Table of Contents
Reading Module
Instructional materials are form of school resource input (SRI) which comprise both print and non-print substances that are designed to convey information to learners in the learning process. This may include items like kits, textbooks,modules, newspapers, recordings, slides, video clips, CD-ROMs, and online software. Dahar (2011) pointed out that the abovementioned learning tools that boost memory level of learners; hence, makes the teaching-learning process interactive.
By definition, modules are standardized or self-reliant materials that with other such segments constitutes an educational course or a training program. Fisher and Frey (2003) asserted that reading modules assist the ESL educators and learners with regards to enhancing reading comprehension level of learners. Specific modules of reading comprehension aids teachers in teaching reading skills effectively and likewise capacitates learners to increase their level of understanding.
Sweet (2012) defined module as an instructional material that is focusing on a particular topic which consists several objectives and a set of learning opportunities. It is a form of self-reliant package that capacitates learners to have a full control over his learning pace.
Bunagan (2012) in his study differentiated module from strategic intervention material (SIM). Module is well-defined as material containing different topics which are intended for regular classroom teaching and distance learning. Module, unlike SIM, requires pretest and posttest.
Reading Skills
Westwood (2001) asserted in his study that reading comprehension skills helps increase the effectiveness of reading across subject areas. Academic progress relies on understanding, analyzing, and applying the information processed through reading. Therefore, learners who are acquainted with reading comprehension skills are more likely to excel in all subjects as well as both in personal and professional lives.
Noting Details
Inderjit (2014) defined noting details as a reading comprehension skills that involves picking out a particular piece or pieces of information from a text. It is a skill wherein readers are directly concerned with remembering factual type of information and details from the passage. This may describe the setting, the characters and the details about the plot or main idea of the topic.
Sequencing of Events
Blachowics and Ogle (2001) defined the skill as retelling important events or actions in the order which they occurred. Sequencing information is a useful skill for understanding certain types of information while reading. Further, he asserted that putting information in order or sequence capacitates learners to break down the information into smaller parts to make sense of the text.
Getting the Main Idea
Being able to draw the main idea helps readers recall key information of the passage. Determining the main idea and significant details help readers better understand the points that the writer is attempting to express. Cordero and Enaguas (2017) stressed that the main idea is the very point of the paragraph. It is the most significant thought about a certain topic.
Denton C. et al., (2007) posited a strategy that provides a model of explicit direction for teaching students how to determine the main idea of a passage. Learners begin by learning the definition of main idea and eventually apply this definition to draw the main idea in sentences and short texts. However, they emphasized that the ability of learners to identify the main idea of the text, whether stated or implied, is critical for them to gain meaning when reading.
Main ideas serve as the principal point an author is making about the topic. It is a focal point for supporting details where the details are organized around the main idea. Extracting main ideas from a selection is an important cluster of comprehension skills. Getting the main idea is necessary for organizing details. (McWhorter, 2006)
Making Inference
An inference is a process of reaching a conclusion about a certain topic that is drawn from known facts, evidence and reasoning. When one makes an inference, he/she is reading between the lines or by merely looking carefully at the facts and coming to conclusions (McMackin and Lawrence 2001).
In simple terms, the ability to draw inference is the ability to use two or more pieces of information from a selection in order to arrive at a third piece of information that is implicit. Inference can be as simple as associating the pronoun ‘he’ with a previously mentioned male person. On the other hand, it can be as complex as understanding a subtle implicit message which is conveyed through the choice of vocabulary by the writer and drawing on the readers’ own schema or background knowledge. Inferential skills play significant role in reading comprehension and is vastly considered in the area of literary criticism and other approaches to studying the selection. (Kispal (2008)
Making Connections
It is a reading skill where readers draw on knowledge to deepen their understanding of the ideas and information both inside and outside the text. The more connections learners make to a text they are reading or viewing, the more likely to understand it.