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volume 4, issue 3, 2025
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SIMPLE ACTIVITIES TO TEACH WRITING AND READING
IN ENGLISH
Alisher Rustamov Abduhakimovich
A teacher at the Department of English Language Teaching Methodology
in Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages.
alisherus2@gmail.com
Nasirova Xurshedabonu Sharof kizi
Student of Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages
nasirovaxurshedabonu5@gmail.com
Dr. Park Seong Eun
Professor of English Linguistics at Hankuk
University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), South Korea
Abstract:
The article addresses simple, practical, and enjoyable exercises that support English
language learners in developing their reading and writing skills. It highlights how the motivation
and retention of students can greatly be improved through interactive, low-cost approaches based
on progressive and communicative language learning theories. Picture labeling, group reading,
sentence building with word cards, and mini-books are some of the strategies piloted in the
classroom that are used in the research. The study emphasizes the cognitive, emotional, and
social benefits of these approaches to learners. Learner-centered interaction, contextual salience,
and design simplicity can significantly influence early English literacy development, according
to the findings.
Keywords:
reading strategies, writing skills, ESL, beginner learners, literacy development,
communicative approach, classroom activities
Introduction
Developing reading and writing skills is fundamental in English language education,
especially for beginner learners who rely heavily on engaging and comprehensible content. In
English language instruction, improving reading and writing abilities is essential, particularly for
beginning students who mostly depend on interesting and understandable content. Many teachers
struggle to choose engaging, easy-to-implement, and successful activities, particularly in
environments with limited resources. Teaching literacy in English doesn't always require
sophisticated equipment; well-thought-out, simple-to-understand exercises can produce
remarkable outcomes. This essay focuses on offering straightforward yet effective exercises that
may be used to develop fundamental English reading and writing skills in a variety of school
settings. A learner-centered strategy that places an emphasis on engagement, interaction, and
contextual learning provides the justification for selecting easy tasks. Students are more likely to
retain vocabulary, comprehend grammar, and write effectively when they are actively involved.
The design of these exercises is informed by theoretical viewpoints such as Willis's task-based
learning framework and Nation's four strands of language acquisition.
Methodology
This study uses a qualitative methodology that includes document analysis, teacher
interviews, and classroom observation. Ten English language classes in primary and lower-
secondary educational institutions where the chosen activities were routinely used provided the
data. Instructors were asked to explain their lesson ideas, offer insights into students'
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performance and emotions, and comment on how well the activities worked. Activities that
focused on writing and those that focused on reading were divided into two groups. We looked at
each activity's objectives, necessary supplies, procedures, and results. Students with beginner-
level English proficiency between the ages of 7 and 12 were included in the target learner group.
Results and Discussion
Reading Activities
1. Picture-Word Matching
One of the strongest and accessible activities is word-pictures matching. Flashcard sets are given
to the students; one set contains pictures, and another set contains vocabulary that corresponds to
the imagery. Visual strategy strengthens memory and understanding by assisting students in
relating new words to pictures. The children in the observed classrooms learned basic nouns like
"apple," "dog," and "book" in a matter of seconds. During these sessions, teachers observed an
increase in the students' confidence and enthusiasm.
2. Shared reading.
In shared reading, students read together in their own book while the teacher reads from a story
aloud. The teacher models pronunciation, asks prediction questions, and stops to define new
words. This technique promotes vocabulary development, listening, and reading fluency. Word
recognition and expressive reading of students were considerably enhanced in classrooms where
shared reading was done on a weekly basis.
3. Word Hunt
Students are instructed to find a list of target vocabulary terms in a reading material as part of a
word hunt. Students' scanning and skimming skills, which are critical for successful reading
comprehension, will be improved by completing this activity. When participating in the exercise,
students in the observed classrooms showed a high degree of interest and excitement. It was
viewed as a pleasant challenge by many pupils, which encouraged healthy peer competitiveness.
Instructors reported that this method was not only entertaining but also very instructive, since it
increased students' familiarity with word meanings, spellings, and context. Additionally, reading
the words in real-world contexts strengthened their comprehension of vocabulary and word
structures, which improved learning outcomes and long-term retention.
4. Story Sequencing
Students are given a series of photos relating to stories or jumbled tale phrases, which
they must arrange in the right order. This aids students in honing their logical reasoning and
reading comprehension. Students may be asked to justify their sequence selection by their
teachers. In addition to introducing concepts like beginning, middle, and finish, it aids in the
development of story structural awareness. Students get ready for subsequent tasks like
summarizing or recounting passages with this assignment.
5. Read and Respond
Students complete comprehension questions after reading brief sections or paragraphs.
The questions can encourage a personal response, target vocabulary or factual material, or both.
In addition to encouraging students to think analytically about what they read, this activity
allows them to construct higher-order reading skills. Open questions encourage discussion and
facilitate the development of reasoning and argument skills. It also enables teachers to evaluate
levels of comprehension of students and hone their analytical thinking.
Writing Activities
1. Constructing Sentences with Word Cards
Students construct sentences in this activity with pre-prepared word cards containing articles,
verbs, adjectives, and nouns. It provides explicit instruction in word order and sentence
construction. For instance, students can construct phrases such as "The red cat sleeps." Teachers
observed that the kinesthetic aspect of the activity suited tactile and visual learners perfectly.
2. Guided Writing Prompts
Upon the presentation of sentence starters like "Today I saw," students are urged to end the story
on their own terms. This empowers students to create compositions which are grammatically
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correct and well-structured along with stimulating creativity. Teachers found that children began
to use an increasing variety of words and sentences over time.
3. Label the Picture
It involves the students being shown a picture (e.g., a park or scenario in class) and the question
is asked, identifying English words. It is extremely effective for vocabulary and spelling
development. The students also receive the challenge to intensely concentrate their attention as
well as equate the words with occurrences in the actual world.
4. Mini-Books
Students make their own booklets with pictures and a short narrative. Writing, reading, and
drawing are all combined here. Teachers said the students were more motivated and assured
since they liked their books and presented them to their family members and friends.
5. Write the conclusion
In this activity, students are given the first half of a story and asked to come up with their own
ending. This enhances their imagination as well as creativity, as students must think of character
development, logical story progression, and wrap-up. Teachers can also ask students to think of
other genres—dramatic, humorous, or surprise endings. Apart from encouraging independence
and confidence in expressing ideas on their own, it also increases their writing fluency and
narrative mind.
Common characteristics of all the activities were minimal preparation time, high student
involvement, and flexibility. Educators noted the psychological advantages, where children were
joyful, at ease, and eager to engage. Scholastically, the exercises enhanced reading smoothness,
sentence construction, recall of vocabulary, and confidence in articulating ideas.
Conclusion
The study results indicate that straightforward, thoroughly organized exercises can be a very key
factor in learning English reading and writing, especially for first-year students.
The exercises are effective in providing a happy and friendly learning environment besides
facilitating language proficiency. Teachers are asked to integrate these inexpensive, very
valuable pedagogies in their classrooms in order to facilitate literacy development effectively.
Later studies can investigate the ways in which the conventional approaches can be
complemented with digital technologies.
References:
1. Nation, I. S. P. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing (pp. 45-67). Routledge.
2. Willis, J. (2007). Doing Task-Based Teaching (pp. 102-120). Oxford University Press.
3. Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learners (pp. 15-30). Cambridge
University Press.
4. Gibbons, P. (2015). Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning: Teaching Second Language
Learners in the Mainstream Classroom (2nd ed., pp. 73-95). Heinemann.
5. Pinter, A. (2017). Teaching Young Language Learners (2nd ed., pp. 35-50). Oxford University
Press.
6. Wright, A., Betteridge, D., & Buckby, M. (2006). Games for Language Learning (3rd ed., pp.
65–78). Cambridge University Press.
7. Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (2013). How Languages are Learned (4th ed., pp. 91–110).
Oxford University Press.
8.
Rustamov, A. A. (2025). Difficulties in teaching writing for Uzbek high classes: Differences
between English and Uzbek languages. Universal Journal of Social Sciences, Philosophy and
Culture, 3(21), 53–59.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14889124
9. Rustamov, A. A. (2025). Textbooks for teaching foreign languages in upper grades: A
pedagogical diagnostic approach. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence, 5(2), 324–328.
https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai/article/view/2727/3813
