Talk for Reading
After the children progress off the RWI programme, they move onto developing their love of reading through 3 important
strands –
Talk for reading aims to develop children into efficient, effective, thoughtful and strategic readers who can learn about life, discover information and deepen their thinking through considering other people’s views and experiences with a critical mind. It is about developing children’s ability to read strategically in order to gain the core purpose from a challenging, quality text.
Our focus is on the active engagement of the reader during reading so that links can be made, connections developed and refined in the light of new information, gradually building and shaping a mental understanding of the text.
The teaching is split into 3 main phases:
Phase 1
Introduction phase
ACHIEVE BASIC UNDERSTANDING
By the end of the introduction phase, the children have a basic understanding of the text and can read it. It has been reread several times, initial responses recorded and core vocabulary learnt. The teacher models fluent reading.
Phase 2
Investigation phase
DEEPEN UNDERSTANDING OF COMPREHENSION
The investigation phase is where children begin to ‘dig deeper’ into the text. Response activities such as drama or writing in role as a character may be used to build a close relationship between the reader and the text.
The unit ends with summarising the main ideas, information, viewpoints, events or themes and evaluation. By the end of this phase, children can read the text confidently and fluently with understanding.
Phase 3
Independent understanding phase
INDEPENDENTLY DEMONSTRATE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING
In this final phase, the students demonstrate understanding independently. This may be through writing about the text or by answering in depth questions and completing comprehension activities.