NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Developing a...

NSW Department of Education & Training

NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way www.det.nsw.edu.au

Developing a Consistent UnderstandingComprehending Beyond the LiteralCurriculum Project 2010





Your Current Understandings

• In your booklets record:- your own personal understanding of

comprehension- strategies you use when teaching comprehension- comprehension strategies your students discuss

• In school groups discuss your current understandings



Pre Reading Tasks

• Reading Texts• Vocabulary Knowledge• Comprehension

• In school groups discuss an record your findings

• Share the importance of the 3 readings



Reading Texts



Vocabulary Knowledge



Comprehension



What is comprehension?What does the research say?

Comprehension is affected by:• ability to decode text• purpose for reading and level of comprehension required• reader’s interest and motivation• reader’s field knowledge including vocab• reader’s linguistic knowledge of grammar• layout• reader’s ability to check understanding- Connecting- Predicting- Questioning- Monitoring- Visualising- Summarising• reader’s ability to locate point of mis-comprehension and adjust

strategies



What does the syllabus say?Learning to:• R.5 read a range of texts on various topics and

interpret and respond to them• R.6 develop and use a range of strategies to

decode and comprehend written textsLearning about:• R.7 know that writers create texts and identify

how text language differs according to purpose, audience and subject matter

• R.8 identify the overall organisational structures and grammatical features of texts



Foundation Statements

• In school teams review foundation statements for reading.

• Discuss the expectations of each stage and how they increase in complexity



Nature of the Learner

• Read the article ‘Nature of the Learner’

• Discuss ‘How does the nature of the learner change in each stage?’

• Record the implications for teaching



Nature of the Learner

• Read examples of stage 1 and stage 2 texts

• Compare and record the differences in the type of language used



When the tide goes out, it leaves pools of water in the hollows and cracks of the rocky surface. These rock pools are the best places for watching seashore life in action. Try to visit the same pool at different times during the day, to see how the behaviour of the animals changes.

Every pinhead-sized drop of blood contains five million red cells. Each is shaped like a disk with a pushed in centre on either side. Its job is to pick up the oxygen from the lungs and transport it to other body parts. When red blood cells collect oxygen, they become brighter red. As they give up the oxygen they change to a darker reddish-blue. Each drop of blood also contains 10 000 white cells and one tired of a million platelets.



Reading Across the KLAs

• In school teams record lists of purposes for reading in each KLA

• Record examples of these texts



KLA Examples of purposes for reading this text in this KLA include:

Examples of texts read in this KLA include:

English responding and reviewing describing and narrating critically analysing texts to identify writer’s techniques making connections between texts

literacy and factual texts range of literature including picture books, novels, films and poetry styles of genre – fantasy, humour

Maths identifying key information understanding data and interpreting information comparing and contrasting informationsolving problems

visual texts – graphs, tables word problems information within factual texts eg. newspapers

Science & Technology

searching for new knowledge to solve a problem or answer a question research to clarify what is known / unknown explain a scientific phenomena

visual texts – flow charts, diagrams that explain a process data presented visually to support a claim information texts (print & visual), websites, TV, reference books reports and factual recounts

HSIE identifying a point of view / perspective research – gathering & comparing information evaluating significance of information

information texts (visual and print) websites, TV, documentaries, articles, reference books historical sources – diaries, letters, photos narratives – culture, history

Creative Arts describing and responding critically to artworks (music, art, dance, drama) reading as part of the creative process (stimulus to drama)

artist statements description of artworks performances - plays, film, art, multimodal texts

PDHPE critically analysing information(health, safety) describing personal issues / scenarios identifying persuasion, stereotyping, and biased representation of facts

print and visual texts e.g. healthy food pyramid, food packaging persuasive texts – advertising, posters



The Role of Metacognition in

Teaching and Learning of Reading

Comprehension



“ Students without metacognitive approaches are essentially learners without direction or opportunity to review their progress, accomplishments, and future directions.”

(O’Mally, Chamot, Stewner-Mazanaares, Russo, & Kupper, 1985, p.561)



What is Metacognition?

• Discuss in table groups• The term metacognition as used

by Flavell (1979) refers to an individual’s awareness of his or her cognitive processes and strategies.




•Other researchers have used a more simplistic definition of metacognition,‘ thinking about thinking’(Blakey & Spence, 2006;

Livingston, 1997; ).




•Having a metacognitive awareness means an individual not only has knowledge about themselves but it also includes knowledge about the strategies used to tackle problems (Fisher, 1998).



Why is this important in the

teaching of Comprehension?• Disuss in groups



Metacognition: Importance

(1)It stresses the active participation by the reader in strategic reading.

(2)Interviews with children showed that they actually knew very little about the process of reading.

(3) It offers an alternative to traditional methods of teaching.



Cognitive versus Metacognitive

•A cognitive strategy is used to achieve a certain task or goal. For example, we use cognitive strategies to understand what we have read or to compute problems in Maths



Cognitive versus Metacognitive

•Metacognitive strategies are used to ensure that our goals or tasks have been properly completed or understood. It enables a learner to monitor and improve upon his or her knowledge (Gourgey, 1998).



Research on Metacognition

•Researchers have studied the concept as it applies to intelligence, special education, giftedness, and many curricular areas.




•Metacognition has been applied in Maths, problem solving, ESL learning, reading and writing.




•An area that has received much of the research attention is that of reading comprehension.



Reading Comprehension and Metacognition

• Awareness and monitoring are in itself what it means to be metacognitive during the process of reading. The process of monitoring comprehension plays a central role in metacognition because it is what we do when we apply metacognitive skills.



Reading Comprehension and Metacognition

•Being aware of one’s thinking during this monitoring process is also crucial.



Teaching Thinking

• Many educators have become dissatisfied with reading programs and traditional approaches to comprehension and this has resulted in broader views of reading that embed comprehension in thinking skills (Paris, 1987).



The Importance of Comprehension Monitoring

•The process of monitoring one’s comprehension, also known as metacognition, has been recognised as being vitally important to skilled reading. (Mokhtari et al., 2002).



The Importance of Comprehension Monitoring

• Palincsar and Brown (1984) described six different comprehension-monitoring strategies.

• clarifying the purpose of reading• activating background knowledge • identifying important text details • evaluating text for internal consistency with prior knowledge • self-monitoring• making inferences from text



Strategy Instruction

• By the time it neared the end of the 1990’s, researchers had evidence that students could be taught to use strategies to aid in memory and comprehension (Garner, 1987; Houtveen & Van de Grift, 2007).



Strategy Instruction

• In addition to having instruction on what strategies to use, learners need instruction on when, where, and how to use these strategies as well as learning them to the point where they are internalized as skills (Garner, 1987; Anderson, 1991).



Direct Explanation of Strategies

•Many researchers have tried to foster better metacognition and comprehension through direct instruction of strategies (Paris, Wasik, & Turner, 1991).



Direct Explanation of Strategies

• There are at least three advantages to the direct instruction approach.

• Direct instruction about academic tasks helps students to cope with these tasks by preparing them with useful measures for problem solving.

• It forces teachers to do more than simply distribute work assignments to students.

• It is a practical way of teaching since it can be done in small or large groups.



Modelled, Guided & Independent Teaching

• Begins with teacher modelling that includes explaining, demonstrating, and read aloud/think aloud.

• The next step involves the teacher and students practising a strategy together in small or large groups.

• The students then try to use a strategy on their own with teacher monitoring.

• Finally, the student applies the strategy to real reading experiences.



Modelled, Guided & Independent Teaching

• In school teams complete the MGI activity.

• Record your findings on the VIP handout



Six Steps for the Explicit Teaching of

Comprehension Strategies Step 1: Select a text Texts can range from easy to challenging.

The criteria for text selection should focus on student learning needs, the text usefulness for teaching a particular strategy or set of strategies, student interests and connection to literacy themes. If the text is challenging use ‘read-aloud’ when modelling.




Comprehension Strategies Step 2: Explain the strategy • Focus on these questions:• What is it?• Why is it helpful for comprehension?• Provide examples to assist this

explanation and wherever possible make connections to students’ background knowledge and prior knowledge




Comprehension Strategies Step 3: Model the strategy• Read a section of the text aloud and use a Think

Aloud and a visual to share ideas with students. Think Aloud involves orally explaining precisely what is triggering thoughts and how it is affecting understanding. Explain thinking so that students have a clear idea of cognitively active process readers’ experience. If a strategy requires a written or sketched response, model that during this step.




Comprehension Strategies

Step 4: Guided Support • Read the next section of the text

aloud and ask students to work with a partner to apply the new strategy. Discuss the response from paired students and read aloud another section of the text.




Comprehension Strategies Step 5: Independent practice • Monitor as students work independently within the whole

group. Either continue reading sections of the text with reduced teacher support or invite students to read independent texts on their own. Regardless, students independently use the strategy. Differentiate instruction by providing scaffolding for those students who need more support (through further modelling or guided support), and by releasing the task to those who are ready to use it. The goal is to ensure that students know the strategy and the process for using it. Ultimately students develop a range of strategies that they can use as needed when they are reading on their own.




Comprehension Strategies

Step 6: Reflect • Ask students to reflect on how using

the strategy helped them to understand the text. Invite them to share their reflections in small groups or with the whole class. Discuss how they can use the strategy when they are reading on their own.



Strategies for Teaching Comprehension



Predict-o-Gram

• In school groups complete the predict-o-gram on the text - FOX- Vocab- Characters- Setting- Problem- Action Solution What comprehension strategies are you

addressing?



Partner Read and Think

• In pairs using the text – The Urban Fox use the Partner Read and Think Strategy

• Use post it notes as your stop sign• What comprehension strategies are

you addressing?



Two Word Strategy

• Using the text ‘The Urban Fox’ complete the Two Word Straregy

• What comprehension strategies are you addressing?



Venn Diagram

• Using the Venn, list differences and similarities of the two texts- Fox by Margaret Wild & The Urban Fox




Alphaboxes

• Use the information you know now about foxes to complete the alphaboxes




Book Commercial Form

Design a book commercial form for the text Fox by Margaret Wild

- What comprehension strategies are you addressing?



Reciprocal Teaching

• The method is based upon a dialogue between teacher and student or student and student where predicting, question generating, summarising, and clarifying are used to promote comprehension monitoring.



The Character and Me

• Using a character from the text Fox describe your similarities and differences.

What comprehension strategies are you addressing?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Developing a...

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