Reading


 * __ Reading __ **

**  Reading Development ** 

 Development of reading begins at birth and continues on into the years before and during school (Hill 2006, p.145). Children develop through phases with some possible features outlined below:

**Beginning Reading** Children make connections between the words/illustrations and join in by turning pages. **Early Emergent Reading** Children begin to tell the story by looking at the illustarions and other sources of information. **Emergent Reading** Children make direct matches between the text and illustraions, use high frequency words and the text is simple with a small word count range. **Early Reading** Children experience more complex and longer texts and repetition of high-frequency words. **Transitional Reading** Children experience even more complex topics with greater detail, variety of illustrations andsentence length and syntax is varied. **Extending Reading** Children receive greater conceptual load in texts due to complex stories with complex plots and characters with less illustrations for support.

(Hill 2006, pp.145 - 158) **  Teaching Reading Approaches  **

  When teaching children to read, teachers should use a //Scaffolding approach//.  This involves the teacher **modelling, sharing, guiding** and supporting **independence** in reading (Hill, 2006, p.72). **Modelled Reading**  The teacher chooses a text and reads it aloud to the class. The teacher models to the students how to read by reading aloud and showing children how the reading process works (Hill, 2006, p.72) Many texts can be used such as narrative and informative texts, depending on what you want the children to be engaged in. Modelled Reading allows children to hear more complex texts which provides them with a greater vocabulary and syntax patterns that they aren't exposed to in everyday situations (Hill, 2006, p.73).  <span style="color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">

** Shared Reading ** <span style="color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Shared Reading is a whole class approach, where the teacher reads aloud and when necessary, invites the children to participate (Hill 2006, p.73). Big books with enlarged print should be used to allow children to see the print and illustrations. Shared Reading can be used to help children read different text types and aide their problem solving skills. <span style="color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> ** Guided Reading ** This approach involves the teacher working with a selected small group of children reading the same text. <span style="color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> ** Independent Reading ** This approach involves children reading by themselves to build fluency and confidence. <span style="color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-size: 130%; color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">

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 * Ideas to involve children with reading:** __

Allow chidren to make their own books and get them to make cover pages as well as including their name as the author (Hill 2006, p.182). This way children can feel proud that they have made their own book and will want to read it over and over agin.

Get Children to join book clubs such as the 'Nicholas Club', where they can receive stamps, stickers and badges just by joining. [|www.phaidon.com/nicholas/]

<span style="color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Accoring to Hill (2006, p.190), "Comprehension is understanding the meaning of what is read from the print, illustrations, layout and design". Comprehension involves the reader both 'extracting' meaning from the text information and 'constructing' meaning from that information (Hill, 2006, p.190).
 * Reading Comprehension **

According to Hill (2006, p. 190-191) Comprehension involves 3 elements which are:


 * The Reader //-//** Comprises what makes us different including culture, knowledge, capabilities, age and gender.
 * The** **Text -** Print or electronic forms of different genres.
 * The Activity -** Has 3 dimensions; the purpose, processes and consequences for reading.

According to Hill (2006, pp.192-193) aspects of Comprehension that teachers should be aware of are "active involvement, attention, persistence, reflectivity and flexibility". These strategies will assist children's understanding of the texts they read.

**Comprehension Activities** Comprehension activites include KWL and Bono's Six Hats.

A KWL chart is a comprehension activity used to discover what students //know// about a certain topic, what they //want// to learn and what they have //learned//. Before reading the text the students answer the 'K' and 'W' columns and afterwards they answer the 'L' column. A 'H' column can be included to stand for //how// I can learn the topic so the chart becomes a 'KWHL' chart (Hill 2006, pp.200-201).
 * KWL**

Edward de Bono's six hats allow children to problem-solve by 'wearing' different hats. Each hat has a different meaning and the children have to answer a problem depending on the hat they are wearing (Hill, 2006, p.201).
 * Six Hats[[image:6denkhoeden.jpg width="353" height="67" align="right" link="http://www.heartsunlimited.net/happy-hearts-software/concept-evaluation-wizard.html"]]**

**<span style="font-size: 130%; color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Assessment ** <span style="color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Assessing Reading can involve taking Running Records of the child's reading, Levelled Books, the use of high frequency words and the fluency of a child's reading. Hill (2006, p.158) states that "Taking a record of reading behaviour helps teachers to find books at an appropriate level for children". They are quite easy to undertake with young children and are very beneficial for the teacher to see where the child is at. An example of a Running Record is pictured right.
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Assessing Reading **
 * Running Records**

Teachers use Levelled books as they present information about the child's literacy development (Hill 2006, p.171). By matching texts to readers teachers can improve their students reading ability by engaging and challenging them and building their self esteem as the child begins to read more difficult texts (Fountas & Pinnell 2006, p.1).
 * Levelled Books**

Hill (2006, p.165) states that "High-frequency words are words that occur more than other words in spoken and written language". Knowing high frequency words are important as they improve the child's ability to read and write (Hill 2006, p.171).
 * High Frequency Words**

Fluency in a child's reading is very significant in comprehension as it allows the child to focus on the meaning of texts (Hill 2006, p.168). Strategeis to assess fluency include using a reading rubric or timing the child's reading.
 * Fluency**

Assessing Comprehension can involve asking different kinds of Questions and Retelling.
 * Assessing Comprehension **

These questions can be: **J** 'Literal (on the line)' - questions that encourage readers to remember literal information from the text (Hill 2006, pp.193-194)
 * Comprehension Questions**
 * J **'Interpretive (between the lines)' - questions that encourage readers to remember interpretive information from the text
 * J **'Inferential (beyond the lines)' - questions that encourage the reader to reflect beyond the text to present a significant response

<span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(229,21,202); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The strategy of retelling is as simple as retelling the information from a text. Children achieve a greater level of comprehension from using this strategy as they practice and repeat the information they receieve from the text (Hill 2006, p.195). Activites within this strategy which improve recall include Venn diagrams and semantic webs.
 * Retelling**