NAPLAN - higher order thinking narrative preparation

NAPLAN is the National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy in Australia and I am happy to introduce my latest resource for comprehending and composing narratives (Years 3 to 7).  52 pages of higher order thinking reading comprehension and composing activities are included, based on two narrative texts that have morals or messages.  

I have seriously discounted the price of this new resource, as a way of sharing my work with you and also to support rigorous, explicit teaching, instead of the mindless practising of past test papers.

The resource links the U.S. research on close reading with the Australian research on the Four Resources model (Freebody & Luke, 1990), as well as accountable talk prompts and philosophical inquiry discussion starters.  You can find out more about the links between close reading and the Four Resources model through my previous blog posts here.

You can find out more about my new narrative resource for Years 3 to 7 (pictured above) here or by clicking on the product overview image above.

This is a summary of the contents of the Year 3 to 7 narrative resource, although it was difficult to summarise all 52 pages (I couldn't fit all the pages in the preview overview either):

•  “The Best Teacher” (author unknown)

•  “Nails in the Fence” (author unknown)

•  Higher order thinking reading comprehension activities including graphic organisers and reading response activities, with plenty of inferring and using text evidence to justify responses

•  The Four Resource Model prompts and close reading

•  Making connections, character traits, summarising, problem/solution structure

•  Word work (vocabulary)

•  Writing scaffold for a narrative (fable) - "Show, Don't Tell" prompts, including suggestions for writing leads, themes and character conflicts

•  Accountable talk prompts

•  Book talk discussion prompts

There are other units in this series too that I have recently produced.  There is one for Year 5 using the poem "The Snake" from a previous Year 5 NAPLAN reading magazine (reproduced with permission) which focuses on the comprehension of figurative language which is a priority with NAPLAN narrative preparation:

It is also discounted for a limited time.  You can find out more about this resource here.

There is also a poetry unit that develops students' sensory approaches to writing, to introduce the idea of writing using the senses (which underpins "Show, Don't Tell).  This resource again features figurative language and is based on two original poems by Angela Yardy (reproduced with permission).  I would probably use this narrative resource with Years 3 to 5.  You can find out more about this resource here or by clicking on the images below.

This NAPLAN season, why not try some higher order thinking NAPLAN preparation for narrative texts? Even though we don't know what the genre is going to be this year, in a balanced literacy program, we explicitly teach a range of genres, so these resources can be used well beyond the NAPLAN season :)

The seaside poetry resource also focuses on figurative language and the link between close reading and the Four Resources Model.  It is also discounted for a limited time.

These resources are not based on 'teaching to the test', they are based on rigorous pedagogies, higher order thinking and explicit teaching (not 'skill and drill', or what I often call, 'skill and kill'!).

All the best to my teaching colleagues in Australia for the upcoming NAPLAN season.  I hope you and your students have some fun and authentic, quality learning with these new resources :)