Teaching reading at Key Stage 3

1. Teaching reading at Key Stage 3 Wot u readin’? It’s called ‘The History of Glue’….. I can’t put it down

2. How to help make links between reading and writing How to maintain good habits from KS2 in a KS3 environment How to balance the teaching of reading with the ‘love’ of reading Whole school responsibility How to motivate and avoid the ‘it’s boring’ syndrome Pupil apathy NLS – extracts used for shared reading of a text – will pupils experience a whole text? Challenges for teaching reading at KS3 How do you teach specific reading skills to individual children within a class of 30 pupils? Staff knowledge/ training to teach skills with confidence Differentiation - reading ages Reading assessment – optional tests and KS3 SATs should show progress by 2 sub levels above KS2 result Reading for different purposes How best to use library lessons

3. Key Stage 3 Reading – Assessment Focuses

5. Key Stage 3 Reading – How to spot Assessment Focuses Find….what is?… how did…? What does it mean when..? What/ how does the writer suggest..? How does..? How can you tell..? How does..? What are the effects of..? How effective is..? What/ how does the writer..?

6. Optional tests in Y7 & 8 • Non-statutory tests for pupils who achieved L4 or higher at KS2 • “offer schools a means to monitor pupil’s progress in Key Stage 3..between the statutory tests at years 6 and 9” (QCA Y7 optional tests Teacher’s guide) • Diagnostic - identify individual needs or group trends • Greater continuity and progress between key stages • 3 texts from different genres with 5 (approx.) questions on each text, each question testing a specific reading skill • Format same as end of KS3 tests • Optional tests marked internally

7. What about pupils who failed to achieve L4 at KS2? • Optional tests assume a minimum reading ability, therefore not appropriate • Pupils identified by SEN dept. in Summer term • Small teaching groups with SEN support • Reading recovery programme • Literacy Progress Units (LPUs)

8. Literacy Progress Units • Aim: to help pupils achieve L4 by end of Y7 • 20 minute sessions with small group • There are six units on:  1. organising writing 2. spelling 3. phonics - word choices 4. inference and deduction 5. information retrieval 6. improving sentences • End of Year 7, pupils sit a Progress Test

9. LPU benefits • Six units written to specifically target reading and writing • Resources and plans are written – minimal preparation time for staff • Tasks relate directly to assessment criteria for L4 on Progress Tests • 20 min– clear focus for each session with small number • Can boost pupil confidence and self esteem • Optional tests could be set at same time as Progress tests

10. LPU issues • Timetable for LPU – remove from lessons? Lunch? Before/after school? • How to ‘pitch’ LPU to pupils • How user-friendly are the resources? Photocopying bill!? • Who delivers the units – English staff? LSA? Librarian? Literacy assistants? • Timing of units – don’t finish too early before tests, but some schools don’t finish them… • What if pupils still do not achieve L4 at end of Y7?

11. How do we teach reading skills? Use of a quick Starter in pairs addressing a specific AF: This one is based on AF3 Read the passage on the next slide. • Why are the writer’s feelings about rugby? • How are we know this?

12. The Starter I couldn’t wait for the games lesson to start. It was going to be great. After all those skills sessions with my dad in the park, I would really show the kids in my class how good I was and maybe, just maybe, I would finally make some friends at the High School. Coming from a different primary school to all the others hadn’t made life easy for me – and today was the day that was going to change everything. I was going to whizz down the wing, side step, then cut in and fly over the line like Jason Robinson in the World Cup Final. All I needed was for someone to actually pass the ball to me, and I would be the star, the hero; everybody’s mate!

13. How do you teach reading skills?( a few tips…) • Little and often – use starters as route in & link to lesson objectives • Use class reader rather than ‘extract overkill’ – prediction, inference etc… • Teacher-led reading – showing pupils how you read a text (use of annotation/ interactive whiteboard) • Diagnostic tests to inform differentiated paired reading • Guided reading

14. Guided reading • Common at KS2 – Y7 will be used to it • 20 min group work with teacher within lesson working on specific reading skill • Clear and focussed learning objectives related to optional/ KS3 tests • Good way of supporting weak students but to also challenge G&T pupils • Diagnostic tests/ target levels useful for grouping • Encourages pupils to be more aware of skills used when reading a text

15. Guided Reading: practicalities • Planning, planning and planning!!! • How to select pupils • How to ensure all pupils in class have guided reading time • Selecting resources for session • How to manage classroom space • How to manage behaviour of rest of group

16. Your turn!! Group activity • You will be given an Assessment Focus and a text • With these, you need to produce a plan of how you would aim to deliver a 20 minute guided reading session for pupils