This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
It is common for Australian children today to be in childcare centres from a very young age. One state school in Adelaide begins with babies (6 months).
Childcare centres cannot be just ‘child minders’. They must offer a program of educational activities – including constructive play with various materials.
Letter names and shapesLetter names and shapesMatching capitals with lower-case letters• Sort and join the letters from a pile of blocks.• Play the bingo game.• Play ‘Find your partner’ – each child has a block (upper or lower case); children find person who matches them and then say “We are the letter ...”.
Students ‘at risk’Students ‘at risk’If students are having difficulty in their progress with reading by age 6-7, they may be classed as being ‘at risk’.
Research by Dr Marie Clay showed that if children’s problems can be given attention at this stage, they are more likely to become successful readers.
This research led to the development of levelled texts – to allow children to have success through very gradual steps.
Levelled textsLevelled texts
Levelled texts are now commonly used to introduce most children to reading text. It involves very gradual stages of difficulty in texts.Levelling rules or formulae often result in texts that are true to the levels but are meaningless or boring.Texts that lack literary merit do not give the possibility for exploring different levels of comprehension.
What makes a text work?What makes a text work?In this case:• The author relied on the illustrator to create a
character with personality.• The text shows Max as energetic,
adventurous, confident – but not perfect.• The pictures and events show Max’s growing
confidence and adventure – he shows off.• The character’s imperfection and the setting
lead to the funny twist at the end.• The ending gives something for discussion – a
theme (look before you leap).
ComprehensionComprehension
Comprehension is the main reason for reading – understanding and enjoying a text shows there is value in the effort. Reading should inform, excite, amaze and/or entertain the reader. This is what brings children back to reading. Let’s looks at simple explanations for different ways to understand text – literal, inferential, creative and critical comprehension.
How texts workHow texts workJust as students need to enjoy reading and see a purpose in it, they also need to experience excitement in learning about their language.
Children learn if you encourage them to explore words, phrases and clauses to make meaning. The key is ‘explore’.
Sentence structure & meaningSentence structure & meaning
What possibilities did you discover for sentences with different meanings?“I wish I could find a fat little chick,” said the first little worm with a quick little squirm.“I wish I could find a fat little worm,” said the first little chick with a quick little squirm.You may have discovered others.
Young children now use technology to write – this includes both tools for, and ways of, writing and presenting text.• Create a slideshow for your report on ‘Pond life’. (Use voice, text and photos.)• Write an article for the school website newsletter about your study of ‘Fast foods’.• Contribute to the class blog story ‘The time machine’.• Write 1 entry for our online ‘Food dictionary’.
• In Australia and New Zealand, early learning begins informally at childcare centres, then pre-school or kindergarten. Formal learning begins around age 5-6.
• The texts we use must have literary value not just for reading, but also for comprehension at a number of levels.
• Understanding how texts work leads to understanding writing.
• A system that allows freedom to teachers to choose techniques and materials
• Advanced use of technology
• A willingness to explore new pedagogies
Copyright NoticeCopyright NoticeCreated by Rodney Martin of Era Publications, South Australia, 2009.
The contents of this presentation are protected by Copyright Law and may not be copied beyond the agreed use for this product. The contents of this work may be printed and distributed to workshop/ conference/lecture participants. The contents may not be modified in any way without the prior consent in writing of the Copyright owner.
Further articles and information can be found at www.erapublications.com.
For interactive digital content, see www.in2era.com.au.