Moving Ahead

Worksheets
 CONTENTS

Reading Log

‘Look, say, cover, write, check’ worksheet with instructions

Using a dictionary worksheet

Notes on Scanning & Skimming

Scanning worksheet

Skimming worksheet

(Please also see the separate Punctuation Pack worksheets)

 READING LOG

Name: ________________________________

Date Book Title Author Comment Score

out of 10

© Read Easy UK 2013 3 of 13 12/01/15

 SPELLING PRACTICE
LOOK SAY COVER WRITE CHECK!

Words to learn First try Second try Third try Fourth try

© Read Easy UK 2013 4 of 13 12/01/15

 INSTRUCTIONS FOR
LOOK SAY COVER WRITE CHECK!

This is a great way to improve your spelling. If you do a bit every day, you should soon start to remember
spellings that you find difficult.

1. Write the word(s) you want to learn in the first column. You can learn just one word, or several at a time.
Make sure you’ve got the correct spelling! Use lower case letters, with a capital letter for names, days,
months, etc.
2. LOOK at the word. Look at the shape it makes.

3. SAY the word. Break it down into syllables if you can – Wed-nes-day. Are there any silent letters you
need to remember? Visualise the shape of the word – try doing this by looking at the word and then
looking up and ‘seeing’ the shape of the word in the air.
4. COVER the word, using a piece of card or paper. Try to keep the ‘picture’ of the word in your head.
5. WRITE the word again in the next column. No peeping! Remember the shape of the word and the
separate syllables. Or use any other ways you can to remember it.
6. CHECK the word carefully. Check each letter is correct and in the right place.

7. Correct any mistakes, so that you don’t copy them in future. Don’t worry about mistakes, as you can learn
from them.
8. Do it all over again. Try doing the exercise twice each day until you can easily get the spelling right.

© Read Easy UK 2013 5 of 13 12/01/15

 Using a Dictionary
Worksheet
Why use a dictionary?
Dictionaries are books that list all the words in a language. A dictionary
can help you learn different things about a word, including:
● How to spell it

● How to say it

● What it means

● Whether it needs a capital letter

How a dictionary is organised

The words in a dictionary are arranged in alphabetical order, so you can
find them easily. Each word is typed in bold so you can see them easily.

Using the guide words

To make it easier to find the word you want, guide words are also used at
the top of each page. They tell you the first and last words on that page.
● Have a look at a dictionary and find the guide words at the top of a
page.
● Then find those words on the page itself.

● With your coach, work out how alphabetical order is used to arrange
all the words on that page.

Look up a word for yourself

Try finding the word ‘dictionary’ in your dictionary!
● First find the ‘d’ section

● Now use the guide words to find the pages with words beginning ‘di’,
until you have found the words that ‘dictionary’ must come between.

© Read Easy UK 2013 6 of 13 12/01/15

What can you learn?
Look at the entry for the word ‘dictionary’.
● Look at how it tells you the pronunciation - how to say the word.
How might this help you if you didn’t already have the spelling in front
of you?
● Read the definition of the word – what does the word mean?
There may be two definitions.
● Does it give you any examples of how to use the word?

● Does it give you any other information, for instance about the
spelling of the word in the plural (when there’s more than one)?

Now look up a word of your own

Think of a word you don’t know how to spell.

● Say it aloud to yourself and try to work out the first few letters.

● Try to find the right page of the dictionary - use the guide words at
the top of the page.
● Run your eyes down the page to see if you can find the word

● When you think you have found the word, check the pronunciation
in the brackets to find out whether it sounds like the right word
● Then check the definition and examples, to see if it is what you
meant.
● Then, if you’ve found the right word, copy out the spelling!

Keep practising!
Try to keep a dictionary near you whenever you are reading or writing.
Get into the habit of checking your spelling in the dictionary when you are
writing.
When you are reading and come across a word you don’t know, try looking
up the meaning in your dictionary.
This will really help you widen your vocabulary, and your spelling will get
better and better until you hardly need the dictionary at all!

© Read Easy UK 2013 7 of 13 12/01/15

 NOTES FOR COACH
ON SCANNING AND SKIMMING

As we become fluent readers, most of us gradually learn to scan and skim over texts when we
need to, without reading every word. Once your reader has achieved a certain degree of
fluency and confidence, these are useful skills to encourage him to develop. The emphasis
so far will have been on reading every word, so it may come as a surprise to him to discover
that this is not always either necessary or helpful.

This page is intended to help you to explain to your reader how to scan and skim texts when
appropriate.

What’s the difference between scanning and skimming?

● Scanning a text is done to find specific information. In other words, you know what you
are looking for and your eyes are looking to find it. For instance, you scan a telephone
directory to find a name and number, or a dictionary to find a word.

● Skimming a text is done to get the overall sense of what a piece of writing is about,
without trying read it all. It can help you to decide whether you want or need to read the
text in more detail.

When to scan a text

Scanning is a useful technique to use when:

● looking through the small ads in a newspaper,

● using train and bus timetables,
● using a dictionary,
● browsing through TV schedules,
● finding things in catalogues,
● finding a plumber in the Yellow Pages
● or looking for a recipe in the index of a cookbook.

How to scan a text

Scanning a text can be likened to using your eyes like a searchlight or torch.

Don’t try to read every word. Instead:

● have in your mind the word or words you are looking for; say it out loud if it helps;
● then let your eyes scan quickly across or down the page to find what you’re looking for;
● use titles and sub-headings to help you find where the information is likely to be;
● learn to use alphabetical order in indexes, catalogues and directories.
© Read Easy UK 2013 8 of 13 12/01/15
When to skim a text
Skimming is a more difficult skill to acquire than scanning, as it requires the confidence and
fluency to quickly recognise words and grasp their sense and meaning within a text, without
reading the whole thing. It may therefore take your reader some time to be able to do this
effectively. Nonetheless, occasional practice will do no harm.

Skimming is about getting the general gist of a text. It is a useful technique to use when:

● looking through leaflets that may be of interest to you;

● looking at books in the library that you might like to read;
● looking through long forms, before starting to fill them in;
● reading articles in the newspaper to pick up the main points, without reading the whole
article.

How to skim a text

When you skim a text, you don’t read the whole text word by word, but you do need to pick
out parts of the text and read them, in order to get an overall sense of the content.

When encouraging your reader to skim a text, don’t create pressure to do this very fast, as
you will only create a sense of panic and he will fail to get any sense of the meaning. The
page will just be a blur of words!

Instead, using a question and answer approach, encourage him to:

● read the title, subtitles and subheadings, and tell you what he thinks the text is about;
● look at the illustrations, and tell you what these suggest about the content;
● let his eyes skim over the surface of the text, looking for any key words that may be of
interest (you may like to demonstrate this, or suggest specific things to look out for);
● read the first and last sentences of any key paragraphs that may be of interest;
● keep thinking about the meaning of what he is reading and whether he is interested in it
or would find it useful.

Practising scanning and skimming

To introduce these techniques, it will probably be helpful to do one or two specific exercises.
You may like to devise your own using the guidelines above. Alternatively, worksheets are
included for this purpose at the back of this handbook to be used in conjunction with these
guidelines.

If you use the library computers, you can print out some skimming and scanning exercises
from the BBC Skillswise website, which can be accessed through the computing page on the
Read Easy website (when this page becomes available).

There will also be situations in your other ‘Moving Ahead’ activities where a little scanning and
skimming will be useful, so look out for the opportunities and encourage your reader to do this
for himself, rather than doing it for him (for instance, when choosing books in the library, or
filling in forms, as described in the next section.) If necessary, prompt him to do this by
asking questions, even if the process takes a little longer.
© Read Easy UK 2013 9 of 13 12/01/15
 Scanning Worksheet
Scanning is what you do when you are trying to find some specific
information.

It is a bit like using your eyes like a searchlight or torch and sweeping
them across or down the page to find the words you are looking for.
Find from the library shelves (or bring from home) 3 or 4 of the things in
the column on the left below. Then think of something you could look for in
each one that would be useful. Suggestions are given in the column on
the right. Now scan the text to find the information. You could get your
coach to time you to see how quickly you can do it!

A recipe book A recipe using spaghetti

A Yellow Pages A plumber who works in your area

A telephone directory The telephone number for Mr J. Smith!

A local newspaper An advert for a job you might like to do

A local bus timetable Times for a bus you could catch

A TV Times/pull-out section What’s on TV tonight

A catalogue (e.g. Argos or Ikea) A TV you would like to buy!

Tips
● Say the word you are looking for out loud as you scan the text;

● If necessary, use your finger to run down or across the page as you
look;
● Look out for titles and headings that will help you find what you are
looking for;
● Remember to follow alphabetical order where necessary.

The more you practise doing this, the quicker you will get!

© Read Easy UK 2013 10 of 13 12/01/15

 Skimming Worksheet
Skimming is what we do to find out what a piece of writing is about
without reading the whole thing. It means picking out and reading the
most important bits, so that we can decide if we want to read more.
Find 3 or 4 leaflets from the local information area of your library and lay
these out on the table in front of you.

Skim together
Choose one of the leaflets and, with your coach, use the following
exercise to work out together what it is about.
● read the title;

● have a quick look through the leaflet;

● look at any illustrations or photos;

● read the first couple of sentences at the beginning;

● look at the other headings;

● try ‘skimming’ your eye over the text to pick out any parts that interest
you, and read one or two sentences;
● read the last sentence.

Now answer the following questions:

1) What is this leaflet about?
2) Who has produced it?
3) Who is it aimed at?
4) Am I interested enough to read more?

Skim on your own

When you have done this once with your coach, repeat the exercise on
your own with each of the other leaflets. Get your coach to give you no
more than 3 minutes for each one, before you answer the question.

© Read Easy UK 11 of 13 [Title] 12/01/15