Literacy Training – an NMR School Improvement Initiative

Presented by

Module 1

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The 7 High Reliability Literacy Teaching Procedures (HRLTPs)

This approach to literacy

was developed by

Prof John Munro

It identifies the strategies

readers need to convert written text information to knowledge

It uses 7 High Reliability Literacy Teaching Procedures (HRLTPs) to teach readers how to comprehend and learn from written text

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The HRLTPs

Getting Knowledge

Ready

Vocabulary

Paraphrasing

Reading Aloud

Summarise What questions

does the text answer?

Review

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What do we mean by Literacy?

Literacy allows students to convert written information into knowledge.

These literacy presentations are about reading for learning, NOT learning to read.

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Why are we here today?

Getting Knowledge Ready (GKR)

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Simple tools can have a powerful impact

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Today’s Roadmap

Why use GKR?

What is GKR?

How do you use GKR?

Teaching students to use the GKR independently

Implementing these procedures.

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Think of the last time you read a newspaper article on a difficult or unfamiliar topic.

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How well do your students get their knowledge ready ?

They are immediately interested when they start a new topic 0 1 2 3 4 5

They find it easy to access their existing knowledge and link it with the text. 0 1 2 3 4 5

They scan the text to decide what it is about, its topic or theme. 0 1 2 3 4 5

They read with a clear purpose rather than in an aimless, pointless way. 0 1 2 3 4 5

They feel good about themselves when they apply their existing knowledge. 0 1 2 3 4 5

They feel their existing knowledge is useful. 0 1 2 3 4 5

They know what to look for as they read the text. 0 1 2 3 4 5

They can see where the text ‘fits in’ with their existing knowledge. 0 1 2 3 4 5

They organize and reflect on their understanding as they read. 0 1 2 3 4 5

Total:

Rate your students on each scale from 0 (never) to 5 (always).

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What did your students score?

How would you have liked your students to score?

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What might a low score mean?

Sometimes students:• may form an image but have difficulty talking about it • need questions to help them put their images into

words • need to hear what other students know about the

topic to stimulate their memory • have had little experience talking about what they

know or see ‘in their minds’• need prompts to access the images in their head

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Teaching without planning for literacy learning

Will spending more time on literacy mean less time for content?

In any area, literacy is the means by whichinformation is converted into knowledge.

“So much to do, so little time to teach the content and worry about literacy!”

“Why don’t they remember what I teach them?”

“I have to waste so much time repeating myself.”

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Student Short Term Memory

Thinking Space

Long Term Memory

(Existing Knowledge)New Information

Joined Here (learned)

An Egyptian King is buried in a Pyramid.

Egyptian King is buried in a Pyramid.

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Many students store information in pictures and actions

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What are the key phases of getting knowledge ready?

Students :1. Visualise and organise what they know

about the topic.

2. Express it in words and sentences.

3. Bridge (link) knowledge to the written text.

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The heading says “Endangered Species of Malaysia”. I think it will be about Orang-

utans”

“The forest is green and lush and has lots

of animals”

What might this look like for the topic “the rainforest”?

Phase 1: “When you hear about rainforests, what do you think of? What do you see?

Phase 2: “Describe the pictures in words and sentences”

Phase 3: “Look at the heading on p 53. What do you think it’s going to be about?”

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Another example… What do you think of when I say “global

warming”?

Say your ideas in sentences. The heading on new text says: “Carbon

emissions program may achieve goals”. What do you think it’s going to be about?

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Today’s Roadmap

Why use GKR?

What is GKR?

How do you use GKR?

Teaching students to use the GKR independently

Implementing these procedures.

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Example text: “Lifeblood of Egypt” from a year 7 Humanities text.

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Before the lesson, look at the text and ask…

1. What key concepts do I want students to learn?

2. What facts do I want students to learn?

3. What key words and phrases do I want students to learn?

4. What prior knowledge could/do the students have? Year 7 Text

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Can you remember the three key phases of getting knowledge ready?

Students:

1. Visualise and organise what they know about the topic.

2. Express it in words and sentences.

3. Bridge knowledge to the text.

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The following slides will explain various ways of implementing phase 1.

(more tools for your toolbox)

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Phase 1To help students visualise and organise their knowledge

• What do you think the text will tell you? • What do you know about the Nile river? • Imagine you lived on the river Nile. What would it be

like? • Why do you think the Nile was important?• Show pictures to the students and ask:

• What might the text be about?• What might be the main ideas? • What might happen? • What questions might it answer? • What words might be in this text?

• Describe the topic. For example “We are going to learn about the importance of the Nile river to ancient Egypt.”

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Give a set of key words to groups of students.

Ask students: • What do these mean to you ? • What can you see when I say each word?• Describe what the words remind you of• Are there questions you want to ask when you hear each word?• Listen to these terms. Make a picture in your mind that contains all of

them. What is the topic ?

lifeblood fertile cycle

inundation ancient papyrus

delta annual pyramid

source irrigation mummy

Phase 1To help students visualise and organise their knowledge

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Think of the next topic you will be teaching students. Give a set of key words to groups of students.

Ask students: • What do these mean to you ? • What can you see when I say each word?• Describe what the words remind you of• Are there questions you want to ask when you hear each word?• Listen to these terms. Make a picture in your mind that contains all of

them. What is the topic ?

Phase 1To help students visualise and organise their knowledge

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Morning tea?

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What do I know about GKR?

GKR allows students to convert knowledge/ experiences/ impressions into spoken and written form to connect to new text.

Now some fun and games

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The following slides will explain various ways of implementing phase 2.

(more tools for your toolbox)

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Students talk about their visual images of the topic in sentences.

Visualize what it would be like living as an Egyptian family 3000 years ago.

Why would you want to live near a river? What can you see happening on the river and

along the banks?

Phase 2 – Students express it in words and sentences

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What questions would you like answered? What? Why? When? Where? How?

• What clothes did the Egyptians wear? • Why did Egyptians believe in life after death?• When did Egyptians eat dinner?• How did Egyptians catch the fish in the Nile?• Where did Egyptians live?

Phase 2 – Students express it in words and sentences

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Think Pair Share

What would life have been like living on the Nile? How would it have been different to living in Melbourne today?

Think in silence for 30(?) seconds Share your ideas with the student sitting next to

you. Share your ideas with the class or a group.

Phase 2 – Students express it in words and sentences

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Ask me about the topic / Interview

• Imagine you are interviewing an Egyptian farmer.

• What questions might you ask?• One student could take the role of the farmer

and the second will interview him/her about their experiences

Phase 2 – Students express it in words and sentences

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Phase 3 - Bridge to the written text

Prior knowledge

Ready for new

written text

Prior knowledge expressed in

sentences

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The following slides will explain various ways of implementing phase 3.

(more tools for your toolbox)

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Read the title aloud. Say it in other ways.Question why specific words were used

• Read aloud the title “Lifeblood of Egypt”, say it in other ways and suggest why these particular words might have been used.

• Suggest other words for “lifeblood” ( for example, artery, lifeline)

• Suggest why the word “lifeblood” was used (for example to indicate that it was necessary for life)

Phase 3 Bridge to the written text

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Suggest purpose of the text

• What will the text tell you about? • What are the main ideas in this text? • What questions might be answered? • What new words might be in this text?

Phase 3 Bridge to the written text

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Scan the text, title, headings, sub-headings, illustrations, and diagrams. What is the theme? What do they tell me ?

What do you think the text will tell you? What will the text tell you about what is was like

for the ancient Egyptians? How did they feel after working next to the Nile? What the weather was like there, how they used

the Nile to build the pyramids?

Scan and decide the purpose and content of text

Phase 3 Bridge to the written text

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• Where will you pause while reading? • How will you review what you know and have

read? • What will you do if what you read doesn’t make

sense? • What will you do as you read if come to a

part/word that you don’t understand ?

Plan a strategy for reading the text

Phase 3 Bridge to the written text

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What are some GKR activities?• Visualise• Relate to students’ experiences• Guess themes and ideas• Discuss illustrations (questions)• Determine author’s purpose• Ask 5W 1H questions (why when where what

who how)• Brainstorm, Venn diagrams, graphic

organisers etc• Draw or act out• Guess the writing style• Look at headings/ subheadings and

contents pages• Key words (find and define)• Topic sentences (try to understand the topic

of each paragraph)• Alphabet game/word games

Worksheet

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Today’s Roadmap

Why use GKR?

What is GKR?

How do you use GKR?

Teaching students to use the GKR independently

Implementing these procedures.

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Students need to: • Learn each procedure separately• Practise the procedures regularly• Say what they did and how each procedure

helped them.• Experience success using the procedures

Teaching students to independently use the GKR procedures

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Self Talk

Students who self talk ask:• What do I think the text is about? • How will I work it out?• What does the organisation of the text

tell me?• What type of text is it? • What questions might it answer? • Do I need to change my mind?• What picture will I make in my mind?• How can I say it in sentences?

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Today’s Roadmap

Why use GKR?

What is GKR?

How do you use GKR?

Teaching students to use the GKR independently

Implementing these procedures.

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How can these procedures be used in your teaching?

• Implement the procedures gradually.

• Select one or two strategies and use them consistently.

• You can be a lone ranger but a whole school approach is best.

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How do you build these into your teaching ?

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3

Visualise and organise knowledge

Visualize the topic and talk about their imagery

Think Pair Share

Express knowledge

in words and sentences

Interview

Write brief article showing what someone could say about topic

Say what questions the topic might answer

Bridge over to the text

Why might the text have been written?

How is the text organised ?

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What should you notice when students get their knowledge ready?

• Increased engagement and focus • They read longer with a clearer purpose

• Increased motivation to learn new topics

• Better understanding of how new texts and ideas fit with prior knowledge

• More scanning of text to locate content

• They make strategic decisions about how they read the text.

• They know how to use key features of the text to understand the information.

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Handy hints

Time activities to suit your purpose Introduce gradually Choose the best activities for your

group Expect gradual change Persist Experiment Explain the procedures to the

students Buddy up Teacher modelling the procedure

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Between Sessions

At the next session please bring

The PMI form Stories Planning sheet Successes and

questions

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For extensive on-line research bibliography go to

http://www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/eldi/selage/publications/index.html

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An NMR Literacy Improvement Initiative

Teacher development presentation and PD materials by Northern Region teachers:

Alistair Forge Yota Korkoneas Lillian Leptos Les Mitchell David Mockridge Karen Money Petrina Scanlan Effie Sgardelis Jan Smith