Literacy+Strategies

//Effective Literacy Strategies in Years 9 to 13 i//s a Ministry of Education professional learning program that was available to schools but has recently been withdrawn. Nevertheless, the materials maintain their utility and are available from the Literacy Coordinator EMAIL The following is a summary of the Effective Literacy Strategies described in the //A Guide for Teachers.// For more information about each of the strategies you could: borrow and read //A Guide for Teachers,// or //Google// the strategy term for on-line definitions and lesson ideas.

= [|Gradual Release of Responsibility] = "The Gradual Release of Responsibility is a research-based instructional model developed by Pearson and Gallagher (1993). In this optimal learning model, the responsibility for task completion shifts gradually over time from the teacher to the student." (Anonymous. (n.d.). //Gradual Release of Responsibility.// Retrieved December 4, 2011, from Literacy Leader: http://www.literacyleader.com/?q=node/477) As with teaching a child to ride a bike, teaching a student to become an independent learner requires a similar step-wise framework: teacher modelling -> guided practice -> collaborative practice -> independent practice -> independent application of the strategy in authentic reading situations (Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). //Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement.//Portland, ME: Stenhouse.)

Reading Comprehension Strategies Instruction I used this PowerPoint when presenting at the New Zealand Association of Teachers of English conference in July this year (2012). It has an overview of reading disabilities and tips for teaching reading comprehension strategies.



Reading Comprehension Strategies you should be using, modelling and teaching:
 * Skimming (Like a stone across water, the eyes skim the very surface to develop a first impression)[[image:Stone_skimming_-Patagonia-9Mar2010.jpg width="160" height="101"]]
 * Scanning (Like a scanner at the supermarket searching for a bar-code, the eyes search for specific features or words for a particular purpose [[image:literacyatfreyberg/OmniBarcodeScan.jpg width="320" height="33"]]
 * Predicting (Guessing what might follow, based on the information already gathered)
 * Visualising (Creating images - pictures, words, diagrams - or using other senses, to solidify understanding)
 * Questioning (Developing curiosity while reading)
 * Clarifying Vocabulary (Predicting meaning from the morphemes and context, and using resources like dictionaries to check meanings).
 * Making Connections (Making connections between Text and another Text, Text and Self, and Text and the wider World. Is can be useful to use graphic organisers like grids and venn-diagrams).
 * Determining Important Ideas (Identifying and evaluating which ideas are important)
 * Drawing Inferences (Understanding implicit information: what is implied but not stated?)
 * Synthesising (Combining ideas into a coherent whole).
 * Monitoring & Repairing Comprehension (Being conscious of what makes sense and stopping to review what has been read if something doesn't make sense).