Read the book aloud and allow students time to see each illustration.
Once you are done, go back to the first illustration and ask students to share what they notice about the picture.

• What do you notice about Mr Grump’s face? (page 3)
• Why is the postwoman’s mouth wide open?

Prompt students to think about what the characters might be saying or thinking.
As the students share their ideas, record it inside a speech bubble. These bubbles can be written on post-it notes and attached to the illustration. Reread the page.
Invite students to share what they believe a character might be saying. You can have them dictate to you or they can make their own speech bubbles on post-it notes.

3. Story Sequence (Summarising)

When: during and after reading
Group size: individual, small group, whole class

Read-aloud texts work well for introducing story sequencing at all year levels. Choose stories that have straightforward narrative arcs and have a clear sequence of events. Sequencing can also help students make sense of more complex narrative texts. Summarising promotes self-monitoring and rereading.

There are a variety of different tools that can be used to support story sequencing:

• Story maps
• Story sticks
• Chain of events
• Beginning, middle and end templates
• Use of transition and signal words
• Storytelling rope

Link story sequencing to writing

Students can use sequencing words (first, next, then, meanwhile, suddenly, finally) to help them write summaries of texts they have read or heard. They can also use sequencing as a
pre-writing technique for planning their own writing.

4. Paragraph Shrinking

When: during reading

Group size: small group, whole class

Paragraph shrinking allows each student to take turns reading, pausing, and summarising the main points of a paragraph as they read. Students provide each other with feedback so comprehension is monitored as they read.

1. Introduce the text to the students
2. Divide the class into pairs (identify which students require help on specific skills and who would form the best partnerships).
3. Assign each pair a role – they will take turns being the “Reader” and “Supporter”.
4. Ask each student to read aloud for 5 minutes without rereading a
5. After each paragraph, students stop to summarise the main points of the reading orally with their partner.
6. They can summarise:
   • The who or what of the paragraph
   • The most important thing about who or what
   • The main idea of the paragraph
   • Questions provided by the teacher (specific to the paragraph)
7. If a “Reader” gives a wrong answer, or is confused, the “Supporter” asks the “Reader” to skim the paragraph again and answer the question a second time giving support and encouragement as needed.
8. Roles can then be reversed for the next

Link paragraph shrinking to writing:

Ask students to state the main idea in 10 words or less which will encourage them to monitor comprehension while taking turns reading. They can then write the main ideas as a gist statement.

5. Think Alouds during Read Alouds

When: during reading
Group size: small group, whole class

According to Dr Molly Ness, read-alouds are a research backed method for developing students’ vocabulary and reading comprehension.
During read-alouds teachers verbalise aloud while reading to their students. During a think aloud you read a text aloud while sharing your thoughts, predictions, questions, connections and reflections. You are essentially modelling the internal thought processes which ‘good readers’ use when reading. This modelling helps students understand how to actively engage with the text, make inferences and monitor their own comprehension.

Model the strategy while reading aloud to your students. For younger students this may be during shared reading of a big book or a picture book. For older students this strategy fits extremely well into the reading of a class novel.
Model your thinking as you read. Explicitly articulate your thinking process, making it clear how good readers engage with the text.

Use phrases like:

• “I’m thinking ”
• “I wonder ”
• “This makes me think of ”
• “I am confused by ”
• “What does that word mean?”

Do this at different points in the text that may be confusing for students (new vocabulary, unusual sentence construction).

6. Vocabulary/Morphology

When: before, during and after reading
Group size: individual, small group, whole class

Read aloud to your students every day. Fiction and non-fiction books provide rich vocabulary that we don’t encounter in our everyday conversations. The language of books is rich and complex. A great book provides the context and illustrations for great vocabulary learning.

• Provide a simple, kid-friendly definition for a new word. Explore the multiple meanings words may have.
• Offer a simple, kid-friendly example that makes sense within their daily life.
• Encourage your students to share their own examples and non-examples.
• Examine the morphological structure of the word and their meanings (prefixes, suffixes, roots).
• Keep your new words active within your classroom over the next few days and weeks.
• Take opportunities to drop the new vocabulary into conversation.

Underline challenging/new vocabulary from a piece of text. Ask older students to use context to figure out the meaning of the underlined word and then replace it with an appropriate synonym.

Link vocabulary to writing

Provide opportunities for students to use the new words in their writing. This could be at the word, sentence or text level.

Johnna Alborn

Deputy Principal/Literacy Facilitator

References:
Shanahan on Literacy blog; Seatwork that makes sense for reading, 31 August 2024
Reading Rockets website; Reading 101, Guide for Parents