Reading at Greater Depth in Key Stage 2

Suzanne Horton, Louise Beattie, Sharon Lannie

• Publisher: Learning Matters
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781526454867
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Elementary Education

Expectations in primary English are high, particularly in reading. There is an emphasis on inference and deduction together with vocabulary development: two key elements for preparing pupils to access texts at a higher level. At the same time, there is also a change in the rhetoric around guided reading with teachers trying different pedagogies in order to fully prepare pupils for the demands of the reading curriculum. This book explores the various approaches to developing higher level readers.

1 Reading at greater depth

Chapter objectives

This chapter will allow you to achieve the following outcomes:

• Develop an overview of the theoretical approaches to teaching reading;
• Appreciate the complexities of defining a ‘higher-level reader’;
• Understand some of the challenges associated with teaching higher-level comprehension skills.

Links to the Teachers’ Standards

Working through this chapter will help you meet the following standards:

• 3. Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge

Reading

The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

(Dr Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!)

Reading is a multi-layered experience which necessitates interaction with print in order to extract meaning. It draws upon a number of skills: being able to recognise letters, match letters to sounds and then blending phonemes to formulate words. It also demands an understanding of sentence structure, the meanings of words and the world around us to fully engage with the author’s intent. Those readers who are able to use context to help read new and unfamiliar words will demonstrate greater understanding. It is important that we, as the class teacher, nurture this practice and continue to challenge our pupils by facilitating access to texts which allow for the development of higher-level thinking. By reading widely, children will extend their reading repertoire and develop those higher-level skills of analysis, criticality and evaluation – while also increasing their knowledge and understanding of the world and society as a whole.

What do we mean by a ‘higher-level reader’?

Throughout this book, we outline many ways to develop readers and challenge thinking. Reading at a ‘higher level’, ‘developing mastery within reading’, ‘extending thinking’ and ‘reading at greater depth’ are all terms with which we are becoming familiar but what does this look like in terms of learning gain for pupils and how do we define a ‘higher-level reader’?

If we start with the discussion around what might be considered reading at an advanced level, we can begin to explore the various ideas and opinions that surround this concept. This is somewhat problematic as a survey of the literature around higher-level readers suggests that there is no one definition (Brighton et al., 2015). However, there is some consensus as to the attributes one might expect a higher-level reader to demonstrate. These include a more sophisticated vocabulary development, an enjoyment of reading, the ability to analyse, evaluate and synthesise effectively together with the ability to be critical yet creative in their approach to texts (Reis et al., 2004). Reiss et al. also cite advanced language skills as an important characteristic of an advanced reader which suggests the importance of the social aspect of reading. Reading is not a solitary activity but one which demands that we discuss ideas, challenge each other in terms of knowledge held, argue, debate and rationalise our thoughts. Indeed, according to Cremin et al. (2014, p5) the act of reading remains profoundly social. If we also consider Aidan Chambers’ work around ‘Booktalk’, the importance of being able to articulate thoughts and co-construct knowledge through a shared response is another obvious indicator of a higher level of reading. As teachers, we must enable our pupils to become advanced readers by providing opportunities to build the aforementioned characteristics while teaching the skills to achieve this. The following chapters will examine the rationale behind this approach and offer some practical teaching, learning and assessment strategies to develop this effectively within your own classroom.

Case study: Tom – an advanced reader

Tom is a Year 6 pupil, looking forward to transitioning to high school at the end of the year. His teacher has categorised him as an advanced reader, based on teacher assessment, his SATs reading score and her knowledge of Tom as a reader. While success in statutory tests should not and does not define a ‘good’ reader, Tom’s teacher had worked extensively with a group of higher-level readers to develop and extend their comprehension skills throughout the year and was able to identify the characteristics which suggested that he was working at greater depth. These included:

• a wide and varied vocabulary – Tom understood the nuances of language and was able to draw upon an expansive vocabulary to articulate his point;
• an ability to explain what words meant and offer synonyms as alternatives;
• an understanding of the subtleties of humour within texts and being able to comment on authorial intent;
• being able to use a range of inference skills across a wide variety of genres;
• making insightful predictions based on what had been read;
• the ability to visualise the scene, making links between what was stated and what was implied in order to have the overall picture;
• effective analysis of texts based on information within the text and making links between events;
• evaluation of the significance of events within a text from different perspectives;
• an acute understanding of characters’ motives and actions;
• the ability to ask questions of the text in order to extend understanding;
• an obvious love of reading.

When asked what made him such a good reader, he explained that he had access to many books at home and at school, enjoyed opportunities to talk about what he was reading with peers and adults and loved learning new words.

We know from research that a good level of vocabulary contributes positively to reading comprehension (Clarke et al., 2010) and that young people who read for pleasure demonstrate higher attainment (Clark and Teravainen, 2017). The positive classroom environment that Tom’s class teacher had cultivated almost certainly contributed to his success in reading. However, it is important to acknowledge that not all homes have access to books in the same way that Tom did, therefore it is imperative that class teachers find ways to ensure their classroom library is fully stocked and that links with local libraries remain strong. With the decrease in school budgets and the demise of local libraries, it is easy to become disheartened when trying to maintain a comprehensive reading area. Twitter provides an excellent forum for connecting with authors, charities and proponents of reading in order to replenish stocks. You could also visit charity shops and second-hand book shops for a wide and varied range of children’s books. Book swaps work successfully in school as does the sharing of online texts which can reduce the need to purchase multiple copies of texts. Building partnerships with other local schools or connecting via Twitter may lead to class sets being swapped at different times of the year. Be creative!

Reading comprehension

The ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Permissions
• The Authors
• 1 Reading at greater depth
• 2 Reading for pleasure
• 3 Variety of texts
• 4 Accessing Texts
• 5 Analysing texts
• 6 Questioning texts
• 7 Intertextuality
• 8 Interpretation of texts
• 9 Thematic approaches
• 10 Reading and Assessment
• 11 Building a reading culture
• Index