Planning for Literacy Learning Reading Comprehension

TOPIC: History First Contacts

The diversity and longevity of Australias first peoples and the ways Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples are connected to
Country and Place (land, sea, waterways and skies) and the implications for their daily lives. (ACHHK077)
Year Level: 4
Time: 60 minutes approximately
This assessment task addresses the broad AC English: Content Descriptor from the Literacy SubStrand: Interpreting, analyzing, and
evaluating. Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning to expand content knowledge, integrating and linking ideas
and analysing and evaluating texts (ACELY1692).

Relevant Elaborations: Creating mental images

Text type: Print based fiction

During this lesson students will:
Students will become familiar with the comprehension strategy of visualizing or creating images in their minds to help increase meaning of
the text. Students will be learning this strategy by applying the sketch to stretch strategy; this will assist them in being able to create
mental images from description in texts. The focus group consists of students who are at phrase-level reading. They will be focusing on
visualising and sketching what they see in their minds as they participate in a read aloud, shared reading activity. The students will be able
to develop the ability to visualise what they are reading so as to deepen meaning and assist in improving upon reading comprehension.
LESSON INTRODUCTION:
The Hook (1-5mins)
Read a very descriptive passage from a book, very slowly emphasizing all the features and descriptions of what is written. (See appendix 1
for an example passage) Ask students to describe what they saw in their minds when you read the passage.
Explain to the students that good readers create images in their minds as they read to help them to understand a text better.
Literacy learning intentions (2-5mins)
We are learning to create images in our heads to improve our understanding of a story.
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Learning behaviours
2

I can create images in my mind as I read; this will help me to make sense of the text.

Success criteria for whole class

I am doing well if I can create an image in my mind as I read, then sketch what I see to help me to interpret the text.
Success criteria for focus teaching group
I am doing well if I can sketch an image of what I see in my mind as I listen/read a story.
Shared Text for whole class: Roughsey, Dick (1983) The Rainbow Serpent. Times House Pty Ltd: Kensington
Instructional Roles:
Role for whole class: Explicitly teaching visualising using the sketch to sketch strategy. Demonstrate the strategies to the students.
Role for focus group instruction: Guide the students more explicitly using visualising with the sketch to sketch strategy, by breaking it down
step by step.
BEFORE: Whole class instruction/strategy preparing for reading the text. (5-10 mins)
Explain what visualizing or creating an image in our mind is. Model the strategy by reading out the title of the text The Rainbow Serpent.
Describe what you think the serpent might look like. Explain that visualizing is like watching TV in your mind. Ask students to close their
eyes and imagine what they think the rainbow serpent would look like. Share with a partner. Share a few with whole class.
DURING: Whole class strategy for reading the text. (5-10 mins)
Explain the sketch to stretch strategy to the students. Demonstrate the strategy by reading the first page from the text. Draw a quick
sketch of your interpretation. Ask students to interpret what you drew, ask: What do you think it means? Why do you think I drew this
picture? After the students have discussed your sketch, tell them your own interpretation of your drawing.
Read aloud the rest of the text to the whole class, being careful not to show the pictures in the book the class. Ask the students to sketch
some images of what is happening in the story as you read it.
AFTER: (5-10 mins)
1. Whole class activity/thinking routine to explore the text using the reading comprehension strategy.
Split the students into groups of 3-4. Ask students to share their sketches with their group. Each student will share their interpretations and
thoughts of one anothers sketches. The author of the sketch should avoid sharing their own interpretation until after the group members
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Planning for Literacy Learning Reading Comprehension

have had a chance to share their thoughts. This activity should continue until each student shares a drawing and receives
feedback and thoughts on their drawings and have offered their own interpretation as well.

Extension of task: Give each group a copy of the text only from a page or two of the story. They must read it and then draw an
image working together. They must discuss their interpretations, what they think it might look like and negotiate and agree upon what
should be included in a visual representation.
2. Focussed teaching group:
Using the text, the very blue thingamajig repeat the same sketch to stretch activity. This time the focus is that the students will draw what
the blue thingamajig look like as you read the story.
Read each page, but stop before the text says what it is describing. For example: a pair of yellow wavy Ask the students to predict what
it might be. Then reveal the word wings. Allow 1-2 mins for students to quickly sketch what they imagine the Blue Thingamajig looks like
to them, they will be adding to their sketch after each page. (See appendix 2 an example of a passage from the text). When the story is
complete, students can share with one another what they think the Blue Thingamajig looks like.
(See appendix 2 for extended practice activity)
Assessment: Use the sketches that the students have drawn and listen to the conversations that students are having about what they
imagined in their minds.
LESSON CONCLUSION: (10-15 mins)
Reflect up on the lesson as a whole class. Discuss with the students the strategy of visualizing. Asking some questions such as: How is
visualizing similar or different to watching television? How did visualizing help them to understand the text better? How does reading differ
when they do not visualize images in their heads as compared to when they do?

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Planning for Literacy Learning Reading Comprehension

TOPIC: History First Contacts
4

The diversity and longevity of Australias first peoples and the ways Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples are connected
to Country and Place (land, sea, waterways and skies) and the implications for their daily lives. (ACHHK077)
Year Level: 4
Time: 60 minutes approximately
This assessment task addresses the broad AC English: Content Descriptor from the Literacy SubStrand: Interpreting, analyzing, and
evaluating. Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning to expand content knowledge, integrating and linking ideas
and analysing and evaluating texts (ACELY1692).
Relevant Elaborations: inferring meaning from the ways communication occurs in digital environments including the interplay
between words, images, and sounds.
Text type: Animated screen-based fiction
During this lesson students will:
Students will be creating deeper meaning of the text by learning to read between the lines, by making inferences about the characters in
the digital text story. Students will be prompted to ask how do you know? questions to examine a digital text to make inferences about
what is happening. Students will be learning how to connect what they already know and to ask questions to help make inferences about a
story for better comprehension. The focus group for this lesson is targeted at the students who are in the interpretive reading level. This
group will be extending their understandings of inferences and assisting them towards progressing into the Inferential reading level. The
students will be exploring using inferences to dig deeper and step inside the perspective of a character from the story.
LESSON INTRODUCTION:
The Hook (1-5mins)
Display a descriptive passage for the whole class to see. (See appendix 3) Discuss what happened in the passage and what do they think
happened. Ask students how they know that to prompt the students to make inferences about the text. (See appendix 3)
Explain that good readers make inferences to help understand the text. We are making inferences, when we read between the lines and
use evidence from the text and what we already know. Making an inference is making meaning from the text that is not directly written in
the text by asking how do you know?.
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Planning for Literacy Learning Reading Comprehension

Literacy learning intentions (2-5mins)
5

We are learning to make inference by using evidence from text and what we already know and asking how I know.

Learning behaviours
I can make an inference by looking at the evidence in the text and thinking about what I already know and asking how I know.
Success criteria for whole class
I am doing well if I can make an inference by using evidence from the text and from what I already know and ask myself how I know.
Success criteria for focus teaching group
I am doing well I can dig deeper into a text by making inferences by using evidence from the text and from what I already know and
asking how I know.
Shared Text for whole class: Kelly Garmanjan, C., (2007) Mermaid story. Dust stories, ancient stories new voices. Retrieved from
http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/dustEchoesFlash.htm
Instructional Roles:
Role for whole class: Explicitly teaching making inferences and modelling how to make them from the text. Explain and demonstrate the
how do I know questioning strategy.
Role for focus group instruction: Extending the focus group students by working with the students to dig deeper in texts by making
inferences.
BEFORE: Whole class instruction/strategy preparing for reading the text. (5-10mins)
Explain to students that we will be using the question How do I know? to help to make an inference. Demonstrate the strategy by looking
at the first few minutes of the video. Prompt the students to justify their responses by asking prompting questions. (See appendix 3 for an
example demonstration)
DURING: Whole class strategy for reading the text. (5-10 mins)
Play the Mermaid story video clip to the whole class once through fully to allow students to take it in and see the video in its entirety.
Play the story a second time. This time pause the video at the end of an event and ask the students how they know questions to help
them make inferences about what is happening. This is necessary as there is no text or spoken words in the video clip for them to use. (See
appendix 3 for question examples)
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AFTER: (10-15 mins)
6

1. Whole class activity/thinking routine to explore the text using the reading comprehension strategy.

Explain that this video had no words or speaking, we could only interpret what was happening in the story by making inferences based on
what we could see and what we know and have experienced ourselves.
Ask students to summarise the story in a comic strip, draw 5 scenes from the video and write a description of what is happening in each
scene and what the character might have been saying. The comic strip must have a beginning, middle and an ending. The comic strip
should be based upon the inferences that students made while watching the story.
2. Focussed teaching group:
Extending group: This group of students will be digging deeper into the story by stepping inside the main character and looking from his
perspective. The teacher and the students ask questions about the text to make inferences about the character, why he left, how he might
have been feeling and what decisions or dilemmas he faced. Using screen shots of parts of the digital story pose some questions to assist
students to make inferences. (See appendix 4 for images and examples of questions)
LESSON CONCLUSION: (10-15 mins)
Students can then be given the opportunity to share some of their work with rest of the class.
Reflect upon the strategies as a class. Ask some questions such as: How does asking how do I know? questions help you to get more
meaning from the video? Remind students that good readers make inferences as they view or read a story, by asking ourselves how do I
know that questions.

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APPENDICES
8

APPENDIX 1: Whole class resources for visualizing.

Roughsey, D., (1983). The Rainbow Serpent. Times House Pty

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Ltd: Kensington This poster maybe

displayed to remind students of the strategy they are using to help them
to read.

Planning for Literacy Learning Reading Comprehension

9

Saxby,

C.,

(2013).

Big red kangaroo. Walker Books, Australia

(Passage from Big Red Kangaroo) Far inland, where ocean in a dim memory, the sun floats on
the waves of another bake-earth day. In the long shadows, a big red kangaroo licks his
forearms and lets the early evening breeze wash over him.

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Planning for Literacy Learning Reading Comprehension

APPENDIX 2: Focus group resources for visualizing.
10

Oliver, N., (2003). The very blue thingamajig. Omnibus Books: Adelaide, Australia
(Passage from The very blue thingamajig) And on the following Sunday the very blue thingamajig woke
up with, one twisty twirly tale, a pair of yellow wavy wings, an odd number of red hideously hard horns,
two lots of ferocious fangs, five skinny pink stripes, an even number of curly whirly hairs, seven tangerine
tail spikes and.

Extended practice activity: Pair students up and supply them with some manipulatives such as blocks and tangrams. One student
creates a shape or a figure out of the materials without showing their partner. They must then describe to their partner what it looks like.
The second student then has to draw a picture base upon the descriptions they are given. Once the drawing is completed, students
compare the drawing to the figure. Repeat the activity, but the students swap roles. They then discuss the results. Ask questions such as;
what would make drawing the descriptions easier? Was it easier to draw a second time around? What could you do differently?

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Planning for Literacy Learning Reading Comprehension

APPENDIX 3: Whole class resources for making inferences.

11

Kelly Garmanjan, C., (2007) Mermaid story. Dust stories, ancient stories new voices. Retrieved from
http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/dustEchoesFlash.htm
Example passage for Hook activity: Mr. Pecks the chicken was standing on the side of the road. He heard what sounded like a BIG
TRUCK coming. He decided to cross the road anyway. Unfortunately, he never made it to the other side. Poor Old Mr. Pecks.
Ask students what happened to Mr. Pecks the chicken. (Students are likely to say he was run over by a truck) How do we know that? Does
the story say the chicken was run over by the truck? Where does the author say that? What clues or evidence are there to make us think
that Mr. Pecks was run over?
-

Mr. Pecks heard what sounded like a big truck

He crossed the road anyway

He never made it to the other side

Example how do you know questions for before and during viewing the video clip:
Play the video until the man is following the bird and then pause it.
Ask students some questions, some that are right there in the images and some that they must infer to answer.
What is the man doing at the beginning? How do you know that?
Who are those people? Why do you think that?
Why did the man leave? How do you know?
What do you think the man is feeling? What makes you suggest that?
Play the video clip until the man is with the mermaids.
Why did the mermaids pull him into the water? How do you know?
Do you think that the turtle is friendly? How do you Know?
Do you think the man is happy or sad? Why?
Play the video clip again until the turtle comes and takes him away.
Who were the people that were appearing and disappearing? Why do you think that?
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What reasons would those people be crying? How do you know?
12

Where is the turtle taking him?

Play the last the video clip until the end

How do you think the people felt when he came home? How can you tell?
How was the man feeling?
What do you think might happen now?
The original text version of Mermaid story
There is an old man who is what we call a good-medicine-man or song-man. He is leaving the camp because he wants to go walkabout. Our
song man feels discontent and disgruntled with his lot, perhaps he feels unloved and unappreciated and so he goes wandering outside the
camp. His family doesnt seem to care. He takes his rest under a big stringy bark tree and begins to daydream. In his dream the old man
feels a sense of being pulled or lured by the land. He gets up and begins walking towards the cliff edge of the waterfall. He continues
climbing down the rugged cliff face of the waterfall. Something is driving him. He finds himself in a trance walking towards the sandy banks
of the
plunge pool. There is something there he can feel it. Suddenly three mermaids appear and startle the old man! The mermaids are young
and extremely beautiful. They have chains of flowers in their long black hair and the same skin as our song man. The old man had never
seen anything as beautiful in all his years. He is mesmerized by their beauty and enchanted by the way they move through the water. Their
magic fascinates him. Slowly, the song man begins to sing to the mermaids! He wants to keep them there as long as possible! As he sings
he keeps moving closer to the mermaids. When the old man is at the waters edge, the mermaids grab him by the arm and take him deep
down into the water! In the plunge pool there are tunnels and caves. The song man finds himself in an underworld where mermaids live
and water creatures play and frolic. The song man loses time and spends his days singing and enchanting the mermaids with his music. As
time passes, the song man begins to think about his family again. He sees a vision of his wife, children and grandchildren crying and
mourning the loss of their father and husband! The old man is moved by the realization that he is loved and needed by his family and his
people. He explains to the mermaids that he misses his family terribly, and that his family are mourning his death! He tells them that he
must leave them and the underwater world, and that he cannot play music for them any more. The mermaids cry and beg him to stay, but
the old man is certain that he must
go. So a fresh water crocodile and a turtle take turns in leading the old man back up to the surface of the water. When the song man
reaches the bank, a butcher bird that is
carrying the spirit and love of family follows him back up the cliff face and leads the song man back home to his family. The butcher bird
sings the magpie song which is a symbol of a homecoming. The old mans family hear the butcher bird first and then they see their song
man in the distance and rush up to meet and embrace him. It took the old mans experience with the mermaids to make him understand
that he is loved and that he belongs with his people. EDUCATION 3

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APPENDIX 4: Focus group resources for making inferences.

Text for focus group: Kelly Garmanjan, C., (2007) Mermaid story. Dust stories, ancient stories new voices. Retrieved from
http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/dustEchoesFlash.htm
Example questioning based around images from the video: In the beginning of the story, the man is dancing around and everyone
left him. Why is the man dancing around? Why do you think they left? How do you think this made the man felt? How do you think you
would react if that happened to you?
When the man is sitting in the cave by himself, he is seeing images of this people crying. What are they crying about? What would the man
be thinking? He would the man be feeling?
Ask each student to create a diary entry/s from the old mans perspective; they will talk about what happened to them, how they were
feeling, what actions they took, and anything else that they were able to infer based on what they saw in the digital story.

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References
15

Anderson, D. R., & Hanson, K. G., (2010). From blooming, buzzing confusion to media literacy: The early development of television
viewing, Developmental Review, 30(2), 239-255, DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2010.03.004.

Anderson, N. A., & Richards, J. C. (2003). How do you know? A strategy to help emergent readers make inferences. The Reading Teacher,
57(3), 290-293. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA111011359&v=2.1&u=acuni&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=e7c54ca3f48feff64c0bef5b6cdafb5f
Anderson, R., & Pearson, P.D. (1984). A schema-theoretic view of basic processes in reading comprehension. In P.D. Pearson (Ed.).
Handbook of reading research. New York: Longman.
Hibbing, A. N., & Rankin-Erickson, J. L. (2003). A picture is worth a thousand words: using visual images to improve comprehension for
middle school struggling readers: this article discusses teacher and student drawings in the classroom, illustrations in texts, picture
books, and movies as external image-based tools that support reading comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 56(8), 758-770.
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International Reading Association, (2003) Guided Comprehension: Visualizing Using the Sketch-to-Stretch Strategy [lesson plan]. Retrieved
from. http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/guided-comprehension-visualizing-using229.html?tab=4#tabs
International Reading Association, (2003). Visualising [poster]. Retrieved from http://www.readwritethink.org
Kelly Garmanjan, C., (2007) Mermaid story. Dust stories; ancient stories new voices. Retrieved from
http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/dustEchoesFlash.htm
McTigue, E. M. (2010). Teaching young readers imagery in storytelling: what color is the monkey? The Reading Teacher, 64(1), 53-56. DOI:
10.1598/RT.64.1.6
Oliver, N., (2003). The very blue thingamajig. Omnibus Books: Adelaide, Australia
Roughsey, D., (1983). The Rainbow Serpent. Times House Pty Ltd: Kensington
Saxby, C., (2013). Big red kangaroo. Walker Books, Australia
Teacher Vision, (2000-2014). Making Inferences, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing. Retrieved from
https://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plan/reading-comprehension/48612.html
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Teacher Vision, (2000 -2014). Visualizing: Hill of Fire [Lesson Plan]. Retreived from https://www.teachervision.com/skillbuilder/lesson-plan/48793.html

Woolley, G. (2010). Developing reading comprehension: combining visual and verbal cognitive processes. Australian Journal of Language
and Literacy, 33(2), 108-125. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA228435610&v=2.1&u=acuni&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=f3a127ed87802747885902e219ac73c6

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