Teaching Reading for Comprehension Toolkit

Topic outline

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  HIAS Reading for Comprehension Toolkits

  What makes a good writer?  What makes a good reader? 

  What are you learning in writing in this lesson?  

  What are you learning in reading in this lesson?

  
  What do pupils in your schools say when asked these questions?  The experience of the HIAS English teams suggests children can talk about their learning in writing to a deeper level than they can in reading.  As a team, we wanted to address this and create a resource that would enable children to understand the strategies a good reader uses to comprehend and therefore what they can draw upon when faced with a challenging / unfamiliar text of any type.  
  

  Proving enormously popular with known impact, the HIAS Teaching Reading for Comprehension Toolkit is a practical resource that supports the teaching of reading strategies, planning key questions, classroom dialogic talk and pupil metacognition.  The aim of the resource is to use the materials alongside rich texts and current school approaches in schools, whilst improving the focus and teaching of reading.
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  5 sets of the 13 HIAS reading strategy cards - one per table/ one per child in focused group work (dyslexic friendly robust matt laminate)

  
  

  The toolkit provides a set of double-sided reading strategy pupil cards, enabling children to take greater responsibility for their own learning. It is important to note that reading strategies are not discrete and therefore the overlap should be acknowledged with children. 
  

  The cards can be used in a variety of ways, for example to:

  • explicitly focus on teaching individual strategies through engaging texts
  • towards using a selection of cards to encourage dialogue about what strategies are needed/have been used for a task or discussion
  • use the cards to identify gaps in children’s understanding and barriers to learning
  • use the list on the back of strategy cards to deepen children’s application and teacher’s subject knowledge
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  5 sets of the 7 HIAS reading domain cards - one per table / one per child in focused group work (dyslexic friendly robust matt laminate)

  
  

  
  

  Each double-sided card is designed to support children in comprehension by:
  

  • making explicit how reading strategies are combined
  • scaffolding quality oral answers by using the reading response sentence starters to encourage children to construct extended utterances not one word answers
  • encouraging children to deepen their thoughts in discussion with others by referring to the dialogic talk stems 
  • ensuring that no child is being held back by their ability to write, i.e. deepening responses orally without the need to write extended answers
  • prompts are age appropriate with a clear progression in expectation across the three toolkits.
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  Teacher question stems booklet

  
  

  The booklet is designed to support teachers and other adults to ask a range of quality questions about any text in guided comprehension sessions. The aim is to use the question stems to initiate discussions and encourage the effective and purposeful use of reading strategies. Adults should then aim to deepen pupil outcomes by using the pupil cards and the follow-up questions.
  
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  Teacher guidance document

  
  

  The teacher guidance document explains the content of the toolkit, alongside the rationale, research and pedagogy behind the toolkits.
  

  
  

  Contents include:

  • Why teach reading strategies?
  • What is a reading strategy?  What a reading skill?
  • Applying metacognitive and self regulatory strategies.
  • Ensuring quality and depth of learning through dialogic talk.
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  Robust folder with 6 clear sections for easy storage
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  Teaching Reading for Comprehension Toolkit Prices

  Hampshire maintained schools: £45 each

  Academies and non-Hampshire schools: £60 each + P&P 
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  How to Purchase

  To order: please complete this form indicating which Teaching Reading for Comprehension toolkit(s) and the quantity you require. 
  
  Payment by Hampshire schools: We have recently reviewed our business process to make the ordering system smoother for Hampshire schools when ordering resources. Rather than schools’ finance officers having to initiate payment in the form of IBC internal customer request, we have amended our order forms so that schools provide their cost code, SIO (if applicable) and GL code which authorises our staff to post the charge to the school by upload journal.

     

  We hope that this change will be helpful to schools. If you have any queries regarding your toolkit order, please contact HTLC, by email to training.leadership.college@hants.gov.uk.

  Your order will be dispatched by Hampshire courier on receipt of this IBC transaction.
  
  Payment by Academies and non-Hampshire schools: an invoice will be raised for your order plus P&P on dispatch. Please specify on the order form if you require a purchase order number to be quoted on the invoice.
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  Order Queries

  If you have any queries, please email htlcdev@hants.gov.uk.
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  Training

  The HIAS English team are running HTLC courses to support teachers in launching the toolkits across the school.  This training is also available as school staff meetings and INSET. 

  Please contact Emma.Scribbans@hants.gov.uk for details.