I feel like this has been the single-most important professional development I’ve ever had! I am now planning and developing explicit and systematic lessons with specific purpose and focus. I have a much better understanding of how to narrow the gap between my students.
The Reading to Learn Teachers Resource Package
Reading to Learn (or R2L) is designed to integrate teaching the curriculum, at each stage of school, with teaching the reading and writing skills that will enable every student to succeed. This is a complex task that involves significant changes in teaching practice, and significant new knowledge about language and pedagogy. The 9 books in the Reading to Learn Teacher Resource Package are designed to provide this knowledge about language and pedagogy, in a form that you can use immediately in the classroom. While they are organised to accompany the professional learning program and R2L workshops, they are also designed for teachers to use as a stand alone (self-paced) learning material. They include DVDs and lesson samples which can be used in the classroom. See below samples of each book which are included in the Reading to Learn Teacher Resource Package.
In the first year of school, the strategies support all children to become independent readers and to write successful texts. They use the illustrated story books that teachers read with their classes, to teach all the skills involved in reading and writing, such as comprehension, word recognition, spelling, letter formation, sentence construction and story writing. Because these skills are learnt in the meaningful, engaging context of shared reading books, children can acquire them much faster than through traditional early years activities such as alphabet, phonics and sight word drills. Early years strategies are described in the Reading to Learn Teacher Resource Book 6.
In the primary school, the strategies support all children to engage in reading and writing stories for pleasure, to learn from reading and writing factual texts, and to evaluate texts, issues and points of view in their reading and writing. They use texts in the subject areas that the class is studying, to teach skills in reading and writing, at the same time as learning the content of each subject area. They support all students to read and write texts at the same high level, rather then giving them texts at different ‘ability levels’. In this way they ensure that all students are ready to succeed in secondary school.
In the secondary school, the strategies support all students to learn the content of each curriculum area through reading and writing. They use the texts that students are expected to read in each subject area, to guide them to learn through reading, and to demonstrate what they learnt through writing. They enable teachers to balance the curriculum demands for ‘covering the content’, with teaching the skills that students need to independently learn the curriculum from reading and writing. They are designed to ensure that all students are well prepared for further education after school. Primary and secondary school strategies are described in the Teacher Resource Package Books 1, 2, 5 and 9.
In further education, including university and vocational education, the strategies are designed to embed skills in reading and writing in teaching and learning the curriculum content. They enable tertiary teachers to support all students in their classes to read academic texts with comprehension, and to use the information they learn from reading to write successful texts for assessment.
Kenmore State School tops NAPLAN results for second year
Last year, this Queensland primary school got national publicity for its exceptional literacy growth. Principal Glenn Forbes attributed that growth to “a consistent approach to teaching reading”. That approach was Reading to Learn, which Kenmore was starting to implement across the school.
In 2016, Kenmore’s results were even stronger, shown in these NAPLAN charts for Year 3. Literacy coordinator, Ingrid Freeman, explains that R2L was introduced in the lower school (Prep, Year 1 & 2) in 2014. Targeted support was provided for teachers to implement R2L from 2015.
In reading and writing, steady improvement can be seen from 2014, from average to well above national and similar schools. Spelling improved suddenly in 2016, as lower school teachers made the decision to use the R2L spelling strategies, in place of their traditional spelling practices. Grammar and punctuation have seen huge growth, following R2L’s integrated approach to grammar as meaning. Numeracy has also grown to well above other schools, using R2L’s strategies for teaching the language of maths.
These results, so far above state, national and like schools averages, are especially remarkable as Kenmore has a major program for students with special needs. The literacy and numeracy growth of these students, along with the whole school, is a testament to the power of R2L to meet the needs of all students in the school. Read more here
Detailed Reading and Rewriting are the turbo-charged engines of the R2L program. They enable all students to read and write high level texts with complete comprehension and fluency. Book 4 explains how Detailed Reading and Rewriting work for stories and factual texts, by discussing the demonstration lessons on the R2L videos