PART 1

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR NAPLAN AND OTHER TESTS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF HIGH QUALITY TEACHING PRACTICES IN LITERACY AND NUMERACY

Diane Snowball, February 2009 “Building actual reading ability is the best test preparation. Creating balanced instruction with vitality is the best antidote to excessive test-based accountability”. “Adolescents entering the adult world in the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history. They will need advanced levels of literacy to perform their jobs, run their households, act as citizens, and conduct their personal lives. They will need literacy to cope with the flood of information they will find everywhere they turn”. (from What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction)

Introduction As part of the goal to improve student achievement there is an emphasis on accountability, with schools and teachers being expected to show that students are achieving well in standardised tests. Improvement will occur through the overall improvement of the quality of teaching for all students rather than excessive time being spent in test format practice. The purpose of this document is to reinforce the type of quality teaching practices that will ensure all students’ literacy and numeracy improves and at the same time assists all students to improve their results in tests. Note: Reference for information and research in the following document is Farstrup, Alan E & Samuels, S. Jay (2002). What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction (3rd ed). International Reading Association.

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General Guidelines to Improve Students’ Literacy and Numeracy plus Test Results Note: 1. These guidelines apply to all year levels from Prep to Year 12.

2. The emphasis on reading and comprehension is because all tests require competence in these.

The major goals are to:

• Improve all students’ reading competence by providing sufficient time for

independent reading and for guided instruction in reading and writing strategies involving a wide variety of fictional and factual text types;

• Improve all students’ reading comprehension by teaching comprehension

strategies (through demonstration, collaborative practice with students and independent use by students);

• Increase students’ world knowledge through direct and vicarious experiences.

Knowledge of content greatly influences comprehension;

• Stimulate motivation for improving literacy and numeracy and test-taking by alleviating students’ anxieties, providing meaningful reasons for success and fostering extensive amounts of reading throughout the school year;

• Help students to understand the format of a test and the specific strategies used

when reading a test and completing test-type tasks;

• Dealing with the genre of tests requires the same teaching and learning as all other genres.

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How the General Guidelines Inform Planning and Teaching

Improving Reading Competence/Reading Comprehension

Research Statements Action Required by Schools/Teachers - The greater the volume of reading done by students the higher their reading proficiency and the more they will be inclined to read throughout their lives. The strongest predictor of achievement in standardised tests is the amount of independent reading done by students. Students who read widely and frequently are high achievers; students who read rarely and narrowly are low achievers.

Establish schedules, routines, resources and teaching practices that ensure all students in all year levels read independently for a sustained period of time each day. This reading should be monitored to ensure students are selecting a wide range of texts they can read independently. Highly motivated students read 30 minutes per day for their own interest, whereas less motivated students read 10 minutes or less for their own interest.

- Students who are active, engaged readers will be high achievers in literacy even if they come from backgrounds with low income or low education in the family. Highly motivated students read 30 minutes per day for their own interest, whereas less motivated students read 10 minutes or less for their own interest.

Ensure students are active, engaged readers by providing easy access to a wide range of resources they can read independently and are worth reading. This means resources to cater for students’ interests and cultural backgrounds with the majority being at independent (95% accuracy) and easy (more than 95% accuracy) levels of difficulty and some resources being challenging but of sufficient interest to stimulate motivation for students to want to read them. By fostering students to become engaged readers, the teacher enables them to gain cognitive competence and a sense of self-efficacy.

- Engaged reading does not become part of a child’s lifestyle in a week or a month.

This most important contributor to having a literate life and to standardised reading tests achievement requires a long-term commitment from teachers and schools.

- When reading and writing are linked to content learning in social studies and science, engaged reading is likely to be fostered.

Students should spend sustained time each day actively reading to learn about ideas and knowledge in a range of disciplines or content areas, such as mathematics, science and social studies.

- Comprehension is an outgrowth of a wide range of purposeful, motivated reading.

Students should have ample opportunities to read and write for authentic purposes.

- Teachers should help students acquire the processes and strategies used by competent readers.

Teachers need to know about the reading process and the six main comprehension strategies and the most effective ways of teaching them, through a gradual release of responsibility model. The six main strategies are prediction/prior knowledge, questioning, think-aloud, visualising, summarising and using text structures and features. (Further guidance about teaching comprehension is available in PART 2 of this document).

- All reading tests require speed, fluency and comprehension.

This can only be learned in motivated, extended independent reading. Fluency requires students to read with appropriate pace, phrasing and expression and students learn to do this by hearing others read with fluency during Read Aloud of a variety of text types and by reading along with fluent readers

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during Shared Reading of various text types. This should occur at all year levels (as texts become more complex) and in all curriculum areas (where specific text types are being read). Some students need more opportunities for Shared Reading; this can be provided with sets of books and tapes/CDs or on appropriate computer programs. The independent reading then provides many opportunities for developing and practising fluent reading. Allow students to read material silently before reading aloud to an audience.

- Good readers are known to use comprehension strategies when necessary and poor readers rarely use them. Furthermore, these strategies can be taught so that all students constantly use them.

Teaching of comprehension includes: a) teacher modelling of the strategies; b) explanation of when and how to use them; c) repeated opportunities for guided practice; and d) extended independent reading Teaching students the Reciprocal Teaching routine improves reading competence substantially because it involves multiple comprehension strategies. (See PART 2 for information about Reciprocal Teaching).

- Effective test preparation depends on a sustained, long-term plan of providing instruction and opportunities to learn effective comprehension strategies.

Strategies needed for success in tests includes the following: - using background knowledge; - searching to locate information; - summarizing - self-monitoring - self-questioning - concept mapping; and - self-explanation which are all related to the six main strategies.

- Incorporating the comprehension strategies needed on a test into the mainstream curriculum planning is the most likely technique for building student confidence and self-confidence for successful test performance.

Involving students in inquiry projects is an excellent technique to foster their learning to search and retrieve information. Within inquiry projects, students can be taught concept mapping. With this strategy, they can synthesise information gained from a variety of texts. The strategy of self-explanation also can be included in inquiry projects. As students encounter new text-based information, they can be encouraged to answer the question “Why?” This fosters their integration of new knowledge into old background information.

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Increasing Students’ World Knowledge Research Statements Action Required by Schools/Teachers

- World knowledge is important for comprehension strategies such as prediction. It also builds vocabulary, which influences comprehension.

Teachers should frequently read factual tests to students at all year levels, use factual texts for shared reading in all curriculum areas, provide factual texts for guided reading and independent reading. “Texts” include print, visual and digital resources. Discussion about factual content and world events should occur daily in whole class and small group settings. Inform parents about the importance of these experiences in their children’s lives. Encourage students’ interests in any area that expands world knowledge. Include hobbies, clubs and interest groups in the school curriculum

Stimulate Motivation for Improving Literacy and Numeracy and Test-taking Research Statements Action Required by Schools/Teachers

- When students have difficulty with literacy or numeracy tasks they are generally not motivated to continue to make any effort to complete such tasks.

Ensure that tasks are at appropriate instructional and independent levels for all students. Ensure that all students experience success by knowing what they are able to do well, knowing what the need to do next to continue growth in learning and knowing how to learn. Teachers should use knowledge about students’ strengths and needs to plan their teaching.

- It is increasingly recognised that scores on any test may be low for either cognitive or motivational reasons.

Teachers can take steps to alleviate anxiety surrounding high-stakes test taking. Simply allowing students to see a few items and practice the item formats on a test will reduce anxiety and enable students to focus their thinking on a test.

- Although motivation surrounding the particular assessment event is important, more critical is motivation for reading in general. Students who are relatively low achievers, with relatively few good reading comprehension strategies, will not improve their test scores much through mere motivation for the test.

Teachers should discuss the particular uses for the results of a given test.

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Help Students to Understand the Format of a Test Research Statements Action Required by Schools/Teachers

- Providing students specific “test-wise” strategies for handling the formats will enable them to feel prepared for the testing formats and thereby reduce anxiety or increase self-efficacy for test taking.

- Although the students should understand the formats of the tasks, the formats themselves cannot become the curriculum.

Place extreme limits on task practice and retain the goals, contents and procedures of the mainstream curriculum.

- Students of teachers who emphasise performance on tests and reward students with extrinsic incentives have lower achievement test scores than students of teachers who are learning oriented, emphasise understanding and encourage students to be pleased with their comprehension of new ideas.

It is not the format of the test that should be aligned with teaching, but the objectives that should be aligned with teaching.

- By providing instruction of what is expected in the testing format, teachers enable students to show their true competence.

- More time spent with coaching on the formats of standardised test items has been shown to be beneficial for learning disabled students. However it should be noted that the total time spent in format instruction was a 30-minute lesson for each of five days.

Test-wise students who achieve high scores on multiple choice tests use the following test-taking strategies: 1. Using time effectively by beginning to work rapidly. Test-

wise students omitted items that seemed unnecessarily difficult and used their time on items they could get correct.

2. Implementing error avoidance strategies that included

paying careful attention to directions, determining the purpose of the task, and checking all their answers after completing the test.

3. Applying a guessing strategy to multiple-choice tests that

encouraged guessing when alternatives within an item can be ruled out.

4. Using a deductive reasoning strategy that consisted of

eliminating items known to be incorrect and choosing among other options.

5. Adopting an expected level of sophistication. Often

multiple-choice items may be partly correct and finding the closest alternative is important.

6. Using cues in the items, such as selecting longer options if

they appear to be plausible, avoiding extreme words such as never and considering the relevance of specific details in options.

During the time that teachers help students explore test formats and test-taking strategies it is best to treat the tests as a genre – a type of discourse that is distinguishable by characteristics of form, style and content. Explain the purpose and audience of tests and, with the students, investigate the structure and features of test examples. Develop a chart listing the students’ observations or discoveries and teach how to read the tests and complete the tasks through a gradual release of responsibility model: 1. Demonstrate how to read test items and complete tasks. 2. Collaboratively read tests and complete tasks with the

students (print a large version of the test to do this together).

3. Students independently complete a test and note where

they had problems or confusions or were not sure about what to do. Teachers also need to observe students’ strengths and confusions about test-taking and try to find out what they are thinking. Just finding out about some students’ thinking will reveal possible common problems.

4. Provide further instruction in small groups, based on

the types of confusions.

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7. Reading the question first to know what to look for. 8. Knowing not to get stuck on a question – it’s OK to move

on if unsure about a question.

5. Ask students to share what they have learned that they could apply to other tests and specifically the type of tests in NAPLAN. Chart this information and ask students to express this learning in their own words.

Note: When observing students while completing these tests the following questions will help to reveal their thinking:

• Why did/didn’t you choose this answer? And this one? And not this one?

• What were you thinking as you worked through this?

• Which questions were confusing? Why? • I noticed you … Why?

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Time Allocations Research Statements Action Required by Schools/Teachers

Three levels of test preparation are recommended for testing: 1. Students are given instruction and practise with test formats. The time allocated to this aspect should be a few days, but never weeks or months. 2. Strategy instruction for reading strategies needed to perform well on the test, such as gaining the main idea, searching for information, or self-questioning. Time allocated to this portion of the preparation process should be measured in weeks and months. Strategy instruction is a long-term endeavour and strategy learning is time consuming. 3. Planning for an integrated curriculum that will encourage long-term engaged reading. The time allocated to this phase of preparation should be measured in months and years.

For further details about what students need to learn about reading strategies refer to PART 2 of this document.

Other References Allington, Richard L. (2006) What Really Matters for Struggling Readers: Designing Research-Based Programs. 2nd ed. Pearson Education, Boston. Calkins, Luyc et al. (1998) A Teacher’s Guide to Standardized Reading Tests: Knowledge is Power. Heinemann, Portsmouth N.H. Fountas, Irene C. and Su Pinnell, Gay. (2001) Guiding Readers and Writers: Teaching Comprehension, Genre and Content Literacy. Heinemann, Portsmouth N.H. Essential Reading for Teachers and Parents Jennings, Paul. (2008) The Reading Bug and how to help your child catch it. (2nd ed.) Penguin Books, Melbourne

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PART 2 Faye Bolton 2009 Reading Strategies Necessary for Students to Learn to improve Reading Comprehension The following six articles focus on aspects of reading comprehension considered fundamental to improve students’ reading and specifically assist students when completing standardised tests. The teaching and learning of these strategies should be part of the reading curriculum and therefore part of test preparation. They include:

• Teaching comprehension: Teaching the recognition of cohesive ties

• Three Different Forms of Text Structure

• Question Answer Relationships (QAR)

• Reciprocal Teaching

• SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recall/Recite Review)

• Clarifying the meanings of unknown words and phrases Teaching comprehension strategies using the gradual release of responsibility model Within the gradual release of responsibility model teachers move from a situation where they assume total responsibility for performing a task (modelling), while students assume no responsibility, progressively towards a reversed situation where students assume total responsibility (independent use) for completion of tasks, and the teacher assumes none. The gradual release of responsibility model includes five components: 1. An explicit description of the strategy and when and how it should be used 2. Teacher and/or student modelling of the strategy in action 3. Collaborative use of the strategy in action 4. Guided practice using the strategy with gradual release of responsibility 5. Independent use of strategy Each component is described below, using the teaching of cohesion as an example. For notes on about teaching cohesion refer to the article Teaching comprehension: Teaching the recognition of cohesive ties on page 00. Note: Although cohesion is provided as an example of the implementation of the gradual release of responsibility model, all teaching, including the teaching of comprehension strategies, should be taught using the same model. Teaching cohesion using the gradual release of responsibility model 1. An explicit description of the strategy and when and how it should be used

Tell your students what you have observed about them as readers, explain the term cohesive ties (vocabulary links) and discuss how learning about cohesive ties will assist them in comprehending texts.

2. Teacher and/or student modelling of the strategy in action

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Present a variety of texts on overhead transparencies and demonstrate how to: o Connect ties with varying colored washable markers or a series of overlays.

Initially use familiar texts (both narratives and factual) before progressing to unfamiliar.

o Present a text with one tie only marked and have students identify, mark and

connect the other end of the tie; o Complete a cloze activity where one end of a tie has been deleted, and students

fill in the missing tie;

o Rearrange sentences that are out of temporal or causal order by referring to explicitly stated items and cohesive ties.

3. Collaborative use of the strategy in action

Students join with teacher in marking ties, identify missing ties, and so on, modelled in the previous component (2).

4. Guided practice using the strategy with gradual release of responsibility

Small groups of students with a common need work with the teacher who provides guidance in identifying cohesive ties.

5. Independent use of strategy

Students apply what they learned during modelling sessions and guided practice sessions. They also set their own goals in relation to what they would like to do ‘even better’ in relation to applying their knowledge of cohesive ties when reading.

It may be seen from the five components within the gradual release of responsibility model, that teachers and students reposition themselves in relationship to responsibility assumed for a task.

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Teaching comprehension: Teaching the recognition of cohesive ties

Cohesion plays a central role in reading comprehension. Cohesion refers to relations of meaning that occur within a text, and connects a string of sentences to form a text rather than a series of unrelated statements. Examining the ways in which sentences are structured and cohere with each other, how forward and backward referencing occurs, and how key references are maintained from paragraph to paragraph, is a useful way of determining why and how reading errors occur. The unit of analysis for cohesion is the cohesive tie. Cohesive ties may occur within a single sentence, but they also occur between sentences. Although cohesion is fundamental to comprehending all texts, it has been identified as being significant in comprehending items on standardised tests. For example, in an article Real maths problems are in the wording (Justine Ferrari, Education writer⎟ August 06, 2007 News Limited), an analysis by Queensland University of Technology found the linguistic demands in maths were very high in the early years of school. One example of a numeracy problem for Year 2 students was: Jess has 12 toy trains and James has 15. How many trains do they have all together? In this case, connecting the explicit cohesive tie Jess and James with the cohesive tie they was difficult. The research has found that many students in their early teens also have difficulty in connecting cohesive ties. A student’s recognition of cohesive ties generally depends on the amount of independent reading done by that student. Therefore it is essential that all students are involved in wide reading programs, and that time is available for students to read independently each day. In Halliday and Hassan (1976) cohesive ties are classified under two main headings: lexical cohesion and grammatical cohesion. These two groups are further divided into five major types as set out below. 1. Lexical cohesion

Lexical cohesive ties are semantic: connected in meaning. The two main groups of lexical cohesive ties are collocation and reiteration. Collocation Collocation is the occurrence of certain words that regularly occur in the same context e.g. computer/byte, doctor/medicine, beach/sand, and vet/animal welfare.

Reiteration Reiteration is the where an explicit item is restated once, or several times. Reiterative ties include:

• Repetition (structures/structures); • Synonym (vanished/disappeared); • Superordinate (elaborate water system/spillway); • General noun (when the train derailed/the incident).

The more obvious the reiterative tie, the more easily readers recognise the lexically cohesive connection. Readers most easily identify repetitions, while the synonym and superordinate ties have progressively less chance of recognition. The cohesive ties formed by general nouns are the most difficult.

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2. Reference These grammatical ties can be anaphoric (backward pointing) or cataphoric (forward pointing). Anaphoric reference in text is common: cataphoric reference less common. Two common problems that occur with anaphoric reference are the distance between the two elements of the cohesive ties, and ambiguity. The main reference ties are:

• Personal (I, me, mine: they, them, theirs, their, …); • Demonstrative (this, these: that, those: then, …); • Comparative (such, so, similar to, alike, most, ….).

With cataphoric reference the problems of distance between ties and ambiguity do not occur, because the two ends of the tie are frequently close. However, readers are less accustomed to searching forward for the end of a tie, and may make the more common move to search backwards.

3. Substitution

Substitution involves the substitute of an item to avoid unnecessary repetition of the more explicit item (words or clauses). The main substitute ties include:

• Nominal (one/s, the same, …); • Verbal (do/did … e.g. I didn’t work as hard as she did.); • Clausal (so, not e.g. It was just so.).

4. Ellipsis

Ellipsis is substitution by zero, where an item is left unsaid. Readers need to recognise when ellipsis occurs and draw on short-term memory or scan preceding text to find information to ‘fill in’ the ellipted item.

5. Conjunction (discourse markers)

Halliday and Hasan (1976) use the term conjunction differently from its use and sense in traditional grammar. Their meaning is equivalent to the term discourse markers, markers that operate like signposts in a text. They provide signals in advance of the direction the text is taking, for example:

• Continuing straight on (additive) e.g. and, furthermore, in addition; • Changing direction (adversative) e.g. but, however; • The consequence of text previously read (causal) e.g. so, because, consequently; • The time sequence (temporal) e.g. then, shortly.

It is important students realise that sometimes conjunctive cohesion is unmarked: the conjunctive relationship is implicit. For example:

Everyone went back to work. [because] The lunch break was over. Tips for teaching cohesion

• When selecting texts for teaching cohesion it is crucial to use meaningful texts, as textual content is essential in being able to identify cohesive ties. It is inadvisable to teach cohesion using fragmented ‘drill and skill’ exercises.

Texts used could include a variety of factual and narrative texts used within the contexts of integrated units, genre, author, poet and playwright studies, text books, test items, and so on.

• When introducing cohesive ties to students, perhaps spotlight one category at a time until the

students are familiar with the processes involved and the language being used. However, as new categories of cohesive ties are taught, revise previous categories at the same time.

• Although students need to understand the various types of cohesive ties, it is not necessary for them to know the linguistic terms used in this article. For example, ‘vocabulary link’ may be substituted for the term ‘cohesive ties’.

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References Chapman, J. (1983) Reading Development and Cohesion Heinemann Farstrap, Alan E. & Samuels, S. Jay. Editors (2002) What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction IRA Delaware USA. Halliday, M.A.K. & R. Hasan (1976) Cohesion in English London: Longman.

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Text structure refers to the different ways in which reading materials are organised. Understanding text structures is fundamental to comprehension of all texts read, including passages on standardised tests. In this article about Three Different Forms of Text Structure, means of developing students’ knowledge of the structures and linguistic features associated with specific genres, story grammar associated with narratives, and top-level structures of factual texts are outlined. Understanding text structure assists in understanding the meaning of, and recall of texts. Furthermore, text structure helps improve students’ search capabilities, thus assisting students to locate specific information needed to answer questions on standardised tests. Three Different Forms of Text Structure 1. Text Structures of Genres Thoughtful listeners and readers use their existing knowledge of text structures that distinguish each genre to form better predictions when they read that genre. Texts may be broadly classified as belonging to the fictional or factual genre, or a combination of both. Within these main groups there are many different genres.

§ Fiction includes realistic fiction, historical fiction, short stories, folk tales, tall tales, science fiction, fables, myths, and legends. Many genres classified as fiction, share a similar underlying text structure, or story grammar.

§ Factual texts include recounts (including memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, diaries), reports, explanations, procedural texts, arguments, and discussions. Factual genres have more varied and distinct underlying text structures than fiction. For example, a procedural text has a distinct text structure, as does a recount, or an explanation.

§ Factual storybooks combine fiction with fact, such as The Magic School Bus series.

You will be able to find out more about genres, by going to the Text Structures and Text Features module.

Genres and Their Social Functions The underlying text structure and text features of each genre depend on its social function.

For Example: Explanations

If we want to explain how something works, was formed or created, or why something occurs, our society uses explanations. The body of explanations are usually physically organized in two main sections: a statement of what is being explained followed by a sequenced explanation.

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The information in the sequenced explanation uses the organizational pattern of cause and effect, and includes a description of the parts or components involved, and how or why something occurs. The text features in explanations also assist readers to find information they need, and often include headings, subheadings, and labeled diagrams that help readers follow the explanation. There can sometimes be a series of diagrams to accompany the sequenced print. Following is a simple explanation of how beavers build dams.

How Beavers Build Dams

Beavers build dams in slow-moving streams, making dam walls from tree branches, foliage, mud, and stones. Beavers gnaw surrounding trees with their teeth until the trees fall. Then they gnaw foliage and branches from the trees, drag them and stick them in the mud at the bottom of the stream. They continue to build the wall of branches and foliage above water level. So that the dam wall is watertight, they press mud and stones into the cracks, both above and below water level. The finished dam wall is solid and strong, and separates the dam from the stream on the other side.

What is being explained Telling what it is Sequenced explanation, using cause and effect Application telling when and where it can be used

Following is a simple explanation of why beavers build dams.

Why Beavers Build Dams Beavers build dams in slow-moving streams, making dam walls from tree branches, foliage, mud, and stones. Beavers are safe in water but cannot move quickly on land, where many of their predators are found. Since most of their food grows on land, beavers spend a lot of time on land looking for food. So they build dams close to land, so that they are away from the safety of water for as little time as possible. The dams form a barrier from their enemies on land.

What is being explained Telling what it is Sequenced explanation, using cause and effect Application telling when and where it can be used

You will be able to find out more about the text structure and features of explanations, by going to the Text Structures and Text Features module.

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For Example: Fables If you are reading and discussing fables in your classroom, your students will discover that the social functions of fables include advising, warning, or promoting reflection. Your students are probably aware that fables are short and direct, and are structured to consist of a brief story, often followed by a sentence at the end that states the moral; explicitly stating what is implicit in the story. They will also discover that there are two basic plot patterns.

§ There is one character, usually an animal, involved in one incident. For example, the dog that crosses a river carrying meat, and sees his reflection in the water. Thinking he sees another dog with meat, the dog tries to grab it and loses its meat in the process.

§ There are two characters, both animals; one wise, the other foolish. The story consists of one action, followed by a reciprocal action, that is, the foolish animal gets the better of the wise one in some way, then the wise animal gets its own back. This is the most common form of fable.

As well as being structured in two sections, fables have text features that distinguish them from other genres. These include

§ Flat characters, who are generally animals; § Animals—or occasionally the elements, such as sun or wind—that

speak as humans; § Animals who act like human beings and represent human traits, such

as cunning (fox), and persistence (tortoise); § Impersonal, symbolic humans (for example, The Boy Who Cried Wolf)

and animals (for example, The Tortoise and the Hare); § Three characters or less; § Characters who often represent opposites, such as wise/foolish and

swift/slow; § A single incident; § Third-person narrator; § Use of past tense.

You will be able to find out more about planning Shared Reading sessions that focus on the text structure and features of fables, by going to Shared Reading/Predicting using Text structures and Text features, and also the downloadable file Fabulous Fables.

Using This Knowledge to Predict When Reading Through explicit teaching during Read Aloud sessions, you can help your students develop and use their knowledge of genres—and their text structures and text features—to predict the information that might be presented next in factual texts, and what might happen next in fiction. You can help your students understand how thoughtful readers use this knowledge to form better predictions before reading and while reading, and enhance their comprehension.

To plan a Read Aloud session focusing on predicting using the text structures and text features of explanations, take a look at the downloadable file How and Why.

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2. Story Grammar: Structuring the Action of a Story

Explicit teaching of story grammar in fiction during your Read Aloud sessions will help your students

§ Build on their existing knowledge of story grammar; § Use story grammar to predict when listening and reading; § Use story grammar to organize their understanding and recall of a story.

Story grammar includes a problem or conflict faced by the main character at the beginning, a plan of action to overcome the problem (that may lead to a series of problems and solutions), and a resolution to the initial problem. Story grammar also includes a theme, the moral values, attitudes, and understandings that hold a story together, that is, the ideals authors want their readers to think about. Students in later elementary grades enjoy contemporary realistic fiction, that is, imaginative writing that accurately reflects life as it could be lived today. Like many other stories, contemporary realistic fiction has an underlying story grammar. The problem in contemporary realistic fiction focuses on the problems of living today, and the main character works to resolve his or her problem.

Your students can identify with the characters and share the characters’ emotional responses. They can be reassured that they are not the first in the world to face problems. They also create links with people in their own lives.

Your students can learn the basic text structure, or story grammar, of contemporary realistic fiction, and use this knowledge to predict when reading. It includes

§ A setting (time and place) that is plausible; § Characters who are like real people, that is, their actions and dialogue are

believable; § A main character who faces a conflict that is resolved as it might be in real

life.

As your students learn about these elements of contemporary realistic fiction, help them further analyse each element to discover more about the types of characters, conflicts, plots, and themes in contemporary realistic fiction. To find out more about story grammar, go to the Text Structures and Text Features module. Using This Knowledge to Predict When Reading To find out more about using your Read Aloud sessions to focus on story grammar, and how thoughtful listeners and readers use story grammar of contemporary realistic fiction to predict when listening and reading, go to the downloadable file Reality Bites! The notes in Reality Bites! suggest how you can develop your students’ background knowledge of story grammar of contemporary realistic fiction, and how your students can then use their knowledge to predict and understand before reading, and while reading.

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However, the ideas given are not restricted to contemporary realistic fiction. They can be adapted to use with other stories you have in your collection. 3. Top-level Structure: Organizational Patterns of Ideas in Factual Texts Awareness of top-level structure will enhance your students’ comprehension and recall of factual texts. It will help them identify the internal structuring of ideas within the text, and assist them in ranking information and ideas based on their relative importance. Authors often signal the four main organizational patterns (or top-level structures) of compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution, and list-like that they use to organize their ideas. However, if an author has not clearly signaled a top-level structure to readers, you can help your students to impose one to organize the author’s ideas. For Example

Top-level Structure Signaling Words Compare and contrast Cause and effect Problem and solution List-like

However, similar to, different from, alike, and yet, unalike, meanwhile, despite, but, likewise… As a result of, due to, consequence, because, in contrast, since, because… To prevent, solve, problem, difficulty, question, solution, trouble… For example, before, then, finally, first, next then, after, to begin with, for instance…

Top-level structure operates at three different levels, namely

§ Whole text level, helping readers to identify the main idea;

§ Paragraph level, helping readers see how details that support the main idea are organized, with paragraphs often having a different top-level structure from the whole text top-level structure;

§ Sentence level, helping readers see how ideas in a sentence are organized.

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For Example: Text about Emperor and King Penguins

Text Levels

Top-level Structure

Text about Emperor and King

Penguins

Whole-text level Paragraph level Sentence level

Compare and contrast List-like Cause and effect

Main idea: comparing Emperor and King penguins Supporting details: listing details about roles of male Emperor penguins Ideas in sentence: male Emperor uses stomach skin to cover eggs to keep eggs warm

Knowledge of Top Structure and the Structure of Specific Genres Using knowledge of both top-level structure and the text structures of genres will help your students predict when listening and reading and enhance your students’ comprehension of texts. Specific genres tend to use a particular top-level structure at the whole-text level. For example, procedural texts, reports, arguments and recounts tend to use a list-like structure, while explanations use cause/effect.

For Example

Procedural Texts § Text structure: Goal, Materials, and Methods § Top-level structure: Materials are listed in the sequence they are used,

using list-like top-level structure, and Method is also sequenced using list-like top-level structure.

Explanations § Text structure: a Statement of what is being explained, and a Sequenced

Explanation of How or Why something occurs § Top-level structure: cause/effect

Although the notes here focus on top-level structure in factual texts, it is important to know that the top-level structures problem/solution and cause/effect also occur in fiction. Teaching your students about top-level structure when they are listening to or reading fiction will also aid your students’ ability to predict, and enhance their comprehension of fiction. If you would like to find out more about top-level structure, go to the Text Structures and Text Features module.

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Using This Knowledge to Predict When Reading It is critical that your students understand the concepts related to each top-level structure — compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution, and list-like – that, for example, they know what compare and contrast means. Before your students are able to use their knowledge of top-level structure to predict when listening and reading, they need to explore how each organizational pattern, or top-level structure, works in their daily lives. For example, help your students understand that we

§ Make lists for shopping, or list activities to do each day; § Compare multiplication and division, compare what

different students do in their leisure time; § Solve the problem of lost tickets or feeling unwell; § Turn lights on (cause) if it is dark, turn the radio up if we

can’t hear it.

Help them to use their knowledge of top-level structure to predict authors’ ideas before reading and while reading.

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Question-Answer-Relationship (QAR)

Question-Answer Relationship assists students to figure out how to go about answering questions based on a given text It is a questioning strategy that focuses on the relationship that exists between the question, the text, and the background knowledge of the reader. In this strategy, students are taught to use four question/answer relationships (QARs) to find the information needed to answer a question – Right There, Think and Search, Author and me, and On My Own (Raphael, 1982). Raphael found that some students assumed that every question’s answer was directly stated somewhere in the text - ‘right there’, while others assumed that the answers were only in their heads – ‘on my own’. QAR teaches students to be consciously aware of where they are likely to find the answer to a comprehension question. Although this strategy is significant when students pose their own questions when reading at all times, and consider where they will locate the answers, the implications for test preparation are obvious (Raphael & Au, in press 2006). For example, questions in the Year 3 NAP range are designed to assess a range of students’ abilities, including to ‘Locate directly stated information in a text’ to ‘Make inferences about characters' motives in a text’ and ‘Interpret the main idea of a text.’ Following is a detailed explanation of the four question-answer relationships. 1. Right There QARs – in which answers are stated explicitly in the text. ‘Right

There’ questions are ‘detail’ types of questions, where words used to form the question and words that answer the question are often the same.

They require students to go back to the passage and find the correct information to answer the question. These are sometimes called literal questions because the correct answer can be found somewhere in the passage.

2. Think and Search QARs – in which answers are in the text, but some searching

and inferential text connections are required to make the link and find the answer; sometimes within a paragraph, across paragraphs, or even chapters.

‘Think and Search’ questions usually require students to think about how ideas or information in the passage relate to each other. Students need to look back at the passage, find the information that the question refers to, and then think about how the information or ideas fit together.

3. Author and Me QARs – the information to answer the question comes from the

student’s background knowledge, but to even make sense of the question, students need to have read and understood the text.

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‘Author and Me’ questions require students to use ideas and information that is not stated directly in the passage to answer the question. These questions require students to think about what they have read and formulate their own ideas or opinions.

4. On My Own QARs – the question relates to the text, but the student could

probably answer this one even if they had never read the text. All the ideas and information come from their background knowledge. NB This type of question does not usually appear on tests of reading comprehension because it does not require students to refer to the passage.

Once students understand the differences between the four different types of questions, they understand that reading is not just looking for answers that are Right There, but reading also involves searching for clues and using one’s own ideas and experiences to comprehend. References Raphael, T. (1982) Question-answering strategies for children. The Reading Teacher, 39, 186-190. Raphael, T.E. & Au, K. H. (in press in 2006). QAR: Enhancing Comprehension and Test-taking Across Grades and Content Areas, The Reading Teacher.

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Reciprocal Teaching

In this procedure, students are taught four comprehension strategies using the gradual release of responsibility model: predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarising. By doing such, students are taught to think strategically about all texts read. Reciprocal Teaching is a technique known to increase reading comprehension on standardised tests. (Lysnchuk, Pressley, & Vye, 1990.)

Predicting Using prior knowledge to suggest following text.

Leader: • Uses titles, headings, artwork, prior knowledge, etc to form and justify

predictions. • Asks the group to discuss their (Leader’s) predictions, and form and

justify their own predictions.

READING May be silent, aloud, one student reading aloud to rest of group who follow along, …

Leader: • Asks students to read a specified amount of text - approx. one or two

paragraphs.

Predicting Suggesting what will come next.

Leader: • Models monitoring their (Leader’s) initial predictions – confirming,

disconfirming, modifying in light of new information in text, or noting predictions not yet addressed in text.

• Asks the group to monitor/discuss their personal predictions in light of new information in text.

Clarifying Interpreting or providing detail so that content is understood.

Leader: • Models identifying words and phrases that he/she (Leader) did not

understand during reading, then asks the group to do it. • Models clarifying meanings of these words and phrases using context

clues and picture, diagram or photograph clues, then group does the same. NB: If words/phrases still remain unclear, ‘Teacher’ clarifies, or ‘Teacher’ predicts that they will be clarified in next segment of text.

Questioning Asking questions and noting the answers

Leader: • Models asking a few questions: ‘Right There’, ‘Think and Search’,

‘Author and Me’, and ‘On my Own’, and asks group to identify question type.

• Asks students to answer pose/answer different types of questions (Right There, Think & Search, …) and discuss them.

Summarizing Identifying the main ideas in the piece read.

Leader: • Summarises what the group has read using a variety of strategies,

covering main points only. • Asks the group to change or add to Leader’s summary if necessary. • Asks students to restate the summary if necessary.

Predicting (Forthcoming text) Cycle continues: clarify, question, summarise.

Leader: • Asks students to form and justify new predictions using last sentence of

previous paragraph, artwork, headings, etc. of following text, and background knowledge.

• Asks the group to read the next portion of text. • Discusses predictions with the group.

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Reciprocal Teaching may be organised in various ways. Students can: • Work in pairs or groups of three or four; • Speak or write predictions, questions, summaries, or clarifications; • Form predictions, clarify, question and summarise paragraphs, short or extended

passages, an article or chapter as a whole; • Read the passage silently (if they are able) or have someone in the group read to them. • Exchange roles.

References DEET (1993) Content Area Literacy and Learning Program. Curriculum Corporation, Victoria Lysnchuk, Pressley, & Vye, (1990) Reciprocal teaching improves reading-comprehension performance in poor comprehenders. The Elementary School Journal, 90, 469-484. Oczkus, Lori D. (2003) Reciprocal Teaching at Work: Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension. International Reading Association Newark. Snowball, Diane et al. (2005) Teaching Comprehension: An interactive professional development course. AUSSIE INTERACTIVE

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SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recall/Recite Review)

SQ3R is a useful technique for fully absorbing written and visual information in all texts read. It is a routine that involves readers in Surveying, Questioning, Reading, Recalling or Reciting and Reviewing. SQ3R is a routine frequently used with textbooks. However, it is equally applicable to standardised tests since it:

• Teaches students to attend to all available information in the test and answer booklets;

• Involves students in setting purposes when reading; • Assists students to separate important information from irrelevant data.

Using the gradual release of responsibility model, teach students to use SQ3R when reading narrative and factual texts, including passages on standardised tests. When preparing students to take standardised tests, teach them to: Survey

• Survey the test passage before they read: scan the headings, subheadings, diagrams, captions, labels, photographs, charts, maps, graphs, footnotes, variations in font …

• Activate their prior knowledge and think about what they already know about the text.

• Form and justify predictions about what they think the text might be about.

Question • Mentally note any questions they have following their survey. • Turn titles, headings, and/or subheadings into questions. • Scan the test-question sheet to help them set their purposes in reading the test

passage. Read

• Actively read the passage, thinking about their predictions, the text structure of the passage, and answers to their questions and the test questions.

• Underline relevant sections of passage that assist in answering test questions. Recall

• Have students try to remember what the test passage was about, using their knowledge of text structures, and use this to search for answers to test questions.

• Reread the test passage and questions as necessary to locate answers to questions.

Review

• Check for and complete any unanswered questions. • Review, repeating the above steps as an ongoing process within the time

available.

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Clarifying the meanings of unknown words and phrases Thoughtful readers clarify the meanings of unknown words or phrases when reading. However, many students do not monitor their comprehension and are willing to continue reading, merely saying a word or phrase, without understanding its meaning. Since knowledge of vocabulary is fundamental to comprehension, it is essential students are taught strategies to clarify meanings of words and phrases they can ‘read’, but do not comprehend. This is regardless of the texts being read – texts students read in their daily lives, in school, and test passages in standardised tests. One way of teaching students to clarify the meanings of unknown words and phrases is provided in the following notes on the Shared Reading session, ‘Clues are in the Context’. Shared Reading: Clues are in the Context Factual texts you read with your students during Shared Reading can be used to help your students use context clues and word parts to predict the meaning of specialised topic-specific vocabulary. Note: The suggested Shared Reading session shows how to help your students predict the meaning of unknown specialised vocabulary when explicit context clues are available.

Steps 1. Before your Shared Reading session, prepare the following class chart.

Word/ Phrase

Page No.

Context clues/word parts that help me

predict

My explanation

2. Explain to the students why you are focusing on clarifying the meanings of

unknown words or phrases – because you notice that when reading many of them do not stop reading when they do not know, or are confused about, the meaning of a word.

Take this opportunity to discuss with them how thoughtful readers stop when they don’t the meaning of a word, and try to figure it out using context clues and word parts, such as base words, Greek, Latin or French roots, and prefixes. They do not keep on reading! Make sure they know what you mean by context clues.

3. Introduce the text, and ask your students to predict what it might be about

using their different types of prior knowledge, for example, text structures and text features, literary knowledge, background knowledge of personal and world experiences, words and parts of words, high frequency words, context clues, language patterns, and tense.

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4. Then read the section of the text you selected to your students, then read it

with them. 5. Ask them to tell you the words they could ‘read’ but didn’t know the meanings

of. Use your chart and list a couple of students’ words or phrases in the left-hand column and the page number (for later reference) in the next column.

Then deal with one word or phrase at a time. Ask your students to predict their meanings, identify and explain the context clues and word parts they used to predict the meaning of the word or phrase, and write these in the Context clues/Word parts column.

6. Then ask them to explain in their own words the meaning of the word. Encourage all students to discuss the accuracy of the explanations given. When accurate, write their explanation in the appropriate column on the chart.

7. Ask your students to reread the text now they know the meanings of the words, and ask them to reflect on how using context clues and word parts helped them understand what they read.

8. Talk with your students about how they can transfer and apply this strategy when they read all texts – factual, narrative and test passages.

In conversations that follow, help your students assess how well they use their knowledge of context clues and word parts to predict and comprehend when they read. Help them set personal goals about what they would like to do better when predicting using context clues and word parts, and ask them to record their comments in their Reading Logs. You can refer back to these notes during Individual Reading Conferences.

9. Since you may only have time to deal with two or three unknown words in each Shared Reading session, you will probably need to repeat this Shared Reading session for several days.

Note: Clarifying is one of the strategies students employ when engaged in Reciprocal Teaching (for further information on Reciprocal Teaching refer to page 00).

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Name ____________________ Title of Text:______________________________

Word Page No.

Context clues/Word parts

My explanation