Improving the reading skills

Target level: A2/B1/B2/C1/C2 (CEF)

Aim of the activity: reading for gist

Duration of the activity: 15-20 min

• Introduce the subject of the text. 
• Distribute parts of the text to each student.
• Allow students some time to read by themselves.
• Group them, so they can discuss about what they just read, allow some five minutes to that. (Here you may introduce images to help them, if you have any.)
• Ask them to tell you the story and other details from the text. Add extra information about the passages, so they know they’re on the right path and keep motivated to do the task.
• Finally go over the text again, but this time you tell them the story.

You can use all sorts of texts. I recommend short stories. I have used Edgar Allan Poe's The fall of the house of Usher, Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Suit, to name a few.

Some websites already have a division of the story, such as this.