READING

Understanding words and context

We have been unpacking words contained within the Big Idea such as 'citizen'.

Students were asked to identify key parts of a word and how they contribute to its meaning. They were asked to identify components of the word - syllables, vowels, consonants, smaller words within the word and, discuss its meaning. 

Students practised the skill of summarising to recall the main points or ideas in the text.

Summarising is important as it assists us with identifying key words and main ideas in a text. 

A reader must first learn to sequence a text, retell a text using the language of the text, then put it into their own words (paraphrase) and finally select the most important ideas to sum up what the author has told them.

In order to summarise successfully a reader must be able to:

• select the key words of a paragraph
• locate the topic sentence (for example a sentence that contains the main message often found at the start or conclusion of a paragraph)
• articulate that idea in one sentence
• repeat the above sequence until they have worked their way through a text

Readers must learn to separate the topic sentence or main idea from the supporting details.

Home Reading

We encourage you to share texts that you have at home with your child.

It is important that you have conversations with your child about the text. This could include discussing unfamiliar vocabulary, summarising the main points or ideas in a chapter or, reflecting on characters' actions and emotions.

We will inform you in a future Bulletin as to when your child will commence bringing books home and how you can support them.