VELS Level 4 – Reading

Strategies that can be used to develop student reading skills.

• Little book of quotes
• Write a blurb

Little book of quotes

‘Little book of quotes’ involves the students recording quotes while reading the text. The quotes can focus on a character, setting or authors’ writing style.

Little book of quotes supports students to:

    - read texts with a clear purpose
    - comprehend texts
    - share their interpretations of the text
    - present text with an authentic purpose and audience
    - help less confident readers as they can use the little book as a reference at a later date.

Steps:

1. The teacher selects a text to match the students’ needs and interests.
2. The teacher and student establish a clear focus for the quotes to be recorded. These can include quotes to describe the:
   
   - character
   - events
   - setting
   - plot
   - author writing style.
   
   
3. The students create a little book by following the instructions:

Begin with A4 sheet of paper.

Fold and crease in half, in half again and in half one more time.  Unfold two times until the shape looks like below.  Solid line in the edge of the paper and dotted lines are folds.

Unfold the paper and fold in half the other direction to look like below;

Grab the ends, push inwards to make a square then fold neatly to make a Little Book. 
No need for staples.

 

    4. The students begin to read the text and record the quotes.

Options:

• The students can create a series of Little Books about the same text or author.
• The Little Books can be used as a:
  
  - writing plan
  - basis for debate
  - plan for a presentation
  - book group discussion.

View instructions online:

Salomé AusinDodge and Cristina Jerez: How to make a little book

Write a blurb

Writing a blurb for a text involves the students recording quotes, ideas or key features of the text while reading. The students then transfer this information into a succinct paragraph to summarise the text.

Writing a blurb supports students to:

    - read texts with a clear purpose
    - comprehend texts
    - summarise the text
    - share their interpretations of the text
    - present a summary of the text with an authentic purpose and audience.

Steps:

1. Prior to implementing this teaching strategy the teacher makes reference to the blurbs written for books. As a class consider the key features of a blurb of a book including:
   
   - the language used
   - the structure of the succinct text
   - the purpose of the blurb.
   
   
2. The teacher selects a text to match the students’ needs and interests.
3. The students begin to read the text and make notes to be used when writing the blurb.
4. After reading the text the students use their notes as a writing plan for their blurb.

Options:

• The students’ blurbs can be published and used in the school library
• The students read blurbs and match to the text.

The students use blurbs in book discussion groups.