Early+Years+Readers





‘Learning to read, write and gain word knowledge is a developmental process, and there are many ways to describe the phases of development’ (Hill 2012, p. 5).

 Children begin reading from a young age and generally start to read visually first, taking cues from illustrations or symbols to gain meaning. As their reading develops they may begin to draw on the starting letter and its sound to determine what word it could be.

 Hill (2012) describes phases of development as four categorical stages for a students reading development. These are: Beginning (0-3 years); Early emergent (3-5 years); Emergent (P-Kindergarten); Early (K-Year 1); Transitional (Years 1-2); and Extending (Years 2-4) (Hill 2012, p. 5). Dividing the phases of learning into these categorical stages enables students to map progress of student learning, plan for future learning and envisage the distance or the zone of proximal development between what children can do and more sophisticated understandings’ (Hill 2012, p. 5).


 * Beginning || * Handles a book
 * Turns the pages
 * Looks at pictures
 * Listens to book read aloud, joins in with book reading ||
 * Early-emergent || * Chooses favourite books, joins in with books read aloud, memorises rhymes and perdictable books
 * Turns the pages uses left to right directionally ||
 * Emergent || * Begins to grasp concept of words
 * Left to right, top to bottom directionally
 * Reads word-by-word matching spoken word to print. Can retell a simple story ||
 * Early || * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">May still read word-by-word matching each printed word with a spoken word
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Uses multiple sources of information and self corrects if the reading doesn't make sense
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Adjusts reading style to the type of text. Retells the text in sequence. Increasing fluency of reading and reads vocalising aloud ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Transitional || * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Reads with more fluency in phrases rather than word-by-word
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Reads silently
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Can retell main ideas and summarise what has been read
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Uses a variety of strategies to comprehend texts ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Extending || * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Changes style of reading to suit the text type
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Careful close reading for directions and research reports and more fluent reading for narrative and descriptions
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Use a range of reading strategies to identify new words and comprehend texts ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> A child’s reading progression can be found through assessment of their reading fluency, comprehension and VELS progression. It is important that an appropriate text to their level is chosen when assessing, to insure an accurate result.

**<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">Identifying suitable texts: **



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">‘Selection needs to be a blend of topics that are important to children and departmental guidelines. Broad topics that are relevant to the lives of children work best’ (Hill 2012, p. 429). Suggested topics include (Hill 2012, p. 429):

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Children’s homes, families and food <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> The local community’s people and business <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Important local events and current affairs <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Nearby landmarks, rivers, hills and forests <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Natural phenomena like weather, water, wind and air, plans and animals

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> ‘Broad topics like these help children make sense of their own personal experiences and life around them’.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Each member in the group conducted a reading interview with their student to assess previous reading knowledge, opinions of reading, desire to read, what and where they like to read. This interview can help teachers assess the child’s interest and therefore assist in the selection of appropriate texts to maximise the students reading progress.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> An example of a survey conducted with a student I assessed is shown below in figure 1.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Figure 1:



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> These results indicate Child X is an independent reader. He loves reading, particularly at home, enjoys ‘funny and interesting’ books, and understood that reading enables access to information. He successfully identified strategies to manage difficult words and used the title to identify a book’s suitability.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Another great way to assist in selection of appropriate texts for early years learners is through understanding a child’s Funds of Knowledge (see page on Early Years learners and Funds of Knowledge).

**<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">Assessing fluency: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Reading fluency is essential for a child’s reading comprehension (Hill 2012, pp. 191-192). Children will likely experience difficulties with understanding the information read, if they read slowly and with long pauses (Hill 2012, p. 191). This can result in an unenjoyably reading experience, impacting on the child’s attitude towards reading, negatively (Hill 2012, p. 191). During fluent reading a child is, for the most part, expressive (Hill 2012, p. 191). Poor attention to syntax, punctuation and pauses may cause decreased enjoyment (Hill 2012, p. 191).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Reading fluency describes the child’s ability to read a text as a whole rather than word by word. Eg. The dog barked at me when I walked in.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> A reader lacking fluency would read a list of words, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">e.g. The. Dog. barked. at. me. when. I. walked. in.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Often readers find familiar text easier to read with fluency.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Figure 2:



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Using the Reading Fluency Rubric (Hill 2012, p. 194) (see figure 2), each of the members in the group were able to assess the reading fluency of an early years learner in years 1 or 2. After comparing all the results, it can be seen that there is a wide variation in reading fluency.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> The learners reading fluency was assessed by use of phonology, syntactic awareness, expressive interpretation, punctuation and pragmatics.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Two group members analysed their students reading to be at a mid-range level 2. they found that although the students reading of words was great, their use of punctuation was still not developed. They skipped over full stops and commas and barely took breaths when he turned the page. They read softly and in four to five word sentences. Words that he was familiar with were easy, but he had to sound out words that they did not know or know the meaning of. They showed an inconsistent evidence of syntax awareness as some words were said incorrectly and not corrected even when it did not make sense in the story.. Punctuation was rarely used. Full stops and commas were skipped most of the times. There were no pauses in sentences and dialog between characters became part of the narrative.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Three group members found their students were mainly at a level 3, with some areas in between level 3 and 4, placing them in the transitional stage of the phases of development. The text was read with expression and meaningful phrases, with some word-by-word slow-downs, e.g. the word enormous was sounded out and then read successfully. The reading was generally fluent, excelling in syntactic awareness, demonstrated by the child emphasising sentences that ended in exclamation marks.The students demonstrated knowledge of sentence structure, pausing for full stops and reading in phrases rather than words. The students were able to read with appropriate expression, just like their teachers at school.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">One member of the group found the child they intervened demonstrated evidence of Level 4 reading. He consistently read larger phrases, and demonstrated appropriate phonology through correct intonation, stress and timing. Concurrent with level 4 expressive interpretation, he displayed appropriate pragmatics through differing vocal tones, for example, high pitch tones for ladies screaming.He displayed level 3 syntactic awareness, understanding word order and identifying and re-correcting without prompts when omission of a word caused sentences to sound incomplete. He understood and read longer, more complex sentences with adjectival clauses. He attended to punctuation, responding well to commas, however sometimes forgetting to pause at full stops. He responded appropriately to ellipsis, knowing they lead readers on.

**<span style="color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">Assessing comprehension: **



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Reading comprehension is a combination of extracting and constructing meaning from what has been read, concurrently (Hill 2012, pp. 215-218). This involves being able to derive meaning from the actual words, whilst figuring out how print functions to depict words (Hill 2012, pp. 215-218). Reading comprehension also comprises of the child constructing meanings by combining information already known with new ideas (Hill 2012, pp.215-218). Asking a selection of Literal, Interpretive and Inferential questions can assess comprehension.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Comprehension questions include ‘literal’, requiring recall of information from the text, ‘interpretive’, which involve reading between the lines for answers in illustrations, and ‘inferential’, which prompt exploration and understanding beyond the story (Hill 2012, p. 199).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">In my interview, the child demonstrated clear comprehension of the text. Comprehension questions shown below (figure 2) explored the child’s literal, interpretative and inferential thinking. Sam demonstrated transitional stages of literacy development as he recalls main ideas and summarizes what has been read.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Reading comprehension- Mrs. McGee’s Coconut

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Table 1a: Literal questions


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Question || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Response ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">1. What was the name of the lady who bought the coconut? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Mrs McGee ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">2. What did Mrs McGee purchase? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">A Coconut ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">3. What did the animals have to eat? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">The coconut ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">4. What did Mrs McGee buy at the end? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">walnuts ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Table 1b: Interpretive questions
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Question || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Response ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">1. What was Mrs McGee trying to do to the coconut throughout the story? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">break it in half ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">2. Where did the coconut end up? / what was the last place? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">In Kashmir. In the animals stomach ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">3. Is the coconut hard or soft? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Hard, I think it is hard because it bounced everywhere and it didn’t break. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">4. Does Mrs McGee like doing things in an ordinary way? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">No, because she hit it with a golf club and then it went everywhere. The ordinary way would have been to get a knife or a chainsaw. ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Table 1c: Inferential Questions
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Question || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Response ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">1. What do you think the story might be suggesting about the Walnuts at the end? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">The walnuts did the same thing as the coconut. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">2. Do you think Mrs McGee was good at opening things? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">No, because she couldn’t open the coconut. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">3. What did you learn from this story? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Not to hit a coconut with a golf club. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">4. What do you think might happen with the walnuts in the next story? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">The same thing as the coconut. It might land in a different Island. I don’t think Mrs. McGee learnt her lesson from the coconut, I think it is obvious that she would do something silly again. ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">He easily identified answers to literal questions such as the name of the lady who bought the coconut. His ability to deduce deeper meanings to answer interpretive questions such as ‘where did the coconut end up?’ demonstrated high level comprehensive skill. This was clear through his answer ‘In the animals stomach’, instead of the surface answer ‘the island Kashmir with the animals’, suggested by the illustrations. Sam’s answers in question 4, ‘the same thing as the coconut’ and ‘I don’t think Mrs. McGee learnt her lesson … and it is obvious that she would do something silly again’, demonstrated ability to extrapolate future events.



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> VELS levels demonstrate another way to demonstrate phases of development. In the early years these levels range from level 0.5 in prep increasing in quarters to approximately level 2.5 for grade 3.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Progression point 1.25 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Progression point 1.5 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Progression point 1.75 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">At 1.25, the work of a student progressing towards the standard at Level 2 demonstrates, for example: || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">At 1.5, the work of a student progressing towards the standard at Level 2 demonstrates, for example: || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">At 1.75, the work of a student progressing towards the standard at Level 2 demonstrates, for example: ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Reading || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Reading || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Reading ||
 * * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">naming of all uppercase and lowercase letters in the alphabet
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">identification of common sounds for letters
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">independent reading of simple print and electronic texts with moderate accuracy and fluency
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">accurate reading of high-frequency words
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">retelling of what they have read using the text as a prompt
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">prediction of what a text will be about, using textual features and some known words
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">understanding of differences between real and imaginative texts || * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">segmentation and blending of letters in words of one or two syllables
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">use of sentence context, predictable structures and initial letters when attempting to read unfamiliar words
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">accurate and independent reading of print and electronic texts with high-frequency words
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">self-correction, on recognition that their own reading does not make sense
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">inclusion of main ideas in retelling what they have read
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">prediction of what might happen next in a story read independently || * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">recognition of a wide range of letters and sounds, and blends in words of more than one syllable
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">use of strategies for working out the meaning of unfamiliar words in context; for example, sounding out, rereading, using cues from illustrations
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">self-correction, and use of punctuation to contribute to meaning when reading aloud; for example, recognition of quotation marks to identify a speaker’s words
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">ordered retelling of main ideas from a text they have read
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">response to ideas in short print and electronic literary texts ||



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Each member of the group observed a student reading, totaling six children who’s reading skills ranged in VELS level from 1.25 to 2.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Using the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS), two group members assessed their students as level 1.25 working towards level 1.75. Their students had the ability to read and recognise high frequency words and were able to sound out words to complete reading the sentence when in trouble. The students were able to retell parts of the story, however the recount was not necessarily in chronological order. The students were not always aware of grammar, rearing through commas and full stops.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Two other members found their students at VELS level 1.75 working towards level 2. They demonstrated <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">They demonstrated familiarity with a wide range of letters and sounds, self correction and appropriate response to punctuation when reading aloud, such as change of tone when reading speech, and pausing for breathe at full stops. The students were able to predict what might happen next and retells stories in their own words.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> Another member found her student at Level 2 VELS. The child appears to be at progression point 1.75.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Another member found her student is working towards and is very close to level 3 in reading. She has shown evidence of currently sitting at VELS level 2.75

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">It can be concluded that now after having conducted various interviews assessing early years learners reading ability, we as pre-service teachers have a heightened understanding of what texts are appropriate to different standards of learning, the rate at which children's reading develops and what signs to look for when determining a student's reading comprehension and fluency. This of course a valuable resource in our future careers and classrooms.