.
You call on any student to approach a classmate whom he/she considers exciting
to know about. The student utters the name of his/her classmate with correct articulation
and shares what he/ she is excited about him/her.

4. Spoken Expressions.
You provide the students with varied activities that consciously focus on the
correct production of sounds of letters and words. Examples of these are individual and
team presentations of song rendition, role play, dialogue, and others.

5. Building Acronym.
Students use their family names or most cherished virtue as an acronym. Then
they read their output with well-articulated word utterances.

6. Vocabulary Development.
This refers to the words that people know and appropriately use in certain
conditions. This is a process of acquiring words. The choice of words matters a lot in the
way ideas are expressed. It builds or destroys meaning as well as relationships. This,
therefore, necessitates a well-thought-of choice of words.

Here are some activities on vocabulary development that can be employed in a reading class:
1. Word Rally
A big idea is presented on the board/screen. The students are called to write/type
other words similar to the one presented. This can be done in 2-3 minutes. After, any
student is identified to use any of the words in meaningful contexts.

2. Emoji Interpretation.
A newspaper caricature or an emoji is presented and students describe it by
choosing the appropriate word. You provide a number of terms to serve as a basis for the
student's choice. After the identification of the right term, any student can use it in
meaningful contexts.

3. Story Development.
You present a topic like globalization, collaboration, environmental issues, etc.
Students write terms to describe any of the topics given. Use the terms in forming into a
short story, an ad, a commentary, etc.

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ENG 108 – The Teaching and Assessment of the Macroskills Module 6
 4. Word Hunt.
Any student presents the assigned latest issue of the country/local community.
Other students guess what the highlight of the issue is and, in a race, they find an
appropriate term from the thesaurus to describe it. The first one to offer the most
appropriate term is considered a winner.

5. Story Transformation.
Undeniably children's books contain simple words that fit in to the ability of the
children to understand. Here, the students are instructed to transform the children's story
that may be appropriate for adult reading using the same plot. Obviously, terms here vary
between children's and adults' understanding

B. Comprehension
Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. To be able to
accurately understand written material, children need to be able to
(1) decode what they read;
(2) make connections between what they read and what they already know; and
(3) think deeply about what they have read. (Reading Rockets)

According to Tierney (1982) comprehension or extracting meaning from what you read is
the ultimate goal of reading. The process of comprehension is both interactive and strategic.
Rather than passively reading text, readers must analyze it, internalize it and make it their own.

This being the ultimate aim of reading, comprehension skills need to be deep-seated in
the academic experiences of the students.

Here are some reading assessment activities that can help reinforce the students' reading
comprehension skills:
1. Caricature Analysis.
The students interpret the meaning of the caricature while relating its essence to
their own experiences.

2. Interpreting Graphs.
Look for any relevant data presented in graphs. Then interpret objectively the
facts and provide proactive measures for a way forward.

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ENG 108 – The Teaching and Assessment of the Macroskills Module 6
 3. Problem-Solution Rote.
In a pair, the first student poses a problem; the other one offers a relevant
solution. After, this is done in vice-versa. They may present this to the class if time
permits.

4. Symbol Translation.
You present the flags of the different countries in the world. Students are given
the freedom to choose the flag that attracts them or that signifies meaning to them. They
are called individually to explain or give interpretation to the symbols of the chosen flag.
To check the veracity of the interpretation, students are instructed to refer to the official
source of information.

5. News Item Analysis.

Students read news articles from different sources: print or non-print. They pick
one issue that interests them and they identify the cause (what might have caused the
issue) and the effect (probable result)

C. Fluency
This is a reading skill that gives credence to the smooth transition of words thus creating
a comprehensible idea. With this in mind, practice in oral communication is very essential.

Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. To
understand what they read, children must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud
or silently. When reading aloud, fluent readers read in phrases and add intonation appropriately.
Their reading is smooth and has expression. (Reading Rockets)

Nieporent (2012) noted that reading fluency is the ability to read accurately, smoothly,
and with expression. Fluency is important because it bridges word recognition and
comprehension. It allows students time to focus on what the text is saying. They can make
connections between what they are reading and their own background knowledge.

From the Big Ideas in Beginning Reading, fluency (automaticity) is reading words with
no noticeable cognitive or mental effort. It is having mastered word recognition skills to the point
of overlearning. Fundamental skills are so "automatic" that they do not require conscious
attention.

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ENG 108 – The Teaching and Assessment of the Macroskills Module 6
The following are suggested activities that can help develop or reinforce students' fluency skills.

1. The Last Word is Mine.

The students are grouped into 4. Then you present a pressing issue or a title of a
story to each group alternately. In a span of 10 seconds, each student in the group says
something about the topic/story. After 10 seconds the student stops. His/her last word
becomes the first word of the next student/speaker. This process continues until the last
student of the group is able to say something and close the topic/story.

2. Free Talk.
Given a photo/image of their interest, the students are tasked to say something
about it obstruction. You may note the students' correctness and miscues along the way.

3. Compensatory Strategies.
These are mechanisms that aid students in making their oral communication
comprehensible without distracting meaning. These are cues that are consciously
employed but not very noticeable to the receiver. The use of common expressions like
actually. let me see, ahm; okay, etc; and certain gestures convey a message that the
speaker is still looking for the right terms. If done unnoticeably this is fine. Much better
still if the students/speakers are provided with rich opportunities to communicate orally to
attain smoothness of delivery of ideas.

4. Mini-Debate.
The class is divided into 2 groups. A debatable proposition is presented. You
assign group 1 to present the affirmative side of the topic and group 2 to present the
negative side. With facts on hand, the rebuttal starts. You give close attention to the oral
communication skills delivered by the students.

5. Phone/Messenger Conversation.
A scenario is provided to both parties: the caller and the receiver. The caller starts
with his/her concern and this shall be replied to appropriately by the receiver. The
conversation is observed by the teacher and the rest of the students and they give
comments after.

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ENG 108 – The Teaching and Assessment of the Macroskills Module 6
Based on your knowledge of reading assessment, write your proactive solutions to the following
situations:
1. A student can read well but is not willing to read. (10 points)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
2. A student is willing to read but there are not enough reading materials available.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
3. A student is willing to read has enough reading materials but due to peer pressure is not
interested to do schools works especially on activities that involve reading.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.

Watch closely this video clip closely. Write your comments/ realization about the content
of the video.
Reading Comprehension: Assessment and Evaluation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0-NB2vTuQU

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ENG 108 – The Teaching and Assessment of the Macroskills Module 6
 Rubric for Activity

Category Points
10 8 5 3 0
Information is Information Information is The Information is not
very organized is organized organized but information only disorganized
with well- with well- paragraphs are appears to but inaccurate
constructed constructed not well- disorganized
paragraphs, use of but constructed information is
Organization subheadings, and paragraphs and suspect to
information is and information is being correct
factual and correct information is factual. and factual
constructed factual and
paragraphs and correct.
information is
factual and correct
Information Information Information Information Information has
Quality of clearly relates to clearly relates clearly relates has little to nothing to do with
Information the main topic It to the main to the main do with the the main topic
includes several topic. It topic. No main topic
supporting details provides 1 - 2 details and/or
and/or examples supporting examples or
details and/or given
examples
No grammatical, Almost no A few Many Way too many for a
spelling or grammatical, grammatical, grammatical, college student
Mechanics punctuation errors spelling, or spelling, or spelling, or getting ready to
punctuation punctuation punctuation enter the health
errors errors errors education field

References:
Book
Alda, R., et al (2022). The Teaching and Assessment of the Macro Skills (Regular ed.).
Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing Co.

Online
https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/cebu-normal-university/english-
literature/teaching-and-assestment-of-the-macroskills/22995281

‘In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you’. Matthew 7:12

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ENG 108 – The Teaching and Assessment of the Macroskills Module 6