(SKKN 2022) help students become familiar with the types of reading comprehension exercises through designing questions for reading part in english textbook for 12th grade

I. INTRODUCTIONN
1.1 Reasons for choosing the topic.
History and humanity have proved that the goal of education is always associated
with the development goal of society. Implementing the 29th Resolution-NQ/TW
on November 4th, 2013, of the 8th Central Conference - the 11th term on
fundamental and comprehensive renovations of education and training, the
Ministry of Education and Training increasingly focuses on improving the quality
of subjects, including English, to meet the needs of today's globalization. Thanh
Hoa province has also been carrying out the project named "Enhancing the quality
of teaching and learning English" at all levels of education to accomplish the goal.
In the 2020-2021 school year, the Department of Education and Training of Thanh
Hoa has also actively instructed in teaching and learning for 12th grade students in
order to enhance the average score of the students in schools in all over the
province including Mai Anh Tuan High School. However, the average score of the
students in recently years is still low. I think there are many reasons such as:
Teachers are still confused about how to teach to get the best scores, the
combination of methods in teaching skills is not reasonable. Especially in the
reading part of the 12th grade English textbooks, the questions are not suitable for
the type of reading comprehension passages in the exam questions. Stemming
from the above issues, I have chosen the topic: “Help students become familiar
with the types of reading comprehension exercises through designing questions
for Reading part in English textbook for 12th grade.”
1.2. The purpose of the research.
When I choose this topic to study, I give some purposes:
- Help students practice different kinds of thinking such as dialectical thinking,
logical thinking, analytical thinking, synthetic thinking.
- Help students to understand the information of the reading text systematically so
that they are capable of applying it to their life; form important reading skills such
as reading, reading to get detailed information, reading to find the main idea of the
text, ...
- Help students become familiar with the forms of reading comprehension

exercises in the exams, especially the high school graduation exams and not have
the habit of basing on reference books to find out answers.
- Promote the positive, proactive and creative nature of learners, make reading
lessons become more interesting, attractive, help students feel more confident
when taking the exams.
1.3. The Objectives of the research
The topic focuses on designing questions for the reading passages in the
12th grade English textbook. In Unit 1,3,8,9. I designed
the form: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate
the answer to each of the question. In Unit 2,5,6. I designed the form: Read the
1


following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word
or phrase that best fits each the numbered blanks.
1.4. The methodology of the research
A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods will be used for this
research. The reason for this combination of the two methods is that because I will
identify the problems based on data collected in questionnaires. However, I will
also have class observations with 12M, 12N, 12E students of Mai Anh Tuan high
School in Nga Sơn Town, Thanh Hoa province.
II. CONTENT
2.1. Theoretical basis
One of the important contents of the Resolution of the 8th Conference is the
fundamental and comprehensive innovation of education. Particularly, the
innovation of teaching and learning methods is key and meaningful to the
development of the country's education. Interest and reading motivation are the
first factors that help students improve their reading comprehension skills. The
teacher must guide and control teacher and learning activities, use a variety of
strategies and methods to help learners develop skills and knowledge and

thinking. That designing questions for the reading passages in the 12th grade
English textbook to help students familiarize with the forms of reading
comprehension exercises is one of the effective ways to contribute to that goal.
2.2. Real situation before applying the research.
Mai Anh Tuan High School is one of three high schools in Nga Son district
located in the coastal plain in the North of Thanh Hoa province. The living
condition of the students in the classes I took charge of is poor, their parents
haven’t been interested in their leaning English yet. The students’ scores of
English of the entrance exams for the 10th grade are relatively low. In the high
school graduation exams, the average score of the students has been much lower
than that of the province and of the whole country. In 2019, the average score is
3.71 points; in 2020 3.78 points. Statistics of the survey at the beginning of the
school year 2020-2021 of the classes I taught reveal that the scores under average
account for over 80 %. Therefore, I had considerable difficulty in teaching those
students. Below is a transcript of the students’ ability survey before applying the
topic.
Class

Total

0≤đ
<2

2≤đ
<3

3≤đ
<4

4≤đ

<5

5≤đ
<6

6≤đ
<7

7≤đ
<8

8≤đ
<9

9≤đ
≤ 10

12E

33

9

7

7

5

5

0

0

0

0

12M

46

5

4

5

16

7

5

2

2

0

12N

40

13

9

8

8

2

0

0

0

0

27
22.6
%

20
16.8
%

20
16.8
%

29
24.3
%

14
11.7
%

5
4.2
%

2
1.6
%

2
1.6
%

0
0
%

Total

119

2


2.3. Solutions used to solve problems.
The 1st form: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to
indicate the answer to each of the question.
In UNIT 1, I designed the questions for the passage in reading part like this:
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the
answer to each of the question.
I come from a family of five people: my parents, my two younger brothers and I.
My mother works as a nurse in a big hospital. She has to work long hours and
once a week she has to work on a night shift. My father is a biologist. He works
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in a lab, but sometimes when there is a project, he doesn’t
come home until very late at night. Although my parents are very busy at work,
they try to spend as much time with their children as possible. It is generally
believed that “men build the house and women make it home”, but in my family,
both parents join hands to give us a nice house and a happy home.
My mother is a very caring woman. She takes the responsibility for running the
household. She is always the first one to get up in the morning to make sure that
we leave home for school having eaten breakfast and dressed in suitable clothes.
In the afternoon, after hospital, she rushes to the market, then hurries home so that
dinner is ready on the table by the time Dad gets home. Dad is always willing to
give a hand with cleaning the house. Unlike most men, he enjoys cooking.
Sometimes, at weekends, he cooks us some special dishes. His eel soup is the best
soup I have ever eaten.
I am now in my final year at the secondary school, and in my attempt to win a
place at university, I am under a lot of study pressure. However, being the eldest

child and the only daughter in the family I try to help with the household chores.
My main responsibility is to wash the dishes and take out the garbage. I also look
after the boys, who are quite active and mischievous sometimes, but most of the
time they are obedient and hard-working. They love joining my father in mending
things around the house at weekends.
We are a very close-knit family and very supportive of one another. We often
share our feelings, and whenever problems come up, we discuss them frankly and
find solutions quickly. We always feel safe and secure in our family. It is a base
from which we can go into the world with confidence.
Question 1: What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The author’s daughter and boys.
B. the close-knit family
C. The author’s family
D. How the mother is caring
Question 2: According to the paragraph 1, the father ___________.
A. very busy
B. comes home early
3


C. works in a big hospital D. work on a night shift and food
Question 3: The phrase “men build the house and women make it home” in
paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. Both men and women are good at building houses.
B. Men and women have to live separately.
C. Men’s responsibility is to work and support the family and women’s job is to
look after the family.
D. Women are good at looking after children.
Question 4: The phrase " give a hand " in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
_____.

A. help
B. run the family
C. take each other’s hand D. shake hands
Question 5: The word " She " in paragraph 2 refers to _______.
A. woman
B. my mother C. my sister
D. my younger sister
Question 6: Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about the
mother?
A. caring
B. the first one to get up in the morning
C. run the the household
D. leave home for work in suitable clothes
Question 7: It can be inferred from the 3rd passage that _____.
A. The author has no boys
B. The author’s daughter is the eldest child, and she is very hard working.
C. The author can’t mend things around the house.
D. The author’s daughter doesn’t have to do anything at home.
KEYS:
1. C

2. A

3. C

4. A

5. B

6. D

7. B

In UNIT 2, I designed the questions for the passage in reading part like this:
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the
answer to each of the question.
To attract someone’s attention so that we might speak to that person, we can use
either verbal or non-verbal forms of communication. Let us look at non-verbal
communication in English. Probably the most common way of attracting
someone’s attention is by waving. For example, if we are at a noisy party and see
a friend come in the door about 20 meters away, we might raise our hand and
wave to her as a signal that we see her.
But how hard can we wave in a situation like this? Suppose you are at the airport,
and you see your brother get off the plane and begin walking toward you. If you
are excited, you might jump up and down and wave as hard as you can to attract
his attention. This is the instance where big, obvious non-verbal signals are
appropriate.
4


There are, however, some social situations where smaller non-verbal signals are
more appropriate. In a restaurant, for example, if we want to attract the attention
of our waiter, we have several choices. We can wait until he passes near us, catch
his eye, and nod slightly to let him know we would like him to come to our table.
Or we can raise our hand slightly to show that we need assistance. We do not
whistle or clap our hands to get the person’s attention. That is considered impolite
and even rude.
In most social situations where some informality is allowed, a brief raise of the
hand and a small wave is fine. For instance, if you are walking across the
schoolyard and see your teacher approaching you, a small friendly wave to attract

his or her attention is appropriate.
Once you’ve got your friend’s attention, you shouldn’t point at the person or thing
you want her to look at. A slight nod will do. Pointing at someone is usually
considered rude. Of course, there are times when pointing is perfectly acceptable,
such as when a teacher wants to get someone’s attention in class. The teacher often
points to the student and says, “David, would you read the next sentence, please?”
Pointing here is not impolite; it’s simply a way to get someone’s attention
Question 1: Which of the following could be the main idea of the passage?
A. Attracting Attention: Non-verbal Cues
B. Attracting Attention by Waving
C. The Best Ways of Attracting Attention
D. Attracting Attention by Nodding
Question 2: According to the second passage, big, obvious non- verbal signals
are________.
A. jumping up and down, waving as hard as you can
B. raising and waving the hand
C. nodding slightly
D. catching the eyes
Question 3: What does the word "That" in paragraph 3 refer to?
A. raising the hand slightly
B. People often give pink clothes to a boy and a blue blanket to a girl.
C. whistling or clapping
D. nodding slightly
Question 4: The word " approaching " in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning
to___________.
A. helping
B. accessing C. going
D. coming
Question 5: According to the last paragraph, which of the following is
UNTRUE?

A. to attract someone’s attention, you shouldn’t point at the person.
B. Sometimes, pointing is acceptable.
C. Pointing is also a way to get someone’s attention.
D. Teachers often point to the students.
Question 6: The word " acceptable " in the last paragraph could be best
replaced by ______.
5


A. rude
B. suitable
C. perfect
D. adequate
Question 7: What can be inferred from the passage?
A. have many ways to attract someone’s attention.
B. waving is not non- verbal forms of communication
C. you cannot attract teacher’s attention by waving.
D. the most common way of attracting someone’s attention is jumping up and
down.
KEYS:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
A
A
C
B
D
B
A
In UNIT 8, I designed the questions for the passage in reading part like this:
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the
answer to each of the question.
What will life be like in the future? Different people have different answers to this
question; some are pessimistic while others optimistic.
Things will be much worse than they are nowadays, pessimists say. The whole
world will experience a period of economic depression. Many large corporations
will be wiped out and millions of jobs will be lost. The security of the earth will
be threatened by terrorism as terrorist groups will become more powerful and
more dangerous. On the contrary, optimists believe that life will be far better than
it is today. We will be living in a much cleaner environment, breathing fresher air
and eating healthier foods. We will also be better looked after by a more modern
medical system. Domestic chores will no longer be a burden thanks to the
inventions of labor-saving devices.
For better or worse, it is certain that in the future some things will be very
different. Developments in micro technology computers and telecommunication
are bound to have a huge influence on various aspects of our lives. Take work, for
instance. Robots will do most of the work in factories, so they will be cleaner
places for fewer people to work in them. Offices, too, will go electronic with the

result that paper will almost completely disappear. More people will work from
home on computers linked to a head office. As for travel, it is likely that spaceshuttle technology will be used in normal air travel achieving speeds of up to
15,000 kph. Cars will still be with us, but, instead of petrol, they will run on
anything from electricity to methane gas. They will also be fitted with computers
to tell us how efficiently we are driving and if there is anything wrong on the road
ahead.
Whatever we expect from the future, remember that progress has never moved
in straight lines, and history is full of unexpected developments. However, we
are confident that the future is in our hands, and it is our responsibility to
contribute to bettering our own lives.
6


Question 1. What might be the most suitable title for this reading passage?
A. How will life in the future?
B. pessimists and optimists
C. How will development in micro technology?
D. The most important factors in the future
Question 2. The word “They” in passage refers to ________ .
A. Offices B. Computers
C. Cars
D. Robots
Question 3. What can the word “depression” be best replaced by?
A. disappearance
B. recession
C. satisfaction
D. problem
Question 4. According to the paragraph 3, which of the following is NOT true?
A. People won’t work from home on computers linked to a head office.
B. Cars will run on anything from electricity to methane gas.

C. Robots will do most of the work in factories.
D. Things will be very different in the future.
Question 5. It is stated in paragraph 2 that __________.
A. Optimists and pessimists have different ideas about the life in the future.
B. Optimists believe the security of the earth will be threatened by terrorism.
C. Domestic chores will be also a burden to wives.
D. Economic depression will happen over the world.
KEYS:
1. A

2. C

3. B

4. A

5. A

In UNIT 12, I designed the questions for the passage in reading part like this:
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the
answer to each of the question.
Water polo is played in a pool 1.8 meters deep, 30 meters long and 20 meters
wide, with a goal 3 meters high and at least 0.9 meter above the water. The goal is
marked by vertical posts, a crossbar and a net.
There are seven players per team, six swimmers and a goalie. The home team
wears white caps, the visiting team blue ones and the goalies wear red caps with
the number 1 in white.
Like football, the game begins with the ball in the center of the pool and both
teams sprint for it from their own goal lines. The ball can be advanced by passing
with one hand or swimming with the head above the water and the ball between

the arms, so it rides on the wave created by the swimmer’s head. No player except
the goalie can hold the ball with both hands.
Defensive players are not allowed to interfere with the opponent’s movements
unless the player is holding the ball. Major fouls are penalized by one minute in
the penalty box and a player is ejected after committing five personal fouls.
For minor fouls, such as holding or punching the ball, a free throw is awarded
7


from the spot of the foul. At least two players must touch the ball after a free
throw before a goal can be scored.
A game is divided into quarters ranging from five to eight minutes in length. After
a tie, there are two overtime periods of three minutes each. If the game is still tied
after the overtime periods, two teams continue to play 3-minute overtime until the
referee’s decision is made.
Question 1: What can be the best title of the passage?
A. Defensive player
B. Water Polo C. Swimmers
D. Football
Question 2: The word “ones” in paragraph 2 refers to _______.
A. hats B. caps
C. swimmers D. goalies
Question 3: According to the paragraph 3, the ball can be advanced by________.
A. passing with one hand
B. sprinting from the goal line
C. riding on the wave created by the goalies’ head
D. holding the ball with both hands
Question 4: The word " interfere '' in paragraph 4 mostly means________.
A. help
B. advance

C. hinder
D. bother
Question 5: It can be inferred from the last paragraph that a game has ________.
A. quarters
B. eight minutes
C. three minutes
D. halves
KEYS:
1. B
2. B
3. A
4. C
5. A
+ The 2nd form: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to
indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each the numbered blanks.
In this form, I collected passages with topics similar to those in the textbooks that
students have learned to design gap-filling exercises. Details:
In UNIT 2, in After you read part, I designed exercise like this:
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the
correct word or phrase that best fits each the numbered blanks.
I was an MBA student in the USA and I lived in the university’s coed
dormitory. In my culture, usually, if a woman talks to a man, it is a sign of
romantic interest. Therefore, in the first few days of school, I found it (1)
_____that so many women were talking to me and I was under the impression that
some women on my dormitory floor were interested in me. To return, their
politeness, I would buy them flowers or offer small gifts, as is done in my country.
(2) _____, I was quite surprised to see that these same women now seemed
uncomfortable around me. One was even quite offended and told me to leave her
alone. Eventually I talked to the residence adviser on my floor to see (3) ____ I
was doing wrong, and he explained to me the way men and women usually

interact in the USA. I was quite (4) _____ to hear that nothing was wrong with
me, but rather with the way I was interpreting my conversations with women.
Even though I did not find the love of my life while I was in the USA, I still made
(5) _____good female friends afterwards with whom still maintain contact.
8


Question 1. A. uncomfortable
Question 2. A. However
Question 3. A. that
Question 4. A. relieved
Question 5. A. much

B. strange
B. Therefore
B. where
B. unlucky
B. many

KEYS:
1. B

3. C

2. A

C. interesting
C. Although
C. what
C. surprised

C. little
4. A

D. bad
D. Because
D. which
D. interested
D. few

5. B

In UNIT 10, in After you read part, I designed exercise like this:
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the
correct word or phrase that best fits each the numbered blanks.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) safeguards hundreds of species around the world,
but we focus species attention on our flagship species: giant pandas, tigers,
endangered whales and dolphins, rhinos, elephant, marine turtles and great apes.
These species not only need species measures and extra protection in order to
survive, they also serve as “umbrella” species: helping them helps numerous other
species (1) ______ live in the same habitats. (2) ______ our flagship animals, we
work to protect numerous species in peril around the world that live within our
priority eco-regions. Laree predators like snow leopards and grizzly bears,
migratory species like whooping cranes and songbirds, and a host of (3)_____
species facing (4)______ also benefit from WWF’ s conservation efforts. Our
wildlife trade experts at “traffic” work to ensure that trade wildlife products,
doesn’t (5) _____ a species, while also fighting against illegal and unsustainable
trade.
Question 1. A. where
B. that
C. who

D. whom
Question 2. A. In addition to B. Besides C. However D. Although
Question 3. A. another
B. the other C. one another D. other
Question 4. A. threats
B. extinction C. fear
D. dangers
Question 5. A. trade
B. harm
C. cause
D. bother
KEYS:
1. B

2. A

3. D

4. A

5. B

After designing reading comprehension exercises in the textbook, I applied
reading comprehension methods to guide students on how to do each type of
lesson effectively.
2.3. The effectiveness of the topic after applying
After applying the topic, I see that:
- The students had confidence in doing the test.
- The students’ score results in the survey at the end of the school year
2020-2021 much better.

Class

Total

0≤đ
<2

2≤đ
<3

3≤đ
<4

4≤đ
<5

5≤đ
<6

6≤đ
<7

7≤đ
<8

8≤đ
<9

9≤đ
≤ 10

9


12E

33

3

7

7

1

6

4

0

0

0

12M

46

5

4

5

16

7

10

15

8

2

12N

40

13

9

8

8

2

0

0

0

0

27
22.6
%

20
16.8
%

20
16.8
%

29
24.3
%

14
11.7
%

5

4.2
%

2
1.6
%

2
1.6
%

0
0
%

Total

119

III. CONCLUSION, SUGGESTIONS
3.1. Conclusion
Observing the learning attitude, the test results of students and positive
feedback from their parents, the colleagues, and the school administrators, I
believe that the solutions that I took significantly positive effects on teaching and
learning at Mai Anh Tuan high school. I hope these solutions will be widely used
at high schools in the whole province, which is going to contribute to improving
the quality of English.
3.2. Suggestions
Having concluded the research, I see that the success in teaching does not
only depend on the lessons teaching, but also how the teacher design the lessons

and uses various techniques to manage the class more lively and more enjoyable.
The writer would like to propose some recommendations that hopefully will be
useful for the students, and other English teacher as follows:
+ For the students
- Being aware that reading comprehension skill is important in exams, the students
should be trained or practiced performing best.
- The students are hoped to be active and creative in enriching their vocabularies.
- The students are hoped to practice more exercises about reading comprehension
skill although it is hard for them.
+ For the teacher
- The teacher should learn and be creative to find the way of how to teach reading
comprehension skill. She must also give motivation and explanation about the
importance of reading comprehension part in exams.
- The teacher should choose the exercises that are appropriate and not too difficult
for the students.
- The teacher should assign work to students and encourage them to take part in
the lesson by giving bonus marks, giving compliments.
- The teacher should keep control the students’ activities during the lesson.
- The teacher should present the language in an enjoyable, relaxed and
understandable way.
- It is important for the teacher to create and maintain a friendly relationship with
students, they would feel much more self-confident to do the assignments. Thus,
teachers should always be available to help students when they have any
difficulties. Especially, for reluctant and shy students, teachers should show more
care and encouragement than others.
10


I believe that if all of these above problems are well addressed, English
learners at Mai Anh Tuan high School in particular and throughout the country in

general will benefit from the innovation in teaching methods. I have tried my best
to study this research topic, but shortcomings are inevitable. I hope that all
teachers as well as students will read, consult and give feedback to help the topic
improve and become a useful reference resource for teachers and students.
THE CONFIRMATION OF
THE HEADMASTER

Nga Son, May 4th, 2022
I hereby declare that this is my
innovative solutions and that no parts
of the initiative have been copied and
reproduced by me from any other’s
work without acknowledgement.
Presenter
Hồ Hoa Mai

11


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