Reading Comprehension Workshop ST AUGUSTINE S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL Wednesday 25 th January 2017
National Curriculum Aims Children should: read easily, fluently and with good understanding develop the habit of reading widely and often, both for pleasure and information acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of language conventions for reading, writing and speaking use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain their understanding and ideas clearly be able to take part in speaking and listening activities, present information, and take part in debates
We need to make sure that we are not only teaching our children to decode and read the words on a page, but we are also teaching them to comprehend what they are reading. Children must be taught vocabulary so that they recognise the word that they are reading through a rich programme at home and at school, of being read to, storytelling, chanting poems, singing songs and developing talk in a purposeful way. Over the past couple of years, lack of vocabulary has held children back in their SATs.
Making Connections In order to develop and improve their vocabulary, children should be experiencing 10% of new words when reading with an adult. The adult can underline or choose the words on a page of text that are particularly challenging and discuss with their child where they have heard these words before, e.g. stare as in looking at somebody or to climb up Connections can come from: the story reminding the child of something they have experienced; their mind will flood with memories; they make sense of a text in terms of events and people in their own lives; they make connections to pictures, plot, characters and feelings from the story or the real-life situations/themes in texts, such as family, friendship, school etc Supporting children to make these connections will allow them to develop strategies for dealing with unknown words they come across in texts when they are reading independently.
Making Connections A Vocabulary Game July had been blown out like a candle by a biting wind that ushered in a leaden August day. A sharp stinging drizzle fell, billowing and opaque grey sheets when the wind caught it... The gulls had been tumbled inland over the town, and they now drifted above the house-tops on taut wings, whining peevishly. It was the sort of weather calculated to try anyone s endurance. ( My Family and other Animals by Gerald Durrell)
Reading to a child develops their ability to concentrate, to imagine and develop abstract thoughts as well as building language. Daily reading and reading comprehension activities are vital. (Pie Corbett, 2016) Even though we have given the same message at all our parent workshops relevant to reading throughout the year, disappointingly low amounts of our parents say their child reads at home daily (62%); every other day (19%); about three times a week (15%) and infrequently (3%). Similarly low numbers of parents say they read daily with their child at home: every day (53%); every other day (26%); about three times a week (16%); infrequently (3%) and never (2%). (St. Augustine s Parent Reading Questionnaire Data October 2016)
National Curriculum Reading Expectations EYFS To have knowledge of initial and final sounds and short vowel sounds in words To experience a range of texts, such as stories, poems and other texts To recognise some familiar words Children must have a rich reading diet (at least three different publishers) to ensure exposure to a range of vocabulary
EYFS Recommended Reading Our school website has a recommended reading list for Nursery and Reception under the pupil s area tab and then the class name. https://staugustines.herts.sch.uk/herts/primary/staugustines
National Curriculum Reading Expectations Key Stage One Speaking and listening, reading and writing are integrated. To begin to read independently and with enthusiasm and take interest and pleasure from reading. Pupils will be taught to read with fluency, accuracy, understanding and enjoyment. Pupils will be taught phonemic awareness and phonic knowledge to decode and encode words. They will be taught to use grammatical understanding and their knowledge of the content and context of texts. They will be taught to read for information, such as learning about different organisational features and characteristics of different text types. Children must have a rich reading diet (at least three different publishers) to ensure exposure to a range of vocabulary They will be taught to develop their understanding of fiction, poetry and drama, such as identifying characters, settings and events in fiction. Focus on words and sentences and how they fit into whole texts. Children work out the meaning of straightforward texts and say why they like them or do not like them.
Key Stage One Text Types Literature Stories and poems with familiar settings and those based on imaginary or fantasy worlds. Stories, plays and poems by significant children s authors. Retelling of traditional folk and fairy stories. Stories and poems from a range of cultures. Stories, plays and poems with patterned and predictable language. Stories and poems that are challenging in terms of length or vocabulary. Texts where the use of language benefits from being read aloud and reread. Non-fiction and non-literary texts Print and ICT-based information texts, including continuous text and those with relevant illustrations. Dictionaries, encyclopaedias and other reference materials.
Key Stage 1 Recommended Reading Our school website has a recommended reading list for Year 1 and Year 2 under the pupil s area tab and then the class name. https://staugustines.herts.sch.uk/herts/primary/staugustines Year 1 Year 2
Understanding the barriers This shows how vital it is for us to encourage children to develop a love for reading as early as possible in their lives. Children can only love what they read if they understand it: this comes down to comprehension.
Reading Comprehension at St. Augustine s Daily Guided Reading Sessions each reading group works with the class teacher once a week and the learning assistant once a week on reading comprehension skills. The other days they work on a differentiated reading comprehension activities, grammar or vocabulary activities to support or extend their reading comprehension skills. Support is given, where necessary, for children who are struggling in any area of reading through one-to-one reading, intervention group work run by our LSAs or through quality-first teaching with the class teacher.
Why do we do this? Research has shown that 94% of young people read more after they have participated in a weekly Shared Reading group (Literate Times, Autumn 2016)
Running throughout all these skills is also the importance of children making connections, checking for sense, questioning and visualising what they are reading. Defining the Terms Vocabulary: knowing the meaning of the words they read Retrieving: we can find the answer directly in the text Inferring: the ability to go beyond the information given in the text based on the reader s personal experience, knowledge or opinion Predicting: what the children think will happen, how a character might react to something that is said or done (uses the language of probability) Summarising: identify the main points/themes in a text Analysing: asks children to examine the structure/layout of a text Authorial intent: what has the author done and why; we need to put ourselves in the writer s shoes to help with this Comparing: find common themes, patterns in language, similarities and differences between texts/books by the same author
Fluency Fluency isn t just fast-reading, but reading with meaning made audible. (Lemov 2016) Reading fluency is an essential component of learning to read and this is why it is acknowledged in the new National Curriculum 2014. It contains three distinct components: accuracy in word decoding; automaticity in word recognition and prosody (appropriate phrasing and expression).
Word reading When children are having to heavily decode the words on the page, there is little brain space for them to interpret and respond to the text. If they are still at the decoding stage, they might not realise there is a world of a book to unlock through comprehending what they are reading. Inference Children who have had limited life experiences will find inferring hard. However, short exercises asking them inference questions can support them and develop their inference skills. Vocabulary The understanding of the meaning of the words on a page contribute greatly to a reader s comprehension. A reader cannot understand a text without knowing what most of the words mean, including new words that Are not part of their oral vocabulary.
How to help at home Children should be reading with an adult every night. Reading is not sitting and listening to your child read It actually is stopping throughout the text, making predictions, asking for explanation of vocabulary they may have read but not known the meaning of and answering comprehension questions to see if they have fully understood the text they have read. This should be recorded in their reading record. This will be checked by the class teacher or learning assistant when they work with each Guided Reading group. Discuss your child s reading target with them (given on Autumn terms report) and focus on this when listening to your child read. Reading aloud to children, even in Key Stage Two, so they can experience texts that are beyond their own reading ability. Question, question, question.
How to create the best reading environment at home A quiet and peaceful area where your child can escape into the world of a book. A positive and open discussion about books, children s preferences and reasons for their likes and dislikes. A respect for books and the knowledge they contain. An excitement about books what they may be about, what they will learn and what can they do with the knowledge they have gained from a book. A positive approach to questioning a child about a text they have read to check their understanding. A love of reading is it a family activity?
Comprehension Comprehension is happening all the time understanding what is going on around us. It requires constant discussion about experiences. Children must read aloud from quality literature in order to access the meaning of more advanced vocabulary and to access a wide variety of topics they may not have experienced in life. The English language is full of idioms, expressions and metaphors that children need to be taught to understand before they can discuss them. Children require guidance when comprehending a text in order to encourage them to think about what is happening, raise questions about what is happening, tie clues together and see what they are reading.
KS1 SATs papers Now we will spend some time looking at some examples from the KS1 SATs papers from last year so you can see the different types of texts and questions children are expected to answer at the end of each Key Stage.
Parent top tips Questions