Reading

Reading is a social and critical practice. It is something we do to achieve personal and social purposes. We read written, visual and multimodal texts for enjoyment, to find information and to learn. Through reading, we build relationships and communicate with others across time and space.

Successful readers are able to question the authenticity and accuracy of meaning gained from text by evaluating their interpretation against prior knowledge of the world, prior texts and prior experiences. In the process, knowledge is transformed and new knowledge is created and integrated into existing knowledge.

Strategic readers are able to talk about reading and about themselves as readers. Effective and supportive reading instruction, enables students to become fluent readers. It supports students to comprehend what they are reading, to apply and communicate knowledge and skills in new contexts, and to have a strong desire and motivation to read.

At Pacific we have been using the Developmental Reading Assessment for the last 10 years and this year we have engaged in a new online reading assessment tool.

The new PM Benchmark Literacy Assessment equips teachers with accurate and robust assessment tools to identify students' instructional or independent reading levels. The resource offers a complete literacy assessment, allowing teachers to conduct reading records, to effectively capture students' progress in reading fluency, retelling abilities and comprehension within and beyond the text.

The PM Benchmark Literacy Assessment resources provides teachers with the right tools to:

• accurately identify students’ reading levels
• use evidence to inform teaching practice and lesson planning
• monitor students’ reading achievement and progress over time
• implement consistent assessment practices within and between schools
• capture data for school review and community feedback.

The new systems numbering does not directly correlate to the old and we are excited to move forward with such a thoroughly researched and informative assessment tool.

Mrs Sue Zweck, Head of Learning K-5