Some solutions help advanced students in grade 9 do Reading Exercises effectively in the examination

INDEX
Content
Page 
INDEX ............................................................................................... 
A.Introduction................................................................................
I. The reason for choosing the topic ............................................. 
II. The purpose of research.............................................................
III. The objects of research..............................................................
IV. The method of research.............................................................
B. The content of the experienced initiative...................................
I. The rationale of the experienced initiative..
II. The real situation before applying the experienced initiative
III. The solutions of implementation
1. Equipping the reading method..
a. Skimming ..
b. Scanning 
2. Improving the reading skill..
a. Broadening the vocabulary and knowledge..........................
b. Improving the ability of reasoning
3. Providing the skills to do some types of reading exercises.
a. Filling in the gap with one suitable word.
b. Answering the questions by choosing the best choice...
c .Reading the passage and answering the questions.
4. The effect of the experienced initiative.................................
C. Conclusion and suggestion:
I. Conclusion
II. Suggestion
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INTRODUCTION
The reason for choosing the topic 
Nobody can deny the vital role of English in the development of our society these days. It is the effective implement to integrate into the region and the world, the mean to approach the information technology and science, the good way to understand the culture of the countries in the world as well as the important events With all above reasons, Vietnam’s education and training has given the vital target for the foreign subject: the syllabus of English is to form and develop students’ knowledge and basic skills about English, especially build the necessary virtue to help them study further specialized level of education or apply to their life flexibly. 
Learning English well is not easy so the teachers who are assigned a task to cultivate good students of English meet lots of difficulties in finding the most effective methods to impart knowledge for students well and help them get high results in the examinations. In the process of cultivating good students in English, I recognize that Reading exercises are still quite difficult for students and they always make mistakes and go wrong when they do those reading exercises such as: Filling in the gaps, choose the best answer, read and answer the questions. While all types of reading exercises are often in the examinations and occupy high mark in the exam paper. With my experience in the process of revising and drilling students and reference from my colleagues, I have observed, studied and recognized some reasons which students often meet when they do the exam as well as found out some solutions to help them overcome those mistakes above.
With all above reasons, I choose the topic “Some solutions help advanced students in grade 9 do Reading Exercises effectively in the examination” to research.
The purpose of research
When I write the experienced initiative, I really wish my students will not only have more useful knowledge to do reading exercises well but also give them the most effective methods to do the exam with high result. Moreover overcoming the mistakes, difficulties which students meet in doing Reading exercises mentioned in the topic will help them reduce difficulties and be more confident in doing tests. Besides it is a useful document for English teachers to refer in the process of teaching good students in English.
The objects of research
Good students in grade 9 take part in revising for English’s exam at Secondary schools.
Reading texts in the English tests for talent students.
The method of research
Studying reasoning: reading newspaper, books, documents, lesson plan
Investigating the real situation
Counting figures and result of studying
Observing the reality: observing students when they do tests
Experimenting the teaching methods
Summarizing the results, learning from the colleagues’ experiences.
THE CONTENT OF THE EXPERIENCED INITIATIVE
The rationale of the experienced initiative
English at secondary school improves students a basic, useful knowledge and it is also the first step for them to study at advanced level at universities or colleges, even for their jobs in the future. According to some experts, teachers of English should pay attention to the factors which effect on the quality of student’s task in doing reading exercises such as: the ability of concentration, reading the instruction, reasoning and judgment However, students are usually get used to reading word by word and do not notice in reading generally the whole task. Therefore teachers need to form the basic skills to do the types of reading exercises that will help them develop the ability of awareness and capacity of action.
The real situation before applying the experienced initiative:
In fact, students at rural areas like our Thach Quang secondary school are still learning in the difficult studying conditions so it is not easy for them to get access to reference books or modern technology equipment. Furthermore, the students’ ability of analysis, mentality and summarizing are limited; the skills of doing tests are confused. While students need to have good basic knowledge, various awareness about every field combining with summarizing thought and flexible judgment that will help them get high mark in the exams. 
Before applying the experienced initiative, the result of cultivating good students in English I was assigned in 2013-2014: 
Order 
Full name
Class 
Mark 
1
Nguyễn Hà Thanh
9
12,0
2
Bùi Thị Thắm
9
11,5
3
Nguyễn Văn Nam
9
8,0
4
Trịnh Đức Trường
9
9,0
The result made me worried too much and I always tried my best to find out the solution. Because students do grammar exercises and writing quite well but reading exercises which account for one third in the paper exam, they made too many mistakes. After observing students do these exercises I realized that they didn’t know the method of reading, the shortage of knowledge (both vocabulary and other field), the limited reasoning and do not have the skills to do each type of reading exercises.
The solutions of implementation.
Equipping the reading method: 
Skimming: 
What does skimming mean?
Skimming means reading quickly the entire main contents of the reading text but do not read the small parts of the text deeply. Students can read quickly by reading the title, topic sentences and concluding sentences to get the content of the reading text. Because the reading text in English is written in two ways: deductive and inductive method. Students can skim when the passage is too long or time is limited. Skimming helps get the main content as well as the writer’s opinion in each part of passage. When students understand the important information, they will decide to continue reading deeply or not.
The steps to skim:
Read the title first then read the topic sentences to get the main content of the passage
Read the topic sentence of each part of the passage. It is usually at the beginning of the text or at the end.
When students read the passage, they should pay attention to the wh-questions such as: who, what, which, where, when, why.and the important words which are noun, figure, bold words or capital letters
They need to understand the logic of the reading text basing on the marking words such as: because, firstly, secondly, finally, but, the, includes, etc. Those words will help them read quickly and recognize how the reading text is written: listing, comparison-contrast, time-order and cause-effect. Skimming is very important to catch the content of each paragraph.
Example: Read the passage and choose the best answers to questions below.(5 pts)
For most people, the distinction between vegetables and fruits is fairly clearly. Scientists, however, have varied opinions in this regard. For example, horticulturists categorize a watermelon as a vegetable despite its general acceptance as a fruit. Botanists identify a tomato as a fruit even though it is commonly used as a vegetable.
These differences stem from the ways in which fruits and vegetables are classified. For a botanist, a fruit is a seed – bearing portion of flowering plant or tree. According to this definition, a tomato is a fruit. For a horticulturist, a vegetable is the edible portion of a plant that must be replanted annually. According to this view, a tomato is a vegetable. A horticulturist sees a fruit as coming from a plat or tree that lives at least two years. In the case of fruits and vegetables that meet the criteria of both group of scientists, such as apples or potatoes, there is no conflict.
What does this passage mainly discuss?
The work of botanists and horticulturists.	
Common types of fruits and vegetables
Scientific differences between fruits and vegetables.	
The seed – bearing nature of fruit.
To answer the question, students use skimming skill by reading the first sentence of the passage to get the answer “For most people, the distinction between vegetables and fruits is fairly clearly.” Moreover both fruits and vegetables are mentioned in the passage so the correct answer is C.
Scanning:
What does scanning mean?
Scanning means that students read very fast to get the data, necessary specific information to answer the questions. Scanning is usually applied for some types of reading text like: True-False-Not given, multiple choices, Complete the summary
When is scanning applied?
It is applied to find out the data in the text such as name, figures, date or the phrase words not given in the text.
The steps to scan:
Analyze the organization of the text before scanning
Have to orient and remember what kinds of information they are looking for. That will help them save time while reading.
Define the information in which part of the text after skimming then scan to locate the exact information students need. The information may be ordered basing on the letter or time so students should focus on these to define easily.
Stop before the information students need and read the related sentences to answer the question correctly. Students should notice the couple sentences in the text because it makes them confused or wrong. 
Example: Read the text carefully, then choose the correct answer (A,B,C or D).
	Britain in now a highly industrialized country and there are only 238.000 farms in the UK. More and more farmers leave the land because they can’t earn enough money to survive. Only large farms are economic and because of this most British farms are big. They usually grow cereals in the east of England and raise sheep and cows in the north of England Scotland. The small family farms often have to earn more money by offering bed and breakfast accommodation to tourists.
	Farming methods in Britain have also changed. Fields used to be quite small, divided by hedges which were sometimes a thousand years old and full of wild flowers and birds. Many hedges were pulled up to allow farmers to use modern machinery. Now most fields in England are large by European standards.
1. British farmers give up working on their farm because_______
A. they are tired of the farm work	
B. they can’t earn their own living by farming.
C. they are forced to leave the land	
D. they want to continue to live.
To answer the question, students use scanning skill by reading the question first then find the words “farmers give up working or their farm because” in the question and find the similar one in the passage “farmers leave the land because they can’t earn enough money to survive.” and it is not difficult for them to choose the correct answer is B
2. The small family farms often offer bed and breakfast accommodation to tourists______
A. to show their friendship	
B. because they want to have more tourists to their farms.
C. so that the tourists will return to their farms the next time
D. in order to improve their earnings.
To answer the question students use scanning skill by reading the question first “The small family farms often offer bed and breakfast accommodation to tourists.” Then find the similar one in the passage: “The small family farms often have to earn more money by offering bed and breakfast accommodation to tourists.” and it is not difficult for them to choose the correct answer is D
Improving the reading skill: 
In fact, students always make the popular mistakes such as: being lack of vocabulary, grammar and reading skill, do not know how to do reading text effectively, do not remember the information in the text and do not know how to answer the questionwhile they read the text. Therefore, to do the reading exercises well, students need to have good knowledge about vocabulary and grammar, good ability of reasoning
Broadening the vocabulary and knowledge:
Students should read newspaper, magazines or books in English to broaden their vocabulary. Because the content from newspaper, magazines or books may help them understand the related reading text. 
Example: Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word from A, B, C or D.
	Most people are afraid of sharks, but they usually do not much about them. For example, there are about 350 species of sharks that live in oceans over the world. All of sharks are carnivores, but most of them don’t attack people. Some sharks are very small – the smallest shark is about 6 inches long – about as long as your hand. But some sharks are very large. The largest species of sharks may be 60 feet long and weigh 15 tons. Unlike many other kinds of fish, sharks do not have bone. Their bodies are made up of a kind tough white flexible material (called cartilage). Sharks do not have ears. However they “hear” sounds and movements in the water. Any sounds or movement make the water vibrate. Sharks can feel these vibrations, and they help the sharks find food. Sharks use their large find food, too. Most sharks see best in low light. They often hunt for food at dawn, in the evening, or in the middle of the night.
	Nowadays, scientists want to learn more about sharks for several reasons. For example cancer is common in many animals, including people. However, it is rare in sharks. Scientists want to find out why sharks almost never get cancers. May be this information can help people prevent cancer, too.
According to the passage, sharks.
Are big mammals	C. are meat eaters
Usually live in warm water	D. always attack humans
With the students who are interested in biology and usually read the documents about the animals and plants, it is not difficult for them to choose the correct answer for the question is C because they can find the word having similar meaning in the text is “All of sharks are carnivores”
Besides students ought to use dictionary regularly, it not only helps them look up the meaning but also give them much information around such as: preposition, prefix or suffix relate the words. 
Phrasal verbs: 
Example 1: The verb “look” can be followed by some prepositions and each has different meaning.
Look for: find something
Look after: care someone
Look up to: respect
Look forward to: wait for 
Look down on: feel superior to
Look ahead : make a plan for future
Look around/round: visit somewhere
Look at: see/ check before making a decision
Look back: remember about the past
Look down on somebody: contempt somebody
Look out :be care full
Look through: read quickly
Example 2: The verb “come” can be followed by some prepositions and each has different meaning.
Come about: happen
Come out: appear
 Come up: occur - usually a problem 
Come up against: meet a difficulty
Come up to: equal - especially expectations, standard
Come up with: think of - especially an answer, a plan, a solution
Phrasal words:
In the Reading exercises, especially the type: filling in the gaps, students need to have good knowledge about phrasal words that will help them do it better.
Example:
To be in danger of: be dangerous
To be shortage of = to be lack of
To run out of
All over the world
A large number of
To be out of fashion
To look forward to 
Out of order
Keep out of touch
To keep in touch
Get out of hand = get out of control 
Improving the ability of reasoning.
Reasoning: 
Firstly, Students have to understand the disposition of the reading text clearly. A reading text usually has three parts: introduction, body and conclusion. The first sentence often gives the main content of the text and then it will be developed in the body and conclusion. Likewise, students need to know how the reading text is organized: following the time, space, events, or logic of function.
Example: Read the passage and answer the questions.
The ancient town of Hoi An lies on the Thu Bon River, 30 km south of Da Nang. It was formerly a major trading center in Southeast Asia between the 16th and 17th centuries. Hoi An is famous for its old temples, pagodas, small tile-roofed houses and narrow streets. All the houses were made of wood and their pillar were carved with ornamental design.
	All visitors to Hoi An is commended a visit to the Assembly Hall of Cantonese Chinese Congregation. This house was built in 1855 and still keeps many precious objects that belonged to the Chinese community of Hoi an. Another attractive address to tourists is Tan Ky House, which was conducted nearly two centuries ago as house of a Vietnamese merchant. The house now looks almost exactly as it did in the early 19th century.
	 In recent years, Hoi An has become a popular tourists destination in Viet Nam. In 1999, it was certified by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
Questions: 
How old is the Assembly Hall of Cantonese Chinese Congregation?
To answer the question correctly, student have to read the question first, it is not difficult for them to understand the question “how old” which is about age. They find the sentence “This house was built in 1855” and they reason that to find out the age of this house they have to give the year at present eliminate the year 1855 so the correct answer is “It is 161 or the short answer is: about 161”
Was Hoi An declared by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site twenty years ago?
To answer the question correctly, student have to read the question first and focus on the phrasal words “twenty years ago” then find the information in the passage “In 1999, it was certified by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.” Then they will find the correct answer is “ No, it was not/ wasn’t” Because from 1999 to 2016 is seventeen years not twenty years
Guessing: 
Students try their best to guess what the writer imply and then make the questions and answer themselves to understand the reading text better. Students should notice suggested details around the reading text. For example: pictures, photos, or title, the first sentence or the last sentence of the text. Because they are the important factors which help students understand the content of the text easily.
Example: Read the passage, and then choose the correct answer A, B, C or D.
	A recent investigation by scientists at the US Geological Survey shows that strange animal behavior may help predict future earthquakes. Investigators found such occurrences about ten kilometers from where a fairly recent earthquake took place. Some birds made strange sounds and flew about widely, dogs barked and ran around uncontrollably.
	Scientists believe that animals can sense these environmental changes as early as several days before disaster.
	In 1976 after observing animal behavior, the Chinese scientists were a