What do your readers need to become GREAT comprehenders?
Most comprehension instruction revolves around teaching a multitude of Comprehension Strategies. Do a Google search for 'Teaching Comprehension' and all you get are the strategy lists. But the research and our own personal experience tell us that strategies are NOT NECESSARILY the starting point.
"Good evidence suggests that important aspects of reading comprehension and inference generation happen automatically .... but readers can also deploy strategies to support comprehension.
Cook, Anne E., and Edward J. O'Brien. "Passive activation and instantiation of inferences during reading." (2015).
So strategies are important, We call them 'Stop-and-think-about it' metacognitive actions that the reader employs to embellish and enhance comprehension or to problem-solve comprehension difficulties.
BUT, these are preceded by a skill set that generates an automatic level of basic comprehension.
From birth our learners have been building a sophisticated understanding of oral language and how it works. They intuitively use their knowledge of the world, vocabulary, language structure, and inference (Scarborough's Rope) to construct meaning from the oral language that they are exposed to.
NOW that they are being confronted with written language, they must learn to transfer this automatic skill set into written text.
Our Point of Difference
SharpReading Stage 3 addresses this 'in-the-moment' processing that is the foundation for quick accurate comprehension BEFORE embarking on the metacognitive use of strategies (Stages 4-6).
"Very motivating, the kids LOVE it. Teachers have real clarity and the lesson preparation time is minimal!!!"
All teachers of reading Yr 2-Yr 10, Learning Support, Teacher Aides, Home Schoolers
Beginner Teachers: Having a simple comprehensive 'how to teach' and 'what to teach' approach for reading comprehension is a godsend - a great foundation to build upon.
Experienced teachers: This course could be a game changer, something that will totally revitalise your approach to comprehension.
School Literacy Leaders: We specialise in school-wide training, with systems to get teacher buy-in and coach training to maintain the integrity and longevity of your PD investment.
STUDENT READINESS:
Students need to have developed decoding fluency to the point where decoding is no longer using up their available working memory.
CLICK HERE for more information about the basic criteria for comprehension instruction (Stages 3-6).
For Year 4 and above students still having decoding difficulties, we suggest our Struggling Older Reader Course.
As you can see, there are 8 units in this course. Once you get past Unit 1: An Introduction, each unit consists of a number of lessons which contain a concept section (new knowledge for you) and a practical component - a new teaching skill - which will be explained and modelled by teacher demonstration (video) and classroom examples (video).
A quick look at the history of Comprehension Instruction and the impact of the Science of Reading (the cognitive research) on today's classroom practice.
We also look at the components of a SharpReading literacy block - what will it look like in my classroom.
Following the principle of 'Gradual Release of Responsibility', the next step is to introduce the Independent Practice Routine. This is where the important unpacking sentences mileage takes place.
Once you are comfortable with the SharpReading routines, there will be enough space in your head to start collecting data on how your students are processing sentences. Find out exactly what you should be looking for and get some practice with it.
Now that you are collecting data, we provide you with some options for fine-tuning your students' 'I think that means...' (ITTM) responses within the Independent Practice routine. We talk about this as introducing Specific Learning Outcomes - 'Soft interventions'.
This unit focuses on Whole Class SharpReading options. A daily 'practice' session means everyone does a bit of ITTM every day, an important part of habituating new mental strategies. We are also catering for whole-class minilessons, a chance to do some hardcore explicit instruction with aspects of Scarborough's language comprehension strands.
If you are working on SharpReading school-wide, then this will be taken care of by our regular visits and in-class support on site at your school.
BUT, if you are doing this on your own we can still make this happen.
This unit outlines a very simple process for recording and uploading one of your lessons so that we can confirm that you have met the standard for accreditation as a SharpReading Stage 3 Teacher.
We then look at some next steps in the SharpReading developmental progression - Stages 4 and 5.
We have spent many hours on our course design to ensure it caters for a whole range of learning preferences.
On-your-own learning
If you want to go it alone then go for it - our written and video explanations, tasks and quizzes will help you to process and apply this new knowledge (use it or lose it)
Live face-to-face tutoring
If you learn best through interaction with a tutor our Zoom webinars and Zoom coaching is all included when you enrol.
Each of the 8 units is a distinct piece of learning with clearly stated Learning Outcomes.
READ/LISTEN/WATCH, anwser a quiz, go away and practice what you have learnt with your students, come back and review.
Alternatively, if you are a big-picture person, do the whole thing in one sitting then take it into the classroom.
This gives you ample time to become truly fluent with this SharpReading course and allows you lots of flexiblity with how you learn best.
Downloadables - We include everything you need to run this course
Course Book - a 24-page at your fingertips classroom resource for quick reference
Templates - Teacher scripts, teaching charts, planning and assessment templates, self-assessment forms
Student Texts - a starter pack of StoryBytes and InfoBytes at 5 levels of difficulty
Great for those who want an event to get them started on a date and time that suits you
A personalised one-on-one training session with one of the writers of the course.
You can schedule this using our appointments calendar in Unit 1
If you want a closer look at the course rationale and how it aligns with the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy (and answers to any other questions) this is the place to go.
Lots of modelling and practice with the routine - let us coach you through this so that you feel absolutely confident about taking it straight into the classroom.
2 x 30 min Zoom coaching sessions are included - If you get stuck, want to problem-solve specific issues with your class, or want to clarify some aspect of the teaching you can book a session.
SharpReading Stage 3 Accreditation - Get recognition for all your hard work!
If you don't yet have an in-school SharpReading Coach or a visiting SharpReading consultant then we have processes in place to make this happen remotely.
There is much more available to you during your 12 months access
Weekly automated email follow-up - reminders, prompts, suggestions, additional tips
FAQs lists throughout the course - if you can't find your answers then email us 24/7
A Stage 3 Online Learning Community - coming soon. This will allow you to connect with other Stage 3 SharpReading teachers.
The proof of the pudding is in the learner outcomes. Typically you will get...
spikes in your comprehension data and then ongoing movement
big gains in student motivation and engagement - they are doing the work!
they understand where they are going and can articulate their learning
For you the teacher our routines are the key to SHARPREADING reading success.
Highly structured routines allow the students to take control of their practice and deals with "How do I teach it?"
Teacher talk is greatly reduced
You are freed up to monitor their processing of text - this is an eye-opener.
No need for a daily lesson plan. You have your routine and your learning outcome. Preparation time is greatly reduced.