Text Level Knowledge: Scaffolding Learning From 3.25

• Indicators of Progress
• Text characteristics
• Teaching Strategies for Fiction texts
• Teaching Strategies for Non Fiction texts

Indicators of Progress

• Students describe their reading plan for these types of texts as per level 3, and modify their reading plan for texts beyond level 3, to include paraphrasing and visualising as they read.
• Students distinguish between factual texts targeting different topics, for example, distinguish between scientific, sporting and historical texts and identify what each type of text might tell the reader, for example, scientific texts tell us about the world or how things work; sports texts tell us how sports such as cricket are played; and historical texts tell us what things happened in the past, and how people lived. Students use these decisions to decide possible questions that each type of text might answer.
• Students read the text independently, either silently or aloud as appropriate; they may switch from one mode to the other if necessary for comprehension or other communication purposes.
• Students work out the meanings of unfamiliar words in less redundant contexts by synthesising text information across sentences in factual texts and gradually refine their understanding of a particular term as they continue to read.
• Students use various paragraph comprehending strategies in an integrated way, for example, they: (1) select key ideas; (2) paraphrase a paragraph consisting of more complex sentences, for example, sentences that have embedded phrases and clauses, and describe the ideas; (3) paraphrase and visualise the more complex sentences; (4) predict events and infer possible consequences before they read on; and (5) draw on relatively explicit concrete contextual cues and synthesise sentence meanings across two or three sentences in a paragraph of actions.
• Students say the questions that are answered by particular paragraphs in the text.
• Students adapt the consolidation strategies in level 3 to the current texts.
• Students display literal, inferential and evaluative comprehension as per level 3, and in doing so, support their interpretations with evidence both from the text and their general knowledge.
• Students identify the intended purpose of texts and the audience intended by the writer.
• Students locate some of the structures of narratives, reports and arguments. They can describe, for example, the techniques writers use to link sentences in more complex ways.
• Students identify the attitudes and beliefs of various characters, and analyse the use of imagery for specific events and characters, plot and setting.
• Students recognise how texts present particular cultural or historical values and attitudes.

Characteristics

Students independently read and respond to texts.

Language

• Frequent use of unfamiliar words
• Complex sentence structure
• Can vary between first and third person, with some paragraphs describing the character’s thoughts
• Detailed book language

Layout

• Lengthy blocks of text on a page
• Small-sized print
• May be few or no illustrations
• Paragraphs may vary in length, complexity and purpose
• Many chapters of significant length
• Detailed contents and glossary
• Complex diagrams and maps, graphs and tables, with complex labelling

Content

• Different styles may be explored, may not follow a simple beginning–middle–end sequence
• Sophisticated nature of sub-themes may require reader to infer links to the main theme
• Characters can become quite complex and individual, with more involved ways of relating with others
• Complex concepts explored

Teaching Strategies for Fiction texts

Before Reading: Getting your knowledge ready for reading 

The text used to model these teaching and learning strategies is Blabber Mouth by Morris Gleitzman, published by Pan MacMillan in 1992. 

Integrating the title with the picture

The teacher can introduce the novel by having the class describe what they believe the cover shows. Students can integrate the picture with the title.  They say in sentences what they see on the cover.  Their thoughts can be collated on the whiteboard.  The question that each idea answers can also be noted. Examples of this include :

A young girl with an apple in front of her mouth - Who is it about?

We can’t tell how she feels. She is wearing overalls - How does she look?

She is not doing anything - What does she do?

She is standing between two rows of trees - Where is she?

The girl is about 11 or 12 - How old does the girl look ?

Making links between title and cover

The teacher can lead students to link the title and the picture. What is a ‘blabber mouth ? They learn that a blabber mouth is someone who talks a lot.  They speculate about the link between the title and the apple in front of her mouth shown on the cover.

Reading the blurb

The teacher or a student can read aloud the first paragraph in the summary on the back cover. Before the reading begins, students answer the questions what will we look/listen for? what questions do we want to answer?  The sentences may be read twice.  On the second reading, each sentence can be said in other ways after it is read. Students suggest other ways of saying each of the phrases. for example,  they consider other ways of saying:

• “a knot in my guts the size of Antarctica”
• “talking in your head?”
• “it takes your mind off stress and your don’t get ulcers.”

From this reading and discussion the students answer the questions that were raised first when they looked at the cover :

• Who is it about?
• Where does it take place?
• When does it take place?
• What happens?
• What type of story is it?
• Why might the writer have written it?

Collating ideas about the text

Students describe the images they have in their minds from having read the blurb and suggest what they think might happen in the story.  Before they begin to read they talk about some of the actions they might use as they read.

During Reading: Tuning in to the text

The text used to model these teaching and learning strategies is Blabber Mouth by Morris Gleitzman, published by Pan MacMillan in 1992. 

Examining key words

Teachers encourage students to examine and discuss key words. For example, the words 'smiled', 'laughed, 'smirk' and 'smirky' are used on page 3. How are they different in what they mean? Why is smirk a better word to describe Darryn Peck?

Mute and dumb are two key words in this chapter, what does each mean?

After Reading: Consolidate and review the text

The text used to model these teaching and learning strategies is Blabber Mouth by Morris Gleitzman, published by Pan MacMillan in 1992. 

Building on first predictions

The students revisit their initial predictions, modify or confirm in the light of the new knowledge

Teaching Strategies for Non Fiction texts

Before Reading: Getting your knowledge ready for reading 

The text used to model these teaching and learning strategies is Early days in Sydney Town (PDF - 35Kb).

Building contextual knowledge 

Teachers introduce the topic of Europeans settlement in Australia.  Students are shown a set of stimulus pictures from the text on PowerPoint or a video of the re-enactment of the First Fleet.  In ‘think –pair-share’ activities students can:

• imagine they were in one of the ships. They interrogate their imagery considering what they would see, hear, feel when they arrived at Port Jackson or when they were in the hold of a prison ship and talk about what they see.
• imagine they were interviewing a sailor on one of the ships arriving at Port Jackson. They consider what questions would they ask and what might be likely responses.
• describe what the new arrivals might have seen when they first came close to land at Port Jackson. The students describe places they might have seen that could be like the countryside the new arrivals saw.

Predicting words, phrases and ideas

Students suggest words, phrases and ideas that the text describing the arrival of the English newcomers might say, for example:

• convicts, guards in sailing boats, sea sick
• explore the bush, look for water
• make shelters from the bush
• keep prisoners under control.

Predicting content

Students decide what the text will tell them about what it was like for the first settlers; perhaps how they felt after months at sea, what sort of environments they found they were in, how they started to set up a settlement.  

Suggesting questions the text might answer

Suggest questions that the text might answer for them, for example:

 

How do they begin to make up a settlement?	What are some of the things they brought with them?	When did they arrive?
What did they think of the new country?	The beginning of European life in Australia.	What are they made of?
Who is in charge of the settlement?	How were things different from what they had been like in Britain?	Where did they stop and settle?

Developing and extending a reading plan

Readers say their reading plan,  the actions (strategies) they might use,  how they might integrate pictures and written text, say where they might pause and review what they know. For example:

‘The text has five sections. I will read the heading of each section to work out what it is about.  Then I will read each paragraph. At the end of each paragraph I will ask “What do I know now ? What is the main idea ?  I will write a summary of each paragraph as I read it.  After I have read all of the paragraphs I will put together the main ideas of the paragraphs.’