Teaching practices for reading and viewing

Meaning
Children listen to a text read aloud by the teacher/educator modelling skilled reading behaviour, enjoyment and interest in a range of writing and types of text. Children listen and observe the teacher thinking aloud to model their own reading processes.

Using the practice
Teacher models skilful use of:

• concepts of print
• phonological awareness
• phonics
• vocabulary
• comprehension
• fluency
• visual literacy
• understandings of literature.

Meaning
Involves a whole class or small group. The teacher/educator reads an enlarged text beyond the level children can read by themselves. Children follow the words as the teacher/educator reads. Initially the teacher/educator may do much of the reading.

Using the practice
As the child becomes more familiar with the text they will assume more control, particularly at repetitive sections or when rhyme and rhythm are present.

Meaning
The teacher/educator supports a small group of children to read a text independently.

Using the practice
Children are in groups of similar reading ability and/or learning needs.

The teacher/educator selects texts to match the needs of the group. The children, with specific guidance, are supported to read sections or whole texts independently and usually silently. While children are reading, the teacher works one to one with children to provide individualised support for them to use the skills of:

• concepts of print
• phonological awareness
• phonics
• vocabulary
• comprehension
• fluency
• visual literacy
• understandings of literature.

Meaning
Individualised practice supported by explicit teaching during the whole group focus at the start of a reading lesson.

Provides opportunities for reflection at lesson closure.

When children read independently, they are mindful of the explicit lesson and draw on those skills to help them practise, read and understand text. After independent reading, they share how those skills assisted their reading by giving an example or articulating their new knowledge or learning.

Using the practice
Independent Reading is a practice that can be directly related to the learning intention and success criteria.

Independent Reading also supports the practise of new and reinforced strategies and knowledge. The teacher provides support by conferring with individuals or grouping students with like needs for a strategy group.

Meaning
A reading practice that develops and supports comprehension. It scaffolds talk between a teacher/educator and group members, or group members talking with each other.

Children who participate in this practice are encouraged to read, talk and think their way through the text. Scaffolded talk about a text is guided by four comprehension strategies: predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarising.

Using the practice

May be used with fluent readers to develop their comprehension skills. A helpful teaching practice because it:

• helps children to develop comprehension strategies
• makes explicit what readers do –predict, clarify, question and summarise
• develops a child’s content knowledge and topic vocabulary
• fosters meaningful dialogue among children
• helps children to develop skills in locating, recording, and organising information in preparation for writing.

Meaning
Integrates speaking and listening, reading and writing through a written text based on first-hand experiences.

Through scaffolded talk, the teacher/educator:

• supports a child to document experiences and ideas, using familiar and expanded vocabulary
• models ways in which their thoughts and words can be written down and later be read.

Understanding the difference between spoken and written language is critical in the primary years of schooling.

Using the practice
Through expanding and extending oral language based on their experiences, children are supported to write about these experiences.

The Language Experience Approach benefits many kinds of learners. It is particularly beneficial for English as an Additional Language children.

Meaning
Small group, peer-led book discussions that allow for authentic conversations to take place about texts of mutual interest to the children who form the group.

In-class time is set aside both for independent reading of selected books, and for literature circles/book clubs to meet to discuss the text read.

Using the practice
Rich conversations, observations and wonderings about texts are possible at all year levels, including children operating at the emergent literacy level to Level 2.

Teacher/educator support and involvement needs to be adjusted to reflect the child’s abilities and needs. Apart from familiarising children with scaffolds, teachers/educators could introduce the books and gently suggest aspects of each that the child might focus on.

Meaning
An approach to teaching comprehension that insists children extract meaning from text by examining carefully how language is used.

The main intention of close reading is to engage children in reading complex texts.

Four elements support close reading:

• repeated reading of a short text or extract
• annotating the short text or extract to reflect thinking
• teacher’s/educator’s questioning to guide analysis and discussion
• children’s extended discussion and analysis.

Using the practice
Aim to develop ‘engaged readers who are able to comprehend, compose, converse about, and evaluate complex texts in thoughtful, critical ways’ (Fang, 2016).

To achieve this, close reading should:

• provide opportunities for multiple readings and discussions
• give attention to language as a meaning making resource
• integrate writing as a means of extending understanding and expanding repertoires
• support the reader to find text-based evidence in response to text-dependent questions.

Meaning
This approach comprises four key stages. All stages incorporate social support for reading, writing, and speaking and listening, through varied grouping, such as whole group, small groups, pairs and individual.

The four stages are:

• Building the context or field – understanding the role of texts in our culture and building shared understanding of the topic
• Modelling the text – using mentor or model texts to focus explicitly on the structure and the language of the text, to identify how language choices work to shape meaning, and to build a metalanguage
• Guided practice – teachers and children jointly constructing a text
• Independent construction – children’s independent writing or approximation of the genre.

Using the practice

Explicit teaching about language choices and text. Teachers carefully select mentor or model texts which:

• are typically beyond what children can read independently
• relate to the area of study
• provide models of good writing in the focus genre
• provide clear illustrations of available grammatical choices and how these choices shape the meanings of the texts. Dependent on the year level, the selected text and the teaching focus, whole texts or text extracts can be used. For example:
• in a focus on narrative texts, a complete narrative might be used to illustrate the main stages of Orientation, Complication, Resolution
• an extract might be selected for close reading to examine action-reaction patterns; that is, characters’ responses to what is unfolding in the narrative.