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Literacy Professional Learning Resource – Teaching Strategies

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Literacy teaching strategies: VELS 1 & 2 | VELS 3 | VELS 4 | VELS 5 & 6

VELS 1 and 2 – Speaking and Listening

Explanation of some strategies that can be used to develop student speaking and listening skills during reading and writing activities.

 

Story reconstruction

Story reconstruction is a teaching strategy that develops story comprehension. The students are involved in analysing the story content and making inferential judgements through speaking and listening in a group setting. Careful selection of materials is important to ensure success. Story reconstruction supports students to:

  • interpret picture information
  • participate in group discussions
  • develop listening skills
  • use prediction as a comprehension strategy
  • support their opinions
  • accept alternative opinion and versions.

Steps to reconstruct a familiar story:

  1. Prepare a set of picture sequences based on a familiar story such as a fairy tale or shared big book.
  2. Organise the students into groups. Give each group a set of cards, one for each student.
  3. Put the set of cards in the middle of the group of students, making sure each student can see all the cards.
  4. The first student selects and describes the picture that represents the beginning of the story. If everyone agrees the next student has a turn, selecting the next picture for the sequence. It is important that a consensus is reached for each card.
  5. The students continue until all pictures are in logical order and retell the story accurately.
  6. The students retell the story. Each student retells the picture that they sequenced.
  7. The oral retell can be shared with the whole class, recorded on audio tape or filmed.
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Sentence building

The teaching strategy of ‘sentence building’ builds vocabulary and develops brainstorming skills. It can be a focus for a shared writing session.

The teacher and students build sentences incorporating descriptive words.

Sentence building supports students to:

  • build a range of vocabulary
  • develop brainstorm skills
  • participate in a group brainstorm
  • use a range of vocabulary to describe objects
  • gain understanding of adjectives, nouns, verbs and adverbs.

Steps:

  1. 1. Collect a range of objects for the students to view. These could include puppets, toys, everyday classroom items, models and photographs.
  2. Model building sentences to describe the object. For example,
    • Crocodiles
    • Green crocodiles
    • Green crocodiles hunt
    • Green crocodiles hunt quietly
  3. An option is to build a table to scaffold the sentence building and introduce the related terms

 

Adjective

Noun

Verb

adverb

Green

crocodiles

hunt

quietly

 

  1. The students can illustrate and publish their sentences. Some forms could be:
    • rebus writing
    • flap book
    • mix and match book. 
  2. The teacher could record the words onto cards for the students to reconstruct.
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Circle stories

The teaching strategy of ‘Circle Story’ develops listening and creative thinking skills. This teaching strategy is most successful with small groups of students. The strategy can be used to retell or create a story.

A useful tool is a story stick. When the student holds the story stick it is their turn to participate in the circle story. The story stick can be selected by the teacher or the students can have an opportunity to select or decorate the story stick.

Circle stories support students to:

  • participate in group stories – retelling and creating
  • develop listening skills
  • use prediction skills
  • retell in logical order
  • incorporate story- like language

Steps to retell:

  1. Revise and discuss a familiar story. Encourage the students to retell in their own words – do not reread the story at this stage.
  2. The small group forms a circle. When the student holds the story stick he/she tells the next part of the story.
  3. The students are listening carefully so they are prepared to retell the next part of the story.

The role of the teacher may include:

              -  providing visual cues to support all students, such as picture cues or story map

              -  questioning and prompting the students.

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Character interviews

Character interviews is a teaching strategy that builds speaking, listening and comprehension skills. The interviews are often linked to a shared reading experience. The interviews can be completed with the whole class and small groups.

Character interviews support students to:

  • listen to the shared reading text
  • recognise the character’s attributes and actions
  • consider and retell the events and characters
  • pose questions
  • think beyond the story shared.

Steps:

  1. Select a text appropriate for a shared reading experience and the students’ learning needs.
  2. Implement a shared reading experience.
  3. Ask students to select a part of a story or an event from the story. Support the students by providing illustrations.
  4. Discuss the event and the characters attributes and actions.
  5. Role play this part of the story. An option at this stage is to use puppets or masks.
  6. Students question the characters in the role play about the story.
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Sharing circle

Sharing circle involves the students sharing through asking questions and providing feedback. The strategy can be adopted in all areas of the curriculum involving the whole class or a small group. It is often implemented at the conclusion of the activity.

Sharing circle supports student to:

    - develop independent sharing skills

    - provide detailed information and descriptions

    - form questions

    - respond to the listener.

The role of the teacher is to:

    - provide time for a sharing circle to be implemented

    - model presenting work or ideas

    - allow time for students to plan

    - develop charts or aids to support students to effectively participate

    - demonstrate and encourage questions and comments

    - maintain awareness of the current teaching focus.

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Group brainstorming

The teaching strategy of ‘group brainstorming’ builds vocabulary and develops brainstorming skills. The teacher can provide a range of objects or picture cards to support the students. The strategy can be implemented with small groups or the whole class.

Group brainstorming supports students to:

  • become aware of new descriptive terms
  • build a range of vocabulary
  • develop brainstorm skills
  • participate in a group brainstorm
  • match descriptive words with objects.

Steps:

  1. The teacher forms a list of adjectives. Include words to be introduced to the students.
  2. Students form groups.
  3. The teacher selects an adjective and the students discuss and clarify the meaning.
  4. Option: At this stage the small group/class may wish to develop a shared definition of the term in the classroom dictionary.
  5. Each group discusses the meaning and:
                - selects an object or picture card of an object the word may describe
                - suggest the name of something that the word might describe
  6. Share, discuss and record the ideas generated from the different groups.
  7. The ideas could be displayed to support students during writing time.
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Barrier game

The teaching strategy ‘barrier game’ involves the students giving, receiving and responding to verbal instructions. It involves two students working together. They either have a small screen between them or sit back to back. One student provides instructions and the other follows the instructions to draw, create, make and match. The students are unable to view each others work. To introduce the game the teacher can provide the instructions to model effective language to a small group of students. There are many types of barrier games including:

    - sequencing and pattern making
    - matching and ordering
    - colouring in
    - creating and constructing
    - assembly
    - locating – placing objects on a picture/map
    - mapping – describing and drawing a route between two locations
    - positioning objects in grids
    - spotting the difference between scenarios
    - dressing toys or models.

Useful materials to use for barrier games include:

  • picture outlines
  • maps
  • blocks
  • beads
  • construction materials
  • counters
  • magazines
  • masks
  • toys
  • wrapping paper.

Barrier games support students to:

  • work effectively with a partner
  • develop listening skills
  • give explicit information to the listener
  • ask questions to clarify or gain more information
  • use a range of descriptive words.

Steps:

  1. Choose a simple activity appropriate to the students’ learning needs.
  2. Model an example of the game to the students such as construction or threading. At this stage an option is to brainstorm some phrases and key words.
  3. Ask students to sit in pairs back to back or with a small screen in between. The students collect the materials required.
  4. The students nominate the speaker and the listener. The speaker provides the instructions for the listener to follow. The students do not view each others’ work.
  5. At the end of the game remove the barrier and check.
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Mystery object

The mystery object can be stored inside many things such as a bag, box, suitcase or container. The teaching strategy involves the students asking questions to find out adequate information to identify the mystery object. The strategy can be implemented with small groups or the whole class.

To begin this strategy you can display a collection of objects and select one to put into the bag. When the students are asking questions record these and evaluate the effectiveness of the questions. The questions can form prompts for other questioning learning experiences.

‘Mystery object’ supports students to:

  • develop listening skills
  • ask questions to clarify or gain more information
  • use group brainstorming skills.

An option is for the students to bring a mystery object to school and for them to provide clues about their object.

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Recall tray

A recall tray involves the students to identify and describe differences. The teacher places items onto a tray. When the students are not observing, the teacher changes the location of an item or substitutes an item. The items on the tray may relate to a previous learning experience including an excursion or big book.

‘Recall tray’ supports students to:

  • develop observation skills
  • develop listening skills
  • ask questions to clarify or gain more information
  • identify the same and different
  • use descriptive language to describe location
  • learn the names of new objects
  • develop their memory skills

This teaching strategy is also called ‘Kim’s Game’.

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Sequence chart

A sequence chart requires students to sequence events or ideas to solve a particular problem and arrange them in a logical way using a graphic organiser.

A sequence chart supports students to:

    - speak, listen and think about a problem.
    - work cooperatively
    - plan and think logically.

Steps:

  1. Provide a problem for the students to sequence that reflect their learning needs, such as
    • constructing a tower
    • matching a pattern of beads
    • a classroom routine such as hanging the bag on the hook
    • retelling of a familiar story
    • navigating to a location such as the route to another classroom in the school.
  2. Model using the sequence chart:

Problem to be solved:

First

Next

Next

Next

Last
  1. Provide the students with cards displaying a picture or words. Students may be able to record their own cards.
  2. In small groups, ask the students to sequence the cards, one card per box on the sequence chart.
  3. The students work together to identify the possible steps to solve the problem.

For more information see:

  • Department of Education, Tasmania: English Teaching Ideas and Units - Teaching Strategies – Sequence Chart (http://wwwfp.education.tas.gov.au/English/sequence.htm)
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