Big Idea 1: Learners make sense of written texts

Learners use:

• a processing system to decode and comprehend text. Readers develop expertise in using sources of information and comprehension strategies to make sense of text.

• knowledge of text structures and features. Readers develop their knowledge of text features and use this to navigate and understand texts.

• vocabulary knowledge. Successful comprehension depends on understanding most of the meanings of the words in the text.

This means that they:

• use both skills (automatic processes) and strategies (deliberately selected processes) to understand text.

• decode the words in the texts they read and understand their meaning.

• use a range of strategies to work out the meaning of the texts they read.

• draw on their knowledge of how texts are structured to help them make meaning (for example, they scan through headings in a report to find the section that is of most interest to them).

• understand that different texts have different structures, and that these impact on the way a reader engages with a text.

• use their knowledge of sentence structures, and of the way ideas are linked in texts, to make sense of the overall text.

• use strategies to work out the meanings of unfamiliar words.

‘Making meaning’ refers to understanding the content and ideas of a written text. This includes illustration or other visual elements that may be included in a written text.

‘Texts’ include continuous and non-continuous texts in digital and print forms.

Big Idea 2: Learners read critically

This means that they:

• understand that writers of texts are influenced by their culture, values, beliefs, and sense of identity.
• use the above understanding to identify a writer’s point of view, their purpose for writing, and the language techniques the writer has used.
• begin to reflect critically on the explicit and implicit messages in the text, as well as how they have been presented by the writer to the audience.
• think about the background knowledge and experiences of the writer of the text when they assess the credibility of informational texts.

Big Idea 3: Learners read for different purposes

Learners:

• are clear about their purpose for reading and have appropriate strategies to meet that purpose.

• understand and use ideas in texts.

• locate and evaluate the ideas and information within and across a range of print and digital texts to meet their purpose.

This means that they:

• select texts that meet their purpose for reading.

• identify main ideas and information relevant to their purpose for reading, both within and across texts.

• know that their purpose for reading, and their background knowledge and prior experiences, will impact on the strategies they use for reading (which may include skimming, in-depth reading, and re-reading).

• choose appropriate strategies for reading depending on their purpose for reading.

• choose appropriate strategies for reading depending on their background knowledge/prior experiences