Literacy refers to the ability to read, understand, and interpret written language, as well as the ability to write, compose, and communicate ideas effectively through written forms. It encompasses both the receptive skill of decoding texts and the productive skill of creating coherent written communication.
Students will focus on understanding graphemes (the shapes made on the page), the way these are grouped into syllables (one or more letters form a syllable within the word), how a syllable implies a phoneme (the sound we make when reading aloud), and how words carry a stress vowel sound (emphasis).
All of the above can be commonly seen in the way a dictionary imparts the meaning of a word:
In this entry, a word is shown, and the syllables represented as separate by a hyphen, and the stressed vowel sound in bold font.
Students will be presented with short sentences to read through with three levels of scaffolding, and they are aiming to read fluently the unscaffolded iteration.
To build resilience in reading so that:
- Letters can be recognised as implying sounds and meaning
- Texts can be read fluently
- The graphemes (pen marks on the page) convey meanings we call letters, grouped into words.
- Words can be understood through their morphemes (units of meaning) and phonemes (the sound we make).
- Words have a stressed vowel phoneme, said firmer than the rest of the phonemes.
- When all of this is put together, we can read the words.
Key Vocabulary:
- Morphemes – Letters grouped together into the smallest unit of meaning, such as re•create (do again + make)
- Phonemes – the sound we make for each morpheme
- Graphemes – the letter as it appears on the page
- Stressed / emphasised vowel – the vowel (a, e, i, o, u) that sounds firmer than the rest
Task: Aim to read and repeat one passage until you can read it fluidly, then move on to the next passage. Each passage is the same, but the scaffolding changes.
High Scaffold – follow the morphemes and stress:
Be•neath a sky stit•ched with sil•ver con•ste•lla•tions, a lone wan•de•rer step•ped through a door•way of li•ving roots in•to a world that had been wai•ting for her all a•long.
Medium Scaffold – follow the morphemes:
Be•neath a sky stit•ched with silver con•ste•lla•tions, a lone wan•de•rer step•ped through a door•way of li•ving roots in•to a world that had been wai•ting for her all a•long.
Low Scaffold – wide spacing:
Beneath a sky stitched with silver constellations, a lone wanderer stepped through a doorway of living roots into a world that had been waiting for her all along.
No Scaffold:
Beneath a sky stitched with silver constellations, a lone wanderer stepped through a doorway of living roots into a world that had been waiting for her all along.
High Demand words:
As you are reading, replace the high demand words with the following:
- Stitched – threaded
- Constellations – star groups
- lone – single
- wanderer – explorer
High Scaffold – follow the morphemes and stress:
Be•neath the ro•tting ra•fters of the a•ban•do•ned cha•pel, a sin•gle can•dle gu•ttered — though no li•ving hand had dared to light it.
Medium Scaffold – follow the morphemes:
Be•neath the ro•tting ra•fters of the a•ban•do•ned cha•pel, a sin•gle can•dle gu•ttered — though no li•ving hand had dared to light it.
Low Scaffold – wide spacing:
Beneath the rotting rafters of the abandoned chapel, a single candle guttered — though no living hand had dared to light it.
No Scaffold:
Beneath the rotting rafters of the abandoned chapel, a single candle guttered — though no living hand had dared to light it.
High Demand words:
As you are reading, replace the high demand words with the following:
- rotting – old
- rafters – wooden roof
- abandoned – left alone
- chapel – church
- guttered – struggled
High Scaffold – follow the morphemes and stress:
Un•der the blin•ding flood•lights of the fi•nal match, the stri•ker stood mo•tion•less — his heart•beat lou•der than the roa•ring crowd.
Medium Scaffold – follow the morphemes:
Un•der the blin•ding flood•lights of the fi•nal match, the stri•ker stood mo•tion•less — his heart•beat lou•der than the roa•ring crowd.
Low Scaffold – wide spacing:
Under the blinding floodlights of the final match, the striker stood motionless — his heartbeat louder than the roaring crowd.
No Scaffold:
Under the blinding floodlights of the final match, the striker stood motionless — his heartbeat louder than the roaring crowd.
High Demand words:
As you are reading, replace the high demand words with the following:
- Striker – attacker
- motionless – still
- roaring – cheering
High Scaffold – follow the morphemes and stress:
Un•der the soft hum of the fry•ers and the glow of the men•u boards, they spo•tted each other across the Mc•Don•ald’s booth and ex•chang•ed shy, ex•ci•ted smiles. Over shared fries and a milk•shake with two straws, their aw•kward small talk mel•ted into ea•sy laugh•ter. By the time their trays were emp•ty, it felt less like a first date and more like the beg•in•ning of some•thing warm and won•der•full•y un•ex•pec•ted.
Medium Scaffold – follow the morphemes:
Un•der the soft hum of the fry•ers and the glow of the men•u boards, they spo•tted each other across the Mc•Don•ald’s booth and ex•chang•ed shy, ex•ci•ted smiles. Over shared fries and a milk•shake with two straws, their aw•kward small talk mel•ted into ea•sy laugh•ter. By the time their trays were emp•ty, it felt less like a first date and more like the beg•in•ning of some•thing warm and won•der•full•y un•expec•ted.
Low Scaffold – wide spacing:
Under the soft hum of the fryers and the glow of the menu boards, they spotted each other across the McDonald’s booth and exchanged shy, excited smiles. Over shared fries and a milkshake with two straws, their awkward small talk melted into easy laughter. By the time their trays were empty, it felt less like a first date and more like the beginning of something warm and wonderfully unexpected.
No Scaffold:
Under the soft hum of the fryers and the glow of the menu boards, they spotted each other across the McDonald’s booth and exchanged shy, excited smiles. Over shared fries and a milkshake with two straws, their awkward small talk melted into easy laughter. By the time their trays were empty, it felt less like a first date and more like the beginning of something warm and wonderfully unexpected.
High Demand words:
As you are reading, replace the high demand words with the following:
- exchanged – swapped
- awkward – difficult
- unexpected – new
Student Task:
Take one sentence at a time of the text you are studying, and re-write it to include the dots and bold font that can make it easier to read. Provide plenty of space between the words too.
Finish the sentence:
Working with you parents and carers at home, continue to copy out by hand sentences from a variety of places. Use the dot and bold technique to work out how to split words into their different sounds.
If bold is hard to recreate, use an underline, or a highligher.
The sentences can come from books, magazines, newspapers – anywhere!