Approved by:

Head of the department Karabayev J. B.

________________
“_____” “_____________” 2017
Course: 3rd course/Term: 6
Groups:
Modul: Language assessment and testing
I. Theme: Lesson 10. How to test/ assess reading
II. The objective: to to give information about how to test/assess reading
The equipments: lap-top, handouts, slides, projects.
The procedure of the lesson
I. The organizational moment:
a) to greet the students;
b) to establish relation with the class, to raise students’ interests to the new lesson
II. Checking up the home-task.
III. Pre-activity of the lesson:
Brainstroming questions:
Handout 1. How to assess reading
Refer participants to the sessions on Teaching Reading and Authenticity.
Ask them what kind of reading subskills they remember. Elicit scanning, skimming, reading intensively. Ask
participants the following question:
~ How do you test or otherwise assess your students’ reading and listening skills?
Elicit random answers.
Establish that in our context reading skills are regarded as a tool for testing other skills like writing, speaking,
pronunciation, etc. through such tasks as ‘read and retell the text’, ‘read aloud’, ‘read and learn by heart’. Reading
skills such as scanning, skimming and reading intensively are not tested.
Ask participants to work in the same groups and make a list of characteristics of a good reading test.
Possible answer:
A good reading test:
~ focuses on reading sub-skills (scanning, skimming and reading intensively);
~ tests what it should test i.e. a reading test should test reading, not speaking or anything else;
~ uses authentic texts;
~ leaves little room for guessing;
~ contains only one correct answer per item etc.
Assessment examples for specific areas of reading
There are various ways to gather assessment data. Teachers can test students, analyze student work samples, observe
students performing literacy tasks, or interview students on their reading skills. Teachers can gain the most
information by administering all of these methods to collect data. The following information describes various types
of assessments for different areas of early reading. Each assessment identified is described in the resources section of
this brief.
Letter knowledge: the ability to associate sounds with letters
One example of an assessment for letter knowledge is to present a student with a list of letters and ask the student to
name each letter. Another example is to have a student separate the letters from a pile of letters, numbers, and
symbols. Students can also be asked to separate and categorize letters by uppercase and lowercase (Torgesen, 1998;
Wren, 2004).
Phonemic awareness: the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words
These assessments examine a student's knowledge of how sounds make words. A student can be asked to break
spoken words into parts, or to blend spoken parts of a word into one word. Additionally, a student can count the
number of phonemes in a word to demonstrate understanding, or a student can delete or add a phoneme to make a new
word (Torgesen, 1998; Wren, 2004).
The assessment tasks prepared for assessing reading skills only serve the pre-decided purposes of assessment. The
variety in the texts and tasks used add to the validity of the assessment. Students are expected to only scan, skim, infer
and understand the structure and meaning of the texts. They are not asked to and may have to use very little of other
language-skills to complete the tasks. Writing has been minimized in every possible way; vocabulary-based questions
have been kept to minimum; and there is almost no demand for displaying explicit grammatical ability.
The assessment is expected to have positive washback on teaching, learning, teacher and learner. Such an assessment
will help the teacher and student do away with memory-based tests. The teacher may find it easy to identify the
problem areas (in relation to reading) of students. If used wisely, the tasks may promote learner autonomy. The
teacher can also collect information about the assessment from students and make further improvements.
Activity 1. There are six texts (A, B, C, D, E and F) below. Each text contains a paragraph. Arrange the texts in
order so that you create a nice story.

A
Naduk related the whole story. Everyone in the courtroom burst out laughing. The magistrate then ordered Lakshman
to return the iron beam to Naduk and that Naduk return Lakshman's son to him.
B
For many years, Naduk traveled far and wide, building his fortune. Luck was with him, for he became rich once
again. He returned home and bought a new house and started his business again. He went to visit his friend Lakshman
who greeted him warmly. After a while, Naduk asked him to return his beam. Lakshman knew that the beam would
fetch him good money so he was loath to return it. So he told Naduk that he had kept his beam in the store-room and
the mice ate it.
C
Naduk locked up Ramu in a cellar in his house. By nightfall, Lakshamn was worried and came to ask about the
whereabouts of his son. Naduk replied that on the way to his house, a hawk swooped down and carried the boy off.
Lakshman accused Naduk of lying. He insisted that a hawk could not carry off a fifteen-year-old boy.
D
Naduk did not seem to mind. He asked Lakshman to send his son home with him so that he could hand over a gift that
he had bought for him. So Lakshman sent his son Ramu with Naduk.
E
Once upon a time, there was a rich merchant called Naduk. But times were bad and his business was suffering. He
decided to leave the city and find his fortune in a new place. He sold off all his possessions and paid off his debts. All
that he had left was a heavy iron beam. Naduk went to say goodbye to his friend Lakshman, and requested him to
keep the beam for him till he returned. Lakshman promised to look after it for him.
F
A big fight ensued and the matter was taken to court. When the magistrate heard Lakshman's side of the story, he
ordered Naduk to return the boy to his father. But Naduk insisted that a hawk carried off the boy. The magistrate
asked him how it was possible. He replied,that if a huge iron beam can be eaten by mice, then a boy could definitely
be carried off by a hawk.
First paragraph of the story: [E] (Paragraph ‘E’ is the first paragraph of the story.)
Second paragraph of the story: [ ]
Third paragraph of the story: [ ]
Fourth paragraph of the story: [ ]
Fifth paragraph of the story: []
Final paragraph of the story: [ ]
Answers: E (already given), B, D, C, F, A
Activity 2. Read the following passage and answer the questions given below.
Andhra Pradesh, owing to its proximity to the sea, enjoys a moderate climate throughout the year. The state
faces a hot summer but after the rain begins in the middle of June, there is a decline in the temperature as humidity
takes over. Summer season starts from mid-April and continues till mid-July; the rainy season starts thereafter.
Andhra Pradesh receives most of its annual rainfall from the south-west monsoon as well as from the north-
east monsoon. The south-west monsoon begins in the second week of June and lasts till September while the north-
east monsoon begins between October and November. The state's coastal belt receives heavy rains during the north
east monsoon and is also subject to cyclones causing enormous damage to residential accommodation and to standing
crops. The rainfall decreases from north to south. Northern parts of the state receive heavy rainfall from the south-
west monsoon while the southern areas like Rayalaseema receive more rainfall from north-east monsoon.
The state experiences a mild winter in December but the temperature hardly goes down below 16 °C. The hot
season causes the mercury to rise to troublesome proportions in the months of April and May when it could shoot up
to 40 degrees or even higher.
(Retrieved from www.andhraonline.in/about/profile/geography/climate.html)
Now, answer the following questions by ticking (√) the most suitable option.
1. The climate of Andhra Pradesh is moderate because
(a) it is situated near the sea (b) it is far from the sea
(c) it has no effect of the sea (d) it is surrounded by the sea
2. The hottest period in Andhra Pradesh is
(a) June to September (b) October to November (c) April to June (d) November to April
3. The highest rainfall in Andhra Pradesh is experienced in the
(a) coastal best (b) southern belt (c) western belt (d) northern belt
4. There are contradictory statements in the above passage. They are related to
(a) the climate (b) rainfall (c) cyclone (d) monsoon
5. If one of your friends can’t tolerate high temperatures and humidity and love cool weather, the best month for her
to visit Andhra Pradesh will be
(a) April (b) September (c) December (d) June
Answers: 1.(a), 2.(c), 3.(a), 4.(a), 5.(c)
Activity 3. Read the following news article and answer the questions given below the passage.
August 19, 2007: It’s the kind of superhuman deed that seems so hard to believe because it is true. One man
hacked away at a rocky hill for 22 years to create a three-km-long road linking his village to the outside world, armed
with nothing more than a hammer and a chisel. What drove the frail man on was a resolve much higher than the hill
facing him.
Dasrath Manjhi was from village Gehlour in Gaya District, one of the poorest districts of the western Indian
state of Bihar. Poor and illiterate, he worked as farm labour on fields that lay on the other side of the hill, as did many
other villagers. The villagers had to scrabble up the hill with its narrow and difficult pass to buy even the smallest
thing; skirting it took hours.
One day, Manjhi’s wife, Faguni Devi, slipped on the hill and broke her ankle as she was bringing him lunch.
Enraged, Manjhi decided to cut the hill down to size. He sold off his goats to buy a hammer, chisel and rope. He even
shifted his hut closer to the hill so that he could work day and night. People called Manjhi a madman but he did not
care. He was unstoppable; even hunger could not win over him.
Manjhi started his work more than 40 years ago. As time passed, the villagers noticed that the hill was a bit
more climber-friendly. It was no longer so steep – Manjhi’s hammer and chisel had seen to it that a flat stretch had
made its appearance. Those who had called Manjhi a madman fell silent. A few even joined him.
By the early 1980s, a three-kilometre road had been hewn out of the rock. It was wide enough for even
vehicles to pass through. A 50-km journey to the nearest block headquarters of Wazirganj had now shrunk to a 10 km
journey! (Several villages and small towns come under one block. All the important government departments looking
after the affairs of the block are located in the town which functions as block headquarters.)
(Retrieved from www.pitara.com › News for Kids › India News for Kids)
On the basis of your reading, indicate whether the following sentences are ‘Right’ (a) or ‘Wrong’. If the passage
does not provide enough information for choosing ‘Right’ or ‘Wrong’, choose ‘Not there’ (c).
Example: This article is based on a true story.
(a) Right (b) Wrong (c) Not there Answer: (a)
1. Manjhi started cutting the hill after her wife injured herself while getting him food.
(a) Right (b) Wrong (c) Not there Answer:
2. People called Manjhi a madman because they thought he should have invited them to work with him.
(a) Right (b) Wrong (c) Not there Answer:
3. People asked Manjhi not to cut the hill.
(a) Right (b) Wrong (c) Not there Answer:
4. Villagers from the nearby areas benefitted from Manjhi’s efforts.
(a) Right (b) Wrong (c) Not there Answer:
5. This story of Manjhi tells us that great will power can help one overcome great difficulties.
(a) Right (b) Wrong (c) Not there Answer:
Answers: 1.(a), 2.(b), 3.(b), 4.(a), 5.(a)
Activity 4. Read the notice carefully. Then fill in blanks using appropriate information from the notice.
The notice is meant for students of ____________________ [a]school. Only students of classes____ [b], ____ [c],
_____ [d] and ____ [e] can participate in the Music Carnival. The venue for 6th Inter-School Musical Carnival is
______________________ [f]. It will be held in the month of________ [g]. The notice invites students with
____________ [h] to appear for the audition. _______ [i] will be the judge who will be selecting the students that will
participate in the Inter-School Muscal Carnival. The interested students are asked to contact _________ [j] if they
have any query about the event.
Answers: a. modern, b. VI, c. VII, d. VIII, e. IX, f. Indian Cultural Centre, Ravindra Bharathi (no marks should be
deducted for writing either ‘Indian cultural Centre’ or ‘Ravindra Bharathi’), g. April, h. gifted voices (some other
phrase representing same meaning should be awarded full marks), i. Ms Uma A., j. Varun Rao K. (even students
writing ‘Secretary, Music Club’ will get fullmarks)