Shared reading in science Castlemaine SC November, 2009

Turn and Talk… What is shared reading?

Shared Reading is whole class teaching in a supportive environment, using enlarged print and high quality text. Teachers select text which is appropriate for strategic instruction. Students and teachers share the task of reading a text which might otherwise prove too challenging.

Why do shared reading? To show students how to access information in various text types. To define vocabulary before reading a text. To clarify tasks. To develop a shared understanding of the text. To enhance comprehension of a text. To highlight features or structures of text types. To scaffold learning for students.

Chapter 11 is all about Plants Title and illustration encourage text connections which activate prior knowledge, giving clues to what the text may be about.

What is our task?

Defining the task Investigate growth of bean plants. Grow bean plants. Observe the growth of the bean plants. Record your observations. Write a scientific report.

Vocabulary

Remember the word splash? How could you use this tool in your classes?

Visual clues Caption provides further information. Illustration shows identical pots, watering cans are clearly labelled.

What are some variables? Sugar Salt Coffee Water Soil Shade Temperature

Instructions What do you want to find out? Make a prediction. Collect materials. Decide how to collect and record your data. Collect data. Write a report.

Writing a report Title Purpose or aim. Procedure – materials and method. Results. Discussion of results. Evaluation of method and results. Conclusion.

Students who understand how text is organised are better able to…… Locate key information Distinguish between important information and supporting details Synthesise information from different parts of a text or from several texts Connect new information with what is known Restructure schema accordingly

So what…..? What does this mean for our teaching of mathematics? science? technology? art? health? humanities? english? Think about the vocabulary and text structures which are specific to your domain. How can you support your students’ learning through textbooks?