Literacy in our Middle and Senior School
Years 4, 5 & 6
Reading – Reading in the middle and senior school (years 4-6) primarily takes place under a guided reading model. Teachers also use literature circles and independent reading methods as part of a balanced classroom reading programme.
In years 4-6, students learn skills and strategies to understand books and other text types at a deeper level. This includes the following: Making Connections, Prediction & re-predicting, Visualising, Inferring, Self-questioning, Seeking clarification, Summarising, Identifying main ideas, Analysing & Synthesizing and finally Evaluating.
What is Comprehension? – Comprehension is the reason for and prime motivator for engaging in reading. It is thinking about and responding to what you are reading (reading to learn). Duke and Pearson (2002) summarised what good readers do:
Good readers:
- are active and have clear goals in mind
- preview text before reading, make predictions and read selectively to meet their goals
- construct, revise and question the meanings they are making as they read
- try to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words and concepts
- draw from, compare and integrate their prior knowledge with what they are reading
- monitor their understanding and make adjustments as needed
- think about the authors of the text and evaluate the quality and value of the text
- read different types of texts differently, both fiction and non-fiction
Read aloud to your children and encourage them to read aloud to you too – it is an important factor in developing oral reading fluency and motivation to read. It is also an effective way to discuss incidental vocabulary meaning.
Assessment for Reading in the Middle/Senior School
Learning Pathways – In the Middle/Senior School, we are developing ‘Learning Pathways’ to support and inform teachers’ planning, and empower children to recognise and identify the specific skills and knowledge that they need to develop in order to make progress. Teachers use student pathways to both plan lessons and assess an individual’s strengths and next steps. In class, the children are able to recognise what they are working on and are encouraged to set their own goals to achieve in reading. As parents, you will also be able to see what your child is learning in reading. This will also enable you to understand how you can support your child at home.
Teachers use a wide range of evidence when forming judgments about a student, as different assessment methods look at different aspects of student work. Data from Probe testing, AsTTle testing, Learning Pathways and classroom observations will all be considered by a teacher in determining exactly where a child is currently working and what their strengths and next steps are. Teachers will also use student work examples as evidence to support their judgments.
At certain points of the year, teachers also carry out summative testing using standardised tools such as Probes and E-AsTTle reading assessments.
Probes (Individual student interview) – PROBE2 Reading Comprehension Assessment is an assessment resource teachers use to:
- determine a student’s reading level, often referred to as “reading age”
- understand how students engage with texts
- observe a student’s reading behaviour
- see if a student can reorganise scattered information throughout a piece of text
- see if a student can pick up complex and simple inferences, where a message is not stated explicitly
- see if a student can work out unknown vocabulary in context
- see if a student can form an opinion directly related to what they have read
Once this information is gathered, teachers can determine specific teaching strategies required to move their students forward.
E-AsTTle Reading – This online assessment tool is used twice a year, in the first and third terms. The test consists of pieces of text followed by targeted questions.
E-AsTTle is used as part of the evidence informing the overall teacher judgement of student performance. Data provides teachers with high-quality information about the achievement of students. Student performance can be compared against a nationally represented standard. It allows teachers to identify curriculum outcomes that students have or have not achieved and in which they have strengths or gaps.
Once administered and completed, the E-AsTTle tool provides teachers with an individualised report for each student. These reports are designed to answer the question, “What are the strengths and weaknesses of students’ performance in reading?” This information allows the teacher to identify and target the areas that need further support, extension, direct instruction and/or continued practise. These reports are shared with students to enable them to actively engage with their learning goals and to be able to identify their own strengths and needs.
Writing – At Maungawhau, we aim to equip children with a variety of writing skills which will help them to communicate and succeed in this ever-changing world. Opportunities are provided for children to learn through traditional text types and digital. These include forums, blogs and online newspapers.
Writing assessment in the Middle/Senior School
Learning pathways – In the Middle/Senior School, we are developing ‘Learning Pathways’ to support and inform teachers planning and empower children to recognise and identify the specific skills and knowledge they need to develop in order to make progress. Teachers use student pathways to both plan lessons and assess an individual’s strengths and next steps. In class, the children are able to recognise what they are working on and are encouraged to set their own goals to achieve in writing. As parents, you will also be able to see what skills your child is learning in writing. This will also enable you to understand how you can support your child at home.
Teachers use a wide range of evidence when forming judgments about a student, as different assessment methods look at different aspects of student work. Data from Learning Pathways and classroom observations will all be considered by a teacher in determining exactly where a child is currently working and what their strengths and next steps are. Teachers will also use student writing examples as evidence to support their judgments.
Here are some useful and fun websites to engage children in reading/writing:
Scholastic Story Starters – engaging writing prompts across a range of genres
Pobble 365 – picture/image prompts for writing
Literacy Shed – video prompts for writing
BBC – interactive content/lessons/videos/quizzes on different writing skills