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It also makes comparison with the syllabuses of examining boards more obvious. Sentence structure is also carefully graded moving from short simple sentences at lower levels to longer, more complex sentences as students move further up the levels. You will find the detailed list of structures for the Green Apple and Reading and Training series below. For detailed information about Earlyread grading, see pages 32-33.In the Easyread series, for example, 300 headwords are used at level 1 and 400 at level 2, with the addition of some specific lexis inherent in the subject matter of the reader in question, which is glossed either during or at the end of the reader. In the Green Apple and Reading and Training series, however, the attitude to lexis is more flexible. Widely known word lists are certainly a point of reference, but these are not followed dogmatically. This occasionally means that words commonly associated with a higher level may occur at a lower level. This is explained both by common sense and good methodological practice. In classic texts, set in a particular time and place, and texts about particular topics (for example, Easyreads and Reading and Training Discovery books) there will naturally be words which are essential and high-frequency in those texts, but which are usually far less frequent. For example, in Gulliver’s Travels (Reading and Training, Step Three) we need to include swords, cannons, wasps, eagles, dwarves, and so on, which are not very common lexis. Yet they are an integral part of the texture and fascination of the story. An attitude of good sense towards vocabulary is supported by the use of a sensible criterion. The texts of all Green Apple readers and the texts of Steps 1 to 3 of the Reading and Training series have been checked against the word lists for the Cambridge ESOL Flyers, KET and PET exams. Words which are not on those lists but are essential for the text are pre-taught in pre-reading or glossed.

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Taking photographs with a digital camera or on film requires the correct exposure. When shooting film or digital, the same rules and principles of light, speed, aperture and film speed (ISO) still apply. This guide gives you a much needed starting point for evaluating and adjusting your exposure. The Black Cat is designed for use with all color print, slide, black and white films and digital cameras with manual controls. You also can use the guide to supplement your camera's exposure meter, your hand held meter, or a spot meter. In addition, the guide has extended exposure settings to prevent it from becoming obsolete because of changes in technology. The great thing about it is that it really makes you think about your exposure choices and you start to learn about lighting. With some practice it allows you to use a camera without a built in light meter with great results. Interchanging shutter speed, aperture and ISO speed becomes very easy because with a minor twist of the dial you can see what the effects are of changing each. These things should be obvious if you are experienced but for a non-pro occassional photographer they really help a lot. This has been useful on many occasions when I needed it most. I would love to say thank you to the company that made these. Some versions mayThere used to be threeThis trim pot is onListen for a WHOOSH soundThis and the lamp intensity controlMan Black Cat Page. Black Cat Readers CEFR External Examination Boards Cambridge ESOL Trinity City and Guilds IELTS TOEFL TOEIC iBT Earlyreads Levels 1-5 A1 Starters and Movers 1, 2 Young Learners: Basic For more detailed information on the grading of Earlyreads, see pages 32-33. Structures The grammar in Graded Readers is controlled and limited to structures that will be familiar to learners at each level. This enables teachers, when choosing a reader, to compare the levels of readers with their course books.

Grammar and vocabulary The grammatical structures and lexical items that are chosen for practise in the while-reading activities of Black Cat readers are always suggested by exponents in the text that has just been read. The grammar activities generally attempt to practise the structures either in tasks that are to do with the events of the story or that involve the students’ own world. Vocabulary is generally practised by encouraging the students to create relationships such as antonymy or word fields. Games-based activities are common too: just one example among many is crosswords, found at all levels and popular with students and teachers alike, which check and recycle new vocabulary introduced. Cross-curricularity Over 35 terms are used around the world to refer to teaching school subjects in a foreign or second language. The two most common terms are CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), used in European methodology, and CBI (Content Based Instruction), used in American methodology. At the lower end of the spectrum in terms of quantity, modules of 20 hours or so where a project involving a non-language subject is conducted in a foreign language are common. The expansive reading approach of Black Cat readers means that information and activities which connect with subjects such as history, geography, science, art, social studies and so on feature in each volume, providing interesting examples of cross-curricular connections. Opportunities for cross-curricular connections occur regularly in fictional texts, and particularly in the case of history and geography: stories are always set in time and place, so history and geography are always areas that we can explore.

In the case of vocabulary that the learner is not familiar with, it must be said that guessing the meaning of unknown words in context is an extremely valuable subskill of reading, which should be encouraged. Text-type and task-type Two further criteria for grading readers are according to text-type and task-type. The general principle for the selection of text-type means that at Green Apple level there are many readers involving adventure, legend and fable, mystery and suspense, and so on: that is, subject matter familiar and interesting to the younger learner. The Reading and Training readers reflect the older age group of the learners, and contain narratives which are not only exciting, but also more psychologically intriguing. One aspect of progress in reading skills is the gradual development from simply being able to find and extract information to also being able to interpret more subtle elements such as opinions, points of view and motivation (see the scales from the Framework on pages 42-3 and 45). Such activities require more language production from the learners in their responses. Our objectives include expanding students’ learning in all kinds of directions and in all kinds of ways and expanding their cultural horizons, as well as expanding the range of activities that teachers can do with their students. Activities which surround reading texts (both following and preceding texts) can focus on any of the ten areas listed below, and in the expansive approach all of them will receive attention during the course of a complete reader. Listening, speaking and writing Reading leads quite naturally to the practice of the other language skills, and the presence of all four skills in Black Cat readers means that teachers in some parts of the world have opted to use a selection of Black Cat readers throughout the school year instead of a course book.

Just one example is how often film versions of classic stories are exploited in Black Cat readers (see page 29.) Intertextuality, under the name text-to-text connection, is one of the connection-making strategies suggested by Susan Zimmermann and Ellin Keene in their influential book on reading comprehension, Mosaic of Thought (2007). In Black Cat readers, learners are sometimes told what the text-to-text and text-to-world connections of a story are: this is done mainly in the introductions and dossiers. Sometimes the approach is inductive, and students are guided into discovering text-to-text and text-to-world connections by themselves: this kind of activity can be found in Internet projects, in activities following the dossiers, in the after-reading activities at the end of the readers, and occasionally during the while-reading activities. Such kinds of activity are not restricted to higher levels. All this information is an example of intertextuality. Our young learners are then invited to think of the circumstances in which people can express wishes in their own cultures (intercultural awareness). They then continue to explore intertextuality in the genre of film by doing an Internet project where they find out more about the films Aladdin and Cinderella. Internet projects Internet projects are ideal for making cross-curricular connections, researching sociocultural knowledge, facilitating intercultural comparisons, and exploring textto-text and text-to-world connections. They are described on page 31. External certification practice Interesting material which also provides examination practice can be integrated into the expansive reading approach, as described on page 28. 9 CHOOSING A READER There are three important criteria in choosing a reader, all interconnected: the level, age and interests of the learners. The following comments refer principally to choosing a class reader.

Indeed, giving students information about the setting of a story and the social background against which it was written might well be seen as necessary rather than just optional: why should we assume that a young learner not from Britain who is about to read, say, Oliver Twist already knows where and when the story is set, and what Victorian London was like. As we have seen, connections with history and geography are always present. One example among many must suffice. But the cultural background of a text also contains all kinds of sociocultural features, knowledge of which is called sociocultural knowledge. It is interesting to observe how many of these features occur naturally in fiction: quite apart from its setting, which may be more or less prominent, a work of fiction will to certain extent embody the behaviours and values of the culture it comes from. Indeed, it would be difficult to imagine a work of fiction that was not culturally specific in any way. When using a reader we have three basic choices about how to deal with the cultural features: 1 We can leave all the cultural features simply embedded in the story and not focus on them at all. But this is too demanding for the teacher. It also overlooks the fact that students can acquire knowledge of a foreign culture without conscious study. 3 We can focus attention on some of the cultural features and leave others simply embedded. The term has been used in many ways. Whether a person reading a text recognises the allusions or not is a question of knowledge (often literary knowledge) and this meaning of intertextuality is not really relevant to us in the language classroom. By other texts we mean other works of fiction, but also other genres such as films, musicals, poetry, songs, drama, artworks, and so on, and the texts can be many and various according to the culture of the reader who is reading the text.

In this section only general procedures are described: subsequent sections of the guide will go into details on the use of particular kinds of activities. So, if the reader is a narrative (a novel or a long story) at a lower level it will be done one chapter at a time, like a serial. This creates interest and suspense. At higher levels, where the chapters might sometimes seem too long, it is easy enough to find a convenient break somewhere near the middle of a chapter. In the case of collections of short stories or non-fiction, it will be done one story or one chapter at a time (or breaking at a convenient mid-way point). After a few sessions the teacher will have an idea of the amount of time the class is comfortable with. However, as the class becomes more used to reading together, the learners will be able to handle more time spent on reading. Procedure After a brief warm-up (see the Pre-reading activities section, page 15) the reading starts. A common procedure is that learners listen while they follow the texts in their readers. Without interrupting the momentum, the teacher might also ask what the learners think might happen next (but if no answers are immediately forthcoming, go on with the reading). This will be more likely when the class becomes used to reading together. An advantage is that it is recorded by professional actors who read very expressively, and it may have special sound effects. (Further information on using the recordings is found on page 30.) Both procedures ensure that all the learners are exposed to a good model of pronunciation and read at the same speed. They cannot pause at words they do not know, and so reading fluency is fostered. In addition, the expressivity of the reading aids comprehension. To shift the emphasis a little more onto listening, the class can listen once with their books closed, and only afterwards open their books and read (with or without listening the second time).

Only do this if you know that the language level of the class is high in comparison with the reader you are using, otherwise you run the risk of discouraging your learners. The student who is reading becomes anxious, the others are either preparing their passage to read or not listening any more if they have already read. Furthermore, imperfect pronunciation might be transmitted to the class. The use of dictionaries at this stage discourages two vital sub-skills of fluent reading: ignoring unknown words and guessing meaning in context. Learners should only use dictionaries later (during the activities, or during rereading at home), and then only if they are in real difficulty. Encourage learners to use the glosses, the illustrative support, and to make guesses in context, using knowledge of what comes before and after. Ask them, for example, to choose one, two or three from the selection offered. The debate in class might be interesting. Activities The dossier sections Each chapter in the Black Cat readers is followed by a number of activities of different types. Then look through the rest of the activities with the class and explain them. Set some or all of them as homework. Note that in both cases the teacher does not need to do all of the activities, although the comprehension check is always advisable: this activity enables the teacher to ensure that everyone has the same basic understanding of what has been read, and to discuss and clear up eventual misunderstandings. As for the subsequent activities, it is perfectly possible to leave some of them out. For example, the teacher might only want to focus on the language activities, or limit the work to just a creative writing task. To enhance the crosscurricular approach, you can tell your colleagues who teach other subjects about the dossiers: perhaps they might give some related input in their classes.

The level of the learners To help choose an appropriate level of reader use the chart on page 3 of this guide. Maybe you already know how to describe the level of your class according to the levels of the CEFR, or perhaps you have an idea of what external exam your students might be potential candidates for. If not, the course book you already use will give an indication of its level: find this on the chart, and see which Black Cat readers are appropriate at this level. Then make a further check by comparing the structural syllabus of your course book with the structural contents of the level of the reader you are thinking of adopting (pages 4-5). It is discouraging to read a book which is too difficult. On the other hand, if the book seems slightly easy it can be read more quickly, and more attention can be given to the activities, which can be done in a more challenging way (more quickly, or by requiring more interpretation). Then the next reader can be chosen from the higher level. After finishing the reader you can ask your learners how they coped with it, maybe by giving them a 5-level multiple choice questionnaire, and seeing what the average class response is. Too easy A little below my level Right for my level A little above my level Too difficult This will help the teacher in choosing the next reader, and will also help individual learners in establishing their own level for eventual autonomous reading. The age of the learners The important consideration here is not to choose a reader which does not seem sophisticated enough for the age of the learners, both in its content and appearance. The general Black Cat guidelines are that Green Apple readers are for younger learners while Reading and Training readers are for young adolescents to young adults. Yet the level of sophistication among young teenagers can vary widely. Ultimately it is you, the teacher, who knows your class best.

10 The interests of the class 1 Learner-based choice Interests can be defined in terms of content (what is in the book) and genre (is it a thriller.Be concrete rather than abstract. The best idea is for the teacher to make a shortlist (but not necessarily too short!) and ask the class to choose. Ask your book distributor to give you extra copies of the catalogue. The catalogue, written with both teachers and learners in mind, is a pleasure to browse through. If you have copies of the readers themselves (perhaps copies you have used on previous courses, or from a school library or other resource centre), lay them down on a table and let the learners browse through them. Let them behave like customers in a bookshop. That is, let them look at the covers (the designs will surely attract them), read the blurb on the back covers (translate any words if asked), and leaf through the books (the illustrations are bound to excite curiosity and interest). While learners are doing this, be enthusiastic if you are asked any questions: Has there been a film version. Have you read it? What is it about? If you show interest yourself, you will transmit it to your learners. Or there may be an idea for collaboration between the English teacher and the teacher of art or science or another school subject. In these cases the teacher can certainly take responsibility for making the choice. Whether the choice is made by learners or the teacher, one factor that might be important is whether there is a film version (this is very likely in the case of classic fiction). An indispensable tool to research this is the International Movie Database (www.imdb.com), where you will find lists of all the film versions of all classic titles. For suggestions about using films, see page 29. FITTING READERS INTO YOUR TEACHING In this section you will find a description of a standard way of fitting readers into your teaching, followed by variations.

In this option, you might even ask groups of students to read different dossiers and then deliver a report to the rest of the class. You might want to do a chapter as a surprise change of activity (for example, when the learners are finding their text book rather heavy going, or they are bored, or whenever you think it might be appreciated!). 12 ’ Holiday reading Readers are a great idea for study and pleasure during school holidays. If the teacher is following a theme-based syllabus, holiday reading is ideal material either for preparatory work or follow-up study. But even if the reading is not related to a thematic syllabus, and the Fitting readers into your teaching teacher’s syllabus is exclusively language-based, the linguistic benefits are sufficient reward on their own. In this case the teacher should establish a list of readers at the appropriate level, and then follow the procedure described in the section on learner-based choice (page 10). Learners can then order the books through the teacher or get them from a bookshop. Autonomous reading: the class library Ideally, books should be available for learners to take away and read whenever they want. This can be entirely voluntary and unmonitored, or as part of an individual reading programme, where the teacher requires that each learner reads a certain number of books during a school year. In both cases the ideal resource is a class library. If you decide to set one up, be enthusiastic about it. The class library could be an entire shelf or more, or simply a box of books. It will quite possibly contain some readers one level below and above the average level of the class, to cater for individual needs. Regarding organisation, for psychological motives of involvement it is a good idea if a student is appointed as librarian, who will keep a record of who has borrowed a book. This responsibility can rotate, and a new librarian be appointed each term.

Younger learners can even involve their parents, if they know English. Put a board on the wall somewhere near the books. The board has the same function as the review card: it is a table with names of the students down the side and names of the books across the top. Learners can be encouraged to keep their own reading cards. On these they write down the title, author, main plot, themes, and their own comments. They can keep these cards in a file or a box. It may be useful in some state exams for learners to be able to list and talk about all the books they have read. These are more extended pieces of work than reading cards. They are described in the section on while-reading activities on pages 16-17, and photocopiable pages are found on 38-41. The aims are: 1 to raise awareness of the subject and activate what the learners already know 2 to motivate reading by providing reasons to read 3 to elicit or pre-teach a few items of key vocabulary that will be important. If the learners are obviously enthusiastic about beginning their reader, don’t make them wait too long. Covers and Characters The covers of Black Cat readers are all beautifully illustrated, so asking learners to make predictions about the contents based on the cover and title is both easy and productive. Focus learners’ attention on this page, and ask them to suggest adjectives to describe each character. Chapter Headings Most readers have chapter headings. In those that do, open the reader at the contents page and look at the chapter headings: what predictions can the class make about the contents of each chapter. This activity works much better with just a little more preparation: photocopy the contents pages, cut out the chapter headings and stick them on a piece of paper in scrambled order; photocopy this and give it to the learners. (Alternatively, simply write the chapter headings out of order on the board.

) Ask them to put them in the order they think they will occur in the text, and explain their reasons. Trailers Film trailers never include the beginnings of films! They always include the most exciting parts. Similarly, the teacher can present a key scene from any part of the book (by reading it or playing the recording) in order to stimulate interest. With a little more preparation the teacher can make a poster, a collage of some of the most intriguing illustrations and some key moments from the text (sentences, brief exchanges of dialogue). Encourage the learners to make predictions. Ideally, such posters should have been made by learners who have read the book (as suggested in the section on after-reading activities on page 26). It will be interesting to see what the most common points are. Original readers have an initial chapter about the setting or some other element of interest. The teacher can decide to do this chapter at this point or defer it till later. Before reading this chapter it might be an idea to use the What do you know.PRE-READING ACTIVITIES These are the activities that the teacher will do once the class has started the reader, before every reading session. Not too much time should be dedicated to this, as the main aim is to start reading the next chapter. Green Apple and Reading and Training readers already contain prereading activities which realise the second two aims above. As usual, the teacher may adapt or substitute or skip the activities in the book according to the needs of the class. Black Cat readers are of the second opinion, and often contain activities before each chapter which pre-teach or revise vocabulary. These often take the form of matching words and pictures, with learners encouraged to use their dictionaries if necessary. After the learners have done the matching activity, ask them to use the words in some way (e.g. by making up sentences using the words).

3 Everyone in the field of reading agrees that good readers are readers who make predictions about what they are going to read. The following activities are all common; depending on the text being read, some will be more useful than others. The first ones need hardly any preparation time. What important information has the class understood. Learners predict in what context they will occur (e.g. in relation to which character, or to what possible event). This is a prediction activity, not a language test, so eliminate words to do with the plot development. Learners fill in the gaps and then check their answers when they read. A common pre-reading activity is based on listening. They then read to check their answers. With these activities it is advisable to examine the questions thoroughly before listening, even making predictions where possible. 15 WHILE-READING ACTIVITIES These are the activities which are found after each chapter. Black Cat readers have a really wide variety of whilereading activities. Teachers are, quite frankly, spoilt for choice, and it is unlikely that there will be any need to invent further activities. This both exploits each chapter in the most appropriate way and keeps the learners interested. For the teacher who wants to supplement the activities already present, the following activities require practically no preparation and can be used at any level and with any reader. 16 The Word Box This is a way of facilitating vocabulary acquisition. For each reader, the teacher keeps a box in class (which can be made attractive by covering it with pictures from the reader). After each chapter individual learners, or pairs or groups, can write down new expressions (words, or phrases or idioms) on slips of paper and put them in the box. The teacher stipulates how many words (from one to five per chapter) but the choice is up to the learners: they choose lexis that they want to learn, or that they simply find attractive or intriguing.

Every couple of weeks or so vocabulary from the box can be revised. This can be done in any lesson, not just the reading sessions, and need not last more than a few minutes. The teacher can ask the questions to the whole class, or the procedure can easily be adapted to a game between two teams. Younger learners might enjoy taking it in turns to fish the slips of paper out of the box. Pictures and Balloons This is a way of exploiting the lavish illustrations that distinguish Black Cat readers. From a chapter the students have read choose a picture with one or more characters. Invent a sentence that one character might be saying or thinking, or for two characters invent two sentences (maybe a spoken exchange between them, or their different thoughts). Do not tell the class the While-reading activities sentence(s). Show any apostrophes for possession or contraction, full stops, question or exclamation marks. Divide the class into two teams, and appoint a spokesperson for each. They can guess the words in any order. If a word occurs more than once, write it in for all occurrences, but award only one point. The winning team is the team that gets most points, not that gets the last word. At higher levels you can focus more on vocabulary. Hot Seating (or Questioning in Role) This speaking activity derives from drama training, but requires no dramatic flair. The author may not have given them an important role in the narrative, but they will certainly have something to say if asked. Like many activities, it becomes much more successful when the class has done it once or twice and got used to it. Diaries and Letters (or Writing in Role) Writing in role focuses on interpretation and free writing skills. And any of the characters might keep a diary for their own private use. The teacher can simply ask the learners to write a diary entry for certain characters, or a letter to another person (specify who it is).