Reading Tasks

Success Criteria (Benchmarks):

I can regularly read texts about [subject content] that I enjoy.

I can give my opinion about texts on [subject content] and provide reasons why.

Examples:

• Create opportunities to celebrate reading for pleasure with your learners. During live classes or in the chat function of MS Teams/Google Classroom, ask learners to share what they are currently reading. Model reading by sharing your own reading and perhaps extend this by describing your own reading journey in life. Highlight the vital role reading for pleasure plays in good mental wellbeing. For more ideas on maintaining a thriving reading culture in your school during remote learning, see this guidance from Scottish Book Trust. More ideas can be found in the links contained within this wakelet.

• Speak to your school librarian about texts appropriate for your subject area. Pass these recommendations on to children or, if your school owns the book, copy up to 5% of a book and share extracts with your learners as a teaser. An excellent range of subject-specific reads can also be found here: St Julian's Reading Challenge.

• Co-create a document outlining the texts learners can read, watch or listen to in your subject for enjoyment or interest. This could include fiction or non-fiction, podcasts, documentaries or television dramas. For example, in Computing Science, discuss any texts related to Coding and collate for shared viewing. These texts can range from episode of Black Mirror to BBC Horizon episodes.

Success Criteria (Benchmarks):

I can select texts or sources that help me learn about... [subject content]

Examples:

• Consider more research-based, inquiry-led learning during remote learning. Pose open questions such as, in Geography, 'If I wanted to learn about convection rainfall in the rainforest, where could I look?' Model effective search strategies on Google and other engines, such as the use of Boolean terms. Discuss the implications of using Wikipedia - both its positive and negative attributes. Highlight key publications in your subject area, like National Geographic.

• Co-create a list of sources for a topic area to extend learning or to develop learners' research skills. Evaluate each source as a class or as part as an assignment before permitting its addition to the class list. This gives learners the opportunity to evaluate the quality of sources to improve their learning. For example, in Health and Food Technology, exploring advice on nutrition can be tricky. Allow learners to submit a 'source for review' and discuss their reliability and usefulness.

Success Criteria (Benchmarks):

I can read aloud clearly and fluently.

I can read texts by:

• scanning a text to find key information about [subject content]

• skimming a text to understand the main ideas about [subject content]

• summarising the main ideas of a text about [subject content] and use my own words.

• analysing information and language about [subject content] in a text.

• clarify anything I am unsure of by using context clues and other resources (peer, teacher, dictionary, internet)

Examples:

• It is good practice to read a text aloud to the class. If not possible, direct pupils who have literacy difficulties to use the Read and Write Chrome Extension. This tool reads aloud pages of text, amongst other useful features.

• Carefully consider the challenge of any reading task. Pupils should be able to understand more than 90% of the text provided to access the text. If necessary, pre-teach any unfamiliar vocabulary. Also, ask yourself:

Is the level of challenge appropriate?

Is the language easy to read and broken up into manageable sections for reading on a device?

Does the text include visual representations to support understanding?

• When selecting a text that you want your learners to read, consider:

The types of texts present in N5, Higher and Advanced Higher coursework and exams; in your subject's university or college courses; accessed for pleasure or interest; or found in industry and the world of work.

• Think carefully about whether the notes you currently share with classes face-to-face could be presented differently during remote learning. Ask pupils to read notes and summarise their contents, clarify any unfamiliar vocabulary, skim notes for their main ideas, or scan for particular details. For example, in History, instead of asking pupils to copy about the Wars of Independence down word-for-word, suggest they only take note of 'things they didn't know before' or 'have learned in this lesson'.

• Using live or pre-recorded lessons, model effective reading strategies in your subject. Split these strategies into 'Before Reading', 'During Reading' and 'After Reading'. A table of tasks can be found below. For example, if tackling a new music style in Music, ask learners to activate their prior knowledge of other learning styles and then re-visit their prior knowledge as you read.

• Use the 5:5:1 Summarising approach. Ask learners to read a text (no more than a few paragraphs) and either independently or through discussions, ask them to summarise the text in no more than 5 sentences. Following this, ask them to distil these ideas into five single words. Finally, ask them to reduce this to only one word, summing up the text as a whole. For example, in Modern Studies, ask learners to use this approach to summarise the effectiveness of Development Goals in Africa.

• Use Google/Microsoft Forms to evaluate learners' understanding of subject-specific vocabulary or assess them. Teach the etymology of words specifically relevant to your subject, including roots, prefixes and suffixes.

Success Criteria (Benchmarks):

I can find, select and sort relevant information from a variety of sources about [subject content].

I can use more than one source to provide evidence for my ideas about [subject content].

I can link ideas about [subject content] from more than one source.

Examples:

• Use the Jigsaw approach. Assign different groups of learners responsibility for becoming an 'expert' on a section of a text. Then ask them to teach the content to the rest of the group by recording a presentation or speaking during a live session. For example, when introducing atomic structure in Science, split aspects of the teaching content into sections and assign to separate learners.

• You could also create a 'class notebook' on Teams or Google Classroom where multiple contributors add their new knowledge together from different sources. For example, in Physical Education, direct some pupils towards an article on Growth Mindset, whilst others watch a YouTube video on the same topic. They then come together and create a document together, either as a class, or in groups.

Success Criteria (Benchmarks):

I can use my own words to make and organise notes to help me learn about [subject content].

I can use these notes to help me write about what I have learned about [subject content].

Examples:

• Introduce a new concept, idea or process by assigning learners extended reading. Ask pupils to use the Cornell note-taking approach - a highly effective means of taking notes. (Video to share with pupils here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLtM3pa9_SQ) You should consider modelling this approach during live or pre-recorded lessons. For example, in English, when introducing the context of a new poem, ask learners to take notes on the life of the writer.

• Ask learners to create a knowledge organiser from what they have learned in their reading. More information about knowledge organisers can be found here. For example, when introducing a series of dates and other details in a History unit, pupils can skim and scan to create an attractive knowledge organiser.

• Ask learners to create visual organisers to organise their thinking and deepen learning. Guidance can be found here. For example, in Computing, visual organisers are highly effective in demonstrating computational thinking and in Maths may show the logical process of a formula or concept.

Success Criteria (Benchmarks):

I can identify the purpose of a text about [subject content] and give reasons for my opinion.

I can identify the purpose of a text about [subject content and give reasons for my opinion.

I can identify the intended audience of a text about [subject content] and give reasons.

I can give the main ideas of a text about [subject content].

I can compare texts about [subject content] and make comments about their content/style/language.

Examples:

• Use a range of literal, inferential and evaluative questions to engage and challenge learners. A literal question should be easily lifted from a text, perhaps as a quotation; an inferential question asks learners to read between the lines and come to a conclusion with the evidence presented; and an evaluative questions asks the reader to come to a judgement and give reasons for their view. Improve these skills by developing multiple choice quizzes responding to the assigned reading. For example, in Science, pose a range of increasingly challenging questions responding to a text on photosynthesis.

• Learners should experience a mix of questions - What? When? Who? Where? Why? How? - and tasks using command words - Identify, Describe, Explain, Analyse, Evaluate... - to demonstrate their understanding and extend their learning.

• Extend learners understanding of a text by asking them to create questions and a marking key. Use these questions to create Google/Microsoft quizzes for the class. For example, in Geography, ask pupils to design a quiz for their peers based on reading about the relationship between weather and climate.

• Asking learners to create a Venn Diagram, and other similar organisers, are excellent visual explanations for similarities and differences between two texts. This is a complex skill and should be modelled by teachers in pre-recorded videos or during live lessons. In History, the use of visual organisers can help pupils to discern similarities and differences between sources.

Success Criteria (Benchmarks):

I can evaluate how relevant and reliable a source about [subject content is and give reasons for my opinion.

I can identify when a writer is trying to persuade or influence me about [subject content].

I can identify features of persuasive writing including: rhetorical questions/emotive language/word choice/ repetition/ statistics.

Examples:

• Creating the opportunity to discuss the reliability and credibility of sources is important, especially as we tackle disinformation and fake news in numerous subject areas. Use the ready reckoner below as a means to guide learners' thinking when approaching a new source. In Modern Studies, this approach may support any teaching around disinformation and fake news.

• Use the questions stems below to guide discussions on the reliability and credibility of sources:

I think that the text is aimed at…

On the other hand, the other text is aimed at…

The text used more informal language such as slang…

The text uses more formal/technical language such as…

The text is laid out in a way which…

I think that the language is effective because…