The Importance of Sentence Level Fluency And Comprehension In Literacy
Developing Class Texts
In 2023, I focused on the development of class texts to improve sentence-level fluency and comprehension. This initiative was documented in my post on this blog, "The Unintentional Impact of My Class Decodable Texts." The primary goal of this work was to strengthen the connection between reading and writing.
The Role of Ned and Bob
Ned and Bob, the original characters in my class stories, played a pivotal role in this journey. Initially, I ensured that the class texts were at least 80% decodable, aligning with the phonetic code we were teaching. Over time, as students gained confidence and understanding of the code, this reduced to around 60%. Of course, for many of the class, these texts were 100% decodable. How decodable a piece of text is, is of course based on an individuals acquisition of the code itself. The purpose of these stories was not merely to practice decoding but to enhance comprehension and fluency at the sentence level and I came to realise that the better I taught explicitly in the beginning, the more children started to learn implicitly.
Story Development and Student Engagement
As students' reading abilities improved, our class stories evolved. New characters and adventures were introduced, often generated by the students themselves. This interactive process was engaging and I started to see a high degree of ownership and connection from the children, to the characters in the stories themselves.
Structure of the Class Stories
Each story was crafted in three parts. This structure allowed for repeated reading, which was essential for developing fluency in challenging texts. By focusing on one part of the story at a time, we could analyse it sentence by sentence, constructing meaning across the entire text. To reinforce understanding, students were encouraged to draw pictures related to each story segment. To begin with, the stories only really consist of three sentences, as the year progresses, these are padded out more, with more detail.
Implementation and Impact
For those unfamiliar with our class stories, they consist of paragraphs or sentences accompanied by space for illustrations. Each paragraph or sentence is unpacked through group reading, buddy reading, and independent reading. Students then draw a picture representing the sentence or paragraph. The following day, a new paragraph is added, allowing students to revisit and deepen their understanding of the text. This repetitive yet progressive approach ensures that students encounter each paragraph or sentence multiple times, enhancing both fluency and comprehension.
 |
| A text from the beginning of the year, one sentence has been added each read. |
 |
| A sample of a text from the end of the year, with a third paragraph to come in the next reading. |
 |
| Children interact with the text, highlighting key pieces of information. This group have a more complex text right now as they are no longer on decodable texts. |
 |
| You can see how these two stories are linked, the starting paragraph from the story below, is the last paragraph from the story above. These are both from the end of the year in my Year 1 - 2 class. |
In writing we could then link what we are working on with colourful semantics, to use this framework to comprehend the sentence/s. Analysing this first through reading and then recreating through writing.
Who is in the sentence? What are they doing? Where are they? etc
Enhanced Reading Capabilities by the End of 2023
By the conclusion of 2023, I observed a significant improvement in my students' reading capabilities. This progress was not just a result of their engagement with high-level language at the sentence level, but also through various mediums such as class stories, chapter books, shared texts, non-fiction texts, podcasts, and short documentaries. As a result, their comprehension skills improved substantially. This enhanced understanding of texts naturally extended to their writing abilities, as students began incorporating what they encountered in their reading into their own sentence construction. Not only that, because they were encountering many words that would not have been included in controlled texts, they had a sight bank of words that they previously would not have had and their vocabulary bank was much richer.
The Role of Explicit Teaching in Reading
A pivotal factor contributing to this improvement was the explicit teaching of the key elements of the reading code. Once these fundamentals were clearly taught and consolidated, a remarkable amount of self-teaching began to take place. It was gratifying to see many students independently choosing to read chapter books during our reading sessions, indicating a newfound confidence and enthusiasm for reading.
The Writing-Reading Connection in 2024
As we moved into 2024, the connection between writing and reading became even more pronounced. I began experimenting with Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), which further highlighted how writing could complement reading. In fact, it became evident that writing activities were enhancing their reading skills even more significantly than reading alone had improved their writing.
These observations underscore the interdependent relationship between reading and writing. By fostering an environment where both skills are developed in tandem, students can achieve a more complete understanding and early mastery of language.
 |
| Writing is connected to the story that we had been reading, with children predicting what may come next. |
The Complimentary Nature of Reading and Writing
The complementary nature of reading and writing has become increasingly evident as we engage in writing GIST sentences about various types of content, such as texts, images, videos, and podcasts. Children learn to craft these concise summaries, which enhances their ability to analyse a piece of writing for the same elements they aim to incorporate into their own work.
The Role of Colourful Semantics
In junior school, colourful semantics is a valuable tool not only for developing oral language and sentence formation but also for comprehending texts. This approach provides a foundation for our youngest learners to grasp the structure and meaning of sentences, aiding their overall growth an literacy.
Advancing to Longer Texts
As we progressed into 2024, we began to tackle longer texts that are integral to our knowledge development. Students applied their abilities to comprehend at the sentence level, showcasing their growing comprehension skills. Because our background knowledge development was closely aligned with what we were reading, comprehension was higher.
This transition highlights the importance of incremental learning and the building blocks of literacy. Going slow in order to go fast.
The Importance of Breaking Down Learning
Often, we attempt to cover too much material at once, overwhelming children rather than simplifying the learning process. My experience so far has shown that by breaking lessons down to the sentence level at the beginning, students achieve more significant success by the end of the year. This approach allows them to master foundational skills before progressing to more complex tasks.
Addressing Diverse Learning Needs
While some students progress more slowly in reading, it is crucial to provide high-quality Tier 1 instruction. For those requiring additional support, Tier 2 interventions are offered within the classroom, and a few students benefit from Tier 3 support, often delivered outside the classroom. Despite these differences, all students gain from our class stories and the development of knowledge, comprehension, and language skills.
Every child benefits from our literacy activities, though some may require more repetitions and explicit support to achieve success. By tailoring our teaching strategies to meet individual needs, we ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive in their literacy journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment