Victorian Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat
Using NAPLAN type data to enhance your school’s learning and teaching: A data-based
strategy for literacy improvement
John Munro1
1.1
Workshop pathway
This workshop examines a range of strategies school leaders can use to guide their schools to
interpret their NAPLAN type data and to map this into effective literacy teaching and learning.
School leaders need to know:

what does literacy knowledge ‘look like’? School leaders who don’t know this are less able
to analyse their assessment data in terms of students’ outcomes or to guide the teaching in
their school to target it.
what NAPLAN type tasks tell about how their students ‘do’ literacy and what they need to
learn to do to improve their literacy outcomes.
the types of teaching most likely to enhance literacy outcomes, what their school knows now
about effective literacy teaching and what additional types of teaching it needs to achieve its
goals.
how to provide the professional learning opportunities and culture for their staff to learn and
implement the enhanced practice.
how to develop action and implementation plans to guide their literacy improvement
agenda.




1.2
What literacy knowledge and skills look like.
1.2.1: What do you do to comprehend a text? To help students improve their comprehension you
need a clear idea of what good readers do when they read. Read the text with the purpose of retelling it. As you read, reflect on what you do.
There are two types of being; the eternal and the transient. The eternal need to return is not
exemplified within the collective drama of history, nor can it be nurture through organisation.
Produce as it will, the eternal is not oriented towards produce. The transient, by its very
nature, will end; they want to die, not live eternally.
The struggles and education of man in social history had meaning for Marx such that the goal
of a body politic free from class conflict so that man might develop as man.
List some key things you needed to do to read the texts.
1
The content in this paper is elaborated in
Munro, J. (2011). Using a learning and teaching approach to writing, in the context of NAPLAN. Centre for Strategic
Education Occasional Paper 122. Jolimont, Vic: CSE.
Munro, J. (2010). Enhancing students’ literacy comprehension using NAPLAN data. Seminar Paper 172. East
Melbourne, Aus: Centre for Strategic Education.
Munro, J. (2009). Improving literacy and numeracy learning and pedagogy through the use of NAPLAN type data.
Hawthorn, Vic: EdAssist.
1
1.2.2
Distinguish between comprehending and comprehension
Read and comprehend text - get the text
‘into your head’
Read and interpret your representation of the
text – you question it, analyse it.
You use comprehending actions to do this
You use comprehension actions.
1.2.3
Importance of vocabulary for comprehension
Main difficulty of lowest achievers:
poor word-reading accuracy and
vocabulary
NAPLAN comprehension score
Which student will understand the text and learn more about the topic?
We are going to read about the rules of indoor
soccer/living in ancient Egypt. What do you think of/see
in your mind when you hear this?
40 ideas
4 ideas
What do we do to work out the meanings of words in a text we read? Use the following text to work
out the meaning of bacciferous and baft.
The trees in the orchard were bacciferous. Their branches were weighed down with their heavy
loads. The berry pickers worked without stopping. As they picked the berries, they put them in
baskets made of baft. The baft scratched and cut their bare arms. If only the farmer had given
them containers made of softer fabric.
Keep track of the actions you use to work out the meanings of new words you meet as they read.
You might





underline or write down the new word or term and try to say it to yourself.
tell yourself what the word does in the sentence; bacciferous tells you what the trees in the
orchard look like.
visualise the sentence/s that have the new word and other ideas; you put as much of the
sentence as you can into the image.
note any pictures or visual features that go with new word.
look at the letter patterns in the word, guess at what each part might mean by linking them
with words you know. For bacciferous, ‘bacci’ could be linked with ‘berries’ and ‘ferous’
part is also in vociferous.
2

try to put other words or phrases in place of it and see which one/s fit best. For bacciferous
you try “the trees had lots of berries”.
consolidate your guess: “I think bacciferous means having lots of berries”. You visualise
the trees in the orchard heavy with berries and the pickers working hard.
check your guess with a dictionary definition.


Students need to learn to do these meaning-making actions one at a time, to practise using them.
You also need to learn how to apply them to more complex text.
Teach students to tell themselves how to work out the new vocabulary, for example, themselves.
Could it/does it mean …? and to tell themselves what to do, for example, You say to yourself what
you think it means, or I need to try possible synonyms and see how they fit, and You may need to
fine tune your first meaning. Say now what you think the meaning is now.
1.2.4
The set of comprehending actions: When I read a text I
tell myself the words and phrases and work out
how to say new words and what they mean.
work out the topic; what is the text about.
work out what each sentence says; we say
them in other ways or visualise them.
review every so often what the text has said
and summarise it.
link the sentence meanings into a network of ideas.
guess why the writer wrote the text and
wants us to believe.
use our existing knowledge:
manage and direct our reading activity we :





plan how we will read
decide the questions the text might answer
monitor our reading
take corrective action
decide when to re-read, self-correct, review or
consolidate what we have read.

organize the knowledge we have gained to
match our purposes for reading.
3
•
what words mean, how they are said,
awareness of sounds in words
•
how ideas are linked into sentences,
grammar
•
how ideas are linked into themes
•
how a topic is said in a text, description
•
how the social context affects how ideas are
communicated, the attitudes and values of
the writer towards the ideas in the text.
1.2.5
How can VELS English continuum to analyse and explain reading comprehension data?
You can use the Victorian Essential Learning Standards: English Continuum to explain and analyse
reading comprehension. The indicators of progress for Years Prep-10 describe developmentally
reading comprehending and comprehension processes. They show how literacy knowledge
gradually develops.
Example: Indicators of progress for 2.5-2.75 (Grade 4)
4
2.50 Text level knowledge: students independently read and respond to longer narrative texts, both print
and electronic, (for example, chapters in narratives with some unfamiliar ideas), factual, expository and
persuasive texts that have predictable structures and less familiar vocabulary.

language: simple and compound sentences, mixed natural and book language.

layout: well-spaced, medium-sized print illustrations and diagrams to support main/paragraph ideas,
direct speech, two or three short sentences per paragraph, clear paragraph breaks, short chapters link
paragraphs ideas, non-fiction have clear headings/subheadings, contents page, simple glossary.

content: simple story structure of increasing length, several linked ideas, with multiple main and
supporting characters, unexpected events.
Reading strategies: students
Orient their knowledge, get their knowledge ‘ready’ for reading: students
1.
2.
3.
decide the likely topic of a text, say ideas it might mention, use information such as the contents
page, chapter headings, text words.
decide the purpose of the text from its type or genre (narrative, procedural, recount, persuasive) and
use this to suggest how it might express ideas, how it might develop its topic if it is a narrative and
questions it might answer.
describe their reading plan and the actions they will use, for example, where they might pause, how
they will up-date what they know, what they might do if what they read doesn’t make sense.
Use ‘while reading’ strategies: students
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
read the text independently, silently or aloud as appropriate.
use a more complex sentence meaning strategy; they paraphrase sentences with embedded clauses
that refer to two events, visualise them and describe their image. They say whether these sentences
express a fact, an imaginary idea and an opinion.
work out the meanings of unfamiliar words in less redundant contexts by using text information and
by linking the unfamiliar words and phrases with synonyms, particularly for adjectives and adverbs.
suggest questions that the text answers as they read through it, including inferential questions that
have modals.
link two or more sentences into a ‘story thread’ or paragraph meaning; they paraphrase a paragraph
in a chapter, use personal and relative pronouns to link sentence ideas, predict following ideas and
adjust their predicted topic.
decide from the text read so far whether it is narrative, factual or persuasive.
infer and predict from the text what might be said, what if … questions the text might answer, predict
plausible endings, events, the points of view of the writer and infer the feelings of characters.
respond emotionally to the topic and to the activity of reading and themselves as readers.
Review and consolidate what they have read: students
12.
13.
14.
15.
review and consolidate what they have read both during and after reading.
talk about actions they used while reading and why ‘saying a sentence another way’ is a useful
comprehending action while reading.
describe how reading helps them and is useful, for example, to discover what other people are
thinking, to teach new ideas efficiently.
review their emotional response to the text and them as readers, for example, how persuasive text
helped them make up their minds on an issue.
5
Reading comprehension outcomes: students
1.
comprehend literally ideas mentioned: they (1) retell the main ideas, (2) answer questions in
sentences, (3) select accurate re-wordings of the texts, (4) answer literal questions for informational
text that lists two sets of facts in dot point format by converting the lists to sentences.
2.
identify the words in a text that describe characters and events, match paraphrases of descriptions of
characters and events in a text of several paragraphs, compare data within and across two or more
discrete lists sets of separate facts presented in list or dot point form.
3.
infer cause and effect or consequences across a sequence of sentences in a paragraph, infer earlier
events, infer why characters acted in particular ways, how actions taken and outcomes been different
if the context had been different.
4.
suggest the author’s purpose for writing the text and how well it achieved its purpose, infer its
intended audience.
5.
distinguish between different types of narratives and how the difference helps you to understand the
text, e.g. fairy tale versus historical story; nursery rhyme versus an adventure.
6.
evaluate descriptions of particular characters and events in terms of the reader’s feelings, for
example, How would you have felt if you were Harry being punished for what happened in the
reptile house?
Word level knowledge: students
1.
read accurately and automatically unfamiliar 2-syllable words that have familiar syllabic patterns.
2.
read accurately and automatically some 1-syllable very frequent exception words such as laugh and
eight.
3.
read unfamiliar 2-syllable words with unfamiliar and less regular syllables by using syllable
decoding and analogy with known words.
4.
use simple morphographic patterns in words to read them, for example, a 1-syllable noun +‘s’ added
or verb +‘ed’.
5.
explain what adding ‘s’ to a noun or ‘ed’ to an action means.
Phonological knowledge: students
1.
segment spoken 2- and 3-syllable words into phonemes and say the sounds around the unstressed
vowel in a 2-syllable word, for example, “Which sound comes after the (unstressed vowel) in
“remain” or “pocket”.
2.
add syllables to 1- and 2-syllable words, hear “stay” or “act” and add “tion” to each and say the
word.
You can use the indicators of progress for P-6 in VELS: English Continuum to assist literacy
improvement.
Word reading processes influence reading comprehension. Word reading accuracy is directly
correlated with text comprehension. If you suspect low reading comprehension of students is due to
low word reading ability you can use the VELS English Word level and Phonological knowledge
6
strands to identify the knowledge and skills the students can use currently and where you need to
teach next.
2.
How to interpret NAPLAN reading outcomes in comprehending and comprehension
strategies.
You can use NAPLAN item analysis data to identify students’ literacy knowledge and the teaching
needed to build further literacy skills. A version of The Item analysis for Year 5 2011 NAPLAN
reading is shown in Table 1.
C
98
92
D8
Locates directly stated information in a short biographical text.
02
C
81
67
A 25 B8
Identifies the intended reader's response to a short biographical text.
03
A
72
58
B8 C17 D 8
Makes a simple inference from a sentence in a short biographical text.
04
C
76
83
B8D8
Identifies purpose of including specified information in short biographical
text.
05
D
89
92
C8
Identifies a person's attitude to a specified subject from short biographical
text.
06
D
74
67
A 8 C 25
Identifies the purpose of a dash in a sentence in a short biographical text.
07
B
95
92
A8
Retrieves directly stated information in a procedural text.
08
B
88
83
C8D8
Makes an inference from a procedural text.
09
C
75
75
A 8 D17
Makes link across adjacent sentences to locate information in procedural
text.
10
A
80
83
B8D8
Applies new information to change a given outcome in a procedural text.
11
D
87
50
A 42 C 8
Matches a rule to a photograph in a procedural text.
12
B
79
92
A8
Categorises extra information into a section of a procedural text.
13
C
90
92
A8
Makes a simple inference from a short article.
14
B
76
75
C 25
Identifies the main topic of a paragraph in a short article.
15
A
74
75
C 17 D 8
Makes a synonymous match in a short article.
16
D
64
33
B8 C 58
Identifies the intended reader's response to a short article.
82
42
17
Skill
Assessed
% Correct
Group
01
%Response
Group
Answer
Key Item
Number
% Correct
State
Table 1
Identifies the text structure of a short article
18
D
77
83
A8 B 8
Identifies values in a short article.
19
C
64
83
A8 D8
Identifies values in a short article.
20
B
56
58
C17 D 17
Interprets the imagery in a poem.
21
D
41
25
A25 B33 C17 Interprets contrasting imagery in a poem.
7
22
A
54
25
C 67 D8
Correctly identifies the object being referenced in a poem.
23
D
31
50
A17 B25
Interprets the feelings of the narrator in a poem.
24
A
57
42
B17 C17 D 25 Interprets a metaphor underlying a poem.
25
B
44
50
C17 D25
Interprets the behaviour of a character in a narrative text.
26
B
59
58
A 25 C17
Interprets the personality of a character in a narrative text.
27
A
50
17
B33 C17 D33 Identifies the effect of a short phrase in a narrative text.
28
C
40
17
A17 B25 D42 Interprets the thoughts of a character in a narrative text.
29
D
42
42
30
C
24
31
B
32
A25 B25 C8
Interprets language used to construct character relationships in a narrative
text.
8
B 58 D25
Identifies the main issue in an argument.
57
50
A25 C25
Recognises the meaning implied by the tone of a sentence in an argument.
B
70
58
A17 C25
Identifies an appeal to an audience in an argument.
33
B
37
8
A17 C17 D58
Identifies effect of using quotation marks for particular purpose in
argument.
34
C
39
25
A25 B17 D33
Compares supporting evidence to find a common element in an argument
text.
35
C
41
67
A 8 B 25
Identifies the tone of an argument.
36
B
33
42
A25 C17 D17 Connects the conclusion to the meaning of an argument.
2.1
Which items for the school were easiest/hardest? The items have been arranged in
difficulty order.
Answer
Key
%
Correct
State
%
12
B
79
92
Categorises extra information into a section of a procedural text.
05
D
89
92
Identifies a person's attitude to a specified subject from short biographical text.
01
C
98
92
Locates directly stated information in a short biographical text.
13
C
90
92
Makes a simple inference from a short article.
07
B
95
92
Retrieves directly stated information in a procedural text.
10
A
80
83
Applies new information to change a given outcome in a procedural text.
04
C
76
83
Identifies purpose of including specified information in short biographical text.
18
D
77
83
Identifies values in a short article.
19
C
64
83
Identifies values in a short article.
08
B
88
83
Makes an inference from a procedural text.
Correct
Group
Item
Number
Skill
Assessed
Table 2
8
14
B
76
75
Identifies the main topic of a paragraph in a short article.
15
A
74
75
Makes a synonymous match in a short article.
09
C
75
75
Makes link across adjacent sentences to locate information in procedural text.
02
C
81
67
Identifies the intended reader's response to a short biographical text.
06
D
74
67
Identifies the purpose of a dash in a sentence in a short biographical text.
35
C
41
67
Identifies the tone of an argument.
32
B
70
58
Identifies an appeal to an audience in an argument.
20
B
56
58
Interprets the imagery in a poem.
26
B
59
58
Interprets the personality of a character in a narrative text.
03
A
72
58
Makes a simple inference from a sentence in a short biographical text.
25
B
44
50
Interprets the behaviour of a character in a narrative text.
23
D
31
50
Interprets the feelings of the narrator in a poem.
11
D
87
50
Matches a rule to a photograph in a procedural text.
31
B
57
50
Recognises the meaning implied by the tone of a sentence in an argument.
36
B
33
42
Connects the conclusion to the meaning of an argument.
82
42
Identifies the text structure of a short article
17
24
A
57
42
Interprets a metaphor underlying a poem.
29
D
42
42
Interprets language used to construct character relationships in a narrative text.
16
D
64
33
Identifies the intended reader's response to a short article.
34
C
39
25
Compares supporting evidence to find a common element in an argument text.
22
A
54
25
Correctly identifies the object being referenced in a poem.
21
D
41
25
Interprets contrasting imagery in a poem.
27
A
50
17
Identifies the effect of a short phrase in a narrative text.
28
C
40
17
Interprets the thoughts of a character in a narrative text.
33
B
37
8
Identifies effect of using quotation marks for particular purpose in argument.
30
C
24
8
Identifies the main issue in an argument.
2.2
How well do the skills assessed tell you about how students comprehend text? What
readers need to do to show comprehension? Each task asks readers to ‘act’ on their interpretation of
the text in certain ways and select the alternative that matches their interpretation.
Read and
comprehend text
Read and
interpret task
Use task to reflect on
text interpretation
9
Select matching
option
All of these aspects require the use of literacy skills. The set of actions readers need to use to
complete a task may include the following (Munro, 2009): to
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
locate information, make a direct verbatim match and restate verbatim linked
information in the text or link information verbatim.
recognise/ use synonyms to link text and task
use meaning making motor to work out word meanings
use grammar to link ideas, for example, to make links between a noun and a pronoun.
analyse, paraphrase + visualise the sentence/alternatives.
link two ideas that are in different sections of the text by summarising one or more
paragraphs, work out and use the main idea and possibly paraphrase or visualise.
link ideas that are separated in the text by selecting the main ideas and then sequencing them.
compare two or more sentences or ideas and you may need to paraphrase.
infer, go beyond what is said, for example, to infer emotions or motives for actions
predict by visualising the ideas described in one or more sentences and use their existing
knowledge to infer related events, cause and effect, feelings, etc.
Item
Number
Answer
Key
% Correct
State
% Correct
Group
Skill
Assessed
Comprehe
nding
strategy
used
Table 3
02
C
81
67
Identifies the intended reader's response to a
short biographical text.
06
D
74
67
Identifies the purpose of a dash in a sentence in
a short biographical text.
35
C
41
67
Identifies the tone of an argument.
32
B
70
58
Identifies an appeal to an audience in an
argument.
20
B
56
58
Interprets the imagery in a poem.
26
B
59
58
Interprets the personality of a character in a
narrative text.
03
A
72
58
Makes a simple inference from a sentence in a
short biographical text.
25
B
44
50
Interprets the behaviour of a character in a
narrative text.
23
D
31
50
Interprets the feelings of the narrator in a poem.
11
D
87
50
Matches a rule to a photograph in a procedural
text.
31
B
57
50
Recognises the meaning implied by the tone of
a sentence in an argument.
36
B
33
42
Connects the conclusion to the meaning of an
argument.
82
42
Identifies the text structure of a short article
17
10
24
A
57
42
Interprets a metaphor underlying a poem.
29
D
42
42
Interprets language used to construct character
relationships in a narrative text.
16
D
64
33
Identifies the intended reader's response to a
short article.
Texts differ in readability. When you interpret students’ outcomes on NAPLAN reading tasks you
need to take account of differences in the readability of the texts. For 2009 Year 3 NAPLAN the
texts varied in readability (Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level indicators) from a grade level of 2.2 to 7.7.
This means you can’t assume all of the texts are of equal difficulty or that you can simply assume
the order of accuracy of the comprehending strategies indicates their order of difficulty.
2.3
What comprehending strategies are needed to answer the comprehension questions
correctly? The following questions were items questions 14 to 19 on the Year 5 test.
Some students are investigating how pollution affects the environment. They have researched the
effects of plastic bags. This is what they have written.
Should we pay for plastic bags?
People should pay for the plastic bags they use for their shopping. According to experts from Clean
Up Australia, Australians use over six billion plastic bags a year and many of these are used for
carrying shopping home from supermarkets. Making people pay for these plastic bags would
encourage them to use reusable bags.
Some plastic bags can last in the environment for up to 1000 years before they disintegrate (break
down). Plastic bags are harmful to wildlife as they can kill animals, especially in the ocean.
Also, when plastic bags are made, dangerous gases are released that pollute the atmosphere. If we
use fewer plastic bags there would be less air pollution, as well as less land and water pollution.
We need to reduce the number of plastic bags in the environment. Making people pay will help to
stop them using plastic bags and force them to use reusable bags for their shopping!
11
Table 4
Ans Key
% Correct State
3
Skill Assessed
Comprehending strategies
5
14 B
C21
D23
40
72
Interprets the main idea of
a persuasive text.
recognise that ‘focus’ here means the
purpose (synonyms), paraphrase, know
where the purpose is often written and link
the two sentences
15 D
B40 C6
35
67
Uses contextual cues to
interpret a persuasive text.
summarise text to get ‘plastic bags are bad
for environment and if people pay for them,
they will use them less’. Paraphrase each
alternative, compare with title, as “How
does it fit with title?” and see that the
others don’t match it.
16 B
A11 C9
49
80
Identifies the purpose of a
phrase in brackets.
recognise synonym
17 D
B9 C51
45
Identifies how values are
presented in a persuasive
text.
visualise what has been said about wildlife,
summarise paragraph
18 A
B23 D9
74
Identifies the main idea of
a paragraph.
recognise that ‘focus’ here means the
purpose (synonyms), paraphrase, know
where the purpose is often written and link
the two sentences
19 C
A9 B40
D 21
30
Infers a message in a
persuasive text.
summarise to get the main idea, paraphrase
and infer
42
This type of analysis assists you to identify the key comprehending strategies you need to teach to
independent and selective use.
2.3
To work out the reading actions demanded by each item.
You can use this approach to work out the reading actions demanded by items at any grade level.
The following (Munro, 2009) is a systematic way for:
1.
A group of teachers applies this type of analysis to each text and its tasks on NAPLAN or to
other reading data you have collected. You can use the types of comprehending actions
mentioned above to describe each item.
2.
The group reads each text and works through the tasks. For each task, decide the action/s a
reader needs to use to answer the item correctly. Some items may require readers to use two
or more actions in a particular sequence. The group shares its decisions and decides
collaboratively the comprehending actions required to answer each question. Use as much as
possible a consistent set of action descriptors across the items. This will assist with grouping
items that require similar actions and with planning the teaching.
3.
It is also useful to have some students in your class attempt the items again and talk about
what they did. You can guide them to use ‘think-aloud’ strategies.
12
4.
Once you identified the reading comprehending action for each item, you can add it to the
Item Analysis Report in an additional column. You may also want to note whether
substantial portions of your class selected one or two incorrect responses. From this you can
see which comprehending actions your class had in place when they completed the tasks and
which ones you might need to teach.
5.
If you prepare your table in Word format, you can use the SORT command to arrange the %
correct for your group in order of difficulty. Use these data to note the reading actions
the/class or individual students have in place and those that may require further attention.
You can also note the most common confusions or misinterpretations by the class for an
item.
6.
You can prepare reader profiles for your group or for individual students. These are shown
in the tables above.
7.
You treat the NAPLAN interpretations for your class and individual students as indicative.
Once you are aware of possible areas of comprehending strength and difficulty, you can
then look for further evidence in reading activities.
3
Effective teaching procedures for fostering literacy
3.1
High Reliability Literacy Teaching Procedures A set of teaching procedures can you build
into your teaching to get this. These are a set of explicit procedures that teach readers to:

get their knowledge ready for reading: they

use their experiential knowledge and visualise ideas that may be in the text

use their existing verbal knowledge to map their relevant images into sentences
and

bridge their existing knowledge to the text, decide its topic and disposition.

read text aloud so that they encode it in their thinking spaces.

comprehend the written words: recall the meanings of known words and to work out what
unfamiliar words mean, suggest synonyms for them and work out how to say them.

paraphrase and visualise each sentence.

predict what might be said next.

link sentences in the text by suggesting the key questions answered by sentences, inferring
from sentences, ‘thinking ahead’.

link the text with questions it answers.

summarise a paragraph and then a set of paragraphs, say the question/s that each answers.

review, consolidate and automatise key text knowledge and content knowledge.
These teaching procedures guide students to learn the corresponding comprehending reading
actions or strategies. The students learn to use the actions as tools for understanding and learning
from the text they read.
3.2
A systematic framework for teaching comprehending and comprehension A framework
for teaching the relevant reading comprehending strategies and enhanced text knowledge. Efficient
readers use the strategies in a systematic, integrated way in three phases of reading activity:
13
GKR
While comprehending
Review and automatise
teach readers to ‘get their
knowledge ready’ for reading, to
make initial decisions about it,
decide its likely topic and purpose.
teach readers how to comprehend
portions of the text by acting on it,
to integrate as they read and to
predict
teach readers to consolidate or review what
they have read, link it with what they know,
and to respond with a positive attitude to it
They link the text with what they
know:
 stimulate relevant
experiential knowledge
 stimulate relevant language
 bridge to the text.
 read sentence aloud
 work on new vocabulary
 paraphrase + visualise
sentences
 questions answered by text
 summarise each paragraph
 link paragraph.
 summarise the main ideas
 review new vocabulary, ideas and link
with what you know
 reflect on the new ideas, for example in
NAPLAN type ways, question, apply,
infer from new ideas, evaluate
 link positive attitudes with it
 automatise key ideas.
The three phases provide a framework for organising the teaching and learning activities in a
systematic, explicit and coherent way and model to students how they can organise their learning
activity and themselves as learners.
3.3
How to teach literacy to independence Plan for teaching each strategy. Three aspects:
3.3.1. Teaching to scaffold students to use the comprehending strategies
GKR 1 Imagine you are talking
to a woman living in ancient
Egypt. What would you see/hear?
GKR 2 What questions might
the text answer for you? What
words might come up in the
text? Spell them, synonyms?
Automatise the key ideas we
have learnt. Link with related
ideas we have learnt earlier.
Review + consolidate What
are the main ideas/vocabulary
we have learnt today? Other
ways of saying them images?
What questions might the text
answer for you? What words
might come up in the text?
Spell them, synonyms What
would you see or hear?
Women in ancient
Egypt
What questions do
these sentences answer
for us about women in
ancient Egypt?
GKR 3 Look at how the information
is organised on the page. What do
the pictures/diagrams show you?
Say the title in other ways? What is
each paragraph about? What will
you do to help you read? What
questions might the text answer for
you? What words might come up in
the text? Spell them, find synonyms.
What would you see or hear?
Read aloud Read a sentence
aloud. Listen to yourself as you
read it. Tell yourself what it says.
Vocabulary What do you think … means?
Work out what it could mean from the
sentence. What are some other words you
could use?
Comprehend sentence What are other
ways of saying the sentence? What
picture does it tell you to make in your
mind?
Summarise What is the main
idea in the paragraph? What
picture does it tell you to make in
your mind?
Contrast the strategy teaching approach with the content only teaching approach
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Teacher A
Teacher B
Read the section about women in
ancient Egypt. Then answer the
questions and we’ll correct your
work.
We’ll read together the section about
women in ancient Egypt. As we go I’ll
ask you to think about what says. Then
we’ll answer the questions and we’ll
correct your work.
Which teacher:
1.
takes account of individual differences in what students know at beginning of the lesson?
2.
takes account of individual differences in how students think and learn during the lesson?
3.
helps students feel more confident of what they are learning?
3.3.2
Teaching students to use strategies independently Teaching– learning plan for any strategy:
Students experience
doing the strategy; it
is cued and
scaffolded by the
teaching. They have
their thinking
guided/directed by
the teacher.
Students experience doing the
strategy and say what they did;
they say the strategy in words
after doing it: “Before I began
to read I …? They say how it
helped them. They have their
thinking guided and say what
they did to think. They keep a
list of Things I do when I read.
Students say the
strategy they will use
before they do it
Students practise and
apply the strategy
independently.
“Before I begin to
read I will …?
They discuss when
and why they can use
it, automatise using it
and link it with other
strategies
They use their selftalk to guide thinking.
4.
The school leader’s awareness of their school’s literacy knowledge and the capacity to
enhance it. Some key decisions for the leadership in a school intending to improve its literacy.
4.1
Assess your school’s capacity to teach literacy: What does your school know about
effective literacy teaching?
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is your school’s agreed set of beliefs about how literacy is learnt and taught?
How to build a group knowledge of literacy teaching and a school code of teaching practice.
What procedures does it use to interpret assessment outcomes in terms of its teaching?
How well does your school respond to literacy learning issues? What explicit framework
does it use to:
 Identify and analyse literacy learning issues using a learning-teaching framework?
 Implement modified literacy teaching?
 Monitor the effectiveness of the modified teaching?
 Incorporate the modified teaching into its explicit literacy teaching framework?
4.2
How to bring new literacy teaching knowledge into your school.
A three-strand strategy to implement improvement in literacy teaching:
1.
2.
3.
Teachers are guided and scaffolded to monitor and modify their classroom teaching
School leadership provides instructional leadership for literacy
Some teachers are trained to ‘drive’ the literacy improvement: they
 build the literacy teaching knowledge needed to scaffold improved student outcomes
 develop procedures for bringing new literacy teaching knowledge into the school
 learn how to guide the professional learning of colleagues and do this.
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Example of an embedding strategy
Drivers learn GKR and MMM
SLT – develops a wholeschool literacy improvement
Staff learn of literacy
improvement focus
Drivers practise using GKR and MMM in their
teaching and video their activity:
1.
Become familiar with
teaching procedures.
1.
2.
Plan a broader
dissemination program
in the school including a
term outcomes plan.
Informed to
progress with
GKR and MMM
2.
See videos of
teaching in PLTs.
3.
Encouraged to
monitor how well
their students use
GKR and MMM.
1.
use procedures to monitor student outcomes
2.
share the embedding with school leadership
3.
report outcomes to staff, inform staff of what
they are doing and how it assists teaching
4.
plan a broader dissemination program with SLT
5.
plan professional learning for their colleagues.
Drivers
1. learn sentence reading comprehension strategies
2. implement professional learning for colleagues.
3.
Work on teaching
activities in GKR and
MMM for colleagues.
Learn to provide
instructional leadership for
implementing GKR and
MMM
Scaffolded to
implement GKR and
MMM
Repeat with other literacy strategies
4.3
A framework for looking at teachers’ knowledge of effective literacy teaching
What does a teacher’s knowledge as a literacy teacher look like?
Relevant conceptual
knowledge
Relevant pedagogic knowledge
Relevant pedagogic practice
This refers to a
knowledge of what
literacy looks like, for
example, when people
read text, they …
This refers to the teaching options a
teacher knows for enhancing students’
literacy knowledge and skills; what the
teacher knows about good teaching
practice to teach literacy.
This refers to a knowledge of what teachers
actually do in their literacy teaching in
strategic ways to enhance students’
knowledge. It is ‘strategic procedural
pedagogic’ knowledge - a teacher’s ‘doing
knowledge’.
This refers to the attitudes and
dispositions the teacher has to teaching
this knowledge, to themselves as
teachers of literacy and to the students
who they are teaching. It includes the
teacher’s valuing of literacy
knowledge and the importance they
place on it for students, its relevance to
their role of educator, their motivation
to teach it, their belief that they can be
successful teaching it and their belief
about whether it is part of their role as
educators to teaching it. It also
includes their commitment to literacy
and to students learning it.
This refers to the teacher’s knowledge of the
learning-teaching context in the classroom and
school. It includes how the teacher introduces
and implements new teaching procedures,
brings along the students, manages the timing
relates them to the school’s agenda and focus,
how well the teacher ‘reads’ the teachinglearning context. The teacher might ask:
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

What hurdles/obstacles might arise in
the teaching?
How well the teacher uses appropriate
management, for example, stands and
moves appropriately, models
discipline, manages feedback
appropriately.
Dispositional-attitudinal knowledge
4.4
Knowledge of the learning-teaching context
How to guide and build a professional learning plan for literacy improvement: How to
contextualise new literacy teaching knowledge in your school.
Steps in planning the professional learning pathway
The term-by-term outcome for each
class in school: what will students,
teachers and SLTs be doing
differently at end of each term?
The professional learning plan
for each teacher; how will
teacher learning for each term
outcome be implemented?
The week-by-week
implementation plan for each
teacher and student group; how
will literacy learning develop over
each term?
What will be used to measure progress each term, indicators of success?

Indicators of what students have learnt to do with support/independently each term?

Indicators of change in teaching practice?

Indicators of change in effective instructional leadership?
4.5
The professional learning plan. The Driver–PLT activities that will be used to
support/lead/guide the professional learning activities for teachers.
Staff aware of
HRLTP as
options for
dealing with
issue in learning
–teaching.
Staff reflect on
what the
teaching options
would look like
in topics they
teach.
Staff see procedure
modelled in their
teaching, coached to
use it and plan how
to include option in
their teaching.
. Staff trial the
strategies in
specific
contexts and
collate the
outcomes.
Staff use the
strategies
more
consistently.
Staff
share and
pool their
use the
strategies.
How the professional learning plan for each for each teacher will be implemented:

The teaching procedures to be trialed by each teacher are identified and embedded in topics
they will teach. Each teacher prepares ‘annotated lesson plans’ that show how they will use
the HRLTPs in their teaching. This is managed in PLTs. Each teacher practises this
embedding and then teaches modified lesson to the PLT.

Drivers demonstrate, model the teaching and implement coaching in class.

Teachers trial the teaching procedures, monitor their effectiveness.

Group knowledge in PLTs is shared and pooled, reflective professional practice.
To generate an implementation plan for each teacher. The following steps can be used:
1.
Take the student outcomes and sequence /arrange the student activities in a ‘learning-based’
way across the term and add the types of activities you will use to achieve this.
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Teaching – learning plan for any strategy:
Students
experience doing
the strategy; it is
cued and
scaffolded by the
teaching. They
have their
thinking guided.
2.
Students experience doing the
strategy and say what they did; they
say the strategy in words after doing
it: “Before I began to read I …?
Students say the strategy
they will use before they
do it. “Before I begin to
read I will …?
Students practise
and apply the
strategy
independently.
They have their thinking guided and
say what they did to think. They
keep a list of Things I do when I
read.
They use their language
to guide their thinking.
Students automatise
use of the strategy
and link it with
other strategies.
Develop and record the teaching procedures the teacher will use to guide /scaffold student
learning.
Weekly schedule for teaching each strategy. Write in the strategy/ies you will teach each week and
the learning status of the teaching. The following is an example.
Week
Use strategy
orally when
cued
GKR
MMM
Use strategy in
reading when
cued
GKR
MMM
Use strategy in
reading when cued,
say what you did
and evaluate its use
GKR
MMM
Self-cue; say
strategy you will
use in reading
and use it
GKR
MMM
Practise
applying
strategy
Automatise
and link with
other
strategies
GKR
MMM
GKR
MMM
You can also plan the activities you will use to target each procedure each week, for example:
HRLTP
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
GKR
Hear key words, visualise the context
Talk about images in sentences
Say questions the text might answer
MMM
Read and spell key words
Work out meaning of key
words
Suggest synonyms
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The term by term outcomes plan The term by term outcomes plan for each stakeholder in the school
Stakeholders
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
What students will be
doing differently at end
of term.
What teachers will be
doing differently at end
of term.
What driver/s will be
doing differently at end
of term.
What school leadership
will be doing differently
at end of term.
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Term 4
Staff learning: The professional teaching that each staff member will receive can be planned using the following Weekly planning proforma.
Week
Build procedures Trial
into topics to be procedures in
taught
classroom
See teaching
procedures
modelled, coached
Work on procedures Share, pooling
in PLTs to discuss
new teaching
options
knowledge
1-2
3-4
5-6
7-8
9-10
20
Instructional
leadership
activities
Build staff
awareness,
feedback from
peers
Student outcomes +
feedback
Online materials that support the literacy approach and its implementation in schools
Schools and teachers needed to see that and how the teaching approach fits with other contemporary
innovations in education and is supported by on-line materials.
The literacy learning continuum The types of reading comprehending actions taught in the
approach form the basis of the English Developmental Continuum in reading, writing and speaking
and listening. You can see the continuum in each area at:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/english/englishcontinuum/defau
lt.htm
The types of comprehending actions are described for each six-monthly increment in reading
knowledge.
Teaching reading comprehension strategies explicitly using the Continuum. A set of seven
training videos show teachers and school leaders how to use the English Continuum to differentiate
teaching and to guide students to use the sequence of reading comprehending strategies explicitly,
systematically and purposefully. These are at:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/english/englishcontinuum/readi
ng/trainingvideos.htm
The Language Support Program Dr Munro designed and developed the Language Disorders
Program for DEECD. This professional development program provides teachers and schools with
the knowledge and skills needed to teach oral language as a basis for learning in other areas. The
link for this resource is http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/programs/lsp/default.htm
Examples of the teaching being implemented Any school or teacher can see the HRLTPs actually
being implemented in regular classroom teaching at:
1.
2.
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/english/literacy/strategie
s/literacytolearn.htm.
http://online.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/LiteracyIntervention/redliteracy/contents/index.html
Examples of the professional learning materials Schools and teachers need to be confident that a
set of professional learning materials is available to support and guide the development of teacher
knowledge. This set of webpages is used to support the implementation of the HRLTPs in a major
school improvement in the Northern Metropolitan Region, DEECD. You can see:
1.
2.
3.
examples of the professional learning resource materials used to guide teacher learning and
to assist teachers and schools to implement each HRLTP in a systematic way at:
http://www.aiz.vic.edu.au/Documents/ page 1 click on Literacy John Munro. The videos are
at AiZ HRLTPs Induction with John Munro 2011.
the overview for the literacy professional learning component at:
http://www.aiz.vic.edu.au/Content/Key-Programs/Literacy/Overview.aspx.
responses of teachers and schools during the first year of the literacy implementation at
http://www.aiz.vic.edu.au/Content/Key-Programs/Literacy/Shareday2008.aspx#.
Professional learning for teachers to lead the literacy learning. Teachers trained in the Early
Literacy Intervention course, run in Masters of Education at the University of Melbourne, have
trialed aspects of the HRLTPs in action research studies. You can see over 400 teacher reports of
this trialing of literacy teaching procedures with underachievers at:
http://online.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/LiteracyResearch/index.htm and click on Research projects or
Teaching strategies and then follow the direction to the total list of projects. Many schools in
Australia use this set of reports as an integral part of their annual professional learning.
21
These research reports also provide additional evidence for the validity of the HRLTPs and support
their use in classrooms.
Guidance with diagnosing individual students’ literacy problems. Many schools and teachers use
the Checklist for identifying reading difficulties at:
http://online.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/LiteracyResearch/index.htm.
Published articles written by Professor Munro to assist classroom teachers to improve aspects of
their literacy teaching. These can be located at http://online.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/selage/index.htm
and click on Literacy Learning Disabilities and then Literacy Learning Disabilities: Teaching:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Sample lesson plans to demonstrate the high reliability literacy teaching procedures.
High reliability literacy teaching procedures: A means of fostering literacy learning across
the curriculum in secondary schools?
What is a useful way of conceptualising the multiple demands of reading.
What do we mean by phonological and phonemic awareness?
Integrating phonological, semantic, phonic and orthographic teaching
Effective literacy intervention strategies Parts 1-3: A model for fluent reading, The
developmental pathway and Characteristics and causes of reading difficulties.
Effective literacy intervention strategies Part 4: A diagnostic pathway for reading
difficulties.
Effective Literacy Intervention Strategies Part 5: Intervention strategies.
Evidence that the literacy program has research support.
Schools and teachers need to know that the approach to literacy and to literacy teaching is
supported by research.
Published articles written by Professor Munro that describe the research that underpin the
literacy program. The following published articles can be located at:
http://online.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/selage/index.htm and click on Literacy Learning Disabilities and
then Literacy Learning Disabilities: Research:
1.
2.
3.
Multiple factors cause early reading difficulties.
How much phonological knowledge to learn to read?
What is dyslexia?
Published articles written by Professor Munro that report research examining the teaching
innovations. The following published articles can be located at:
http://online.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/selage/index.htm and click on Literacy Learning Disabilities and
then Literacy Learning Disabilities: Teaching.
1.
2.
3.
A comparison of three literacy intervention options for Year 2 students who are at risk of
experiencing ongoing reading difficulties. (Munro, 2006).
Literacy improvement is possible in a secondary school.
The Bellfield literacy story: Literacy improvement in a primary school.
Evidence that supported the professional learning and the leadership aspects of the
implementation of the literacy program
Schools and teachers want to know about the professional learning program and the involvement of
staff (teachers, teacher leaders and school leaders) in it. Published articles written by Professor
22
Munro that describe the professional learning framework and the leadership aspects of the
implementation of the literacy program are located at;
http://online.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/selage/pub/leadpl.htm and then click on Leading Professional
Learning. The articles include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
School leaders need to be knowledge savvy but what do they need to know?
Leading the learning edge.
Building a professional learning capacity in a school: A key component of the knowledge of
effective school leaders in the Twenty-first Century
Leading literacy learning: Some key questions to guide the leadership.
Coaching -A learning based approach.
Professional Coaching - A case study.
A blueprint for guiding professional learning.
Pedagogic capital and practice.
Leading professional learning.
Learning more about learning improves teacher effectiveness.
Additional articles describe how a school can improve its literacy teaching by becoming a
professional learning community. Articles can be accessed at:
http://online.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/selage/pub/leadlcom.htm and click Leading Learning
Communities. Articles include:
1.
2.
3.
Leading learning communities.
Implementing a learning community.
Fostering school improvement through the leadership of learning.
The powerful professional learning model used to deliver the successful school improvement
outcomes in literacy in Northern Metropolitan Region DEECD and the high-reliability literacy
teaching procedures, approach and the model of pedagogy used to building students’ literacy
knowledge are all described in Hopkins, D., Munro, J. and Craig, W. (Eds.) Powerful Learning: A
Strategy for Systemic Educational Improvement. Camberwell, Aus: Australian Council for
Educational Research, pp. 49-64. You can read more about this at https://shop.acer.edu.au/acershop/product/A5189BK
Reading Difficulties and Dyslexia
Support materials for assisting teachers and schools to understand and identify various types of
reading difficulties and dyslexia are available at
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/english/dyslexia/default.htm
The materials provide key understandings related to reading difficulties and dyslexia, practical
assessments to support teachers to identify aspects of a student’s reading difficulty, focused
teaching strategies to support the development of a student’s knowledge and skills in reading and a
collection of resources supporting teachers of students with reading difficulties and dyslexia.
Exceptional Learning
How can teachers, schools and systems learn to optimise the learning of students who are gifted &
talented, dyslexic or dyscalculic, educationally disadvantaged, have ADHD or are creative? The
web page http://johnmunro.net/ provides a valuable source of information.
23
Building oral language teaching into the school’s curriculum.
Oral language is widely recognised as an essential foundation for successful learning in literacy,
numeracy and school success generally. Until recently, the acquisition of oral language skills has
been largely overshadowed by reading, writing, spelling and numeracy and has not been considered
a key component of school curricula. Dr Munro’s work, [Munro, J. (2011). Teaching Oral
Language. Building a firm foundation for learning in the early primary years. ACER. Camberwell:
Melbourne] provides teachers and schools with a structured framework for doing this. You can read
more about it at http://interactive.acer.edu.au/index.php/2011/07/teaching-and-learning-orallanguage-skills/d A and at https://shop.acer.edu.au/acer-shop/product/A5165BK.
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