Teaching Reading Comprehension

Teaching Reading Comprehension

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Teaching Reading Comprehension presents strategies that teachers can understand and teach. The strategies are simple, flexible and fun. This book incorporates the CORE research-based model of instruction for teaching comprehension strategies. This model brings together the High 5! comprehension strategies that every student can use: activating background knowledge; questioning; analysing text structure; creating mental images; and summarising. The book also discusses the importance of inference and the understanding of figurative language in reading comprehension.

From: Teaching Reading Comprehension, by Susan Dymock and Tom Nicholson

Chapter 3: Assessing reading comprehension in the era of national standards

3.1    Introduction

In this chapter, we do three things. First, we explain the New Zealand national standards in reading. Second, we examine the way the standards describe characteristics of texts that children need to be able to read from Years 1–8. The text examples we give are from the Ready to Read series and from School Journals, but these are not the only kinds of texts that pupils will read in and out of school. They will also read digital texts—Web pages, Facebook, blogs, e-zines and other media. The ideas in this chapter apply to these kinds of texts as well. Third, we explain the kind of comprehension needed to cope with these different texts as part of the task of meeting and exceeding national standards.

3.2    What are the National Standards?

If you want to read a copy of the New Zealand Curriculum Reading and Writing Standards for Years 1–8, then Google “Ministry of Education National Standards”, and download a copy of the Ministry of Education book on this topic.

We can think of standards as benchmarks, or expected levels of performance. The Ministry document on the reading and writing standards explains them as follows (Ministry of Education, 2009c):

National standards provide a nationally consistent means for considering, explaining, and responding to students’ progress and achievement in years 1–8. They provide reference points or signposts, that describe the achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics, that will enable students to meet the demands of the New Zealand Curriculum. They will help teachers to make judgments about their students’ progress so that the students and their teachers, parents, families, and whānau can agree on the next learning goals. (p. 4)

One way to describe the standards is to say what they are not. In 2010 Karen Sewell, the then Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Education, wrote:

Unlike standards-based assessment in other countries, our standards do not rely on national testing. Instead, there is an emphasis on teacher professional judgments, assessment for learning principles and practice, and the importance of information sharing to support student learning. This is a novel approach when compared with other jurisdictions. (Ministry of Education, 2009a, p. 3)

In 2009 the Ministry of Education published two watershed documents: Reading and Writing Standards for Years 1–8 (Ministry of Education, 2009c) and Mathematics Standards for Years 1–8 (Ministry of Education, 2009b). Another document, produced to support the reading and writing standards document, was The Literacy Learning Progressions: Meeting the reading and writing demands of the curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2010).

An important feature of national standards is that they are not an option for schools. They are a legal requirement. Every school has to implement national standards and report pupil achievement to the Ministry, boards of trustees and parents. For the first time, national standards are to be the common assessment metric in every school in the country. The Reading and Writing Standards for Years 1–8 explains that the standards are:

a nationally consistent means for considering, explaining, and responding to students’ progress in Years 1–8. They provide reference points or sign posts that describe the achievement, in reading, writing, and mathematics, that will enable students to meet the demands of the New Zealand curriculum. (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 4)

The National Standards for reading and writing are different because they include exemplars of real texts that the Ministry publishes for schools, such as Ready to Read series, and School Journal texts so that the teacher can see realistic, classroom-based examples of what students should be able to read and write from their first year of school through to Year 8, before they enter secondary school. Overseas standards give signposts as well, but they are often not as specific as these signposts. In other places the signposts might be a list of criteria, but in these national standards there are specific examples of stories and articles that students should be able to read with understanding at each year level. These stories and articles are benchmarked—graded according to reading levels. The criteria for passing the standards are very specific, especially in the first 3 years of school, where students have to be able to read the texts at the standard aloud at 90 percent accuracy or better.

Another point of difference is that they are not item-specific, as you would expect in a national test. For example, a pupil in Year 1 can meet a major signpost by reading a Year 1-level text (e.g., green level 2) at 90 percent accuracy, but there is not just one text for them to read. The teacher can select any one of a number of texts graded at that level for the pupil to read. It is not like a national test or a standardised test, where everyone has to pass specific items.

On the other hand, there is a certain amount of judgement required by teachers, because the standards specify that at each standard “students will read, respond to, and think critically about … texts” (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 8). It is not always clear-cut as to whether a pupil is at the standard or not. The pupil may well read the text with 90 percent accuracy or better, but the pupil also has to “respond to, and think critically about … texts”. Teachers are required to make “an overall teacher judgement” (p. 13) as to how well they do this. This involves teachers drawing on evidence gathered up to a particular point in time and analysing it in order to make an informed, balanced judgement about what constitutes the best fit in terms of the student’s actual performance—how it lines up with what is expected in terms of the relevant standard.

Overall teacher judgement (OTJ)

The concept of “overall teacher judgement” is a major challenge. How do you have a national standard based on the judgements of thousands of different teachers? How can we be sure each teacher in New Zealand’s 2,500 primary schools makes the same kind of judgement about whether a student has or has not met the standard?

This is not such an issue in the early years. The National Standards up to the end of Year 3 have the requirement that pupils must read the text (green, etc.) with at least 90 percent accuracy. This is a very specific criterion and is easy to measure. The problem is to ensure that the texts selected to read are at the right level. There are several texts to choose from at each level of the colour wheel (see below), and they will not be identical. If the teacher takes regular assessments of each child—say, one each month—this will reduce the likelihood of error. A re-test by a colleague will further help to verify the level. The use of an independent evaluation from a norm-referenced test will be important to verify that the decisions you and your colleague make are accurate.

From Year 4 on the assessment focuses on comprehension and relies very much on teacher judgement. After Year 3, authors do not always agree what are independent and instructional levels of accuracy except that they are high, about 95 percent or better. But they do agree on “frustration”, that the text difficulty should not slip below 90 percent accuracy. Reading accuracy, however, will not be enough. The decision as to whether the student can “read, respond to, and think critically” about the text will require the teacher to ask questions, to verify understanding. This part of the assessment is much fuzzier, and relies on overall teacher judgement.

Teachers can decide how they will assess comprehension, and the measures they use will differ from school to school. The Ministry has provided teachers with a chart showing different possible measures to do this (see http://assessment.tki.org.nz/Assessment-tool-resources/Assessment-resources-maps). They can collect data on students from a range of assessments, which should include a norm-referenced test. A norm-referenced test “is one that has been trialled with a group of typical test users to determine average performance” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 59). A norm-referenced test usually reports performance using terms such as “percentiles”, “standard scores” and “stanines”. Using a norm-referenced test is a kind of moderation in itself. It is getting an “independent verification” (Kamhi, 2011, p. 89) of teacher judgement.

Another option is to ask a colleague, preferably in a different school, to check your assessments. You might select three pupils: one at the standard, one above and one below. The colleague could assess them face to face, with Skype or by visiting the school. The colleague could give the same assessment using a different Ready to Read or School Journal text, and you could discuss the results with each other to decide if there is agreement or whether you need to do further assessment.

The aim of moderation is to check the reliability of the teacher’s decision making. Reliability in this context means consistency of measurement (Springer, 2010). A reliable judgement is one where several assessments all point to the same result. It is especially important to do this when the teacher is using the Ready to Read or School Journal texts, since these are not norm-referenced and there is potential for error. An independent verification is a way to avoid “confirmation bias” (Kamhi, 2011, p. 91); that is, the tendency to believe things that fit with your beliefs. This is why teachers must use moderation.

How do the reading standards work?

The Reading and Writing Standards for Years 1–8 explains that the reading standards “establish the level of literacy expertise that can be reasonably expected of most students at the end of each period or year of schooling, from the first year of school through to the end of Year 8” (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 8). The National Standards document has adapted the theoretical model of Luke and Freebody (1999). The original model talked about four aspects: code breaker, meaning maker, text user, and text critic. The Ministry’s adapted model describes three aspects to reading: learning the code, making meaning and thinking critically. Students at each year level need to demonstrate expertise in these three aspects of reading to be a “successful reader” (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 8).

Learning the code is learning to “read”. Making meaning involves responding to the text in some way, and thinking critically involves thinking critically. Each standard expects students to demonstrate the three aspects of reading. The first sentence of each standard, from Years 1 to 8, repeats the same requirement: “students will read, respond to, and think critically about … texts” (p. 8). The first part of the sentence is about decoding, or “reading the lines”. The second part is about getting the meaning, or “reading between the lines”. The third part is about the audience for the text, the agenda of the writer and what the wider issues are, or reading “beyond the text”.

This is where the standards come in. The standards illustrate, using actual texts, what to expect of students at each year level to show they can do these three things with increasing levels of expertise.

What are the differences in comprehension requirements from Years 1 to 8?

In the National Standards for reading and writing the comprehension demands of the texts for reading gradually get harder from Years 1 to 8, though one thing stays the same. Table 3.1 shows the three main comprehension text features and how their complexity increases across the year levels.

The settings and contexts of texts at Year 1 include familiar experiences and places pupils can readily understand because they have relevant background knowledge. These settings become less familiar and more abstract as students move though the year levels. Nonfiction texts at Year 1 have a simple structure, and fiction texts a simple storyline. The structures get more complex as students move through the year levels, until by Year 8 there can be several structures in one text, texts can be noncontinuous, with a mix of texts, graphs, text boxes, visual information and so on. The texts can be in different formats, hard print, online, etc. Finally, texts at Year 1 have mostly explicit content, concrete ideas and small amounts of implicit content, requiring simple inferences. This changes through the year levels as texts have increasing amounts of implicit content, requiring complex inferences.

Table 3.1 The increase in complexity of the main comprehension text features from Year 1 to Year 8

Text feature

Years 1 & 2

Years 3 & 4

Years 5 & 6

Years 7 & 8

Settings and contexts

Familiar, concrete settings and contexts

Some unfamiliar

Some abstract ideas

Complex, sophisticated, abstract ideas

Text structure

One main structure and simple storyline

One main structure but more than one storyline

Two or more text types in the one article

Non-continuous and mixed text types

Content

Mostly explicit, but some implicit content— simple inferences

A mix of explicit and implicit content—simple inferences

More complex inferences

Complex inferences, irrelevant information that has to be ignored

As students progress through the standards they need to show ability to read longer texts, read them more fluently and accurately, and read different kinds of texts. They need to realise the meaning of complex texts, think critically about the meaning and show they are sophisticated in their ability to control, regulate and apply comprehension strategies.

How do the standards relate to Ministry of Education text materials and the New Zealand curriculum?

To help you find your way through the complexities of national standards requirements, we have put together a table in the appendix to this chapter that shows how to link the standards to years of school, the colour wheel, Ready to Read texts, the School Journal, approximate reading ages, chronological ages, decoding levels and the New Zealand curriculum. For example, it shows that at the end of Year 6 students are roughly 11 years old. They are showing comprehension abilities that are at Level 3 of the New Zealand curriculum, reading accurately and fluently from Part 3 School Journal texts, with reading levels in the 10-12 range, and encountering words derived from Latin and Greek.

The colour wheel

In Years 1-3, texts that meet the standards relate to the colour wheel levels in the Ministry’s graded reading series, Ready to Read. Each text in the series has a colour wheel on the back cover. The colour wheel is simple to understand, but not simple, so we will spend some time explaining it. In Figure 3.1, the code G on the colour wheel means the text is suitable for guided reading with students whose guided reading level is purple. This means that they read the text at 90-94 percent accuracy. Guided reading means the student can read reasonably well but someone, such as the teacher, needs to be a “guide”; that is, to help with the odd word that is too difficult.

Figure 3.1 An explanation of the colour wheel

Ministry of Education (2003, p.1)

The G marker is important for assessment. It indicates to the teacher that the text is suitable to verify the reading level of the student, if she thinks the student is reading at that level (7-7½ years). For example, the standard at the end of Year 3 is gold level. If the student reads a gold-level text at less than 90 percent accuracy, then the student is below the standard. If the student reads at 90 percent, the student is at gold level. If the student reads above 90 percent, the student is above gold level.

The standards state that the text the teacher selects needs to be a “seen” text; in other words, one the pupil has read before, or that the teacher has shared with the class before. The colour wheel starts with magenta for beginners, moves through to green (the standard at the end of Year 1) and then to turquoise (the standard at Year 2) and finally to gold (the standard at the end of Year 3). The capital letter “I” on the wheel in Figure 3.1 indicates that this text can be given to a student whose guided level is gold (above purple), or independent reading. “Independent” means able to read at 95 percent accuracy or better. The capital letter “S” on the wheel means that this text is too hard for students reading at orange level (below purple), but the teacher could read the text as a shared book with a group or the whole class, where lots of support can be given.

School Journal

After Year 3 the texts that meet the standards are from the Ministry’s School Journals. The junior journals texts are mostly in the Year 3 range. Prior to August 2011 the Part 1 journals were predominantly in the Year 3 and 4 range, the Part 2 journals in the Year 4 and 5 range, the Part 3 journals in the Year 5 and 6 range, and the Part 4 journals in the Year 7 and 8 range. From August 2011 School Journals have a ‘new look’ and format. The old Part 1 journals are now referred to as School Journal NZC Level 2, followed by the date published (e.g., School Journal NZC Level 2, August 2011). The material in School Journal NZC Level 2 is at reading level 4. The old Part 3 journals are now referred to as School Journal NZC Level 3 followed by the date published (e.g., School Journal NZC Level 3, February 2012). The content in this journal is at reading levels 5 and 6. The old Part 4 journals are now referred to as School Journal NZC Level 4 followed by the date published (e.g., School Journal NZC Level 4, February 2012). The content in this journal is at reading year levels 7 and 8. The Ministry has an online site, Journal Surf, that gives the reading year level of texts in the journals. Prior to August 2011 the online site gave the reading age based on “noun frequency”. Since August 2011 the site gives a reading year level based on the Dale-Chall readability formula. This formula calculates the difficulty of the text based on the number of hard words and sentence length. Using the calculation as a baseline the Ministry of Education (2011, p. 2) then “moderated [the text] against a range of other factors that affect text difficulty. This process leads to a final reading year level that reflects a comprehensive analysis of the text” (see Table 3.2 below for a comparison between School Journals prior to August 2011 and School Journals after August 2011).

In the rest of the chapter we will discuss the comprehension demands on the standards at each year level and consider how we can assess students’ ability to meet those demands.

Table 3.2 comparison between School Journals prior to August 2011 and School Journals after August 2011

Reading
year level

Reading age

School Journals
prior to August
2011

School Journals
from August 2011

3

7-7.5

Junior Journal

Junior Journal

 

7.5-8

   

4

8-9

Part 1-Part 4

NZC Level 2

 

8.5-9.5

Part 1-Part 4

 

5

9-10

Part 1-Part 4

NZC Level 3

 

9.5-10.5

Part 2-Part 4

 
 

(10-12)

(odd Part 1)

 

6

10-12

Part 3 and 4

NZC Level 3

7

11-13

Part 3 and 4

NZC Level 4

 

(12-14

   

8

12-14

Part 4

NZC Level 4

 

13-16

   

3.3    The specifics

The reading standard after 1 year at school

The requirements to meet the standard are: “After one year at school students will read, respond to, and think critically about fiction and non-fiction texts at the green level of Ready to Read” and “Students meeting the standard at this level can read seen texts with at least 90 percent accuracy” (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 10). The Year 1 standard describes certain characteristics of texts at that level. We have selected the characteristics that relate to comprehension in Table 3.3. We have added some strategies to the table that relate to the characteristics.

Table 3.3 Text features and possible comprehension strategies to teach during the first year of school

Text characteristics

Comprehension strategies

1.  Generally familiar contexts and settings

In A Good Idea, the context is unfamiliar in that it is set in Africa, but pupils will recognise the animals (except perhaps for the warthog) because they will have probably seen television documentaries about the animals, or they might have seen them in the zoo. Remind students to connect to prior knowledge.

2.  One text form, and one main storyline or topic, for each text

In A Good Idea, the teacher can talk about the structure with the group or class. There is one plot, but the plot has two episodes. Each episode has a problem, response, action and outcome. Suggest that students draw a diagram of the structure.

3.  Most content is explicitly stated but there is also some implicit content that provides opportunities for students to make simple inferences

In The Great Car Clean-out, Mum asks Dad to help her to clean the car but Dad says he is “too busy”. The illustration of Dad shows that his office is very untidy. The reader can infer that Dad is not a very organised person, though the text does not say this. The teacher can ask questions that require simple inferences; for example, Why is Dad too busy? (Answer: He has to find his mobile phone.) Why is Dad not able to find his mobile phone? (Answer: His room is untidy.) How could he solve his problem? (Answer: Dad needs to tidy up his room!)

The reading standard after 2 years at school

The requirements to meet the standard are, “After two years at school students will read, respond to, and think critically about fiction and non-fiction texts at the Turquoise level of Ready to Read” and “Students meeting the standard at this level can read seen texts with at least 90 percent accuracy” (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 11). The Year 2 standard describes certain characteristics of texts at the turquoise level. We have selected the characteristics that relate to comprehension in Table 3.4. The table has some comprehension strategies that relate to the characteristics.

Table 3.4 Text features and possible comprehension strategies to teach during the second year of school

Characteristics of texts

Comprehension strategies

1.  Some settings and contexts may be outside the student’s prior knowledge but can be easily related to it

In Inside the Maize Maze, the topic is outside the experience of many pupils but the teacher can bridge the gap by first drawing a maze on the whiteboard and challenging pupils to find their way through it. The teacher can ask the class if anyone has ever had the problem of finding their way when they are lost.

2.  A mix of explicit and implicit content that provides opportunities for students to make simple inferences

In The King’s Birthday, an inference question is, “How do you know it was a surprise birthday party?” Is it a surprise because the King looked surprised? Can students locate words in the story that imply it was a surprise? The relevant sentence is, “It was his birthday and no one remembered.” It does not explicitly say the birthday party was a surprise, but it implies the King was not expecting a birthday party. Visual clues are the royal footmen and the smiles on their faces as they opened the doors to the banquet hall. They know something the King does not, that the party is a surprise

3.  Illustrations that support the meaning and may suggest new ideas or viewpoints

In The King’s Birthday, the King goes into the kitchen and asks the royal cooks, “Do you know what day it is today?” expecting that they will remember it is his birthday, but they say, “Baking day, your Majesty.” The illustrations, however, suggest the royal cooks do know about his birthday because the royal cooks are smiling. The teacher can ask students, “When you look at the illustrations, are there any clues to tell us that the royal cooks know it is the King’s birthday?”, to see if students can make inferences from the illustrations.

The reading standard after 3 years at school

The requirements to meet the standard are, “After three years at school students will read, respond to, and think critically about fiction and non-fiction texts at the Gold level of Ready to Read” and “Students meeting the standard at this level can read seen texts at Gold with at least 90 percent accuracy” (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p.11). The Year 3 standard describes certain characteristics of texts at that level. We have selected the characteristics that relate to comprehension in Table 3.5. We have added some strategies to the chart that relate to the characteristics.

Table 3.5 Text features and possible comprehension strategies during the third year of school

Characteristics of texts

Comprehension strategies

1.  Some unfamiliar settings and contexts

In Sun Bears Are Special, the bears are from Malaysia so are not familiar, but most students can connect to their prior knowledge of bears and zoos to connect to the text.

2.  Shifts in time and/or place

In Sun Bears Are Special, the text shifts from present to past tense to show shifts in time. The teacher can refer to changes in tense as clues.

3.  (In the narrative) there are many characters and events and more than one storyline

In “Missing the Bus” there are multiple characters: Mum, Teina, Mako, Dean and the bus driver. A character matrix can be used to compare them.

4.  A mix of explicit and implicit content that requires students to make connections between ideas in the text and their prior knowledge in order to make simple inferences

In “Missing the Bus”, Mako and Dean are laughing at Mum and Teina as they run to catch the bus. Pupils can ask an inference question, “Why are they laughing?”

5.  Some pages with no illustrations

Students can imagine what is happening and create mental images.

The reading standard by the end of Year 4

The requirements to meet the standard are:

By the end of Year 4, students will read, respond to, and think critically about texts in order to meet the reading demands of the New Zealand curriculum at Level 2. Students will locate and evaluate information and ideas within texts appropriate to this level as they generate and answer questions to meet specific learning purposes across the curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 26) [Emphasis added].

The Year 4 standard describes certain characteristics of texts at that level. We have selected the characteristics that relate to comprehension in Table 3.6 below. We have added some strategies to the chart that relate to the characteristics.

Table 3.6 Text features and possible comprehension strategies to teach by the end of Year 4

Characteristics of texts

Comprehension strategies

1.  Some abstract ideas that are clearly supported by concrete examples in the text or easily linked to the students’ prior knowledge

In “Anzac Biscuits”, the abstract concept of “commemorate” has concrete examples in the text, with photos and text content about dawn parades to remember soldiers who went to war. Students can link to prior knowledge.

2.  Some places where information and ideas are implicit and where students need to make inferences based on information that is easy to find because it is nearby in the text and there is little or no competing information

In “Anzac Biscuits”, the reason for mothers, wives and girlfriends sending the biscuits is (probably) to make a connection to their loved ones. Asking questions can link text information to prior knowledge to make this inference.

3.  A straightforward text structure, such as a structure that follows a clear and recognisable form

In “Camping Down the Line”, the narrative structure is just one plot with three episodes.

The reading standard by the end of Years 5 and 6

The requirements to meet the standard at Year 5 are:

By the end of Year 5, students will read, respond to, and think critically about texts in order to meet the reading demands of the New Zealand Curriculum as they work towards Level 3. Students will locate and evaluate, and integrate information and ideas within and across a small range of texts appropriate to this level as they generate and answer questions to meet specific learning purposes across the curriculum. (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 28) [Emphasis added]

The requirements of Year 6 are the same, except that the reading demands are at Level 3 of the New Zealand curriculum. Year 6 pupils will read more quickly, show more strategy “control” and “independence”, and read longer texts than Year 5 pupils. We have selected the text characteristics that relate to comprehension in Table 3.7. We have added some strategies to the table that relate to the characteristics.

Table 3.7 Text features and possible comprehension strategies to teach by the end of Years 5 and 6

Characteristics of texts

Comprehension strategies

1.  Abstract ideas, in greater numbers than in texts at earlier levels, accompanied by concrete examples in the text that help support the students’ understanding

In “Plight of the Sea Turtle”, text examples of threats to turtle survival clarify the abstract idea of “plight” and link to student prior knowledge.

2.  Some ideas and information that are conveyed indirectly and require students to infer by drawing on several related pieces of information in the text

In “The Cutting Wedge”, it is not clear why the boys laughed at the tree falling onto the hen house except by asking questions about what makes the story funny.

3.  Some information that is irrelevant to the identified purpose for reading [that is, some competing information], which students need to identify and reject as they integrate pieces of information in order to answer questions

“Plight of the Sea Turtle” has some information unrelated to the focus of the article, which is their “plight”. The teacher and students can ask questions to integrate different data on their plight.

4.  Mixed text types [for example, a complex explanation may be included as part of a report]

“Plight of the Sea Turtle” has two text structures. One is a web about sea turtles (e.g., types, features, threats). The other is problem solution: how to keep them from extinction.

The reading standard by the end of Years 7 and 8

The requirements to meet the standard at Year 7 are:

By the end of Year 7, students will read, respond to, and think critically about texts in order to meet the reading demands of the New Zealand curriculum as they work towards Level 4. Students will locate and evaluate, and synthesise information and ideas within and across a range of texts appropriate to this level as they generate and answer questions to meet specific learning purposes across the curriculum. (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 32) [Emphasis added]

A “range of texts” refers to fiction and nonfiction, both electronic and in print. Texts can be novels, textbooks, poetry, plays, collections and so on.

The requirements of Year 8 are the same except that the reading demands are at Level 4 of the New Zealand curriculum. Year 8 pupils will show “increased accuracy and speed in reading a variety of texts from across the curriculum”, show more strategy “control” and “independence” and read a range of texts. Another point of difference from Year 7 is that at the end of Year 8, “students need to be confidently and deliberately choosing the most appropriate strategies for reading in different learning areas” (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 33).

We have selected the text characteristics that relate to comprehension in Table 3.8 below. We have added some comprehension strategies that relate to the characteristics.

Table 3.8 Text features and possible comprehension strategies to teach by the end of Years 7 and 8

Characteristics of texts

Comprehension strategies

1.  Elements that require interpretation such as complex plots, sophisticated themes and abstract ideas

In “The Gestapo’s Most Wanted”, there are complex and abstract themes of resisting injustice and oppression that need interpretation and evaluation. Students need to reason about these abstract ideas and consider, for example, whether it was right for the Resistance to break the law to fight against what they saw as injustice. Sometimes this can be justified for an important cause. There are links to modern-day fighters against injustice, such as Greenpeace, and whether their actions can be justified. There are moral issues such as whether the fighting, destroying and killing in this article were justified. Students can ask and answer questions to clarify these concepts.

2.  Complex layers of meaning and/or information that is irrelevant to the identified purpose for reading [that is, competing information], requiring students to infer meanings or make judgements

In “My Mother and Stan”, where Stan the computer fix-it man destroys a computer virus, there is a simple plot but there is competing information in the description of Stan. The teacher can ask questions to focus on the basic plot and separate out text information about Stan for a separate character analysis.

3.  Non-continuous text structures and mixed text types

In “The Gestapo’s Most Wanted”, initial reading of this article is that it is a mixed text type—but it is not. It reads like a story but it is not a story. A story is not real. This text is about a real person. It describes the actions of a New Zealand-born secret agent in the Second World War. It is a description of her role in the French Resistance. It is a sequence text that describes her involvement in the French Resistance during the war. Students can produce a summary of the text that shows the sequence structure of the article.

3.4    Review

This chapter has described the National Standards and suggested some strategies to show students how to meet the comprehension demands of the standards at each year level. The kinds of texts that students read from Years 1 to 8 all require accurate and fluent decoding skill, with at least 90 percent accuracy. In addition, students need to be aware that texts differ in complexity as they pass through each year of school.

In the first years of school, texts have a simple structure, explicit content, with simple inferences that link text very much to knowledge of the world students already have. By Year 4, this changes. Texts may have several structures, and will have complex language, such as figurative language. Pupils will read more nonfiction than fiction. Ideas will be implicit, not explicit as they are in texts in earlier years of school. They will read content outside their personal experience, and will need to make more complex inferences that require the student to think more abstractly about worlds and experiences that writers are describing to them.

How do you teach such knowledge about texts and about comprehension strategies? How do you teach decoding for comprehension? Well, read on—the rest of the book shows how to do these things.

Appendix 3.1 A guide to levels for the National Standards in reading

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