Reading

Hill describes the process of reading as “constructing meaning from print and from other symbols” (2006, p. 139). Reading is not only the ability to be able recognise and say words but the ability to be able to understand and draw meaning which is created via previous knowledge and experience.
 * Reading Development**

There are several cues which learners are able to use to make sense of and decode text, these cues being meaning, structure, sound and print. An article by Sebastian Wren, Ph. D. for Southwest Educational Development Laboratory entitled “Reading and the three cuing systems” discusses three of the main cues the good readers rely upon to decode written text and according to Wren the most important of these cues is semantics. Wren goes on to say that ‘good readers make use of contextual information to “guess” or “predict” each word in a passage of running text’ (Wren, 2008). These predictions undoubtedly come from previous knowledge and experiences.

Syntactic cues refer to whether or not something sounds correct or not. The syntax pattern that Hill refers to is “Sam kicked the ball” which sounds correct compared to “Ball kick Sam the” which clearly would be incorrect (2006, p. 141).

The third of the cues is grapho-phonic cues which refer to the way the word and letters actually look and the phonemes or sounds associated with the word. Wren argues that this is the least important of the cues and that ‘according to the Three Cueing System model, the grapho-phonemic cue is only used to “confirm” predictions that are made based on semantics and syntax’ (2008, p. 1). It would appear that all three of the reading cues need to be used in conjunction with one another if children are to become effective readers.

The Stroop Effect shown below is an interesting phenomenon that shows even though we may try to ignore words, as good readers it is nearly impossible not to decode the words themselves and purely focus on the colours represented. Once learned, decoding becomes almost second nature and very fast.




 * Word Work: Phonics**

Phonics refers to a method of teaching reading, spelling and pronunciation of words by learning to associate letters, or groups of letters, with the sounds they represent. The alphabet, while it may only consist of 26 letters, with a variety of combinations of these letters it is able to make 44 phonemes (sounds). As the alphabet is the basic foundation of both our written and verbal language it is important to become familiar and fluent with the letters and the sounds that make up the alphabet. The ability to clearly recognise the letters of the alphabet makes it easier to learn and associate the sounds of letters and how they are represented in print. The link of knowing a letters name, for example b is helpful for retaining its sound of /b/ because the actual name of the letter and the sound that it makes is quite similar.

Even though the English language is not purely phonetic there is still a strong relationship between letters and the sounds that they make, making the use of phonics an important tool in learning to read and write. Unfortunately the use of “rules” in the English language can also prove to be problematic, for instance 'i before e, except after c' which clearly does not apply to the word //their.// There are also phonic generalisations such as 'An “e” on the end of a word makes the vowel in the middle a long sound' which is applicable to //make// but irrelevant to the word //have.// Unfortunately many of these rules may only confuse the issue further and would perhaps be better off avoided.

__**Stage One of the Content of Phonics – Letters of the alphabet**__

Stage one of the content of phonics relates to the ability of being able to recognise, say and write the letters of the alphabet in both lower and upper case. There are five vowels being a, e, i, o, u and the rest of the letters make up the consonants. Consonant sounds are made by an obstruction of air. Most of the consonant sounds are relatively easy to pronounce although sounds such as /r/ and /l/ may prove more difficult as these involve curving of the tongue. Some consonants can represent more than one sound for example the letter g. The letter g has a soft sound /j/ in the word //giraffe// but a hard sound in the word //gate//. While consonant sounds are made via an obstruction, vowel sounds are made in the mouth with no contact points.


 * CLASSROOM ACTIVITY - Letters of the Alphabet**


 * //**Play Dough Activity**//

This is an activity that was introduced to me by fellow students in the student lead section of our tutorials. I found it to be a very enjoyable activity which I believe most children would also enjoy due to the tactile and hands on approach to the task. Students are given a ball of play dough and asked to either pick a letter of the alphabet/ or could be given a particular letter by the teacher. They are then required to make the actual letter in upper and lower case and then are asked to create items that start with that particular letter for example = The letter P you could make a pig, purse, pumpkin etc.


 * Some Examples:**

__**Play Dough Recipe**__

2 cups of plain flour 4 table spoons of Cream of Tartar 2 table spoons of oil 1 cup of salt Food colouring 2 cups of water
 * Ingredients**

Dissolve salt in boiling water in saucepan and then add food colouring to the water once the salt is dissolved. Add all of the other dry ingredients to a bowl and then pour coloured water over the dry ingredients. Allow to cool and then mix with a spoon until the mixture combines. Need on bench with a little bit of flour. Store in fridge in a snap lock bag.
 * Method**


 * __Stage Three – Blends Phase 1 - 2 letter initial consonant blends__**

This activity is based on stage three of the content of phonics (2006, p. 212) using the initial two consonant blends.

bl br cl cr dr fl fr gl gr pl lr sc sk sl sm sn sp st tr tw

//**I Went Shopping Activity**//

Students are given a box of the two letter initial consonant blends and asked to pick a blend and then go around the group and say an item that they brought that begins with those two letters. For example if the letters st were chosen “I went shopping and I brought some **st**rawberries” or “I went shopping and I brought some **st**amps” etc etc. This game is continued until the group cannot think of any more items. This could be modified to be completed by individual students and have them write down a list depending on their abilities.


 * Reading Comprehension**

According to Hill, reading comprehension is the ability to be able to extract and construct meaning from a text. Young readers are able to create meaning from both text and illustrations, often calling on illustrations to help make sense of unknown words. It is all well and good to be able to read a word and be able to pronounce it, but unless the learner is able to construct meaning from the text there is little point and the text will not be fully understood. Following comprehension strategies are of great importance and by taking part in comprehension activities this will enable the reader to be able to predict what is going to happen, ask questions relating to the text, create a mental image of what is happening in the story, be able to summarise and be willing to seek clarification if uncertain about a particular meaning.



The main method of learning comprehension that I can remember from primary school is basically retelling, writing or drawing the plot. This was either done on the board as a group, where the teacher would ask questions of the class relating to a particular text and we would respond, or we would be given a worksheet to complete on our own. We were asked to summarise the story or information given to us by breaking it down into the beginning, main events and then the ending. Another more detailed approach to this was a story map. This involved recalling details of the story for example the title, the setting, the main characters, support characters, what problems the characters encountered, how these problems were overcome and how the story ended.

__**CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES FOR READING COMPREHENSION**__


 * Literal On The Line Activity**

First read through a story book telling the children from the beginning that they will be required to remember some of the words after the story has been read to them. On the second reading cover some of the words with paper. On the black/ white board provide three options for the missing words for the class or small group to choose from eg is is it a) the cat sat on the __mat__, b) the cat sat on the __hat__ or c) the cat sat on the __bat.__ The children are required to recall the exact information from the book or the literal information.
 * Retelling**

Using a relatively simple story line, read a story to a group of children telling them from the beginning that they will be required to recall the major characters and events in the story to retell the story in their own words or act out the story after the book has been read. The book may need to be read a few times for children to remember the basic story line. It is important that the information being presented to the children is interesting and appropriate to their level. It is also important that the child understands the meanings of words even though they may be able to read the word orally if they don't understand the word they will have trouble recalling it. Explain rare or unfamiliar words before expecting the children to retell or recall the story.


 * Retelling Activity**

The activity presented in class was a Big Book based on a story about a frog who goes on a journey to discover what is over the hill. Along the way he meets a mouse, a lizard etc. The story was read and then we had to recall the main characters and and retell the story in a role play using the main characters and story line. We were then able to present this anyway we wanted to the whole class. This was done in small groups of about 6 students. It was quite interesting to see the different groups interpretations of the same story not to mention being extremely entertaining watching fellow class mates hoping around the classroom like frogs. This exercise could also be extended to ask what could happen next – beyond the text or make up a different ending.


 * QAPX Activity**

This is a cooperative question and answer activity suitable for any book or chapter and used with groups of four – page 202. For the example provided in the tutorial the group we were given four laminated pages each with the QAPX prompts

Q = Person one asks a question about the reading A = Person two provides an answer P = Person three paraphrases the answer by framing it in a new way X = Person four provides extra information not given in the answers

An example from the activity in the tutorial for example:

Q = Who did the frog met along the way? A = The frog met a mouse and a lizard. P = The frog met a fury brown mouse and a slippery lizard with a long tongue. X = The mouse's name was Kate and the lizard's name was Fred.

The group then rotates with person two then asking a question and so on.

**Assessing Reading**
**Running Records**

Running records are a method used to record children's reading progress. They provide an indication of the strategies that the child is employing to help work out unknown or unfamiliar words. Classroom teachers can use running records for instructional purposes to guide them in their decisions about any of the following: > Below is an example from YouTube of a teacher conducting running records on a student.
 * the evaluation of text difficulty
 * the grouping of children
 * the acceleration of a child
 * monitoring progress of children
 * allowing different children to move through different books at different speeds while keeping track of (and records of) individual progress
 * observing particular difficulties in particular children

media type="youtube" key="tL1e_woKHRo&hl=en" height="355" width="425"

This is an example of my attempts to conduct a Running Record on Laura and Oliver's stories which they created (stories can be viewed on the Multiliteracies page of my wiki)

**The War** **By Oliver, 7** __Cover Page__

My name is Oliver and this is my √ √ √ √ √ √ √ ∙√ story called “The War” √ √ √ √

__Page 1__

Two brave knights fight two dragons. √ √ √ √ √ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ Their names are Jake and Ella. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ They have two very good horses. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">horse horses SC Jake's horse is called Crazy and Ella's <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ Emma Ella's SC horse Insertion Ella's is R2 Ella's R is called Love Heart. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√

__Page 2__

The dragons are dead because the knights <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ chopped them in half with their sword. killed chopped SC <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ Ella killed the red and orange dragon. Emma Ella SC <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ Jake killed the green dragon by stabbing <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ green R d-d-r-a-dragon <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">s-stabbing it in the heart. He was happy. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√

__Page 3__

They lived happily every after and they did <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ not see one single dragon again. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">again R They were rich and they lived in a big castle. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ √ √ The End. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√

**The Story of Jesus Being Robbed** **By Laura, 8** __Cover Page__

My name is Laura and this is my story <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ √ called “The Story of Jesus Being Robbed”. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √

__Page 1__

Baby Jesus was born and his mother and <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ father were excited. Baby Jesus was <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ born in a stable in a forest. When he was <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ √ √ born it was one o'clock in the morning. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">two one SC <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √

__Page 2__

When Jesus was two months old a robber <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ got him and took him away when he was <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ √ asleep. Then when Mary and Joseph woke <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ up they were wondering where he was. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ They sat on two chairs and cried because <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ they were worried about him. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√

__Page 3__

Then they called the police and the police <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ went looking for the robber and they found <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ him. They found him in a shop stealing stuff. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ √ He was disguised as an astronaut. Then the <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ a Error <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ police rang Mary and Joseph. Then the <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ police came to their stable and brought <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ Jesus back. The robber was sent to jail <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ with cuffs on his hands. They lived happily <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ √ √ ever after. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ The End <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif">√