Middle Primary

Cheryl Lacey
ACTI VE READERS
Tools and Strategies for Comprehension
ACTI VE READERS
Tools and strategies for comprehension
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contents
MAKING SENSE OF COMPREHENSION 2
TEXT ORGANISER 7
PREDICTION/PRIOR KNOWLEDGE 8
Get t sale! 8
Famous Indigenous Australians 11
Have you ever wondered? 14
THINK ALOUD 17
Letters to the editor 17
Twelve things to know about crocodiles 20
Other peoples lives 23
TEXT STRUCTURE 26
Australia: the island continent 26
Your body, your health! 29
The eye experiment 32
VISUALISING 35
Steve Irwin: modern-day Noah 35
Cyclones 38
The triple-decker 41
QUESTIONING 44
Pyramids then and now 44
Web talk 47
I spy the importance of eyes 51
SUMMARISING 54
And so, it is Christmas 54
Diary of a young traveller 57
A voice at work 62
TEXT EXPLORATION PLANNER 66
SESSION PLANNER 67
MY READING STRATEGIES 68
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Activating
comprehension
While graphic organisers are
a valuable way for you to
monitor and record students
comprehension, writing should
not be considered the only
required follow-up to reading.
Ongoing dialogue and further
reading, where comprehension
strategies can be further
rehearsed, build success in active
readers.
Flexible
organisation
The texts and organisers are
designed for exibility.
Shared reading
copy onto transparencies and use
for whole-class or small-group
shared reading.
Guided reading
make multiple copies for small-
group instruction.
Independent reading
make copies for individuals
to access during independent
reading.
4 Active Readers (middle primary)
Visualising
There are two aspects of visualising: visualising technique
and visual representation.
Active readers use all of their senses when reading. They are
able to create mental pictures of what is being described.
Using this visualising technique while reading gives the
reader the potential to connect to and interpret the authors
language.
Visual representation means the readers ability to record
what and how they are comprehending by using a visual
organiser. In taking notes, organising their ideas, making
a record of their thinking, having conversations about
the reading, and communicating their understandings
of the information gleaned, students use and rene their
comprehension strategies.
Questioning
Active readers ask questions about structure, language,
content, the authors intentions and their own
understanding of the text. By asking themselves a range of
questions, they are able to go beyond the literal meaning of
a text. They can read between the lines and examine texts
more closely. They make decisions about what they think the
authors message is, and can come away with a different
view of the world from when they began reading. Questions
help the reader focus, clarify, dig deeper and reect on what
they have read. Questions, also referred to as wonderings,
enable readers to construct meaning and monitor their own
level of comprehension.
Summarising
Active readers process text and put the important and
relevant pieces together. They have the ability to access
different types of information according to the purpose of
the reading. When readers summarise, they can sequence
events or adjust their thinking so that the main points are
drawn out and the padding is left behind.
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5 Active Readers (middle primary)
The Active Readers approach
Active Readers is arranged into six sections one for each
comprehension strategy. Each text exploration consists of
a planning guide ( Plan page ), a text ( Explore page ) and
a graphic organiser ( Apply page ). Re-combining different
texts and graphic organisers offers you the greatest exibility
and ownership in your learning and teaching environment.
Planning guide
Snapshot
The Snapshot is an overview of one possible session using
the text exploration. It includes considerations for navigating
the text structure and features, possible discussion points
and a suggested graphic organiser.
The discussion points are broad and diverse. There is no way
of knowing exactly what students will think aloud, but
preparing some ideas about where you would like to take
your discussion is benecial.
More learning and teaching possibilities
This is a list by no means complete of other ways you
can explore the text. Suggestions for breaking down the
text into specic investigations are provided, for example
exploring an image to gather information before following
up with a reading of the text.
Building connections
Without prior knowledge, comprehension can be limited.
This shares some ways to build students experiences,
vocabulary and prior knowledge before undertaking the
text exploration.
Text
The texts vary in content and style, but all include a number
of different features for example, a picture, a caption and
a text box. The explorations have been created so that some
of the topics and text features can be interconnected.
Example 1
Your students may need practice in summarising. You
might engage students in shared reading by using The eye
experiment, then follow up with a guided reading of
I spy the importance of eyes after which students
practise applying the strategy of summarising.
(graphic organiser)
(text)
(planning guide)
PLAN
explore
apply
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Planning tools
The proformas on pages 6668
have been designed to support
planning and assessment around
these explorations.
6 Active Readers (middle primary)
Example 2
Your students might need practice in questioning. You
might use the text of Australia: the island continent as
a shared reading. For the next shared reading session, you
might follow up with the personal diary from Pyramids
then and now.
Use your judgement and enjoy the exibility that each
exploration offers.
Graphic organiser
The graphic organisers are designed to supplement
the reading focus you have selected. After reading and
discussion, students record their application of the
comprehension strategies being practised on the organiser.
While all of the text explorations are accompanied by an
organiser, you can choose to mix and match the texts and
organisers, depending on the focus you have planned for
your students.
Connecting explorations
What teachers know about their students will inform
their choices about what to explore and how to activate
successful reading experiences for every student. Regardless
of text type or complexity, the Active Readers series
assists teachers to demonstrate and apply comprehension
strategies responsively and in different combinations.
There are interconnected topics across the three levels in
Active Readers (lower primary, middle primary and upper
primary) so that students progressing through the stages
of reading competence can remain engaged in the reading
experience. For example, there are diary explorations in all
three books, each of different content and complexity. In
this way, teachers can ensure students are able to focus
on similar text types and strategies rather than getting
caught up with simply decoding. As we know, active
readers make meaning, while passive readers remain
distracted from thought.
The Text organiser on page 7 presents an overview of
the 18 texts and graphic organisers in this book. A black
tick indicates the organiser that accompanies each text,
and a grey tick suggests other appropriate possibilities for
matching texts with organisers.
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ActiveReadersMP_txt.indd 7 5/6/08 3:55:19 PM

8 Active Readers (middle primary)
plan
Get fit sale!
Snapshot
Navigating the text
Header, punctuation, persuasive
language, images
Discussion
When we try to persuade someone
to do something what words can
we use?
What is the main purpose
of this advertisement?
Does it work? How?
There are no full sentences. Why is
the language different to everyday
language?
Do the pictures help sell the product?
Why is it called a Get t sale?
Apply
Before reading students record their
prior knowledge of the topic and
persuasive text. After investigating the
persuasive advertisement add what
they have learnt to the Connect and
grow organiser.
Building connections
Collect and explore catalogues
and newspaper advertising.
Read classieds advertisements
to nd persuasive words or phrases.
Read out loud persuasive statements
and phrases.
More learning and
teaching possibilities
List the key phrases that persuade the reader.
Discuss and research the difference between
persuade and tell.
Convert short statements into full sentences.
Convert the newspaper advertisement into
a radio advertisement with voiceover.
Explore and compare other persuasive texts.
Change the texts to persuade about the quality
of the item instead of the price.
PREDICTION/PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
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9 2008 Cheryl Lacey, Active Readers ( middle primary ), Curriculum Corporation
explore
MASSIVE.
YOU SHOULD SEE THIS!
Ends Monday. Make us an offer!
Must clear mountain bikes, helmets,
rollerblades and more.
BUY TWO, SAVE MORE!
Great deals on multiple buys!
Early bird gets the best deal.
Theres only one Sports Stop 114 Bridge Road, Moonee Gardens.
Open Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon 9 am to 6 pm.
GET FIT SALE!
All Star
tennis racquets
$170.
With a set of
3 tennis balls
$180.
Liner shing
rods $72.
Buy two, $130.
Beach
towels
from $35. 75% off
sleeping bags
and hiking
boots.
Peak caps
now only
$25.
Track pants
in latest designs
and colours.
Dont pay $59,
pay only $49.
Buy two and pay
only $80.
ActiveReadersMP_txt.indd 9 5/6/08 3:55:23 PM
16 2008 Cheryl Lacey, Active Readers ( middle primary ), Curriculum Corporation
apply
Looking at the title and layout of the text, I think it will be about
What I already know about
is
When I read
it reminds me of
Looking at the title and layout of the text, I think it will be about
What I already know about
is
When I read
it reminds me of
Looking at the title and layout of the text, I think it will be about
What I already know about
is
When I read
it reminds me of
reading and thinking of me
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