To help learners understand the purpose for reading, set questions before reading the text to prevent decoding skills being solely used.

For reading activities, use printed graphic organisers to help learners visualise the task. There are many good examples of these available from a variety of sources including Twinkl. See below for more information.

Graphic Organisers - The Bell Foundation (bell-foundation.org.uk)

Graphic Organisers | TeachingEnglish | British Council

The Ultimate List of Graphic Organizers for Teachers and Students | Creately

Use collaborative reading activities e.g. info gap/jigsaw reading (where groups have to answer different questions and feed back to other groups, or they have to summarise a part of the text to another group).

Jigsaw | TeachingEnglish | British Council

Jigsaw reading | TeachingEnglish | British Council

Recognise how important it is to choose suitable reading books- look at content to check if texts are culturally insensitive or contain themes out with the pupil’s experiences e.g. looking at skiing with a pupil who lived in a desert climate. (It is appropriate to introduce new vocabulary and experiences, but these would first need to be introduced through visuals, realia and experiences (rather than assuming pupils have prior knowledge of the subject)).

Beware of idioms- translation is usually literal and can cause confusion – I’ll give you a ring tonight’, ‘It’s raining cats and dogs’.  

Use Audio Books. These allow pupils to listen to models of pronunciation as they read along and are also available in first language which can be helpful for free time if pupils are not literate in first language and need some time to rest after learning in English all day. These can be accessed from a number of sources including:

Audible UK | Free Audiobook with 30-Day Trial

Dual language books and books in first language can be really helpful, to support both curricular learning and language learning.

The EAL Service can signpost a range of places to borrow/buy books. Some are available through the library service. eBooks and hard copies of a range of titles are available in first language and dual language formats. Dual language is especially helpful as these provide the opportunity to compare languages and build understanding in English supported by first language. Some suppliers include:

·      Browns Books (brownsbfs.co.uk)

·      The Digital Library - Live, Life Aberdeenshire (livelifeaberdeenshire.org.uk) Online books magazines and newspapers available in several languages through Aberdeenshire library login

·      Dual Language Books for Primary Schools | Badger Learning

Provide a summary of each chapter or section before it is read in class, so that the pupil can read this in advance.

Find an easier version/ summary/ gist/ a video of the plot with subtitles. Graded readers (at different language levels) are available for a range of texts:

Using Graded Readers | TeachingEnglish | British Council

Home - Penguin Readers

Short summaries/overviews of texts can help to give an overview of the plot:

Description of characters activities:

Macbeth Translation | Shakescleare, by LitCharts

Macbeth: One Page Summary — Good Tickle Brain