Here are some activities and handouts that tutors will find useful for individual or small group sessions. You may want to visit the ESL Activities page as well.
Reading
- PQRST Activities provides an overview of the reading strategy: Preview, Question, Read, State and Test.
- PQRST Reading Strategy Chart
- PQRST Preview Stage Activity 1 Handout
- PQRST Create Questions Activity 2 Handout
- PQRST State Stage Activity 4 Handout
- PQRST Guess the Headline Activity 6 Handout
- PQRST Putting it All Together Activity 7 Handout
- PQRST Test Yourself Quiz Activity 9 Handout
Graphic Organizers
The KWL Handout is useful when approaching new material. Students write down what they know about a topic under the “What I Know” column. They brainstorm questions and write those down under the “What I want to Know” column. Finally, after reading, they return to see if they can answer their questions under the “What I Learned” column. This sheet and activity can work hand in hand with PQRST.
Event Map Graphic Organizer Handout helps readers re-tell, chart events, analyze or write a story based on print material such as a newspaper article, fiction or a children’s book. It helps the reader students identify the relevant elements in a story.
The Five Ws Handout is useful for organizing writing. Students create informative pieces using the 5 question words: Who, What, When, Where and Why.
Venn Diagram Handout can be used when comparing two or more things to see what features are shared, and what are unique to each thing. It can help organize thoughts prior to writing or used after reading.
The Vocabulary_Development Worksheet will provide a format to help individuals increase their vocabulary. When encountering new vocabulary in reading, the Vocabulary quadarant can tie in new words with known vocabulary and make new connections for the learner.
