Modelled reading lessons

​Modelled reading (reading to or reading aloud) involves students listening to a text read aloud by the teacher.

The teacher models skilled reading behaviour, enjoyment and interest in a range of different styles of writing and types of text. It provides an opportunity for teachers to demonstrate their enjoyment in reading, and allows students to see a purpose in learning to read.

Blending and segmenting words

Lesson overview

This modelled reading lesson will show students how to blend and segment CCVCC words during reading. They will manipulate more complex sounds in spoken words through knowledge of blending and segmenting sounds. 

Text details

Mayo, M., & Ayliffe, A. (2010). Stomp, Dinosaur, Stomp! Sydney, NSW: Orchard Books.

Text contains

  • repetitive text, descriptive language, familiar rhythm throughout
  • CCVCC words that can be blended and segmented
  • rhyme, consonant blends and digraphs/trigraphs.

Links to the Victorian Curriculum English

Foundation

Reading and Viewing

Blend sounds associated with letters when reading consonant-vowel-consonant words. For more information, see: Content description VCELA147

Speaking and Listening
  • Identify rhyming words, alliteration patterns, syllables and some sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. For more information, see: Content description VCELA168
  • Blend and segment onset and rime in single syllable spoken words and isolate, blend and segment phonemes in single syllable words (first consonant sound, last consonant sound, middle vowel sound). For more information, see: Content description VCELA169
Examining Literature

Replicate the rhythms and sound patterns in stories, rhymes, songs and poems from a range of cultures. For more information, see: Content description VCELT172


Links to Victorian Curriculum - English as an Additional Language (EAL)

Pathway A

Level A1
Speaking and listening

  • Participate in simple and familiar songs, rhymes and chants (VCEALC007)

Reading and viewing                                                          

  • Identify some sounds in words (VCEALL050)
  • Adopt the teacher's intonation patterns when reading familiar texts (VCEALL054)
  • Recognise capital letters, spaces and full stops (VCEALL052)

Level A2
Speaking and listening 

  • Participate in class performances of songs, poems and rhymes (VCEALC089)

Reading and viewing 

  • Relate most letters of the alphabet to sounds (VCEALL131)
  • Use knowledge of letters and sounds to read a new word or locate key words (VCEALL132)
  • Recognise that full stops and question marks separate text (VCEALL133)
  • Read familiar texts with some fluency (VCEALL135)

Learning intention

We are learning about the blending and segmenting of words using finger spelling.

Success criteria

I can blend sounds together to make words from the story. I can segment words from the story into individual phonemes using my fingers to represent each sound.

Theory/practice connections

As well as demonstrating fluent and expressive reading and reading comprehension, this practice is a useful way of modelling the decoding of words, by identifying simple and complex graphemes. 

Lesson sequence

  1. Clearly articulate the learning intention.
    1. When coming across a word we don't know, it is important to be able to recognise the different sounds then blend them together to read the word (this is sometimes called 'sounding out'). It is also important to be able to segment words we hear, or pull them apart, to help us write them.
  2. This book is called Stomp, Dinosaur, Stomp!  Stomp is a good example of how we can segment words into sounds, (model using finger spelling so that the children view it moving from left to right) /s/, /t/, /o/, /m/, /p/.  
  3. Begin reading the story.  On page 2 highlight the examples of this pattern again with the words on the page. Say each sound then model blending.
    1. ABC Education literacy mini lessons page.

Using grammar, syntax and visualisation to comprehend (Level 2 and 3)

Lesson overview

This modelled reading lesson acknowledges the playful language the author uses to enhance the storyline and connect with the imagination of the reader.

Readers of this text are required to use their knowledge of grammar and syntax to bring meaning to the unusual or 'made up' words read in context. To further enhance understanding, the  comprehension strategy of visualisation can be used to prompt discussion about the identified words.

Text details

Roald Dahl The BFG 

Text contains

  • Imaginative narrative, including plot, settings, characters (protagonists, antagonists)
  • 'made up' words that mimic real words – snozzcumber, clockcoaches, disgustable, human beans, wigglis

Links to the Victorian Curriculum – English

Level Two

Reading and viewing
  • Read familiar and some unfamiliar texts with phrasing and fluency by combining phonic, semantic, contextual and grammatical knowledge using text processing strategies, including monitoring meaning, predicting, rereading and self-correcting. For more information, visit Content description VCELY221
  • Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning and begin to analyse texts by drawing on growing knowledge of context, language and visual features and print and multimodal structures. For more information, visit Content description VCELY222
  • Analyse how different texts use nouns to represent people, places, things and ideas in particular ways. For more information, visit Content description VCELY223
Speaking and listening

Understand the use of vocabulary about familiar and new topics and experiment with and begin to make conscious choices of vocabulary to suit audience and purpose. For more information, visit Content description VCELA237

Manipulate more complex sounds in spoken words through knowledge of blending and segmenting sounds, phoneme deletion and substitution. For more information, visit Content description VCELA238

Level Three

Reading and viewing

Read an increasing range of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts by combining phonic, semantic, contextual and grammatical knowledge, using text processing strategies, including confirming, rereading and cross-checking. For more information, visit Content description VCELY256

Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning and begin to evaluate texts by drawing on a growing knowledge of context, text structures and language features. For more information, visit Content description VCELY257 

Links to the Victorian Curriculum – English as an Additional Language (EAL)

Pathway A

Speaking and listening 
Level A2
  • Negotiate familiar social and learning situations using language appropriate to the situation (VCEALC085)
  • Identify key words and ideas from short, familiar spoken texts supported by context (VCEALL107)
Reading and viewing
  • Understand a small range of simple, familiar texts (VCEALC112)
  • Understand information in texts read and viewed in class (VCEALC113)
  • Focus on both content and functional words to understand the main idea in a text (VCEALL126)

Pathway B

Speaking and listening
Level B2
  • Identify key points of information in short spoken texts (VCEALC326)
  • Demonstrate independence in extended conversations (VCEALC321)
Reading and viewing
  • Express a personal response to an imaginative text or elements of the text (VCEALC349)
  • Make and substantiate inferences and predictions when reading or listening to a text read aloud (VCEALC350)
Level B3
Speaking and listening
  • Understand a new topic delivered with extensive contextual and teacher support (VCEALC406)
  • Contribute information, express ideas and give reasons for opinions in group tasks or classroom discussions (VCEALC401)
Reading and viewing
  • Express a personal response to a small range of imaginative texts (VCEALC428)
  • Discuss texts with some understanding of meaning beyond the literal level, moving towards the inferential level (VCEALC429)

Learning intention

We are learning to use our knowledge of grammar and syntax to bring meaning to unfamiliar words in context.  

Success criteria

Can draw a picture about the 'made up' words based on my knowledge about how words work in a sentence and share my reasons with others.

Lesson sequence

  1. Clearly articulate the learning intention and success criteria.
    1. The BFG didn't want to eat humans so he ate a snozzcumber instead.  I wonder what a snozzcumber is? I know the snozzcumber must be a noun because it is a thing he ate. Let me check. If I substitute another noun would this sentence make sense? (use an example).
    2. Now, I am going to look at the word. Is there part of the word that I recognise?  Underline the 'cumber' part of the word. I know another word like this. This part of the word is in cucumber so maybe a snozzcumber is a kind of cucumber?
    3. This enables students to think about what they already know (background knowledge). I am going to try drawing a new type of cucumber and call it a snozzcumber. As the BFG is a giant I am going to make the shape of the snozzcumber quite large.
    4. Think about if there are any other words that sound familiar: repulsant - repulsive?  Re-read the second and third pages of Chapter 8 – Snozzcumbers. (e.g. 'Here is the repulsant snozzcumber!' cried the BFG.) Is this just not very nice or completely horrible? What makes you think that?

  2. Continue reading. This time include the 'made up' word clockcoaches in the reading ("To me it is tasting of clockcoaches and slime-wanglers!"). If using another word, ensure the selected part has relevant contextual cues to assist problem solving.
  3. Pause at the end of the relevant section. Ask students to turn and talk to a partner about what they think a clockcoach is.
    1. Prompt them to think about where it appears in the sentence and what type of word it may be.
    2. Prompt students to look at the word and think of any part they recognise.
    3. Prompt students to visualise what the word might look like.
    4. Prompt students to draw their visualisation.
  4. Return to the success criteria. Ask students to share their drawings and articulate their reasons for their visual representations. Does their drawing acknowledge the grammar and syntactic clues in the text? Does their drawing make sense with the larger meaning of the text? 

Differentiated practice

  • Students work with a partner to create a 'made-up' word. Record the word and then ask students to write the word in a sentence. Ask partners to report back to others and classify their new word. Is it a noun? Verb? Adjective? Can listeners work out the meaning of the word from the context of the sentence?
  • For students who require support, choose a word from the text and ask them to produce a word that rhymes with a given noun in the text (for example, medal rhymes with deddle, weddle, vedal or pedal). Accept real and made-up words.
  • Use the made-up words and ask students to break these into syllables.