Page 5 - Reading

5
Support Materials for Students with Special Education Needs
English K–6
Reading
ASSESSMENT What evidence of learning is required?
Given their critical role in reading, it is important for teachers to assess and carefully monitor
the following aspects of literacy (as appropriate to a student’s stage of learning).
Reading and aspects of literacy
What Why
Phonemic awareness The ability to blend and segment sounds is essential
for reading. Difficulty with phonemic awareness is
a strong predictor of future reading difficulties.
Letter–sound relationships Decoding using letter–sound relationships provides
students with a system they can use to work out
words, including unfamiliar words. Automatic word
recognition develops when students have had
sufficient practise identifying letter–sounds and
blending them together to decode a word.
Word parts and whole-words Recognition of word parts and whole words
(particularly high frequency words) is important
to reading fluency.
Fluency Reading fluency involves appropriate pace,
attention to punctuation and expression.
It is essential for reading comprehension.
Vocabulary Vocabulary knowledge is important for both
decoding and comprehension. Decoding is made
easier if a word is in a student’s oral vocabulary.
To be able to comprehend a text, students need
to be able to understand most of the vocabulary.
Comprehension Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading.
As students’ reading comprehension develops
they transition from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading
to learn’. This in turn provides an opportunity for
further language development.
For students experiencing difficulty in reading, teachers should undertake diagnostic
assessment. This enables the teacher to identify specific areas of reading difficulty and
to determine appropriate intervention strategies.
Below are examples of what may be observed by a teacher and the contributing knowledge,
skills and strategies which may require assessment/further investigation.