Reading Comprehension Lesson Workshop Module

République du Bénin
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Ministère des enseignements secondaire technique et de la formation
professionnelle (MESTFP)
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Département de l’Alibori
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CEG1 Kandi/CEG Kassakou/CEG Donwari/ CEG Madina/Lycée
Champagnat
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English workshop weekly pedagogical meeting
Module
Thème : Conducting a reading comprehension lesson
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Presented by:
AMADOU SOUNON Amidou
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Kandi secondary school 1 English workshop weekly pedagogical
meeting
February 18th, 2026

Context of situation
Without coaching, some teachers translate the whole text, read alone while learners listen,
focus only on pronunciation. Hence, teachers should be trained on conducting reading
comprehension lessons because it improves teaching quality, enhances learners’ understanding,
and builds strong readers for life.
General objectives
By the end of this session, we aim to be better equipped to handle real
teaching/learning/evaluation as far as reading comprehension is concerned.
Specific objectives
At the end of this session, teachers should be able to know:
▬How to handle with the pre-reading, while-reading, post-reading stages
▬ How to provide learners meaningful comprehension skills and support them with reading
difficulties
▬ how to builds strong readers for life.
Starter situation
Activity 0: Expressing perceptions and expectations
Instruction: Read the text below and answer the questions following it
Text: What a lesson introduction!
Teacher: Today we are doing a reading comprehension lesson.
Student 1: What do we do first, teacher?
Teacher: First, read the text silently.
Student 2: Why do we read silently?
Teacher: To understand the main idea.
Student 3: What do we do after reading.
Teacher: You answer the questions and discuss the text.
Student 4 (stubborn): But teacher, I don’t want to read. Can’t you just tell us the answers?
Teacher: No. You must read to understand by yourself. That is how you learn.
Student 4: Oh… okay.
Questions :
1) What is the conversation about?
2) What is the main issue raised by the learners?
3) What are your needs in terms of pieces of information regarding conducting a reading
comprehension lesson in TLE process?
Technique: Brainstorming

CW: 10minutes
Activity1: Clarification and attempts of conclusion
Instruction: Answer the following questions basing on your own experiences and the appended
document.
1)What do these terminologies mean:
a- conducting a lesson?
b- a reading comprehension?
c- conducting a reading? comprehension lesson?
2) a) What are the different phases of a reading comprehension?
b) What do they mean?
3) a) What essential reading skills should learners master in order to effectively engage with
and succeed in a reading comprehension lesson?
b) what is the meaning of each of them?
Technique: IW: 10minutes
Lockstep: 10minutes
Activity 2: Being more specific
Instruction: Answer the following questions based on your own experience and the appended
document.
0)Tell the workshop how you usually conduct reading comprehension lessons in your classes
1) Do you sometimes face some challenges while conducting a reading comprehension lesson?
If yes, what are they and how do you solve them?
2) What may happen if we misconduct a reading comprehension lesson?
3) a) Identify and list the most frequent misconceptions, mistakes, or inappropriate practices
you have observed while visiting colleagues conducting a reading comprehension lesson.
b) Provide their feedbacks, their right way, the right conducting, the pedagogical process.
Technique : PW : 10minutes
CW : 10minutes
Activity 3: Assessment
Instruction: Implement the enclosed reading comprehension lesson in the workshop.
Techniques
Duration : 45minutes

Appended doc
Coaching Teachers on Reading Comprehension lessons
Reading comprehension is a foundational skill that influences learners’ overall academic
success. To teach it effectively, teachers must clearly understand key instructional
concepts, anticipate classroom challenges, and apply appropriate strategies. This coaching
text aims to clarify essential terminologies related to reading comprehension, highlight
common challenges teachers face during instruction, and explain the consequences of
poorly conducted reading comprehension lessons.
Understanding the Key Terminologies
Conducting a lesson refers to the deliberate and organized process of planning, delivering,
and managing instruction in order to achieve specific learning objectives. It includes
setting clear goals, presenting content logically, engaging learners, and assessing their
understanding. Reading comprehension is the ability of learners to read a text,
understand its meaning, identify main ideas and details, interpret information, and
respond critically to what is read. Conducting a reading comprehension lesson, therefore,
is the structured act of guiding learners through a text using appropriate strategies such
as pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading activities. The goal is to help learners
understand the text, build vocabulary, develop critical thinking, and improve overall
reading skills.
Conducting a Reading Comprehension Lesson
Purpose:
Conducting a reading comprehension lesson aims to help learners understand written
texts meaningfully and independently. Its purpose is to develop learners’ ability to identify
main ideas, understand details, interpret information, enrich vocabulary, and think
critically about what they read. Through well-conducted reading comprehension lessons,
learners build confidence in reading, improve language skills, and strengthen their overall
academic performance across subjects.
Challenges in Conducting a Reading Comprehension Lesson and Possible Solutions
Teachers often face several challenges while conducting reading comprehension lessons.
These may include learners’ limited vocabulary, low reading ability, lack of interest, large
class sizes, or poor time management. To address these challenges, teachers can pre-teach
key vocabulary, use motivating and level-appropriate texts, encourage group or pair work,
ask guiding questions, and apply interactive strategies such as prediction, summarizing,
and discussion. Proper lesson planning and continuous assessment also help teachers
adjust their methods to learners’ needs.

Frequent Misconceptions, Mistakes, and Inappropriate Practices Observed in Reading
Comprehension Lessons:
Focusing on pronunciation instead of comprehension
Teachers sometimes prioritize correct reading aloud and pronunciation, neglecting
meaning-making and understanding.
Skipping the pre-reading stage
Some lessons begin directly with reading the text without activating learners’ prior
knowledge or introducing key vocabulary.
Explaining the entire text instead of guiding discovery
The teacher paraphrases or translates the text for students rather than helping them
extract meaning independently.
Overusing translation
Excessive translation into the mother tongue reduces learners’ exposure to the target
language and limits inferencing skills.
Asking only literal questions
Questions often focus only on “who, what, when” instead of including inferential, critical,
and evaluative questions.
Ignoring reading sub-skills
Skills such as skimming, scanning, predicting, inferring, and identifying the main idea are
not explicitly taught.
Teacher-centered approach
The teacher talks most of the time, with little learner interaction, pair work, or group
discussion.
Poor time management
Too much time is spent on reading aloud or vocabulary explanation, leaving little time for
comprehension activities.
No post-reading activities
Lessons end after answering questions without follow-up tasks such as summarizing, role
play, or personal response.
Lack of differentiation
Activities are not adapted to learners’ different levels, leaving weaker students behind.