The document discusses comprehension and provides a multidimensional model of reading that identifies the many factors that influence comprehension. It includes sociocultural influences, reading processes, reading strategies, and how readers adjust their understanding. The document also provides examples of how comprehension can be explicitly taught using shared texts and literacy tasks including scanning, making connections, and designing comprehension practice activities. It concludes by modeling how to plan a literacy term overview to program the teaching of key skills and strategies.

1. Current Issues in Literacy
Comprehension
Catholic Schools Office
August 4

2. Why are you here today?
• What questions or concerns do you have
regarding comprehension?
• What is the problem you are trying to
solve?

3. Comprehension – Working towards a
definition

4. Read and reflect

5. Revisit your definition of comprehension.
If you made any adjustments, explain why?

6. The Multidimensional Model of Reading
purpose Context of the Reading Event Sociocultural
Influence
Activate background knowledge Reading Processes review and clarify new
vocab
Preview texts set a purpose monitor understandings
connecting comparing Reading Strategies synthesising
visualising using analogy
skimming Three-cueing System chunking
inferring
Semantic Syntactic sounding out
predicting
consulting a
scanning Graphophonic reference
re-reading
paraphrasing/summarising reading-on
self-questioning determining importance adjusting reading rate
Adjust misunderstandings identify, extract and recall information reflect on information
author / reader relationship situation subject matter

7. Think about
comprehension
in your school
Why is it taught? When is it taught? How is it taught?

8. • A model for learning
– Gradual Release of Responsibility model
– Gallagher and Pearson 1983

9. Literacy Block Guide Lines
Asse Shared Reading Talkin
ssme g and
nt Explicit Teaching Listen
and Task Board ing
Feed
back Small group Independent Tasks
Instructional Reading
Learning Circle:
(Time for further explicit teaching)
Modelled Writing
Small group Instructional Independent Writing
Writing
Learning Circle:
(Time for further explicit teaching)

10. Video
During the video – note the comprehension
strategies being used by the teacher.
http://www.nlnw.nsw.edu.au/events10.htm

11. Some practical examples of shared text and
explicit teaching of comprehension

13. Under the ice
Diagram showing a cross section through
Antarctica

14. Two hundred million years ago Antarctica formed the centre of an ancient
mid-latitude supercontinent called Gondwana, which included South America,
Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand. Gondwana started to break up 180
million years ago and the separate continents drifted apart on different
tectonic plates over the next 150 million years. Antarctic rocks and fossils
have provided important clues in piecing together this supercontinent, and
they provide records of earlier climates which were warmer and supported rich
vegetation.
Fossil evidence indicates that the Antarctic continent was a much warmer
place before the cooling Circumpolar Current isolated the continent from its
neighbouring land masses. The sea level was much higher, the polar ice cap
much smaller, and parts of the continent contained vegetation similar to
today's endemic Tasmanian flora. Fossils of whales, molluscs and other
invertebrate animals from this period have been found in Antarctica's Vestfold
Hills, and older plant fossils have been found at Transantarctic Mountain sites
close to the South Pole.

15. Learning goal:
• Text to world connections
• Scanning
(Involves glancing through material to locate specific details such
as names, dates, places or some particular content.)
1. Scan the text to locate names of places
2. Scan the text to locate words that you think are specific to geography
3. Scan the text to list words that you need to clarify
4. Scan the text to find the following words: circa, trans, polar

16. Scanning
Learning goals Literacy tasks
1. Scan the text to locate 1.Locate and label the places on
names of places a current map
2. Scan the text to locate 2.List and define the geography
words that you think are specific words
specific to geography
3. Scan the text to list words 3.List and define the words to be
that you need to clarify clarified. Publish on A4 paper
4. Scan the text to find the to develop a word wall.
following words: circa, 4. Use an on-line etymology
trans, polar dictionary to find the meaning
and background of the words.

17. Let’s put it into action
1. Read the given shared text on National
Parks.
2. Break into groups of 3 or 4. Each group will be
allocated a comprehension strategy
3. Read about the strategy, discuss and become
the experts
4. Present to the group (3 mins each group)
• Definition of the strategy
• Model how you will explicitly teach the strategy
using the shared text

18. Royal National Park
Situated on the southern outskirts of
Sydney, the Royal National Park
is the second oldest National Park
in the world. A railway station between
Loftus and Bundeena on the suburban
Illawarra line provides easy access
to the park. Alternatively, a ferry
operates from Cronulla near the railway
station to Bundeena. Lace up your
walking shoes and discover secluded
beaches and typical "Aussie Bush".

19. Design a task that will allow the student to
practise his/her learning.

20. Small group instructional reading
• Guided reading • Reciprocal reading

21. Book talk

22. Planning for teaching
Term overview
This term overview is intended for teachers to
use in order to plan an outline for the term. It is
expected that the syllabus be consulted in this
planning. Once the overview is completed the
key skills and strategies are then transferred to
the weekly programming proforma. It is
anticipated that this overview will need to be
adjusted throughout the term according to on-
going assessment and feedback.

23. Year………….. Literacy Term Overview Term…………..
Shared Text Grammar Punctuation Comprehension Spelling Writing Handwriting Talking Technology Assessment
Week and Plan
Listening
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
NB. While there is a whole class spelling focus, individual children and small groups will have a spelling focus as identified in their writing and/or linking
to their reading text.

24. Where to from here
• Keep
• Stop
• Start