Literacy immersion toolkit (Lit) is a reminder of best practice when teaching in an Australian indigenous context. Due to high absenteeism, trauma and the wide range of birth languages, students’ range of literacy abilities will broaden the further they progress through school.
Ensuring that Standard Australian English (SAE) and numeracy are taught in a holistic way, literacy immersion is the central focus of your lesson planning.
From a one-off lesson to a term-long study, if a unit is not based around text then develop a group negotiated text and scour it for literacy and numeracy teaching opportunities.
But most importantly because SAE is such an intense focus you must ensure that the content of your text is educational and part of a comprehensive syllabus that integrates the Australian Curriculum (AC) with Indigenous Language and Culture (ILC).
Remember:
You are the students’ model of the English language.
Speak and write Standard Australian English.
- Do not experiment with your indigenous language skills or simplify your words.
- Speak clearly, at a measured pace.
- Allow students time to translate your voice and then time to comprehend your meaning.
- Consider your sentence structure and be prepared to stop and explain the meaning of a phrase you used.
Know your students.
- What are the reading/writing levels in your class?
- Check students’ literacy level or run your own tests such as Schonell or Running records.
- Do all your students understand the alphabet? How about capitals vs lower case? Assess them for their knowledge of the printed language. (See Concepts of Print Assessment)
Choose your text carefully.
- Analyze the text for language and complexity (Immersive Reader in Word 365 is great.)
- Evaluate the text’s suitability for the class, if the concepts are too complex or culturally embodied.
- Discuss your plan with your Assistant Teacher for cultural suitability and your senior teacher for advice. Your school may well have a library of suitable texts that have already been analyzed.
Plan ahead.
- Decide on two or three language items to concentrate on for each lesson. These may be sight words, spelling lists, linguistic structures, technical terms, inferential meanings etc.
- Brainstorm extension activities that are linked to the concepts and content in the text, as well as the curriculum area.
- Clearly express the learning outcomes for each of the activities and display them.
- Decide on assessment activities, rubrics and what evidence you will record.
Be explicit.
- In an EAL/D context, there is no room for hinting, intuition or osmosis. Lack of clarity causes students cognitive overload, stress, and a down-shift in their quality of thought. Students should know what they are learning, why it’s important and how to improve.
20 steps for every text.
1. Listen, speak, read then write.
It can’t be said often enough. Listening is the first step in the literacy process. Students need to hear Standard Australian English (SAE) often and clearly. Always use your sound field system and model reading to the students. Listen to your students, at every level, there are always new words and sounds for students to practice. Use but do not get distracted by phonics programs such as this excellent document from CDU. Immersion is the key to learning.
2. Discover the Text (Build the field of knowledge; set students up for prediction).
Talk about the contents of the text. Discuss and record what the learners already know about the topic and theme of the text. Represent this in the form of a semantic web or notes on a retrieval chart. Use information from the title, chapter headings, introduction and the summary of the text to discuss what the text might cover/be about (prediction).
3. Prediction
Using the headings, prior knowledge, illustrations etc. brainstorm and discuss with the students what this text could be about.
4. Read the text aloud with the students.
● Modelled. Just the teacher. (I do)
● Shared. The whole group with the teacher. (We do)
● Guided. Individually. (You do)
● Independent. Individual extended reading. (You do)
5. Complete oral cloze exercises (Checking the students’ linguistic accessibility to the text)
- Teacher and student together
- individual student (one to one) with the teacher.
6. Confirm predictions, check for understanding, resetting predictions
- discuss whether the section of the text so far was as predicted
- what may happen subsequently in the text – further prediction based on content so far
- exchange ideas, opinions and feelings about the content of the text.
7. Read the text to the students with fluency and expression.
- Encourage students to read along.
- Explore the text by planning together to role-play aspects of the characters, the contexts, the issues, the solutions, etc.
● Make links between the written text and the real-world experiences of the students. Talk about similarities and differences.
- Discusses the genre of the text with the students.
- Deconstruct the text so students learn how different authors use different styles for effect.
- Demonstrate how the author has structured the text and how the different parts make up the whole.
8. Retell (Assessment)
Have the students retell the text in groups of two or three, stating their opinions and their reasons for them. Give students different sections to retell and comment on. Record audio or video for assessment.
9. Word Walls
- Display the English alphabet along a wall. Teach the sound, letter names and patterns. Practice single sounds, blends, word endings, irregular letter/sound patterns etc.
- Use a ‘Stick and ball’ font like Arcon, Poppins or Century Gothic for everything. (EALD students struggle with the serif in popular school fonts like Vic) Use correct capitalization even in your headings.
- Discretely label everything in the room, especially around the door. (through, above, over, under etc)
List words from the text under the appropriate letter name. - With the students, make a list of words that fit certain categories linked to the study of the text e.g. words that describe the characters, words that describe feelings/emotion linked to the plot, words which carry specific meanings etc.
- Display this list and continue to add to the lists as the unit of work develops.
- Use these words to develop a word wall dictionary. (Use dictionaries! Understanding how dictionaries work is a literacy tool to support further learning.)
- Continue to add to this visual display as unfamiliar words are encountered in the text.
- Teach the students how to use word walls as a resource for their personal writing. Use the growing list of words on these wall resources for the study of words including spelling, rules and irregularities in rules.
- For example, students, in pairs discuss and sort the words on cards into categories:
- word families
- same endings/beginnings
- sound patterns
- letter patterns
- rhyming words
- plurals etc.
10. Reconstruct the text
- Modelled. Just the teacher. (I do) Display this prominently in the classroom.
- Shared. The whole group with the teacher. (We do)
- Interactive. Small groups. (we do)
- Guided. Individually. (You do)
11. Independent writing (assessment)
(Expect independent writing only after students have been part of group-negotiated writing and they have seen a model of what the final product can look like.)
Organise for the students to begin writing.
- Brainstorm, discuss and list possible ways to write about the text.
- Eg: plot, setting, content, genre.
- Students begin their first draft and continue developing this daily.
- Provide feedback to individual students about their writing so far.
● Lead a class meeting to discuss the writing so far and to make suggestions which individuals may take up as they continue their writing.
- Students review their writing so far, based on teacher input and revise as necessary.
- Repeat until the writing is complete.
12. Check for comprehension.
Sort scrambled text, use longer chunks of text such as paragraphs/ the contents of a page.
- The whole group with the teacher. (I do)
- In groups of two or three. (We do)
- Individually (You do)
13. Deconstruction of the text with the students to produce a visual representation that summarises the structure of the genre of the text or the main events/time sequence/actions in the text – a story map or graph. https://youtu.be/hntHGr8JR7o
Have students draw and annotate diagrams and illustrations for everything. It helps them consolidate their learning and it also lets you check for understanding.
14. Check comprehension.
Use the new words and phrases learned to construct sentences that mean the same as the original. (Show how the same meaning can be constructed differently in English)
Create alternative endings and beginnings for sentences and larger chunks of text.
- The whole group with the teacher. (I do)
- In groups of two or three. (We do)
- Individually (You do)
15. Practice listening skills.
Students need to learn to hear the sounds in English that are different to the sounds in their language Once these listening exercises have been introduced, do some of them for 10 minutes every day. Listening exercises should cover the areas of stress, intonation and rhythm and pronunciation of English.
- Listen for specific sounds in spoken texts. Choose a group of words, a word, or a sound that the students need to listen to and learn to pronounce. When the students hear the target sound/word they indicate in some way.
- Read a part of any text which the students are familiar with substituting incorrect words. Allow the students to correct the words and supply the appropriate ones.
- Choose target sounds from the text. Play games that require the students to discriminate between the sounds
- Play alliteration games by adding onto a list of words that begin with the same sound pattern; play rhyming games by finding new words that sound the same; work out words where the beginning and end sounds have been reversed.
- Choose a repetitive part of the text to use as a chant, while the students follow the rhythm and stress of the language using body movements, musical instruments etc.
(As well as learning to hear the sounds of English, Second language learners need to be taught explicitly how to pronounce some English sounds that are not part of their repertoire.
Use any of your texts to concentrate on particular aspects of English pronunciation. Include sounds, words, phrases, whole sentences incorporating intonation and rhythm.
- The whole group with the teacher. (I do)
- In groups of two or three. (We do)
- Individually (You do)
17. Examine the differences between spoken and written English.
Language is constructed differently for writing than it is for speech. The formal construction of written English needs to be explicitly taught to second language learners.
Examine the differences between spoken (free-flowing spontaneous) and written language.
Analyze some recorded English from any aspect of a previous activity and compare it with the writing of the group-negotiated text.
18. Check comprehension
Decide about true/false statements based on the information from this unit.
- The whole group with the teacher. (I do)
- In groups of two or three. (We do)
- Individually (You do)
Use multiple-choice questions based on the text.
- The whole group with the teacher. (I do)
- In groups of two or three. (We do)
- Individually (You do)
Recognise and correct substitutions or errors in the text.
- The whole group with the teacher. (I do)
- In groups of two or three. (We do)
- Individually (You do)
(Formal speaking is a specifically taught skill. Allow students to practice with material that is familiar to them, that they have been taught about and scaffolded into.)
Explore the text through an oral presentation. Discuss and plan the presentation. Make group notes, use headings e.g. what, who, where, when, how.
(Assessments)
For each unit of work, assess oral language. Make notes about the student’s knowledge, understandings and use of language. A group of students should be targeted for assessment in each unit of work. Engage the students in discussion during the activities, record the students using Standard Australian English and write anecdotal notes about the student’s use of English as observed.
Record the student as they:
Give their ideas, opinions, and feelings about the stimulus text or retell the text. And make notes and/or record the student’s responses to the listening, oral cloze and intonation exercises or pronunciation of the target sounds/words/phrases for the unit.
Also, observe and note students’ level of participation in whole group songs or recitations. Note their confidence and clarity of words.
20. Library
Take the class to the library at least once a week. Expect each student to take out a book to read for enjoyment.
21. Mathematical Literacy (bonus points)
Every activity needs to be examined for opportunities to integrate mathematical concepts and thinking. Our students need to practice problem-solving and reasoning in practical everyday situations. Use mathematical language at every opportunity.
- Number and algebra,
- Measurement and geometry,
- Statistics and probability.
Consider how to incorporate;
- Pattern
- Money
- Time
- Volume
- Graphs
- Estimation
- Distance
- Angles
- Problem solving
- Data collection
- Mapping
Students need to understand the reasons and usefulness behind Maths rather than the process to solve equations. Activities must start from concrete physical manipulatives before moving to abstract numerals and functions. Teach methods of simplification and estimation.
Look at years 2&3 of the Australian Curriculum where students move from the concrete to the abstract.
Use the NTs Mathematics Essentials student tracker to gauge where your students sit.
Lit draws on resources from Fran Murray’s Walking Talking Texts which is a comprehensive framework for teaching and assessing in our indigenous context. When you have time, explore Fran’s Walk Talk Teach.
*Schonell
Reading Test
The child should read the words left to right. When a word that gets a little difficult, ask the child to sound it out. If the child can’t say what the word is, then go on to the next one.
The person supervising the test will give one mark for each word correctly pronounced – even if the reader self corrects. The supervisor will not suggest corrections. No prompting. No hurrying. If the reader mispronounces slightly as in postage with a short ‘o‘, the first time, then ask for the word again, marking it correct if the reader has self-corrected. Otherwise, do not ask for a word to be re-read.
If you do not give away the pronunciation of words that the reader does not know, then this same test may be used again at a later date to assess progress as a result of a teaching programme.
Reading age = (Number of words correct / 10) + 5
Spelling Tests
Choose what you believe will be an appropriate point to start the test.
Dictate each word in turn, saying the word individually, then putting it into a sentence and finally repeating the word.
e.g. time Can you tell me the time? time
Dictate slowly and clearly. Never hurry the learner and repeat the word as often as is needed.
Continue until the learner has made at least 5 consecutive errors.
Retesting.
Strictly speaking, you should not re-test within a year of the previous test if you are using a standardized, normed test. Six months is an acceptable time delay, but it is usually unwise to retest within six months. Re-test using the B version of the test and alternate each subsequent time.
Spelling age = (Number of words correct / 10) + 5
Reading Test
| tree | little | milk | egg |
| book | school | sit | frog |
| playing | bun | flower | road |
| clock | train | light | picture |
| think | summer | people | something |
| dream | downstairs | biscuit | shepherd |
| thirsty | crowd | sandwich | beginning |
| postage | island | saucer | angel |
| ceiling | appeared | gnome | canary |
| attractive | imagine | nephew | gradually |
| smolder | applaud | disposal | nourished |
| diseased | university | orchestra | knowledge |
| audience | situated | physics | campaign |
| choir | intercede | fascinate | forfeit |
| siege | recent | plausible | prophecy |
| colonel | soloist | systematic | slovenly |
| classification | genuine | institution | pivot |
| conscience | heroic | pneumonia | preliminary |
| antique | susceptible | enigma | oblivion |
| scintillate | satirical | sabre | beguile |
| terrestrial | belligerent | adamant | sepulchre |
| statistics | miscellaneous | procrastinate | tyrannical |
| evangelical | grotesque | ineradicable | judicature |
| preferential | homonym | fictitious | rescind |
| metamorphosis | somnambulist | bibliography | idiosyncrasy |
Spelling Test A
| net | can | fun | top | rag |
| sat | hit | lid | cap | had |
| let | doll | bell | yes | then |
| may | tree | by | ill | egg |
| land | how | your | cold | talk |
| flower | son | seem | four | loud |
| ground | lowest | brain | write | amount |
| noise | remain | hoped | worry | dancing |
| damage | else | through | entered | cough |
| fitted | spare | daughter | edge | search |
| concert | domestic | topic | method | freeze |
| avoid | duties | recent | type | instance |
| liquid | assist | readily | guess | attendance |
| description | welfare | various | genuine | interfere |
| accordance | mechanical | anxious | signature | allotment |
| approval | accomplished | remittance | financial | capacity |
| surplus | exceptionally | successful | preliminary | resource |
| prologue | colonel | coarse | referring | courteous |
| exhibition | affectionately | attorney | pinnacle | toboggan |
| definite | guarantee | anniversary | irresistible | hydraulic |
Spelling Test B
| see | cut | mat | in | ran |
| bag | ten | hat | dad | bed |
| leg | dot | pen | yet | hay |
| good | till | be | with | from |
| time | call | help | week | pie |
| boat | mind | sooner | year | dream |
| sight | mouth | large | might | brought |
| mistake | pair | while | skate | stayed |
| yolk | island | nerve | join | fare |
| iron | health | direct | calm | headache |
| final | circus | increase | slippery | lodge |
| style | bargain | copies | guest | policy |
| view | library | cushion | safety | patient |
| account | earliest | institution | similar | generous |
| orchestra | equally | individual | merely | enthusiastic |
| appreciate | familiar | source | immediate | breathe |
| permanent | sufficient | broach | customary | especially |
| materially | cemetery | leisure | accredited | fraternally |
| subterranean | apparatus | portmanteau | politician | miscellaneous |
| mortgage | equipped | exaggerate | amateur | committee |
*Concepts of Print Assessment
| Concepts | Prompts | Responses/Scores |
| FRONT COVER (Book Concepts) | “Show me the front of this book.” | One point for correct response. |
| BACK COVER (Book Concepts) | “Show me the back of this book.” | One point for correct response. |
| THE TITLE (Book Concepts) | “Show me the name of this book or story.” | One point for pointing to title on cover or title page. |
| PRINT CARRIES THE MESSAGE (Reading Concepts) | “Show me where I start reading.” | One point for print. Zero points for picture. |
| BEGINNING OF TEXT (Directionality Concepts) | “Show me with your finger where I have to begin reading.” | One point for pointing to the first word. |
| LEFT TO RIGHT; TOP TO BOTTOM (Directionality Concepts) | “Show me with your finger which way I go as I read this page.” | One point for moving left-to- right on page with finger. |
| RETURN SWEEP (Directionality Concepts) | “Where do I go then?” | One point for return sweep (top line to bottom line). |
| ONE-TO-ONE MATCH (Reading Concepts) | “You point to the words while I read the story.” (Read slowly, but fluently). | One point for one-to-one matching of print with spoken word. |
| FIRST WORD (Concepts of Word) | “Use your finger to show me the first word on this page.” | One point for pointing to the first word on the page. |
| LAST WORD (Concepts of Word) | “Use your finger to show me the last word on this page.” | One point for pointing to the last word on the page. |
| WORD (Concepts of Word) | “Move your fingers until I can see one word. Now, show me two words. | One point for BOTH correct responses. |
| FIRST LETTER IN A WORD (Concepts of Letter) | “Show me the first letter in a word.” | One point for correct response. |
| LAST LETTER IN A WORD (Concepts of Letter) | “Show me the last letter in a word.” | One point for correct response. |
| ONE LETTER/TWO LETTERS (Concepts of Letter) | “Move your fingers and show me one letter. Now, show me two letters.” | One point for BOTH correct responses. |
| LETTER NAMES (Concepts of Letter) | “Show me three letters that you know on this page and tell me the name of each one.” | One point for pointing and correctly naming three letters. |
| A CAPITAL LETTER (Concepts of Letter) | “Use your finger to show me a capital letter.” | One point for pointing to or framing a capital letter. |
| A SMALL LETTER (Concepts of Letter) | “Use your finger to show me a small letter.” | One point for pointing to or framing a small letter. |
| PERIOD (.) (Punctuation Marks) | “What is this called?” or “What is this for?” | One point for naming and/or demonstrating an understanding of what a period means. |
| QUESTION (?) (Punctuation Marks) | “What is this called?” or “What is this for?” | One point for naming and/or demonstrating an understanding of what a question mark means. |
| EXCLAMATION(!) (Punctuation Marks) | “What is this called?” or “What is this for?” | One point for naming and/or demonstrating an understanding of what an exclamation point means. |
| QUOTATION (“) (Punctuation Marks) | “What is this called?” or “What is this for?” | One point for naming and/or demonstrating an understanding of what a quotation mark means. |
| COMMA (,) (Punctuation Marks) | “What is this called?” or “What is this for?” | One point for naming and/or demonstrating an understanding of what a comma means. |
Running Records
A running record in its simplest and form is a count of how many words a student reads correctly. Have a student read the 100 words of a text, if they get 90 correct then the text is ‘instructional’ and a good level for them to progress, if they get less than 90% then they will be missing too many words for comprehension, more than 95% correct and the text is too easy. You can usually make this assessment after listening to 10 or 20 words you don’t have to do the whole 100.
However, analysing the mistakes a student makes can be very informative to you as a teacher, and thus Running Record Conventions can be useful.
Except for any logos, graphics, designs, photos, emblems and trademarks, this document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. (you can share and modify it but don’t ask for money for it) For more information, contact: Eric.Barrows@gmail.com