Michaela Wynne S00153267

AT2
Reading comprehension for Year 4 students
Part 1 - Rationale
Two lesson plans have been designed for a fictitious Year 4 class based on their literacy
needs discovered through assessment. Each literacy lesson has been built around a text
that incorporates the fictitious classes Inquiry topic, and has a learning intention derived
from the Linking and Combining Information in paragraphs progression point of reading
development.

The texts selected for the lessons were chosen due to their content and comprehension
level. Boy Overboard by Morris Gleitzman is featured as the class novel due its focus on
refugees which corresponds with the inquiry focus of the class. According to Penguin
Books Australia, the publisher, Boy Overboard is aimed at students aged 9-10 years and
over which is the average age range for a year 4 class room (Penguin Australia, 2015).
This recommendation informs the teacher that the vocabulary and themes of the book are
appropriate for the desired class. To accompany the novel of Boy Overboard, the picture
book The Little Refugee written by Anh and Suzanne Do was selected as the text for the
focus group due to its more simplistic writing style. The students selected for the focus
group are low achieving students in reading comprehension and require a text that is more
accessible, especially when investigating synonyms which is a new concept for these
students.

Lesson two incorporates multimodal literacies. Texts are referred to as multimodal when
they incorporate at least two or more of the semiotic systems (Anstey, 2010). Multimodal
texts can be delivered via different technologies, however for this particular lesson we
have incorporated a digital electronic text allowing for exploration of the 5 semiotic
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systems inviting students to make and convey meaning through investigation of these
systems (Anstey, 2010). Lesson two uses a fictional animated text that continues the
theme of refugees. The text was chosen due to the strong presence of the semiotic
systems and their use to evoke particular emotions within the viewer. The year 4 class
have not previously been introduced to semiotic systems, therefore this will be an
introductory lesson where they will mainly focus on the linguistic, visual and audio
systems. Due to the semiotic systems being a new concept for students, no focus group
will take place allowing the teacher to conduct an observation assessment of all students
that will dictate future focus groups where the semiotic systems will be further investigated.

Each lesson has a learning intention that aims to develop a particular comprehension
strategy. These comprehension strategies have been selected based on the data of the
fictitious year 4 class. Both lessons have been designed around the reading progression
point Linking and Combining Information in paragraphs. This progression point was
selected as the majority of students in this class were operating at or around this level
meaning the lesson would be relevant and accessible to all students with the aid of
scaffolding for lower students and extending for capable students (Scott, 2015).

Instructional strategies have be incorporated as the backbone of each lesson. The

strategies read aloud, shared reading and guided reading are all present. Each strategy is
used for different purposes and helps develop students reading skills. Reading aloud with
students, both at school and at home, is extremely important and beneficial as it
demonstrates fluency, expressive reading and introduces students to new vocabulary
(WETA, 2015). Read alouds are critical learning opportunities for students as they provide
a controlled environment for the teacher to actively model and scaffold comprehension
strategies, which is the reason this insturctional strategy was selected to be used in the
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lesson plans (Wiseman, 2011). Shared reading is another instructional strategy that is
enriched with benefits that aid in the development of strong and capable independent
readers. Shared reading provides opportunities for students to develop prediction abilities,
build understanding about connections between text and images and extend and develop
knowledge of vocabulary (Smith, 2015).

The focus group included in lesson one participates in a strategy known as Guided
reading. This particular instructional strategy has several fundamental purposes that
include enabling struggling and independent readers to extend their reading powers and
teach students how to read a range of texts with fluency and understanding (Iaquinta,
2006). This strategy was employed as there were members of the class who were low
achieving in the reading comprehension strategy underlying the lesson and therefore
required a scaffolded approach to the topic. Guided reading involves the teacher working
with a small group of students who have a similar reading ability, allowing the teacher to
meet the needs of all students regardless of their level of proficiency (Iaquinta, 2006).
Guided reading develops skills of predicting and inferring meaning, extends vocabulary
and allows for reading strategies to be strengthened (Burkins, 2015). It is important for
teachers to remember that the goal of Guided reading is to not simply teach students to
read successfully, but to assist in developing their strategic actions for processing a text
(Fountas, 2012).

Each lesson involves a thinking routine as a class activity that complements the reading
comprehension strategy being explored. Thinking routines are simple structures that are
designed to promote students thinking and display learning (Visible Thinking, 2015). They
are great activities for the classroom as they are so simplistic that they don't require high

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levels of explanation allowing time for investigation and exploration of existing subject
matter. (Visible Thinking, 2015).

These lessons have been designed so that the individual learning needs of all students
within the fictitious class are being supported. Learning intentions have both been
scaffolded and extended for particular students and aims to nurture the growth and
development of all students literacy understandings.
Word Count: 872

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Part 2- Lesson Plans

Lesson 1
Lesson Focus : Reading Comprehension - Understanding of Synonyms

Year Level: Grade/ Level 4

Duration: 60min

AusVELS Domain: Literacy

AusVELS Sub-strand Dimension: Interpreting, analyzing and evaluating (ACELY1692)
Relevant Elaborations: Building and using prior knowledge and vocabulary

Cross-curricular links: Civics and Citizenship

Scope and Sequence : demonstrate understanding of the contribution of people
from the many culturally diverse groups that make up the Australian community.
Focusing on the lives and journeys of refugees.

Learning Outcome(s) / Standards:

Refer to Appendix 4 for lesson description, learning intentions and success criteria.

Shared Text for the whole class:

Boy Overboard, Morris Gleitzman, refer to appendix 1.

Shared Text for focus group:

The Little Refugee, Anh and Suzanne Do, refer to appendix 2

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Lesson Introduction (Before Reading)

Gather students on the floor and initiate discussion about inquiry topic and current class
novel Boy Overboard. The aim of this time is to capture students attention, provoke
thought and draw out prior knowledge.

Refer to Appendix 5 for question prompts and further discussion

Consolidation and Practice (During Reading)

Hand out the photocopied chapter 24 from the novel Boy Overboard.
Using a short section of the book, the instructional strategy read aloud will take place and
the activity of finding synonyms will be modeled to the entire class by the teacher before
students complete an independent task at their tables.
We will be using chapter 24 of Boy Overboard, however during shared reading we will
only read page 119.
Refer to appendix 6

FOCUS GROUP
During the class activity, a focus group will be run with lower achieving students in the area
of linking and combining information in paragraphs which cover the understanding of
synonyms. Refer to appendix 7

Lesson Conclusion (After Reading)

At the conclusion of the whole class activity ask students to bring their photocopied
sections of Boy Overboard to the floor for concluding discussion. Refer to appendix 8

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Lesson 2

Lesson Focus : Reading Comprehension - Extracting and Organizing information

Year Level: Grade/ Level 4

Duration: 60min

AusVELS Domain: Literacy

AusVELS Sub-strand Dimension: Interpreting, analyzing and evaluating (ACELY1692)
Relevant Elaborations: Finding specific literal information

Cross-curricular links: Civics and Citizenship

Scope and Sequence : demonstrate understanding of the contribution of people
from the many culturally diverse groups that make up the Australian community.

Learning Outcome(s) / Standards:

Refer to Appendix 9 for lesson description, learning intentions and success criteria.

Shared Text for the whole class:

Animated text - BBC Learning: Seeking Refuge Series - Alis Story, refer to appendix 3

Lesson Introduction (Before Reading/ Viewing) 5mins

Gather students on the floor and initiate discussion about inquiry topic and nonfiction texts.
The aim of this time is to capture students attention, provoke thought and draw out prior
knowledge as well introduce todays text.
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Refer to Appendix 10 for question prompts and explanation.

Consolidation and Practice (During Reading/ Viewing) 35 mins

After viewing the video for the first time ask the students how they felt about the animated
text.
1. Was it what you expected?
Refer to Appendix 11 for Class discussion and activity

Lesson Conclusion (After Reading/ Viewing ) 10 mins

At the conclusion of the whole class activity ask students to bring their VIPs with them to
the floor.
Allow time for students to share what information they extracted from the animated text
encouraging discussion about how the information was portrayed (literal/ semiotic
systems)
Make sure a recap of what the semiotic systems are takes place, consolidating and
reemphasizing the new concept for students.

Lesson Plans Word Count : 462 words

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APPENDIX 1: Printed Text

Gleitzman, M. (2002). Boy Overboard. Australia: Penguin Group.

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APPENDIX 2: Printed text

Do, A. & Do, S. (2011). The Little Refugee. Australia: Allen & Unwin.

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APPENDIX 3: Animated Text

Freedom From Torture. (2012). BBC Learning: Seeking Refuge Series - Alis Story.
Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/44516196

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APPENDIX 4 : Lesson One - Learning Outcome(s) / Standards

During this lesson students will develop and strengthen their understanding of synonyms
through locating words in a provided text and substituting them for a word of similar
meaning whilst maintaining the fluency and accuracy of the sentence. Students will Think,
Pair, Share with other members of their literacy groups allowing for discussion and
development of extended vocabulary lists.

Literacy learning intention:

We are learning to....
- make sense of synonyms
- use a thesaurus to discover words with similar meanings
- interchange vocabulary of a written text whilst maintaining the same meaning

Success criteria for the whole class:

I am doing well if I.....
- am able to substitute words in the written text with a synonym
- correctly use a thesaurus
- actively participate in group discussions

Inform the students that todays lesson will be focused on synonyms and we will be aiming
to develop and extend our vocabulary by finding synonyms for words in a familiar text.
Remind them of todays learning intention and success criteria (as listed above).

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APPENDIX 5: Lesson One - Lesson Introduction (Before Reading)

1. We recently finished our class novel Boy Overboard, who can remind us what it was
about?
2. Who can remind the class what a Refugee is?
3. What have we learnt about the lives of Refugees?

Once students have finished recalling prior knowledge, questioning will now shift from our
inquiry topic to reading comprehension, focusing on synonyms.

1. Does anyone know what a synonym is?

2. Can you provide us with an example?
3. What is a synonym for scared? (frightened, terrified ect.) - Complete a few examples as
a class. Discuss why it is important to know synonyms and how they can make stories/
texts more interesting.
4. Talk about the purpose of a thesaurus and how we can use them

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APPENDIX 6: Lesson One - Consolidation and Practice (During Reading)

Ask students to follow along as you read. Make sure appropriate inflection and tone is
used.
Once completed engage students in conversation about what was happening in the text.

1. Were there any describing words (adjectives) in that short section of the book?
List words on the white board.
2. Ask students if they know any words that have similar meanings and could be used
instead, these are called synonyms. Write next to original word on the board.

CLASS ACTIVITY
Students will return to their tables with their photocopied texts and highlight describing
words as they continue to read through all of chapter 24.
High achieving students will be expected to read the whole chapter locating a large
amount of words and multiple synonyms, however lower achieving students have the
option to read a smaller section and are only required to find one synonym per word.
For each word a student highlights they need to write a synonym on the page around the
text (ask students to connect words with arrows so its visually easy to see what words
match).
At each table group there will be a set of thesauruses which the students are free to use
for assistance.
After 15 minutes (clap hands to gather attention) students need to complete the thinking
routine Think, Pair, Share with the person next to them, where they can share their words
and add any new words they didn't think of to their own sheet IN A DIFFERENT COLOUR.
This aims to extend the vocabulary knowledge of the individual students.

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APPENDIX 7: Lesson One - FOCUS GROUP

Students in this group include:
22046281, 22266264, 27610038, 45124860, 77387873, 99291486.
(There are 12 students within the fictional class operating at the reading progression point
Linking and combing information in paragraphs (Scott, 2015). The students selected for
the focus group are the 6 students operating at the lower end of the targeted literacy area)

As a group we will be focusing on a simpler text, The little Refugee using the instructional
strategy guided reading. The picture book is quite long, so for the purpose of developing
the students understanding about synonyms we will only be reading a short section (page
5-15).
Each student needs their own copy of the text and a thesaurus.

1. Ask students what they think the story will be about. Focus on the front cover and then
allow the students to quickly scan the pictures to aid with predictions.
2. As a group we will read through the text twice, first focusing on whats happening in the
text and then focusing on the vocabulary and our investigation into synonyms.
3. The teacher will complete the first reading with the students following along in their own
copies of the book. This is to model accuracy and fluency. Text should be read with
appropriate tone and inflection.
4. The second reading will be shared among the students, each reading a page.
After each student has read their page, ask them to identify a describing word within the
text they just read aloud. Once a word has been selected instruct all the students to find
the chosen word in their thesaurus and discuss the synonyms listed. Continue until all
students have had a turn at reading and students appear more confident with the
concept of synonyms.
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As you move through out the text and students become more aware of what a synonym
is, before using the thesauruses encourage students to think of a synonyms on their
own.

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APPENDIX 8: Lesson One - Lesson Conclusion (After Reading)

Allow time for students to share any synonyms with the class that they are really proud of.
Compare a range of synonyms for one word from the text, investigating as a class if they
all share a similar meaning. When a student suggests a word ask them to reread the
sentence of the text using their synonym to see if the sentence still makes sense and
retains its fluency and accuracy.
Make sure a recap of what synonyms are takes places, consolidating and reemphasizing
the new concept for students.

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APPENDIX 9: Lesson Two - Learning Outcome(s) / Standards

During this lesson students will practice the skill of extracting and organizing information.
The class will view a fictional short story and practice gathering information, both literal
and through the semiotic systems. Students will demonstrate their ability to extract
information whilst viewing through participating in the thinking routine 5 VIPs where they
will collate and share important points from that animated text.

Literacy learning intention:

We are learning to....
- extract and organize information from an animated text
- identify and use the semiotic systems to gather extra knowledge about an
animated text

Success criteria for the whole class:

I am doing well if I.....
- am able to identify 5 important points from the text
- gather information using the semiotic systems
- actively participate in group discussions

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APPENDIX 10: Lesson Two - Lesson Introduction (Before Reading)

1. What is our current Inquiry topic? (Refugees)
2. Who can remind the class what a Refugee is?
3. What have we learnt about the lives of refugees? (encourage them to consider Boy
Overboard, our class novel)
(create a brain storm list / concept map on whiteboard)

Once students have finished recalling prior knowledge and demonstrate understanding
about the topic, questioning will now shift from our inquiry topic to reading comprehension,
focusing on non fiction and animated texts.

1. What is a non fiction text (difference between fiction and non fiction)?
2. What can we learn from non fiction texts? (Have you read a non fiction text before?)
3. What do you think a non fiction animated text is? (allow for discussions about
documentaries, movies based on true stories ect)

INTRODUCE VIDEO (display freeze frame of first scene on projector)

Students will now watch the animated text. The first viewing of the short story is for fun. Do
not introduce students to the concept of extracting and organizing information or the
semiotic systems, as we want them to be simply focused on the storyline with minimal
distraction.

1. We will be watching Alis Story, what do you think it will be about? (make predictions)

WATCH CLIP

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APPENDIX 11: Lesson Two- Consolidation and Practice (During Reading)

Inform the students about what they will be doing in this lesson, drawing their attention to
todays learning intention and success criteria. This lesson will involve the instructional
strategy Shared Viewing (purpose discussed in rationale).

Discuss following points:

1. Extracting and organizing information - What does this mean?
2. Can anyone think of a way we gather information from a movie, other than from listening
to the characters? (what we see, camera angles, music ect)
Inform students that these are referred to as semiotic systems and the author uses
these to cause the viewer to feel different ways.

Students now need to re-watch the short animation practicing the skills of extracting and
organizing information. Encourage students to consider the visual, audio, and linguistic
semiotic systems.
Visual - viewpoints, colour and vectors
Audio - volume, music, sound effects, silence , pitch and rhythm
Linguistic - vocabulary, alphabets, generic structure and grammar of oral language
Ask students to report one piece of information gathered using one of the three semiotic
systems (Demonstrate ability in extract information from an animated text).

ACTIVITY
Students are to return to their tables and complete the thinking routine 5 VIPs. Students
are required to list at least 5 very important points/ facts (high achieving students should
be encouraged to complete more) that they extracted from the animated text. When they

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return to their tables, students will have an iPad between two where they can re-watch,
pause and stop the animated text at their own rate.

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REFERENCE LIST
Anstey, M. & Bull, G. (2010). Helping teachers to explore multimodal texts. Curriculum and
Leadership Journal, 8(16). Retrieved from www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/
helping_teachers_to_explore_multimodal_texts,31522.htm?issueID=12141

Burkins, J. (2015). Using Guided Reading to Develop Student Reading Independence.

Retrieved from http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/
using-guided-reading-develop-30816.html

Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G. (2012). Guided Reading: The Romance and the Reality. The
Reading Teacher, 66(4), 268-284. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/
10.1002/TRTR.01123/epdf

Iaquinta, A. (2006). Guided Reading: A Research-Based Response to the Challenges of

Early Reading Instruction. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(6), 413-418. doi:
10.1007/s10643-006-0074-2

Penguin Australia. (2015). Boy OverBoard. Retrieved from https://www.penguin.com.au/

products/9780141308388/boy-overboard

Scott, A. (2015). Progression of Reading Development [Class Handout]. Department of

Education, Australian Catholic University, Meblourne, VIC.

Smith, WP. (2015). Shared Reading - A Critical Component of Balanced Literacy

Instruction. Retrieved from http://www.k12reader.com/shared-reading-%E2%80%93-acritical-component-of-balanced-literacy-instruction/
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Visible Thinking. (2015). Introduction to Thinking Routines. Retrieved from http://

www.visiblethinkingpz.org/VisibleThinking_html_files/03_ThinkingRoutines/
03b_Introduction.html

WETA. (2015). Reading Rockets: Read Alouds. Retrieved from http://

www.readingrockets.org/reading-topics/reading-aloud

Wiseman, A. (2010). Interactive Read Alouds: Teachers and Students Constructing

Knowledge and Literacy Together. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38, 431-438. doi:
10.1007/s10643-010-0426-9

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