Learning task
1.1 Helping students select texts correctly
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Seeing the big picture
Although the wide reading standard makes no comment about the level of difficulty of the texts, this is a level two standard and is therefore based on levels six and seven of the English curriculum. It is important to check the appropriateness of texts with students as they read and complete log entries. Encourage students to bring their texts to class as this allows for easy checking and it also gives the chance to discuss texts with individuals and the class. Displaying lists of suitable texts and authors in the classroom or library can be an effective way of helping students make appropriate selections. To help students gain an understanding of the range of texts they might read over the year, you could discuss the titles from the
SampleReadingLog (Word 38KB)
.
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Trash or treasure
A pair or small group activity. Have a collection of texts including some that don't fit the criteria. Students decide on their selection according to the criteria, eg. Are the magazine articles too short? Do the short stories come from a collection? Is there a balance of gender and more than two cultural perspectives? Does the story have a critical reputation? Is the text appropriate to level six and seven of the English curriculum? Is the text appropriate to Level six and seven of the English curriculum? They fill in a grid with their selection and get it checked.
- Construct a
grid (Word 46KB)
for the categories you are going to use. During a library visit, ask students to select appropriate texts and fill in details.
1.2 Establishing a critical reputation
Use a computer period for students to do a guided internet search before doing two of their own. Remind students that there are other ways of establishing critical reputation.
- Go to Google Search.
- Type "Patricia Grace Waiariki" into search.
- How many web matches were found?
- Click on a link to find out what award Waiariki won.
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Find the website of Read NZ Te Pou Muramura among your web matches (or go straight there if it is not in the results).
Find what it says about Patricia Grace's stories.
- Now you can begin to fill in the
Critical Reputation template (Word 21KB)
.
1.3 Completing a reading log
Use some of these
starters (Word 33KB)
to model how they can be used to write a reading log that fulfils the criteria. The starters are based on the short story "A Way of Talking" by Patricia Grace.
1.4 Oral response
(NB. Evidence for this performance criteria can be provided in visual or written form).
Get students to form groups of three to practise giving an appropriate oral response as evidence they have read a text. Each person has a specific role that is rotated.
- Student A selects a
starter (Word 23KB)
and talks for two minutes on that topic.
- Student B must ask one question at the end of the presentation.
- Student C fills in a simple evaluation form and reports back
Published on: 16 Jul 2009
