Master and senior ranked elementary English teachers from Security Bank Foundation, Inc.

(SBFI) classroom beneficiary schools in the Visayas and Mindanao were trained on innovative ways of teaching English Reading and Writing for the Year 2 of their “Mentoring Future Leaders for Nation-Building” program held last July 15-19, 2024 at Sacred Heart School, Ateneo de Cebu.

One strategy taught is “choral reading” where elementary pupils are asked to read passages verbally as a group to address common concerns in schools where pupils are afraid to read because they think they cannot read well. Another similar and complementary strategy is “reader’s theater” where students incorporate body and vocal expressions, as they read as a group, to build their familiarity of the meaning of words, self-confidence, and reading fluency.

Girlie Lipang, an English teacher training participant from Surigao West Central Elementary School, appreciated the value of “choral reading” and “reader’s theater” strategies because “these are collaborative and fun-filled, suitable with the learning style of the current generation of pupils, and help develop 21st century skills of creativity, communication, and collaboration”.

Led by Rowena Regina Andrada, a former Faculty Member of the Ateneo de Manila University, and Dra. Rosalinda Quilates, a School Principal and Division Trainer of the Department of Education Division of Valenzuela City, the Year 2 “Transforming the School” training was organized in partnership with the Ateneo Center for Educational Development and geared towards developing English teachers to be mentors of their fellow teachers in school on model lesson planning and implementation so they can develop school-wide model lesson plans.

Focused on Reading and Writing which are skills found to be lacking among many Filipino students by recent international assessments, the training also encouraged teachers to use imagery to develop sentence composition skills of students. The strategy aligns with the reality that pupils of today are “visual learners”.

Another strategy taught to teachers includes the “Five Finger Retell Strategy” where each student is challenged to remember key elements of the story using each finger of the hand namely character, setting, start, middle, and ending. This strategy develops the ability of students to summarize and retell the story thereby developing their retention skills.

Rafael F. Simpao, Jr., SBFI Chairman, emphasized in his message to the teachers, the value of retention. “Reading should not stop with comprehension. Teachers also need to focus on retention or ensuring students remember what they have learned and apply it in their lives,” said Simpao.

The last day of the Year 2 in-person training was capped with a demo teaching where teachers simulated their model lesson plans using the innovative strategies taught to them. The teachers were also surprised that they are going home with a set of big books and flashcards that will help them immediately implement the strategies.

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