Student Learning

English Developmental Continuum P-10 – Reading

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Text Level Knowledge: Scaffolding Learning From Level 5

 

Indicators of Progress

  • Students use and describe their reading plan for these types of texts. For example, their plan explicitly mentions skimming the text to link its likely topic with what they know, why the text was written, what it might tell them, the actions they might use while reading and how they will add new ideas to what they know as per level 4. As well, they modify their plan to deal with the more complex language of the text.
  • Students skim and scan the text by using the strategies developed from levels 4–5 but modify them for selecting the main ideas in conceptually dense or extended texts.
  • Students identify how a text is organised (in terms of the types of texts to which they have been exposed) and state what they might know having read it.
  • 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 use vocabulary enhancement strategies to work out the subject-specific meanings of unfamiliar topic words by using the word meaning strategies developed in levels 4–5 and then decontextualise them or make them more abstract by talking about the meaning in a more general way.
  • Students use strategies necessary for comprehending the range of sentences in text at this level. They use paraphrasing and visualising to understand the meanings of the different types of statements (for example, particular, procedural, general and conditional general statements). They switch between using different strategies depending on the type of statement. As well, they recognise figurative ideas in sentences and use the appropriate strategies for comprehending these.
  • Students use paragraph comprehending strategies described in level 4 and modified for more complex text. They identify the main and subordinate ideas across sentences and integrate these into a summary.
  • Students use paragraph synthesis strategies. They use the synthesis strategies described in level 4 and identify the main and subordinate ideas across text comprising up to five paragraphs and integrate these into a summary.
  • Students use various strategies for recording key ideas in the text they read, for example, note taking for longer fictional texts by drawing a network of meanings in the text.
  • Students consolidate and review what they read in a range of ways. They construct or select a summary of a text read and implement the set of actions described in a text
  • Students show literal comprehension of the relevant text. For example, they: (1) retell the key and subordinate ideas in the text; (2) answer questions, using several strategies to locate, select and record targeted information; (3) support their interpretations with information drawn from the text; and (4) explore, discuss and articulate questions that the text answers.
  • Students show inferential comprehension of the relevant texts in a range of ways; they (1) read between the lines and infer features and characteristics of key concepts; (2) infer cause and effect across paragraphs, predict possible events and consequences; (3) infer What would happen if...? by changing conditions in the text and predict the nature of changes; and (4) develop critical and personal responses, such as interpretive pieces or character profiles.
  • Students suggest the author’s purpose for writing the text, infer the author’s point of view or attitudes and how well the text achieved its purpose. They evaluate the quality of the information presented and analyse how social values or attitudes are conveyed for example, social values in historical or humanities texts.
  • Students describe the characteristics of texts and how these influence how the texts achieve their purposes. They analyse how writers use language in various ways, for example, they use imagery, characterisation and setting in novels and persuasive texts to convey their intention.
  • Students talk about the actions they use to comprehend the texts at this level, for example, how they: (1) pursue the argument presented by a writer; (2) identify cultural or historical influences on the ideas presented; and (3) read to learn.
  • Students describe how reading helps them and is a useful activity, for example, to discover what other people are thinking, and to teach new ideas efficiently.

 

Text Characteristics

Students independently read and respond to an increasing range of text types and forms for different cultural purposes with associated linguistic structures and features.

 

Teaching Strategies for Fiction texts

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After Reading: Consolidate and review the text

The narrative for the learning and teaching sequence is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, published by Bloomsbury Publishing, 1997.

Evaluating reading strategies

The readers review and evaluate the reading strategies used, particularly the strategies being learnt at the time.

For example:
What reading actions helped you to read and comprehend this chapter? Students are encouraged to identify and use the reading strategies explored earlier in this level.

Storing the new ideas learnt in memory

The students identify:

  • What key new ideas have I learnt?
  • How has my knowledge changed?
  • How do they fit with what I know already?

Students list the key things you wanted them to remember about the chapter/s or text.

 

Teaching Strategies for Non Fiction texts

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Before Reading: Getting your knowledge ready for reading

The text used to model these teaching and learning strategies is Giant Pandas becoming extinct (http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giant_panda.html).  Typical of web pages, the information is organised into columns.  As well,  the page includes various sources of multimedia information - video data, audio data and photographs.

Predicting purpose of factual texts

Decide what the text will tell them about what it is like for the giant panda, what things are threatening them, the sort of environments they are in, how they can be assisted to survive. The purpose of the text is to teach students new ideas.

Developing a reading plan for online texts

Students describe how they will access the online information, the decisions they will make, for example:

1. When you open a page you have been directed to, skim and scan it to decide:

  • How is the information organised? If it has several sources of information, for example, tables, maps, pictorial data. How will you combine them?
  • What questions does it seem to answer?
  • How will you manage and direct your reading?

2. As you read through the text, decide how you will:

  • Summarise each paragraph, identify the question/s it answers
  • Keep track of key information, for example, write down key ideas
  • Review and consolidate each paragraph
  • Link up ideas across paragraphs
  • Decide when to pursue other (new) links.

3. When you have read a page, review and consolidate what you know now:

  • Decide whether you need to re-read parts of it
  • Decide whether you will pursue particular links provided
  • Decide which information you will save.

Describing their reading plan

For the text at Giant Pandas becoming extinct (http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giant_panda.html) students describe their reading plans as follows.

The text is in two main sections; Quick facts and the main text titled Mammals: Giant Pandas. The Quick facts section lists features of pandas in point form. The main text has seven main sections, each with its own sub-heading. Some sections have pictures. I will work through the main section first and then go through the factual information section.

I will read the heading of each section to work out what it is about. Then I will read each section. 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.

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During Reading: Tuning into the text

The text used to model these teaching and learning strategies is Giant Pandas becoming extinct (http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giant_panda.html).  Typical of web pages, the information is organised into columns.  As well,  the page includes various sources of multimedia information - video data,  audio data and photographs.

Summarising information

Students go back over the main ideas of each section and link these into a sequence of ideas.

Responding to questions and integrating literal information

Students respond to questions about the information provided by integrating literal information across the paragraphs:

  • What does the text say, causes pandas to be threatened?
  • Why might all the bamboo in an area dying at the same time threaten the pandas?
  • What do we know about how well the young pandas can survive by themselves?
  • How could knowing that pandas are bears help us understand how they could be conserved?

Reviewing and evaluating reading strategies as they go

Readers reflect on and discuss the actions they used to learn from the on-line text, for example, deciding:

  • How to skim and scan over the text to get an overall idea and to plan a ‘reading blue print’ for the text
  • When and how to use particular links and how to infer what each link might say
  • How to record key information as they read.

Storing the new ideas learnt in memory

Readers ask themselves:

  • What key new ideas have I learnt about giant pandas and how they are endangered?
  • How has my knowledge changed?
  • How do they fit with what I know already?

They list the key things they want to remember.

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After Reading: Consolidate and review the text

The text used to model these teaching and learning strategies is Giant Pandas becoming extinct (http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giant_panda.html).  Typical of web pages, the information is organised into columns.  As well,  the page includes various sources of multimedia information - video data,  audio data and photographs.

Digging deeper within the topic

Students use on-line information sources to pursue a particular topic, for example:

  • Are giant pandas their own worst enemies when it comes to their long term survival?
  • Can you find evidence that any of the following contributes to this: (1) a poor diet or poor nutrition; (2) particular breeding habits; (3) difficulty adapting to changes in their environment?

When searching on-line for relevant information, students learn to use the following strategies:

  • To start a search, identify key words and then submit the words for the search.

When a reader opens a page, the reader skims and scans it to decide:

  • Is it relevant to my questions?
  • How is the information organised? If it has several sources of information, for example, tables, maps, pictorial data, how will they be combined?
  • What questions does it seem to answer?
  • How will I manage and direct my reading?

As readers read through the text, they:

  • Summarise each paragraph, identify the question/s answered by each paragraph
  • Keep track of key information, for example, write down key ideas
  • Review and consolidate each paragraph
  • Link up ideas across paragraphs
  • Decide when to pursue other (new) links.

When readers have read a page, they review and consolidate what they know now. They:

  • Decide whether they need to re-read parts of it
  • Decide whether you will pursue particular links provided
  • Decide which information they will save.
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