Julie.kerr@edukersion.com.au Foundational Skills and Processes of Comprehension in the Early Years (P-4) Kingston Network of Schools 5 May 2010 Julie Kerr.

julie.kerr@edukersion.com.au

Foundational Skills and Processes of Comprehension

in the Early Years (P-4)

Kingston Network of Schools5 May 2010

Julie KerrEducational Consultant

julie.kerr@edukersion.com.au

Instructional Level Text

Look at the text you have planned to use with a group of children this week/shortly.

Why did you choose this text?

What is your planned teaching focus?

Why? What evidence do you have?

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Instructional Text LevelName of text: Type of text: Broad band level / Instructional

levelLanguage, layout and/or vocabulary challenges within this text

Planned teaching focus

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Comprehension

• Comprehending refers to the thinking readers do before, during and after reading.

• Processing refers to the reader’s complex set of strategic actions, including the use of visible information in the text print and art and the thinking that readers do before, during and after reading.

Fountas and Pinnell, Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, 2006, page 16

Processing Visible and Invisible Information

In the text

Visible Information•Symbols and signs – letters, words

•Print conventions – left to right, use of space, layout, font, punctuation, italics and boldface

•Text tools – organisational tools (headings, table of contents), informational tools (captions, glossary, pronunciation guides)

In the Reader’s Head

Invisible Information•Language knowledge – phonology (sounds), vocabulary, syntax, (language structure), phrases, sentences, whole texts, literacy language

•Content Knowledge – facts, concepts, categories

•Personal knowledge – emotions, memories, images, culture

•Textual knowledge – how texts are organised (narrative, expository), genre, literary elements (character, setting, plot)

Processing a Written

Text

Fountas & Pinnell (2006) Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, p. 17

Reader Processing

a Text

Visible Information

Invisible Information

Knowledge Of Print

Knowledge Of Visual Signs

KnowledgeOf Language

KnowledgeOf Content

Knowledge From Personal

ExperienceKnowledgeOf Texts

KnowledgeOf Artistic

Information

KnowledgeOf Tools

Fountas & Pinnell (2006) Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, p. 18

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Processing a Written Text Thinking

Within

the text

Thinking

Beyond

the text

Thinking

About

the text

Ways

of

Thinking

Solving Words Using a range of strategies to take words apart and understand what words mean.

Monitoring and correcting

Checking whether reading sounds right, looks right, and makes sense, and working to solve problems.

Searching for and using information

Searching for and using all kinds of information in a text.

Summarizing Putting together and remembering important information and disregarding irrelevant information while reading.

Maintaining fluency Integrating sources of information in a smoothly operating process that results in expressive, phrased reading.

Adjusting Reading in different ways as appropriate to the purpose for reading and type of text.

Thinking Within the Text

Thinking Beyond the Text Predicting Using what is known to think about what will follow while

reading continuous text.

Making ConnectionsPersonalWorldText

Searching for and using connections to knowledge gained through personal experiences, learning about the world, and reading other texts.

Inferring Going beyond the literal meaning of a text tho think about what is not stated but is implied by the writer.

Synthesizing Putting together information from the text and from the reader’s own background knowledge in order to create new understandings.

Thinking About the Text

Analysing Examining elements of a text to know more about how it is constructed and noticing aspects of the writer’s craft.

Critiquing Evaluating a text based on the readers’ personal, world, or text knowledge and thinking critically about the ideas in it.

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Matching Children to Text

Easy Reading Level . . . >94%

Instructional Reading Level . . . 90 – 94%

Hard Reading Level . . . < 90%

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Texts are selected at the instructional level of the students within the broad-banded Text Groups that support and challenge the reader.

Selecting Texts

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. . .the developmental stage of the learners and their identified needs.

The prior knowledge and experiences the learners bring to the text.

The learner’s interests. The instructional approach being used. The text type. The supports and challenges in the text. The specific text characteristics.

When selecting texts, consider . . .

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To select appropriate text . . .

. . . you must be aware of:

the degree of difficulty of the text and

the balance between the supports and challenges identified in the text.

Running records will assist in selection of an instructional text.

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The role of the teacher . . .

Is to assess the amount and type of support and suitability of the challenges for students when working with various texts.

Instructional text is one in which the student achieves 90-94% accuracy after being introduced to the material and having read the text prior to the running record being taken.

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Considerations when selecting texts from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds . . .

Need to provide links to students’ understandings and experiences

Need for texts that contain regular language patterns

Text layout

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Possible tense confusions

Suffixes

Singular/plural irregularities

Consideration should also be given to:

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Matching Students to Text1. Look at the assessment data on a group you have identified

as being “similar” in reading needs2. What is the instructional level(s) of the children in this group?3. What evidence do you have?4. What are their reading strengths?5. What skills do they need to develop?6. What instructional level text have you chosen for this week?7. What will be the focus of your teaching?8. What evidence do you have that this is important now?9. What supporting activities will you plan for this group

following the teacher focused group session? Why?

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Group Brainstorming TimeThinking Within the text Thinking Beyond the text Thinking About the text

1. Use your assessment records and the Text

Characteristics document to work out what supports

and challenges there are in your chosen instructional

text.

2. Within your group, brainstorm the thinking that

needs to be explicitly taught via this instructional

text. (use the three categories)

julie.kerr@edukersion.com.au

Instructional Text LevelName of text: Type of text: Broad band level / Instructional

levelLanguage, layout and/or vocabulary challenges within this text

Planned teaching focus

Revised teaching focus

Thinking within the text Thinking beyond the text Thinking about the text