Strengthening the Strengthening the teaching and assessment teaching and assessment

of readingof reading

AimsAims• To deepen our understanding of what makes

good reading comprehension

• To consider strategies to strengthen the teaching and learning and assessment of reading

• To share resources to support the understanding of progression in reading

How secure are your teachers in assessing

reading?

What do you feel are some of the key issues

regarding the use of APP for reading?

Comprehension is anComprehension is aninteractive and reciprocal processinteractive and reciprocal process

Oral Language Skills Cognitive Resources

Vocabulary knowledgeGrammatical skillsPragmatic abilities Idioms/figurative language

General knowledgeKnowledge of textsInference and deduction Monitoring understanding

Rich, relevant and varied reading curriculum

Alesha had won the final of the dance contest and the audience’s cheers brought her to the stage for an encore. “Every step she takes is so perfect and graceful, ” Cheri said grudgingly, as she watched Alesha dance.

Reading the speech, what might you infer?

Which words are worth the teaching?Which words are worth the teaching?

Tier Onethe most basic words – e.g. clock, baby, happy

Tier Two high frequency words for confident word users –

e.g. insist, mischievous, gentle

Tier Three – often with very specific contexts,

includes low frequency words – e.g. metamorphosis, symmetrical, phoneme,

Identifying Tier Two wordsIdentifying Tier Two words

…With a cry of rage, Prince Aral leapt up and thrust his sword deep into the dragon’s heart. Its dying shrieks echoed through the cavern and awoke the long-sleeping ruler.

Staggering to his feet, the king held his arms aloft realising that the curse had been broken. He took a faltering step but stumbled forward only to be caught immediately by the prince.

Conceptual understandingDo the children already have ways to express the concepts represented? Do they have associations with words they already know?

Instructional potentialCan the words be worked with in a variety of ways so that children can build rich representations of them and make connections to other words and concepts?

Importance and utilityWords that are characteristic of confident language users and appear across areas of learning.

Suggested Criteria for a Tier Two word:Suggested Criteria for a Tier Two word:

Identifying Tier Two wordsIdentifying Tier Two words

…With a cry of rage, Prince Aral leapt up and thrust his sword deep into the dragon’s heart. Its dying shrieks echoed through the cavern and awoke the long-sleeping ruler.

Staggering to his feet, the king held his arms aloft realising that the curse had been broken. He took a faltering step but stumbled forward only to be caught immediately by the prince.

Figurative languageFigurative language

Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward

each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. travelling at 55

mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

A full moon, as heavy as an udder in need of milking, grazed the tops of the trees.

InferenceInference

Broadly two kinds of inference:

• Coherence inferences • Elaborative inferences

InferencesInferences

…With a cry of rage, Prince Aral lunged towards the dragon and pierced the shining scales. Its dying shrieks echoed through the cavern and awoke the long-sleeping ruler.

Staggering to his feet, the king held his arms aloft realising that the curse had been broken. He took a faltering step but stumbled forward only to be caught immediately by the prince.

Cow in the fieldCow in the field

As the afternoon light started to fade, the cow stopped eating grass, stood instead with its head over the gate and gazed expectantly down the lane.

•What do we deduce from this?

•What can we infer?

Effective teaching of reading comprehension:Effective teaching of reading comprehension:

• Learning about words• Interacting with the text• Explicitly teaching strategies for reading

comprehension: predictionprediction questioningquestioning clarifyingclarifying imagining imagining summarisationsummarisation

Book TalkBook TalkBooktalk : Chattergroups…• Talking one’s way into a deeper understanding is crucial for developing the

ability to think critically and appreciate literature. It’s in the discussion that the ability to think critically can be developed

• These skills must be modelled, ‘thinking aloud’, teasing at an issue

• Children can and should expect to change their minds in the light of what others say

• Encourage children to raise questions as well as make points and suggestions

• This is not simply about answering questions or guessing what the teacher has in their head!

• Booktalk must be developed as part of what the class do and in itself will contribute to the social health of the class

Thin Ice

She was the colour and size of a haystack with a brain the size of a needle. Why else would she have ventured out on to the ice when the river was thawing?

Now she just stood, looking up at the houses on the bridge, and barking in a slow, tuneless rhythm, like an old man coughing.

DeliveryDelivery• How can you use this film to teach comprehension?

ResourcesResources

• Progression in narrative• Pupil targets for Strand 7 and 8• Gathering Evidence in Reading (H/O)• Understanding Reading Comprehension (DCSF

Ref: 1310-2005)• Guided Reading KS2 – Institute of Education• Starting Stories BFI Education www.bfi.org.uk• Standards Files• Talk for Writing

The Reading CurriculumThe Reading Curriculum

• Shared reading• Guided reading• Regular independent reading –

individual, group and paired• Home/school reading• Hearing books read aloud on a regular

basis• Selecting their own choice of texts• Reading whole texts• Reading cross the curriculum

Teaching and learning in the reading phasesTeaching and learning in the reading phases

Reading analysis and exploration

Reading analysis into writing

Read as a reader

Read as a writer

Familiarisation with text

Capturing ideas

Analysis

Guided ReadingGuided Reading

• How effectively does guided reading develop opportunities for pupils to talk and respond to each other, exploring ideas and shaping meaning and so deepening comprehension?

• How effectively is guided reading used to focus on next steps for groups of pupils?

Developing AssessmentDeveloping Assessment

• Understanding progression• Using lesson study to develop practice in the

teaching of reading• Developing teacher knowledge of texts• Context of the criteria in the assessment

guidelines

The Children’s PlanThe Children’s Plan

Teaching and learning are most effective when teachers are enthusiastic and knowledgeable and have the confidence to stand back and encourage pupils to become independent learners