VELS Level 1 and 2 – Reading Strategies

Strategies that can be used to develop student reading skills.

• Retelling
• Two trues and a false
• Y chart about characters
• Picture flick

Retelling

The teaching strategy of retell is highly versatile and effective as it can be used to teach and assess comprehension. The strategy can be used with a variety of texts for many purposes. Retells support students to develop their skills before, during and after reading a text.

Oral to oral	Teacher tells the story and the students retell to a partner or small group. Record or film their retelling for review later. Pictures can be used to support the student.
Oral to written or drawing	Teacher tells the story and the students retell in writing as individuals or as small group.  Drawings, labels and writing can be used.
Written to oral retelling	Students read the text independently and retell to a partner or small group; Record or film their retelling for review later.
Written to written retelling	Students read the text independently and retell in written form.

 

Steps:

1. The teacher shows the title of a text to students and asks them to predict words or ideas that the title suggests. Responses can be recorded.
2. In small groups, students share their predictions and comment on each other's suggestions.
3. Students are then presented with the text that they hear, read or view.  The text can be presented more than once.
4. Students present their interpretation of the text for someone who has not read the text.
5. With a partner or in groups, students then share their retellings and compare their versions.
6. As a whole group, students share some of their discussions and retellings.

Two trues and a false

This strategy is for students after reading the text. It can be implemented following a reading to, modelled, shared, guided or independent reading session with the whole class, small group or individual students. It is also a strategy that can be adopted as part of the home reading program. When introducing the strategy to students begin with factual text.

Two trues and a false strategy support students to:

    - identify and extract important information from the text
    - substantiate information from the text
    - draw conclusions and make judgements about the text.

Steps:

1. Select a text appropriate for the students’ learning needs. Become familiar with the text.
2. Consider the most effective teaching strategy to explore the text:
   • reading to
   • modelled
   • shared
   • guided
   • independent reading.

   3. After reading the text provide the students with three cards.
   4. The students can draw or write two true statements and one false statement about the text.
   5. The cards can be shared in pairs, small groups or become a quiz for the whole class.
   6. An option is to collect the cards for the students to consider and classify in a future learning experience.

Y chart about characters

A graphic organiser that requires the brainstorming of ideas around three dimensions: what a particular character ‘looks like’, ‘sounds like’ and ‘feels like’. This strategy is for students after reading the text. It can be implemented following a reading to, modelled, shared, guided or independent reading session with the whole class, small group or individual students.

Y chart strategy support students to:

    - relate to a character from the text
    - identify and extract important information from the text
    - substantiate information from the text
    - draw conclusions and make judgements about the text.

Steps:

1. Decide on the text you wish to explore with your students. Become familiar with the text. Consider the range of characters presented in the text.
2. Consider the most effective teaching strategy to explore the text:
   1. reading to
   2. modelled
   3. shared
   4. guided
   5. independent reading.

3. After reading the text provide the students with a large Y chart. Students can be working in small groups, pairs or individually.
4. The students are allocated or select a character from the text and present information about the character in a Y chart. The Y chart can be completed for a section of the text or for the whole text. The students can discuss, draw and write their responses.

5. The students share their responses and refer to the text to substantiate their ideas.
6. The responses from the Y chart can be used to create character profiles or support character interviews.

See also: Character Interviews in VELS 1 and 2: Speaking and Listening

Picture flick

Picture Flick is a teaching strategy to use before reading a narrative text. Big books with repeated or obvious storylines are ideal.

Picture Flick strategy support students to:

    - relate to the text
    - identify important information from the pictures
    - make predictions from the pictures about the text
    - draw conclusion and make judgements about the text
    - share their ideas in a small group
    - compare their ideas/predictions about the pictures with the text

Steps:

1. Select a text appropriate for the students learning needs. Become familiar with the text.
2. Show the front cover of the big book and ask for comments or predictions.
3. Open the book and show the pictures page by page.
4. Students are encourages to look at the pictures without commenting.
5. Students make small groups and ‘tell the story’.
6. Read the big book to the whole group or provide smaller copies for independent reading.
7. Discuss the links between the storyline and pictures.