Reading Activities 1

Reading Activities Complying Seven Reading Comprehension Strategies 1

The followings are the reading activities we decided complying 7 reading comprehension strategies to promote the reading and understanding of Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile.

1.   Activating or building background knowledge

Ask questions and show pictures of animals in order to activate students’ background knowledge of animals. Students may think about the characters of different kinds of animals. For example, lion and tigers are big and fierce and they live in the forest/jungle. Crocodiles are big and live in waterside of the jungle.

Ask the following questions and let students know different kinds of animals.

1.      Have you ever been to the Hong Kong Ocean Park?

(Show some pictures of the Ocean Park to students)

2.      What animals can you see in the Ocean Park?

Pandas, dolphins, alligators/crocodiles (similar animals), sealions, seals, fox, monkey

Panda

sealion

dolphins

the cuddly red pandas

Arctic Fox Den

Snowy owl

spotted seals

monkey

1.      Have you ever been to the forest/jungle?

2.      What can you see in the forest/jungle?

elephant

Hippopotamus

Monkey

crocodile

3.      What animals do you like? Why?

4.      What animal are you afraid of? Why?

5.      Have you been ever tricked by an animal/a bird?

6.      Did it hurt you? How were you feeling?

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2.    Using sensory images

a.       Using pictures to make students know more about crocodiles and their characteristics

b.      Using pictures Introduce the main character: the Enormous Crocodile and the other character

(i)                 Ask students to look at the big picture of the Enormous Crocodile

1.      Look at the picture of the Enormous Crocodile and describe the Enormous Crocodile.

Ask students to describe the Enormous Crocodile

-          Streamline body

-           Long and big jaw

-           Sharp and strong teeth

-          Webbed feet

(They have a streamlined body that enables them to swim swiftly. Crocodiles also tuck their feet to their sides while swimming, which make them faster by
decreasing water resistance. They have webbed feet which, although not
used to propel the animal through the water, allow it to make fast turns
and sudden moves in the water or initiate swimming. Webbed feet are an
advantage in shallower water where the animals sometimes move around by
walking. Crocodiles are ambush hunters, waiting for fish or land animals to come
close, and then rushing out to attack.)

2.      What do you think the Enormous Crocodile like to eat??

            Fish, frogs, birds, crabs, reptiles, insects

3.      Where did the Enormous Crocodile live?

River side of the jungle

4.      If you were the Enormous Crocodile, what do you want for your meals?

(ii)               Show pictures of the other pictures and ask students some questions

What animals did the Enormous Crocodile meet in the jungle?

  

Humpy-Rumpy the Hippopotamus

Muggle-Wump Monkey

  Trunky the Elephant

   Roly-Poly Bird

(iii)             Show the picture and ask questions-let students to understand in the story

Look at the picture and answer the questions.

1.      Where was it?

2.      Who were in the place?

3.      What trick did the Enormous Crocodile play in the picture?

4.      What did the Enormous Crocodile look like?

5.      Why did the Enormous Crocodile make himself look like such thing in the picture?

6.      Who told the children it was not a real seesaw?

7.      What did the children do after know that it was not a real seesaw?

8.      If you were one of the children, what would you do?

3.  Questioning

Ask questions related to the story and make students understand the story

(i)                 Read Page 1to 8 and answer the following questions

            1. What did the enormous crocodile want for his lunch?

                                    A. Fish                            B. Humpy-Rumpy              

                                    C. Children                        D. Trunky

2. How many animal(s) did the Enormous Crocodile meet in the jungle?

A. 1                                 B. 2

C. 4                                 D. 5

(ii)               Read Page 9-13, answer the following questions

1.                              In the Clever Trick Number One, who did the Enormous Crocodile meet?

A. Toto & Mary                        B. Sam & Kate

C. Alex & Sally                        D. Tom & Bobo

2.         What did the Enormous Crocodile in ‘Clever Trick Number One’?

A. a seesaw                               B. a coconut tree

C. a wooden crocodile on a merry-go-around     D. a bench

3.  Who helped the children?

                        A. Roly- Poly Bird                              B. Humpy-Rumpy the Hippopotamus           

                  C. Muggle-Wump Monkey                                         D. Trunky the Elephant

(iii)             Read the story and answer the following questions.

1.      How many tricks did the Enormous Crocodile play in the story?

Four tricks

2.      What did the Enormous Crocodile pretend in ‘Clever Trick Number One’?

            a coconut tree    

                                                   

3.      What did the Enormous Crocodile pretend ‘Clever Trick Number Two’?

  a seesaw                                                         

4.      What did Trunky do to the Enormous Crocodile at last?

   Swing and throw the Enormous Crocodile up into the sky           

 

7: Synthesizing

1. Information + Response = Synthesis

a. Did The Enormous Crocodile change the way you feel about nature, or about wilderness?

b. What if the Enormous Crocodile had gone to Hong Kong? Would it have had to eat the children in different ways?

c. What do you think would have happened if The Enormous Crocodile had not told the clever tricks to other animals? Would it be the same result that it became under the book's circumstances?

2. Information + Interpretation = Synthesis

Readercan gaining new insights (wisdom) about life:

Citation from the book:

“I have a secret plans and clever tricks”

Synthetic thinking:

When you tell a secret plans and clever tricks to someone you trusted. But finally they betray you .

Have you experienced a similar situation sometimes?