Teaching reading with a new flavor and a new fervor

THE WRITER with her students at Timoteo Paez Elementary School

It was such a great honor and privilege to be part of the 2014 Bench-Inquirer in Education (IIE) Serial Reading program.

For the first time, our school, Timoteo Paez Elementary School and the division of Pasay City participated in the program this school year.

The IIE program made a significant difference in the way my students thought and felt about reading, particularly a newspaper.

For most of my students, it was the first time they owned a broadsheet. Seeing the awe and excitement on their faces every time they were handed their copies of the newspaper gave me added inspiration to teach reading with a new flavor, a different twist.

For seven weeks the children followed the featured story, “The Looking Glass Tree (TLGT)” by Cyan Abad-Hugo. They readily got hooked and looked forward to every chapter.

They developed a great enthusiasm for reading not just the story, but also articles in other sections of the newspaper.

Teaching reading using the newspaper was a bit rough at the beginning. Like the other partner teachers in the program, time was the biggest constraint.

Integrating the story and the learning competencies we have in the public schools requires a great deal of preparation if we are to come up with an impressive lesson. But, with the help of the Inquirer and the other partner teachers, I was able to go through the rigors of the program.

Inch by inch, I succeeded in bringing my students into the world of “TLGT.” They read, got to know each character, participated in discussions and engaged in meaningful and fun-filled activities.

The students expressed what they gained from the story and the values they learned through their outputs.

The Learning section provided the opportunity for these students to widen their imagination, hone their creativity and develop their critical thinking, which are crucial to the success of reading.

Though excellence in reading remains a work in progress, I believe that the IIE program, if sustained, can be an effective classroom tool, especially in public schools, because of the way it helps students develop not only reading skills but also writing, grammar, vocabulary and speaking skills.

When more and more teachers are trained and engaged in this kind of program, students will be exposed to more meaningful opportunities that will develop in them a passion for reading and writing.

To the Inquirer and Bench, thank you so much for this wonderful experience.

Now I feel more confident and enthusiastic to discover more and greater ways to use newspapers in teaching reading and language.

Congratulations to all my copartner teachers/batchmates. We all did a great job.