Reading processing strategies (senior primary years 5–8)

Workshop plan

Purposes

• To support students in using processing strategies when reading.
• To alert parents/caregivers to how processing strategies might be used with their children at home.
• For students to share with parents/caregivers and teachers their knowledge, understandings, and uses of processing strategies.
• For teachers to learn what they might do in their own practice to build on parent/caregivers’ reading practices with their children at home.

Welcome

 Download an outline of the generic workshop structure:

Generic workshop structure (Word, 32 KB)

Suggested approach

1. Whole group

Talk about the importance of being able to read quickly and easily in today’s world. Processing strategies, which we are going to talk about today, help us when we read. Processing strategies help us look carefully at the words we read, find out if we are making a mistake and work out how to correct it and to check that we are reading correctly.

2. Small group

The lead parent explains that there are a number of processing strategies a student can use when reading. The lead parent lists three strategies (attending and searching; predicting; cross-checking, confirming and self-correcting) and gives examples of what they are and what a student does when they are using them. (Handouts A and B)

The lead parent gives out Handout A and/or Handout B to the parents and gives them time to read and think about it. The group then discusses the handout, perhaps focusing on one strategy only (for example, predicting).

The lead teacher then provides a demonstration (of a student reading to an adult, using a processing strategy) and suggests the parents watch for what the student reading does when there is a problem in their reading and what prompts the adult gives the student.

The group discusses which prompts they have heard the adult use. Parents/caregivers could tick the prompts they heard on Handout A or note the prompts down on Handout B.

3. Whole group

The lead parents report back on what their group has discussed, what they can contribute, what they are wondering about, and what questions they may have. The group may opt to discuss this topic further with teachers and the lead parents to clarify meaning.

When they join in as part of the whole group, teachers may be able to answer some of the questions they have on their sheet (Handout C). If appropriate, a time may be organised for further discussion and demonstrations.

Parents and teachers identify what they might try out over the next week or two and how they could get feedback about it.

Gather data

Refer back to the outline of the generic workshop structure, above.

Farewell and follow-up steps

Refer back to the outline of the generic workshop structure, above.

Resource sheets

Handouts with key messages for parents/caregivers

A: Processing strategies (with prompts).

Handout A processing strategies (Senior Primary) (Word, 43 KB)

B: Processing strategies (without prompts).

Handout B processing strategies (Senior Primary) (Word, 37 KB)

Handout with key messages for teachers

C: Supporting reading to children in the home.

Handout C processing strategies (Senior Primary) (Word, 29 KB)

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