Recommendations for the Teaching of Reading Comprehension and Oral Reading PRIMARY 2021 CURRICULUM PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION 2021 1 of 35 Contents RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS BASED ON RESULTS OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS - SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2021 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS ............................................................................................................................................................. 4 INFANT TWO-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOLS .................................................................................................................................................. 4 STANDARD ONE - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOLS ............................................................................................................................................ 7 STANDARD TWO - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOLS ......................................................................................................................................... 12 STANDARD THREE - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOLS ...................................................................................................................................... 18 STANDARD FOUR - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOLS ........................................................................................................................................ 24 Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 2 of 35 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS BASED ON RESULTS OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS - SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2021 INTRODUCTION The recommended strategies for the teaching of Oral Reading and Comprehension document in primary schools has been produced to provide support for teachers and parents to build concepts and skills in children, to mitigate learning loss due to the COVID 19 Pandemic. Primary Assessments were conducted with students of Infant Two to Standard Four. The following is a brief description of the assessments. Infant Two: There were three assessments at this level. Assessment A focused on students’ ability to read words and sentences. Based on students’ performance on Assessment A, teachers were directed to conduct additional assessments to determine students’ areas of weaknesses. Assessment B (blending and segmenting sounds) was conducted with students who performed at Levels I and II on Assessment A. Assessment C (letter sound and letter name identification) was conducted with students who performed at Levels I and II on Assessment B. Standards One to Four: The assessments at this level included the Reading Comprehension and the Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) assessment. Based on students’ performance on the Oral Reading Fluency assessment, teachers were directed to conduct additional assessments to determine students’ areas of weaknesses. The additional tests were the Infant Two Assessment (conducted with Levels I and II students in Standards One and Two), and the Informal Phonics Inventory and the Sight Word Recognition Tests (conducted with Levels I and II students in Standards Three and Four). The recommendations provided in the document are presented according to class (Infant Two to Standard Four). Students have been placed in performance levels based on the analysis of scores in the Reading Comprehension and Oral Reading assessments. The table below describes each performance criteria level. 3 of 35 Performance Criteria Weighted Score (%) Level I (Makes an Attempt - very little or no understanding of the respective content and skills) 0-25 Level II (Emerging- minimum to average understanding of the respective content and skills. 26-50 Level III (Satisfactory - an average understanding of the respective content and skills) 51-75 Level IV (Competent - above average understanding of content in the respective strands) 76-100 The recommendations are structured to inform the review and teaching of content to develop students’ understanding of concepts and skills in Reading Comprehension and Oral Reading. Teachers are encouraged to use the recommendations to support students who score within different levels. For example, if a student scores within Level 1, use the Level 1 recommendations for remediation. Recommendations for students scoring within Level 4 can be used to sustain and further develop their skills. Strategies for parents are grouped according to class levels in the document. Teachers are kindly asked to share and discuss with parents and guardians, the strategies they can use at home to complement and reinforce their children’s development of concepts and skills at home. 4 of 35 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS INFANT TWO-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOLS A point to note: Within Appendix 1 is a listing of some curriculum objectives that align with the phonemic awareness and phonic skills mentioned in the recommendations. ASSESSMENT A • Word reading • Sentence reading • Writing dictated sentence LEVELS RECOMMENDATIONS I (Makes an Attempt) 0-25% Teachers: • Use manipulatives (letter cards, word cards, magnetic letters, games) to review/ teach letter sounds daily • Help students to link speech and writing daily e.g., letter/sound dictation; one word dictation • Do daily practice of activities to build phonemic awareness skills e.g., differentiating between loud and soft sounds, environmental sounds, beginning, middle and end sounds of words, use Elkonin boxes – put down counters in boxes to match individual sounds heard • Model and use games to show students how to blend and read two and three phoneme words with the consonant-vowel-consonant (cvc) pattern e.g., dog • Assist students in reading complete sentences (first word to the end punctuation mark) • Guide students in writing cvc words they hear • Do interactive read alouds of stories, rhymes and poems Advise parents to do the following: • Read to your child daily • Have an alphabet chart or alphabet books which they read with their child • Use games at home to reinforce letter sounds e.g., Beginning sound game- What’s in the refrigerator? Show a banana, milk, biscuit, egg, lettuce. Ask your child to say the beginning sound. http://readingrockets.org/strategies/question_answer_relationship http://theliteracybug.com/using-the-language-experience-approach 5 of 35 • Label objects at home for children to read and spell e.g., table, chair, bed • Access free letter recognition and sound games on phones/ tablets/ laptops II (Emerging) 26-50% Teachers: • Use manipulatives to review letter sounds daily • Do daily practice of activities to build phonemic awareness skills e.g., beginning, middle and end sounds of words, use Elkonin boxes – put down counters in boxes to match individual sounds heard • Teach beginning, middle, end sounds or chunking to help students blend sounds into words • Provide opportunities for students to write words they say • Do interactive read alouds of stories, rhymes and poems • Have students create books with pictures and a letter or word per page Advise parents to do the following: • Read to your child daily • Use games at home to assist with blending of letter sounds e.g., I Spy-I spy a /b/ /a/ /t/ (show bat and have child spell the word) • Label objects at home for children to read and spell e.g., table, chair, bed • Access free letter recognition and sound games on phones/ tablets/ laptops III (Satisfactory) 51-75% Teachers: • Provide reinforcement materials (pictures, short passages, word lists, sentences, games) to assist students in strengthening their reading skills • Provide weekly practice with consonant-vowel-consonant (cvc) words and sentences to build students' word and sentence reading fluency • Do interactive read alouds of stories, rhymes and poems • Have students create books with pictures and a letter or word per page • Access free Infant Activity Pack from the MOE website weekly • Advise parents to do the following: Read to your child daily and create opportunities for your child to read to you • Have your child create labels for objects at home e.g., table, chair, bed https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/elkonin_boxes https://blog.allaboutlearningpress.com/phonograms/ http://theliteracybug.com/using-the-language-experience-approach https://fpblog.fountasandpinnell.com/what-is-interactive-read-aloud 6 of 35 • Have your child time himself/herself reading and work to improve the reading rate through repeated readings • Access free Infant Activity Pack from the MOE website weekly IV (Competent) 76-100% Teachers: • Provide enrichment reading materials for students to apply phonic skills • Provide reading material which is a little above the student's independent reading level • Use learning materials (videos, objects, pictures) for writing activities that will allow the student to apply the skills • Have students create books with pictures and a word or sentence per page • Access free Infant Activity Pack from the MOE website weekly Advise parents to do the following: • Set aside a time each day for you to read aloud to your child and create opportunities for your child to read to you • Encourage your child to use some of the words he or she is learning at school to write notes, songs or poems for you at home • Have your child time himself/herself reading and work to improve the reading rate through repeated readings • Access free Infant Activity Pack from the MOE website weekly https://www.moe.gov.tt/infants-activity-packs/ https://youtu.be/jKa8Eq70Ti0 https://fpblog.fountasandpinnell.com/what-is-interactive-read-aloud 7 of 35 STANDARD ONE - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOLS A point to note: Within Appendix 1 is a listing of some curriculum objectives that align with the phonemic awareness and phonic skills mentioned in the recommendations. COMPREHENSION (Answering literal, inferential and evaluation type questions) ORAL READING FLUENCY (Ability to read the targeted number of words correctly in one minute) LEVELS RECOMMENDATIONS LEVEL RECOMMENDATIONS I (Makes an Attempt) 0-25% Teachers: • Use stories, poems, non-fiction texts that contain pictures in read aloud sessions and engage in discussion about the reading material using the 5ws- who, what, when where and why and 1H -How • Explicitly teach unfamiliar words or vocabulary before comprehension activities • Explicitly teach level appropriate comprehension skills through listening and oral activities • Use graphic organizers which allow students to record information and help them to understand text as they read • Use of a variety of reading materials and games that target comprehension skills such as: sequencing, answering the 5Ws and 1H, finding clues etc. to teach and reinforce skills taught Advise parents to do the following: • Ask children to retell a story, talk about their favourite characters or events in a story, movie, or book I (Makes an Attempt) 0-25% Teachers: • Explicit teaching of letter identification, letter sounds, blending and segmenting of three and four phoneme words as required • Daily review of phonic elements taught • Use of concrete materials and games e.g., adapted bingo (sight words), online games to teach and reinforce skills taught • Teach and review word attack skills such as use of chunking, syllabication, root word and affixes through exercises and games • Read Alouds by the class teacher or other model reader, -use of role play and oral practice (echo and repeated reading) Advise parents to do the following: • Help your child develop a love for print by asking them to look at and interact with print in meaningful ways in the home environment • Have children - hang/make posters of their favourite stories/movies, use a calendar, make and read labels, • Read to your child daily 8 of 35 • Encourage children to answer questions orally after viewing short video clips of fun facts about their areas of interest e.g., animals, space, sports etc or play the game of true or false based on the information from the video clip • Discuss events in age appropriate tv shows/ movie II (Emerging) 26-50% Teachers: • Use stories, poems, non-fiction texts that contain pictures in read aloud sessions and engage in discussion about the reading material using the 5ws- who, what, when where and why and 1H -How. Include literal and inferential questions • Have students read short text and respond to the 5Ws and 1H for explicitly stated and not explicitly stated details and write their answers • Explicitly teach unfamiliar words or vocabulary before comprehension activities • Use graphic organizers which allow students to record information and help them to understand text as they read • Explicitly teach level appropriate comprehension skills through listening and oral activities • Use of a variety of reading materials and games e.g. sequencing, answering the 5Ws and 1H, finding clues, making predictions, stating the main idea in short text, using context clues etc to teach and reinforce skills taught II (Emerging) 26-50% Teachers: • Explicit review of letter sounds and letter sound combinations, blending and segmenting of four and five phoneme words as required • Daily review of phonic elements • Use of concrete materials and games e.g., adapted bingo (initial blends or clusters words), online games to teach and reinforce skills taught • Teach and review word attack skills such as use of chunking, syllabication, root word and affixes through exercises and games • Read Alouds by the class teacher or other model reader, use of role play and oral practice (echo and repeated reading) Advise parents to do the following: • Help your child develop a love for print by asking them to look at and interact with print in meaningful ways in the home environment by having children - hang/make posters of their favourite stories/movies, use a calendar, make and read labels, make and read lists of words associated with various rooms in the home • Read to your child daily 9 of 35 Advise parents to do the following: • Ask children to retell a story, talk about their favourite characters or events in a story, movie or book • Encourage children to answer questions orally after viewing short video clips of fun facts about their areas of interest e.g., animals, space, sports etc. or play the game of true or false based on the information from the video clip • Discuss events in age appropriate tv shows/ movies and use the closed caption feature to encourage reading practice III (Satisfactory) 51-75% Teachers: • Use stories, poems, non-fiction texts that contain pictures in read aloud sessions and engage in discussion about the reading material using the 5ws- who, what, when where and why and 1H -How. Include literal, inferential and evaluation questions • Have students read short text and respond to the 5Ws and 1H for explicitly stated and not explicitly stated details and write their answers • Explicitly teach unfamiliar words or vocabulary before comprehension activities • Explicitly teach level appropriate comprehension skills through listening and oral activities • Use of a variety of reading materials and games e.g., sequencing, answering the 5Ws and 1H, finding clues, making predictions, stating the main idea in short text etc to teach and reinforce skills taught III (Satisfactory) 51-75% Teachers: • Explicit review of letter sound combinations, blending and segmenting of four and five phoneme words as required • Daily review of phonic elements • Use of concrete materials and games e.g., adapted bingo (initial blends or clusters words), online games to teach and reinforce skills taught • Teach and review word attack skills such as use of chunking, syllabication, root word and affixes through exercises and games • Read Alouds by the class teacher or other model reader, use of role play and oral practice (echo and repeated reading) Advise parents to do the following: • Help your child develop a love for print by asking them to look at and interact with print in meaningful ways in the home environment by having children - hang/make posters of their favourite 10 of 35 Advise parents to do the following: • Ask children to retell a story, talk about their favourite characters or events in a story, movie or book • Encourage children to answer questions orally after viewing short video clips of fun facts about their areas of interest e.g., animals, space, sports etc. or play the game of true or false based on the information from the video clip stories/movies, use a calendar, make and read labels, make and read lists of words associated with various places to visit, create a favourite book of the month listing/poster • Read to your child daily • Discuss events in age appropriate tv shows/ movies, use the closed caption feature to encourage reading practice IV (Competent) 76-100% Teachers: • Use stories, poems, non-fiction texts that contain pictures in read aloud sessions and engage in discussion about the reading material using the 5ws- who, what, when where and why and 1H -How. Include literal, inferential and evaluation questions • Have students read short text and respond to the 5Ws and 1H for explicitly stated and not explicitly stated details and write their answers • Explicitly teach unfamiliar words or vocabulary before comprehension activities • Explicitly teach level appropriate comprehension skills through listening and oral activities • Use of a variety of reading materials and games e.g., sequencing, answering the 5Ws and 1H, finding clues, making predictions, stating the main idea in short text, using context clues etc to teach and reinforce skills taught IV (Competent) 76-100% Teachers: • Explicit review of letter sound combinations, blending and segmenting of words as required • Daily review of phonic elements • Use of concrete materials and games e.g., adapted bingo (initial blends or clusters words, sight words), online games to teach and reinforce skills taught • Teach and review word attack skills such as use of chunking, syllabication, root word and affixes through exercises and games • Read Alouds by the class teacher or other model reader, use of role play and oral practice (echo and repeated reading) Advise parents to do the following: • Help your child develop a love for print by asking them to look at and interact with print in meaningful ways in the home environment by having children - hang/make posters of their favourite 11 of 35 Advise parents to do the following: • Ask children to retell a story, talk about their favourite characters or events in a story, movie or book • Encourage children to answer questions orally after viewing short video clips of fun facts about their areas of interest e.g., animals, space, sports etc. or play the game of true or false based on the information from the video clip stories/movies, use a calendar, make and read labels, make and read lists of words associated with various places to visit, create a favourite book of the month listing/poster • Read to your child daily • Discuss events in age appropriate tv shows/ movies, use the closed caption feature to encourage reading practice 12 of 35 STANDARD TWO - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOLS A point to note: Within Appendix 1 is a listing of some curriculum objectives that align with the phonemic awareness and phonic skills mentioned in the recommendations. COMPREHENSION (Answering literal, inferential and evaluation type questions) ORAL READING FLUENCY (Ability to read the targeted number of words correctly in one minute) LEVELS RECOMMENDATIONS LEVEL RECOMMENDATIONS I (Makes an Attempt) 0-25% Teachers: • Use stories, poems or non-fiction that contain pictures in read aloud sessions. Ask questions so that students pay attention to the details shown in the pictures • Use the sound of a bell or a clothespin on a page for planned stopping points during read aloud sessions. Have students retell what they remember or what they have learnt at each point • Use reading comprehension materials in which most of the words are known by the students • Show students how to fill out a simple graphic organiser as they read to help them better understand the reading material. Example: Beginning, middle and end organiser to use with stories • Teach one question type at a time. Use a picture to represent each question. Begin with literal questions Example: Literal (use a picture of a finger pointing to the page). Explain that the I (Makes an Attempt) 0-25% Teachers: • Have read aloud sessions with the students. Use poems, stories or non- fiction which are on topics of interest to students at this level. Be sure to read at the right rate with appropriate phrasing and expression. Pronounce words correctly • Use a PowerPoint with animations or concrete materials such as plastic letters to teach phonics skills such as letter sound and letter name identification, blending of two, three and four phonemes to form words. Teach and review these skills daily • Use a step-by-step approach together with a chart to teach students word attack skills (Example: First, make the letter sound, then blend the sounds together and last read the whole word). • Create or use a sight word list such as Dolch or Fry's and teach two words daily. Display the words taught on a word wall and review daily. Follow-up at bi-weekly 13 of 35 picture shows that the answer is found directly in the reading material Advise parents to do the following: • Show your child that reading is important and fun in your home by ensuring that there are print materials in and around your home interact • Read aloud (poems, stories, recipes, instructions with pictures or graphics) to your child at home. Ask him or her to answer questions based on what was read • Make question cards (who, where, why, when, what). Stick them onto the refrigerator door. During the day ask your child to choose one of the question words and ask you a question. Pretend that you do not know the answer and ask your child to explain the correct response to you intervals with word games to reinforce the vocabulary taught e.g., Word bingo, online games • Initially, have students read short pieces of materials (three sentences or four lines in a poem). Ensure that students can read most of the words on their own and can work out any unfamiliar words by using word attack skills taught. Have students read daily Advise parents to do the following: • Read aloud to your child daily. Use different print materials in your home to make the activity interesting. Example- read the recipe for your child's favourite meal (then you both follow the instructions to make the meal) • Use one of your child's favourite reading materials (one that has been read many times). Read the piece to your child but deliberately mispronounce words or pretend that you do not know a word. Allow your child to use the reading material and show how to correctly pronounce the word • Read together with your child II (Emerging) 26-50% Teachers: • Engage students in read aloud sessions. Use sounds or sticky notes to indicate stopping points for questions II (Emerging) 26-50% Teachers: • Have read aloud sessions with the students. Use poems stories, non-fiction which are on topics of interest to students at this level. Be sure to read at the right 14 of 35 • Use reading comprehension materials in which students can read most of the words and use strategies taught to figure out the few words that are unfamiliar • Show students how to fill out a simple graphic organiser as they read to help them better understand what is being read. Example- Venn diagram to show how mammals and fish are alike and different • Use a chart with pictures to review or teach each of the question types (Literal and (Inferential). Model the steps so that students will know the difference between both types and how to provide an answer for each type of question. • Play question sorting games Example: Read a passage to the students. Then ask a question. First, let the students identify the type of question asked, Second, let them supply the answer to the question. Third, let students give proof as to what they used to create the answer Advise Parents to do the following: • Read aloud (stories, poems, recipes, directions). Ask your child questions on what was read • Encourage your child to read to you and ask you questions on what was read. Pretend that you cannot answer a few of the questions. Ask your child to say what the rate with appropriate phrasing and expression. Pronounce words correctly • Use a PowerPoint with animations or concrete materials such as plastic letters to teach phonics skills e.g., consonant blends, consonant digraphs and vowel digraphs and blending of these with other letters to form words. Teach and review these skills daily • Use a step-by-step approach together with a chart to teach students word attack skills (Example: root words and affixes (prefixes and suffixes), syllabication). • Create or use a sight word list such as Dolch or Fry's and teach three words daily. Display the words taught on a word wall and review daily. Follow-up at bi- weekly intervals with word games to reinforce the vocabulary taught e.g., Word bingo, online games • Initially, create or choose student reading materials which are (about one or two paragraphs or two verses of a poem). Ensure that students can read most of the words on their own and can work out any unfamiliar words by using word attack skills taught. Have students read daily Advise parents to do the following: • Read aloud (stories, poems, recipes, directions). Model appropriate rate, phrasing and expression. Pronounce words correctly 15 of 35 answer to the questions are and explain how he or she worked out the answers • Write questions to your child and ask him or her to respond in writing. Use some of the question words as well as the question types being taught at school • Read with your child • Use e-books. After your child listens, have him or her read along with the audio or do an echo reading. III (Satisfactory) 51-75% Teachers • Engage students in read aloud sessions. Use signs or sticky notes to indicate stopping points for questions • Use a PowerPoint or highlighters to show students how to use context clues to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words in the reading material • Show students how to fill out graphic organisers which require attention to more details to help them better understand the reading material Example- Story organiser- characters, setting, problem and action • Review or teach each of the three types of questions (Literal, Inferential and Evaluation). Use an acronym (L.I.E) to help students remember each of the question types. Model the steps to show students how to find the answer to each type • Play question sorting games. Example: Read a passage to the students. Then ask one question at a time. First, let students identify the type of question. Second, let the students answer the question. Third, let III (Satisfactory)51- 75% Teachers • Have read aloud sessions with the students. Use poems stories, non-fiction which are on topics of interest to students at this level. Be sure to read at the right rate with appropriate phrasing and expression. Pronounce words correctly • Review and reinforce phonics skills if needed (vowel diphthongs e.g. /oi/ and /oy/ as in coin and boy respectively). Focus on students applying the skills. Teach and review these skills daily • Review and reinforce word attack skills if needed (Example: Syllabication rules for multi-syllabic words) • Assign vocabulary lists Dolch or Fry's. Display words not yet known on a word wall and review daily. Follow-up at bi- weekly intervals with word games to reinforce the vocabulary taught e.g., Word bingo, online games • Have a variety of level appropriate reading material available for students. Let students engage in pair and small group reading 16 of 35 them explain how they came up with the answer Advise parents to do the following: • Read aloud (stories, poems, advertisements, tickets) to your child. Ask your child questions on what was read. • Have students read aloud to you and ask you questions on what was read. Pretend that you cannot answer one or two of the questions and ask him or her to explain how to get the answer • Write questions to your child and allow them to respond in writing. Try to use the types of questions being studied at school Advise parents to do the following: • Read aloud (stories, poems, advertisements, tickets) to your child. Model appropriate rate, phrasing and expression. Pronounce words correctly • Have students read aloud to you and record the performance using a device e.g., cell phone. Give tips on ways the reading can be improved • Read together with your child IV (Competent) 76-100% Teachers: • Engage students in read aloud sessions. Use sticky notes to indicate stopping points for questions • Use a PowerPoint or highlighters to show students how to use context clues to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words in the reading material • Use graphic organisers which require attention to more details to help students better understand the reading material Example- Story organiser-characters, setting, problem and action • Model how to use a highlighter or online tool to show how to choose information from the reading piece that is relevant to answer different question types IV (Competent) 76-100% Teachers • Have read aloud sessions with the students. Use poems stories, non-fiction which are on topics of interest to students at this level. Be sure to read at the right rate with appropriate phrasing and expression. Pronounce words correctly • Review and reinforce phonics skills if needed (silent consonant digraphs e.g. The “h” in /gh/- ghost). Focus on students applying the skills. Teach and review these skills daily • Review and reinforce word attack skills if needed (Example: Syllabication rules for multi-syllabic words) • Assign vocabulary lists Dolch or Fry's. Display words not yet known on a word 17 of 35 • Review the three question types (literal, inferential and evaluation). Ask students to create different types of questions together with the answers for a given reading comprehension piece. Check the submissions and use correct questions and answers in a game Advise parents to do the following: • Read aloud to your child. Use an article from the newspaper, online news or article. Ask your child questions so as to discuss what was read • Encourage your child to read to you and let him or her ask you questions. Pretend that you do not know the answer to a few of the questions and have him or her explain why the answer was incorrect with proof from what was read • Write questions for your child to answer and vice versa. Try to use some of the question types being taught at school wall and review daily. Follow-up at bi- weekly intervals with word games to reinforce the vocabulary taught e.g., Word bingo, online games • Have a variety of level appropriate reading material available for students. Let students engage in pair and small group reading Advise parents to do the following: • Read aloud (stories, poems, advertisements, tickets) to your child. Model appropriate rate, phrasing and expression. Pronounce words correctly • Ask your child to pretend to be a news reporter. Let him or her read and record the performance using a device e.g., cell phone. Give tips on ways the reading can be improved • You and your child take turns in reading the closed captions for a favourite television show. Give support if needed. 18 of 35 STANDARD THREE - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOLS A point to note: Within Appendix 1 is a listing of some curriculum objectives that align with the phonemic awareness and phonic skills mentioned in the recommendations. COMPREHENSION (Answering literal, inferential and evaluation type questions) ORAL READING FLUENCY (Ability to read the targeted number of words correctly in one minute) LEVELS RECOMMENDATIONS LEVEL RECOMMENDATIONS I (Makes an Attempt) 0-25% Teachers: • Build students' appreciation of text- The purpose and structure of various kinds of texts • Facilitate interactive Read Alouds with Think-Alouds to help students understand how meaning is constructed from text • Use discussion as a bridge to develop the capacity to make sense of printed text • Teach other strategies for constructing meaning independently - fix-up strategies, previewing and predicting, making connections, questioning, recall (Use videos, mnemonics, anchor charts with the steps as learning aids) • Facilitate Guided Reading sessions- to give students opportunity to practise explicitly taught skills • Start with the following range of texts and move to higher/lower levels of text based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading levels H-M, I (Makes an Attempt) 0-25% Teachers: • Model fluent reading with texts that include targeted phonic elements- vowel and consonant digraphs, diphthongs, end blends, multi-letter phonograms, etc. as required • Explicitly teach students eye movements needed to read fluently- focus on all parts of words to be read while scanning ahead on the page. • Use 'scooping' with level appropriate texts to build student capacity for phrasing text correctly when reading. Start with the ranges suggested below and move to higher/lower levels of text based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading levels H-M, ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 1.8--2.8 or ▪ Lexile Levels 200-499 https://www.moe.gov.tt/infants-activity-packs/ http://scooping/ https://www.moe.gov.tt/infants-activity-packs/ https://www.moe.gov.tt/infants-activity-packs/ 19 of 35 ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 1.8-2.8 or ▪ Lexile Levels 200-499 Advise parents to do the following: • As a family discuss movies- why characters acted as they did, the most exciting parts of the movies, their thoughts on the way things turned out. • Listen to the questions your child asks about books he or she is reading and let him/her work with you to find the answers. e.g., re-reading the text, reading relevant material online, asking librarians and other questions, looking at videos and/or reading other books • Include games to strengthen memory and recall in your daily routine. • Include activities that help students become more attentive to details- enhance visual discrimination. e.g., Spot the Difference, Find Waldo, Matching Silhouettes Advise parents to do the following: • Put motivational charts and charts to aid memory around the house. • Listen to audio recordings of books with your child while you both follow along with the text. • Have your child record himself/herself reading so he/she can get a better sense of how they read. II (Emerging) 26-50% Teachers: • Teach text structure and text features explicitly. • Facilitate interactive Read Alouds with Think-Alouds to help students understand how meaning is inferred from text. • Use small group guided discussion on researched topics as a bridge to independent engagement with text. • Teach, explicitly, strategies for making inferences alongside other strategies II (Emerging) 26-50% Teachers: • Use games that enhance retention and recall of targeted phonic elements- vowel and consonant digraphs, diphthongs, end blends. etc. • Use flash card routines to help students review Fry's level two and three sight words and Fry's second 100 phrases. • Use echo reading, choral reading and repeated reading. 20 of 35 for constructing meaning independently1. • Facilitate Guided Reading sessions with developmentally appropriate text to give students opportunity to practise explicitly taught skills. Start with the levels suggested below and move to higher/lower levels based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Levels L-P ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 2.6-3.6 or ▪ Lexile Levels 400-699 Advise parents to do the following: • As a family discuss developmentally appropriate movies- Draw attention to the similarities and differences in the places, (in) which the characters live or visit in the text. o Did you notice how different the town in which X grew up was from the town in which he now lives? o What do/does the places/setting make you think of? • Explicitly teach students eye movements that will help fluent reading. • Use 'scooping' with level appropriate text to build student capacity for phrasing text correctly when reading. Start with the ranges suggested below and move to higher/lower levels of text based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading levels L-P, ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 2.6-3.6 or ▪ Lexile Levels 400-699 Advise parents to do the following: • Put motivational charts and charts to aid memory around the house • Listen to audio recordings of books with your child while you both follow along with the text • Set aside 20 minutes a day for reading to or with your child 1 Fix-up strategies, previewing and predicting, making connections, questioning and recall 21 of 35 • Encourage your child to read to find the answers to questions they may have III (Satisfactory) 51-75% Teachers: • Explicitly teach students how to apply knowledge of text structure and features to respond to texts. • Teach strategies for summarising and text alongside other strategies for constructing meaning independently • Teach, explicitly, strategies for synthesising information in two texts • Model oral and written responses to essay-type questions • Facilitate Guided Reading sessions with developmentally appropriate text to give students opportunity to practise explicitly taught skills. Start with the ranges suggested below and move to higher/lower levels of text based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Levels N-R, ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 3.4-4.6 or ▪ Lexile Levels 500-775 Advise parents to do the following: • As a family discuss developmentally appropriate movies- How is mood created in the movie? Why do you feel III (Satisfactory)51- 75% Teachers: • Reteach targeted phonic elements- vowel and consonant digraphs; diphthongs, end blends, multi-letter phonograms, etc. as required. • Expose students to words with silent letters and multi-syllabic words with increasing frequency • Use flash card routines to help students review Fry's level three and four sight words and Fry's third 100 phrases. • Facilitate Reader's Theatre, choral reading and repeated reading. • Use 'scooping' with level appropriate text to build student capacity for phrasing text correctly when reading. Start with the ranges suggested below and move to higher/lower levels of text based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Levels N-R, ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade l\Levels 3.4-4.6 or ▪ Lexile Levels 500-775 Advise parents to do the following: 22 of 35 the way you do as you watch the movie? • Ask questions that will prompt your child to think more deeply about the texts they are reading. o What do you like most about the book? o What is your favourite scene? • Help your child to identify the best kinds of texts to read to find the answers to the questions they may have. • Set aside 30 minutes a day for reading to or with your child. • Provide access to a range of texts- storybooks and informational text. • Create/grasp opportunities to have your child use his/her reading skills e.g. reading labels, signs along the street, signage in offices or stores. IV (Competent) 76-100% Teachers: With the aid of appropriate print and media resource, provide explicit instruction in: • means through which knowledge of text structure and text features can be used to evaluate texts. • varied ways of representing views, opinions and facts about text. • methods for comparing and contrasting ideas presented in text. • strategies for summarising and synthesising ideas presented in a variety of text to make more complex inferences. • Facilitate Guided Reading sessions with developmentally appropriate text to give students opportunity to practise explicitly taught skills. IV (Competent) 76-100% Teachers: • Offer practise in reading words with silent letters and unusual phonic elements e.g., the 'ae' in formulae. • Use flash card routines to help students review Fry's level four and five sight words. • Facilitate opportunity for independent reading of appropriately challenging text. Provide books at the levels suggested below and offer higher/lower-level texts based on the child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Levels Q-U, ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 4.2-5.4 ▪ Lexile Levels 700-875 Advise parents to do the following: 23 of 35 Start with the levels suggested below and move to higher/lower levels based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Levels Q-U ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 4.2-5.4 or ▪ Lexile Levels 700-875 Advise parents to do the following: • As a family critique developmentally appropriate movies- Share what you would have done differently and why. • Ask questions that will prompt your child to think more deeply about ideas/themes that seem to be found in most of a particular writer's books. e.g. Andrew Salkey's, Hurricane, Earthquake and Drought. • Encourage your child to read a range of appropriate texts to find relevant information to answer questions they may have. • Set aside time monthly for reading of a range of appropriately challenging stories and informational texts as a family. • Set aside at least 30 minutes a day for your child to engage in reading and have discussion with family members. Parents who may be on duty/away at the time allocated for Reading can call their children to remind them to read or to keep the reading appointment. • Create/grasp opportunities to have students read- labels, recipes, directions for craft activity. 24 of 35 STANDARD FOUR - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOLS A point to note: Within Appendix 1 is a listing of some curriculum objectives that align with the phonemic awareness and phonic skills mentioned in the recommendations. COMPREHENSION (Answering literal, inferential and evaluation type questions) ORAL READING FLUENCY (Ability to read the targeted number of words correctly in one minute) LEVELS RECOMMENDATIONS LEVEL RECOMMENDATIONS I (Makes an Attempt) 0-25% Teachers: • Show students how to apply knowledge of grammatical structures (parts of speech) to elicit meaning from text. • Facilitate interactive Read Alouds with Think-Alouds to help students understand how meaning is constructed from text. • Provide opportunity to independently explore a range of developmentally appropriate literature. • Host Book Talks to build student capacity to talk about the purpose and structure of various kinds of texts in a structured and coherent way. • Facilitate Guided Discussion and debates on one of the main ideas presented in texts. (Use graphic organisers and/or templates, highlighting tools as scaffolds.) • Facilitate Guided Reading sessions- to give students opportunity to practise explicitly taught skills. I (Makes an Attempt) 0-25% Teachers: • Do oral world building exercises with long vowel patterns (-aint, -oat, etc) and with exercises that involve substitution/manipulation of syllables, onsets, rimes and phonemes. (If necessary, include short vowel patterns) • Use flash card drills to review Fry's sight words and Fry's phrases. (Review students' miscues/errors to determine the best list with which to start.) • Explicitly teach students eye movements needed to read fluently- focus on all parts of words to be read while scanning ahead on the page. • Use 'scooping' with level appropriate text to build capacity for phrasing text correctly when reading. Start with the levels suggested below and move to higher/lower levels based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Levels L-P 25 of 35 Start with the levels suggested below and move to higher/lower levels based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading levels L-P ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 2.8--3.8 or ▪ Lexile Levels 400-499 Advise parents to do the following: • As a family discuss developmentally appropriate movies- chat about why characters acted as they did, the most exciting parts of the movies, their thoughts on the way things turned out. • Listen to the questions your child asks about books he or she is reading and work with him/her to find the answers- e.g., re-reading the text, reading relevant material online, asking librarians and other resource persons questions, looking at videos and/or reading other books. • Start a vocabulary collection with your child- decide together the words that will be added to the collection, where the collection will be stored (e.g., on index cards, a family word wall, in a decorated notebook) and how frequently words will be added to the collection. (N.B. At least one (1) new word should be added to the collection each week.) ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 2.8--3.8 or ▪ Lexile Levels 400-699 • Include games that build memory and recall in your daily routine. Advise parents to do the following: • Put motivational charts and charts to aid memory around the house. • Set aside 15 minutes a day for reading to or with your child. • Engage in role play activities- pretend to be newscasters or radio announcers while you both read material on topics in which your child has an interest. 26 of 35 II (Emerging) 26-50% Teachers: • Teach text structure and text features explicitly using a range of appropriately challenging informational texts. • Have students present an oral summary of main ideas in texts that were read. • Use discussion as a bridge to develop the capacity to make sense of printed text. • Teach students strategies for making inferences. • Facilitate Guided Reading sessions- to give students opportunity to practise explicitly taught skills. Start with the ranges suggested below and move to higher/lower levels based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Levels N-S ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 3.6-4.8 or ▪ Lexile Levels 500-799 Advise parents to do the following: • As a family discuss developmentally appropriate movies- Engage in role-play and aim to complete statements like the following, creatively. “If I were the _____ of/in this movie, I would have_____ because______.” • Encourage your child's questioning- teach him the best way to frame II (Emerging) 26-50% Teachers: • Model fluent reading of texts with targeted phonic elements- vowel and consonant digraphs; diphthongs, end blends and multisyllabic words. • Use flash card drills to review Fry's sight words and Fry's phrases. (Review students' miscues/errors to determine the best list with which to start.) • Explicitly teach students eye movements that will help fluent reading. • Use 'scooping' with level appropriate text to build capacity for phrasing text correctly when reading. Start with the levels suggested below and move to higher/lower levels based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Levels N-S ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 3.6-4.8 or ▪ Lexile Levels 500-799 • Use memory and recall strengthening games Advise parents to do the following: • Put motivational charts and charts to aid memory around the house. • Listen to audio recordings of text on topics of interest to your child while 27 of 35 questions, the best times to ask questions and the persons to whom it is best to address questions. • Guide your child to read to find the answers to questions he/she may have. he/she follows along with the transcript or printed text. • Set aside 20 minutes a day for reading to or with your child. 28 of 35 III (Satisfactory) 51-75% Teachers: • Use double-entry journalling to build a deeper appreciation of text structure and text features. (The journal can be a shared online document so that you can comment and guide students through the process). • Teach, explicitly, strategies for summarizing and synthesising details presented in 2-3 different kinds of texts. • Facilitate Reader’s Workshops with students- to give them opportunity to apply, explicitly taught skills with a range of text. Start with the ranges suggested below and move to higher/lower levels based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Levels Q-U ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 4.4-5.6 or ▪ Lexile Levels 700-875 \Advise parents to do the following: • As a family discuss movies made from award-winning children’s books - compare the ways in which mood is created and/or the setting is presented in the movie versus how it is done in the text. • Ask questions that will prompt your child to think more deeply about the III (Satisfactory 51-75% Teachers: • Model fluent reading with targeted phonic elements- vowel and consonant digraphs; diphthongs, blends, multi- letter phonograms, words with silent letters and multisyllabic words with increasing frequency. • Provide opportunity for independent reading. • Use flash card drills to review Fry's sight words and Fry's phrases. (Review students' miscues/errors to determine the best list with which to start.) • Facilitate Reader's Theatre and reading with multimedia interactive text. • Use 'scooping' with level appropriate text to build capacity for phrasing text correctly when reading. Start with the levels suggested below and move to higher/lower levels based on child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading levels Q-U ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 4.4-5.6 or ▪ Lexile Levels 700-875 Advise parents to do the following: • Set aside 30 minutes a day for reading to or with your child. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/leveled-reading-systems-explained/ https://fpblog.fountasandpinnell.com/what-is-interactive-read-aloud https://www.moe.gov.tt/infants-activity-packs/ 29 of 35 texts they are reading. e.g. How is this book different from the one you read last week? This is the fourth book, I’ve seen you read by Eoin Colfer, what do you like about his books? • Encourage your child to read at least two appropriate texts to find relevant information to answer questions they may have. • Create/grasp opportunities to have your child use his reading skills e.g. reading labels, signs along the street. • Have your child time himself/herself reading and work to improve the reading rate through repeated readings. (Be patient and encouraging. Praise their efforts.) 30 of 35 IV (Competent) 76-100% Teachers: Provide explicit instruction in: • means through which author's strategically use text structure and text features to convey the different ways in which persons view events or experiences. • crafting coherent and compelling responses. • methods for comparing and contrasting ideas presented in two-three texts. • summarising and synthesising ideas presented in texts of varying ranges of complexity. • methods that can be used to synthesise information to make more complex inferences. Advise parents to do the following: • As a family, critique movies- what would you have done to enhance characterisation, the setting, plot. • Ask questions that will prompt your child to think more deeply about how ideas/themes presented in text relate to his own experiences and real-world issues. • Encourage your child to do research to find the answers to questions he or she may have. IV (Competent) 76-100% Teachers: • Offer practise in reading words with unusual phonic elements. e.g. the 'ae' in formulae • Provide opportunity for independent engagement with appropriately challenging text. • Facilitate opportunity for independent reading of appropriately challenging text. Provide books at the levels suggested below and offer higher/lower-level texts based on the child's needs: ▪ Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading levels R-W, ▪ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels 5.2-6.4 or ▪ Lexile Levels 750-950 Advise parents to do the following: • Provide access to a range of developmentally appropriate texts - stories and informational texts. (A librarian can help you with this). • Set aside at least 30 minutes a day for reading to or with your child. • Set aside time monthly for a family activity that will involve application of reading skills. For example, ▪ playing board games, ▪ cupcake wars with recipes, 31 of 35 ▪ scavenger hunts with prepared lists and/or selected books ▪ road trips with printed maps 32 of 35 Appendix 1 Phonemic Awareness Skills and Phonic Elements Skill in ELA Subject Curriculum Guide Phonemes (letter sounds) Phoneme/Grapheme relationship (letter sounds/letter names match) 13.2.1 Say letters and pronounce their corresponding sounds independently. 13.2.5 Link sound and letter patterns, exploring rhyme, alliteration and other sound patterns. p. 71 Phoneme Manipulation: Phoneme Blending and Segmentation 9.2.8 Segment and blend sounds orally to pronounce words. p.35 13.2.3 Manipulate (identify, segment and blend) phonemes in words in the order in which they occur. p.71 Phoneme Manipulation: Phoneme Isolation Beginning, middle and end sounds 9.2.5 Discriminate between words which differ in their: initial sounds, medial sounds, and final sounds. p. 35 9.2.8a Orally substitute, isolate and delete phonemes in words. p. 36 33 of 35 Phoneme Manipulation: Phoneme addition, deletion and substitution 9.2.8a Orally substitute, isolate and delete phonemes in words. p. 36 13.2.2 Substitute, isolate and delete phonemes. p. 71 13.2.6 Orally add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one and two-syllable words to make new words. p. 71 CVC words 10.2.8 Read and spell CVC pattern words. p. 42 14.2.4 Blend words with short (cvc) sounds and long (cvcv) sounds. p.74 Initial blends and clusters 14.2.5 Create words using consonant blends at the beginning and end of words p. 74 5.2.6 Apply knowledge of phonological awareness and phonics to decode words e.g., long vowel patterns in multi-syllabic words; consonant clusters ('sprain', 'throat', 'screen', 'squawk'). p. 139 5.2.5 Apply knowledge of phonological awareness and phonics to decode words e.g., long vowel patterns in multi-syllabic words, consonant clusters ('straight', 'throat', 'screech', 'squawk'). p. 172 34 of 35 End Blends (coda blends) 14.2.5 Create words using consonant blends at the beginning and end of words. p. 74 Onset and rimes 9.2.6 Use onset, rime and phonemes to spell words. p.35 13.2.4 Blend and segment onsets and rimes of one and two-syllable words. p. 71 Silent letters/Silent consonant digraphs 5.2.8 Associate diphthongs with their respective sounds including “u, au and aw;” phonograms -ough, -tion/-sion, in the final position with their respective sounds /off/ and /shun/and silent consonant digraphs in the initial position (e.g., 'gn-, wh-, wr- and kn-') pp.139-140 Vowel and consonant digraphs 6.2.4 Associate sounds with consonant blends and clusters, consonant diagraphs and vowel digraphs and blend them to read words. 6.2.5 Discriminate between sounds with consonant blends and clusters, consonant diagraphs and vowel digraphs when reading words. pp.104-105 5.2.7 Associate sounds with silent consonant digraphs in the initial position (e.g., 'gn-, wh-, wr- and kn-'). p. 172 Long vowel patterns 10.2.5 Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels pp. 41-42 5.2.6 Apply knowledge of phonological awareness and phonics to decode words e.g., long vowel patterns in multi-syllabic words; consonant clusters ('sprain', 'throat', 'screen', 'squawk'). 35 of 35 p. 139 5.2.5 Apply knowledge of phonological awareness and phonics to decode words e.g., long vowel patterns in multi-syllabic words, consonant clusters ('straight', 'throat', 'screech', 'squawk'). p. 172 Diphthongs 5.2.8 Associate diphthongs with their respective sounds including “u, au and aw;” phonograms -ough, -tion/-sion, in the final position with their respective sounds /off/ and /shun/and silent consonant digraphs in the initial position (e.g., 'gn-, wh-, wr- and kn-') pp.139-140 (Decoding) multisyllabic words 9.2.7 Recognize rhyme, syllables and phonemes in spoken words. p.35 5.2.5 Apply rules of syllabication to decode multi-syllabic words 5.2.7 Display proficiency in using relevant decoding and word- analysis skills to decode multi-syllabic words when reading. p. 139 5.2.6 Associate diphthongs with their respective sounds including /u/, /au/ and /aw/. 5.2.7 Associate sounds with silent consonant digraphs in the initial position (e.g., 'gn-, wh-, wr- and kn-'). p. 172 Multi-letter phonogram 5.2.8 Associate diphthongs with their respective sounds including “u, au and aw;” phonograms -ough, -tion/-sion, in the final position with their respective sounds /off/ and /shun/and silent consonant digraphs in the initial position (e.g., 'gn-, wh-, wr- and kn-') pp.139-140