Team Reading

A collaborative reading & speaking activity designed to chew through textbooks

Feel free to use, modify, and upload your own lessons!
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## Description

This activity was designed when my JTEs asked me to come up with a way to quickly read through the remaining lessons in the curriculum's textbook.

Students will work in groups of four people to read, comprehend, and discuss the text. The activity works best with texts that you can split into 4 parts. Each student in the group will have one of four unique roles (see below). Students will rotate roles for each part of the text.

**Student Roles:**

* **Summarizer**: Summarizes the text in their own words.
* **Questioner**: Creates and asks comprehension questions to the other group members.
* **Interviewer**: Creates and asks opinion questions related to the text to the other group members.
* **Predictor**: Uses context clues in the text to predict what will (or would) happen in the next part of the text.

**NOTE:** You will have to teach each of these skills prior to attempting this activity.

This activity is usually spread over 2-3 class periods thus:

* Day One: Lesson Introduction, Team Reading for Part One
* Day Two: Team Reading for Parts Two, Three, and Four
* Day Three: Team Reading for Part Four (if unfinished), supplementary activity, handing out Japanese translation of the text, reviewing vocabulary, etc.

## Materials

* Textbook
* Timer/Stopwatch
* Team Reading Worksheet: File:TeamReadingWorksheet.pdf

## Procedure

1. Split students into groups of four people
2. Split the text into 4 sections (if it hasn't already been)
3. Explain each role to the students
	1. Depending on your students' experiences, you may have to model and practice proper writing for summaries, questions, and predictions before attempting this activity. If your students are accustomed to writing such assignments, they will be more capable.
	2. See the "Variations" section below for tips on adjusting to your students' level.
4. **[1.5 minutes]** Read part 1 together. Students listen and silently read along with the CD / JET teacher.
5. **[2 minutes]** Students reread part 1 in their groups, each student reading a sentence in turn.
6. **[5 minutes]**     Preparation for discussion. In a group of four people, each student will do a different role on the Team Reading Worksheet in preparation for discussion. They should put a "1" in the blank underneath their role title for Part 1 on the worksheet (see Fig.1). Allow 5 minutes for students to silently and independently to complete their individual role on the Team Reading Worksheet.
7. **[5 minutes]** Give 5 minutes for students to discuss the text using their roles.
	1. 1 minute Summarizer - Read their summary to the group
	2. 1.5 minutes Questioner - Ask their questions to the group (one question per person)
	3. 1.5 minutes Interviewer - Ask their questions to the group (one question per person)
	4. 1 minute Predictor - Share their prediction with the group
8. Repeat with Parts 2, 3, and 4 of the text. Students should rotate roles in their group for each part. (i.e. The student who was the Summarizer for Part 1 should be the Questioner for Part 2, Interviewer for Part 3, and Predictor for Part 4.)
9. NOTE: Students who do the predictor for Part 4 of the text will predict what would happen in a theoretical sequel. If students have learned subjunctive mood (仮定法、かていほう), instruct them to use it (If there ***were*** a next part, we ***would*** learn about...). If not, simply encourage them to use their imaginations to think about what they would like to read next.

## Variations

* **For an extra challenge:** Extend the discussion time and encourage lengthy discussion in English. Give students the opportunity to comment on the work of the members of their group.
	+ i.e. to comment on Summarizer:
		- I (don't) think the part about 〇〇〇 is important so,
			* maybe you should include it in your summary. 入れた方がいいかも
			* it’s good that you included it in your summary.　入れてよかったと思う
			* maybe you don’t have to include it in your summary. 入れなくていいかも
	+ i.e. to comment on Predictor:
		- I see. That makes sense.
		- Oh, I didn’t think about that!
		- I agree with your prediction, because in this part the author talked about \_\_\_\_\_\_.
		- Really? I’m not sure.
		- That’s a good prediction, but I think we will learn (more) about \_\_\_\_\_\_.
		- Personally, I hope the author will talk about \_\_\_\_.

* **For an easier time:** Provide students with fill-in-the-blank scaffolding for summaries, questions, and prediction.
	+ i.e. Summary: This part is about \_\_\_\_. The first main idea is \_\_\_\_. The second main idea is \_\_\_\_. In conclusion, I learned \_\_\_\_\_.
	+ i.e. Interviewer: What do you think about \_\_\_\_? ; Have you ever \_\_\_\_? ; Do you agree (with the idea) that \_\_\_\_?

* **For an easier time:** Add an extra time slot after read and before preparation for "Discussion in Japanese" in which students can use their native language to help each other understand the part of the text before working on the worksheet.

## Sources

Based on materials from ReadingRockets.org