Assessment to programming for reading

FROM ASSESSMENT TO PROGRAMMING
Assisting students requiring additional support in reading

2
Introduction
© NSW Department of Education and Training 2009
Disability Programs Directorate:Learning Assistance Program
RESTRICTED WAIVER OF COPYRIGHT
The printed material in this publication is subject to a restricted waiver of copyright to allow
the purchaser to make photocopies of the material contained in the publication for use within
a school,subject to the conditions below.
1. All copies of the printed material shall be made without alteration or abridgement and
must retain acknowledgement of the copyright.
2. The school or college shall not sell,hire or otherwise derive revenue from copies of the
material,nor distribute copies of the material for any other purpose.
3. The restricted waiver of copyright is not transferable and may be withdrawn in the case
of breach of any of these conditions.
Every effort has been made to trace the original source of material used in this book.Where
the attempt has been unsuccessful,the Department of Education and Training would be
pleased to hear from the copyright holders in order to rectify any errors or omissions.
This is a product of the NSW Department of Education andTraining focusing on literacy
improvement strategies for students in need of additional support.
This document is available online in pdf format at:
http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/schoolsweb/studentsupport/
programs/disabilitypgrms/assessprogad.pdf

Individual reading assessment 3
Introductio
OM ASSESSMENT TO PROGRAMMING
Assisting students requiring additional support in reading n
FR
Contents
A message to Learning Support Teams 5
PART 1 – Assessment 7
The assessment process 9
Flowchart 1
Accuracy and fluency measure 2
Instructional level texts 4
Comprehension measure 5
Primary student texts 7
Eggs 0
Collecting water 4
Judo and kendo 8
The race 2
Brian’s wheelchair 7
Don’t waste water 1
Be a star performer 5
Fantastic fruit 9
Additional easier texts (stage 2-3) 5
Mum and the frog 8
Ben’s snake 2
Sam’s trip 6
Frog’s garden 0
My white pet mouse 4
Going away for work 8
Party for Ben 2
Secondary student texts 7
The dump 9
Skin 4
Water-dragons 9
Plastics in the sea 104
The Bunyip 109
Journal 114
The atmosphere:past and present 119
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
6
6
7
7
7
8
8
8
9
9

4
Introduction
Additional easier texts (stage 4-5) 125
True blue 128
A real hero 131
Christmas spirit 134
Hey,lads,I’ve just had a great idea! 137
Nappy attack 140
Best of both worlds 143
Green fingers 146
Gwennie 149
Ivy 152
Spooked 155
Down came a spider 158
The hold-up 161
Specific level assessment tasks 165
Educheck 168
Johnson basic vocabulary 173
Sutherland Phonological Awareness Test 176
Phonological assessment for older students 186
Proformas 187
Record of reading 189
Individual reading assessment:Student summary sheet 190
Class/Group accuracy and fluency recording sheet 191
Literacy plan 192
Guided reading planning sheet 193
PART 2 – After assessment 195
Whole school approach 197
Accommodations and adjustments 197
Teaching strategies for critical aspects of reading 198
Resources 203

Introduction
A message
to Learning
Support Teams
Purpose
From Assessment to
Programming has been
designed to assist
school learning support
teams to develop
whole school plans for
improving the reading
achievements of all
students.
It is intended for use
with students:
• from stage 1
onwards who are
performing below
their age/stage level
• who scored in the
bottom 2 bands of
NAPLAN for their
year
• who were absent for
NAPLAN (if causing
concern).
Overview
The resource has two components:
Part 1 Assessment
This section details a process of assessment to gather detailed
information about individual students’skills and their instructional
needs.It is designed to extend teachers understanding of
students who need additional support by assessing aspects
of their reading skills that have not already been assessed.The
assessments may be used to supplement information provided
by the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy
(NAPLAN).
For students scoring in the bottom two bands for each year group
additional assessment information may be required to identify
key skills requiring targeted instruction.
An Individual Reading Assessment is provided which consists of the
following:
1. a selection of short texts for assessing reading accuracy,
fluency and comprehension
2. a selection of texts for use with students requiring an easier
level text
3. specific level assessments of essential reading skills.
Further texts for instructional purposes are available from the
ocused Individual Assessment (FIA) packages developed from
999–2007.They can be located at:
ttps://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/intranet/lists/
irectoratesaz/disability/fiaintro.pdf
F
1
h
d
Part 2 After assessment
This section is designed to assist teachers with the selection of
effective instructional strategies to target specific needs identified
by assessment.
Hyperlinks are provided to a selection of strategies for teaching
critical skills in reading which are available from both Linking
NAPLAN 2008 to the Curriculum and the Programming and
Strategies Handbooks - Primary and Secondary.Click on each link
to obtain full details of each strategy.
This resource is underpinned by the policies and procedures of
Curriculum planning and programming,assessing and reporting
to parents K-12,the Literacy K-12 Policy and Assisting Students
with Learning Difficulties.

6
Introduction

PART 1 –
Assessment
This section is intended to guide teachers through a process to gather additional
assessment information to inform programming for students requiring additional
support in reading.
The assessment process
Flowchart
Accuracy and fluency measure
Instructional level texts
Comprehension measure

8
Part 1 – Assessment
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
Copyright Regulations 1969
WARNING
This material has been reproduced and communicated to you by or on behalf of the NSW Department of Education and
Training pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act).
The material in this communication may be subject to copyright under the Act.Any further reproduction or
communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection under the Act.
Do not remove this notice.

See flow chart on page 11.
All schools are encouraged to access their SMART data for students in stage 2 and above
prior to administering any individual assessments.The data provides detailed analysis of
performance for every student on each test item on the national assessment.This can be used
to identify aspects of reading underperformance of individuals,groups of students and the
cohort.
Conducting an Individual Reading Assessment provides teachers with additional assessment
information to inform planning and programming.It assists teachers to identify an instructional
level of text for each student,to assess reading comprehension,and to assess essential skills of
decoding,phonemic awareness and high frequency word reading knowledge.
The information gathered by class teachers and/or Support Teachers Learning Assistance
(STLA) provides the specific information about student needs required to program effectively
to improve student outcomes.
The same assessment measures used to inform programming can also be used to monitor
student progress on target skills to ensure the additional support being provided is making a
difference and students’are making adequate progress.
Step 1
Learning Support Team referral
In a whole school prevention and intervention approach to students experiencing difficulties
with reading,all students requiring an Individual Reading Assessment would be referred by the
schools learning support team (LST).
An important first step in the assessment process is to consider all available student
assessment,LST,or class teacher information,including language and cultural background.This
will inform the assessment process for each student.
Step 2
Select an initial text for assessment and administer an oral reading accuracy and fluency
measure.Refer to page 12 for information on how to do this.
Determine if the student meets oral reading accuracy and fluency criteria.Results of this
measure need to be interpreted in the context of the student’s experiences with English and
learning in English.This decision should be made at the end of a one minute read and based on
the following reading rates.(Neal 1990)
Year 3 80-100 correct per minute with fewer than 3 errors
Year 5+ 100-120 correct per minute with fewer than 3 errors
If the student does not meet the criteria,stop the reading of this text,select an easier level text
and proceed with determining oral reading accuracy and fluency scores.
Observe and record all reading strategies demonstrated.This will inform instructional planning.
Proceed to Step 3 Comprehension measure,after an independent level of text has been
identified for use.

10
Step 3
After the student has completed the oral reading fluency assessment,administer the
comprehension measure to determine student understanding of the text.Allow the student
time to read the text silently before administering the‘Text questions’.The text should remain
accessible to the student while the understanding component is being completed.
Determine if further assessment tasks need to be undertaken.
Step 4
Specific level assessment
Select further specific level assessment tasks after analysis of the student’s text reading
performance.If the student does not meet stage level criteria of accuracy,fluency or
understanding administer the following specific level assessments:
1. Educheck Neal Phonemic Skills ScreeningTest (Neal,D.1988) or another decoding skills
test.
2. Johnson Basic Vocabulary or another sight word test.Other suitable high frequency word
banks include Bookwords,M100 Words,for students in stage 1 and Multilit for students
in stage 2 and above.
3. Sutherland Phonological AwarenessTest (Neilson 1995) or another phonemic awareness
test,for students in stages 1–3.
4. Phonological Assessment for Older Students or another phonemic awareness test,for
students in stage 4 and 5.
Step 5
Planning and programming
Complete the Individual reading assessment:Student summary sheet.
The learning support team,in conjunction with class teachers,uses the assessment
information to determine priorities and plan appropriate additional support for students.
See Part 2 After assessment which details a range of effective teaching strategies for providing
additional support to students.

Flowchart

12
Instructions
Purpose
• To identify an instructional and independent level of text.
• To identify a text to use for measuring student understanding.
• To observe student use of strategies when reading.
• To determine whether a student’s difficulty in reading is related to problems in accuracy
or fluency.
Materials needed:
• teacher’s copy of selected texts • student’s copy of selected texts
• stopwatch • tape recorder (optional).
Procedure
• Administer the assessment on an individual basis.
• Do not allow the student to preview the passage prior to the one-minute read.
• Point to the passage and say,“I want you to read this story aloud.Read it as quickly and
carefully as you can.Have a go at any words that you’re not sure of.As you read,if you
need help with a word I will give it to you.”
• Start timing as the student reads the first word.
• Mark the last word read at the end of one minute,but allow the student to continue
reading to the end of the passage.This provides additional reading behaviour
information for analysis.Passage completion will also allow the student to later
demonstrate understanding.
• Where possible correct errors as the student reads the text.
Recording
• Record all information on the teacher’s copy.
• Underline words read incorrectly and/or record student response above the word.
• Circle words not attempted.These are counted as errors.If no attempt is made at a word
within 3 seconds (during the minute read),supply the word and direct the student to
continue.
• Words that are misread but then corrected are not counted as errors.Indicate this by
placing sc (self correction) above the word and recording it in the SC column.
• Count any extra words or insertions as errors,even if they make sense.

Scoring
• Count the number of words read correctly within the minute read to calculate the
fluency measure.This is recorded as the number of words read correctly in one minute
(cwpm).
• Record the accuracy measure as a percentage.This is calculated as the number of words
read correctly over the total number of words attempted in one minute,multiplied by
100.
• Calculate the student’s use of self-correction.
• See table below for more information about calculating oral text reading accuracy,
fluency and self correction.

14
Instructional level texts
An instructional level is one where a student reads 90-95% of the words correctly.If a student
is below 90% accuracy,it will not be possible to gain useful information about the strategies a
student uses whilst reading or their level of understanding when reading a text.The student
may be so focused on working out individual words that she/he may not be able to attend
to what the text is about.An instructional level text is used for instructional purposes but an
independent level of text read with age appropriate fluency needs to be found in order to
assess comprehension.
Independent level text: a student reads above 95% of words correctly
Instructional level text: a student reads 90-95% of words correctly
Frustration level text: a student reads below 90% of words correctly

Comprehension is the ultimate goal of the reading process.Questions should explore the
student’s understanding of the text.The text used to measure understanding should be at
read by the students at an independent level.
Prior to administering the‘Text questions’component of the reading assessment,ensure that
the student had the opportunity to reread the text silently with the knowledge that questions
will be asked on completion.The questions should be asked orally and the students should
supply an oral response.Students should be encouraged to refer to the text for answers.
The three level guide format (Morris & Stewart-Dore 1984) is used as the design of the
understanding component of the reading assessment.Text questions are divided into three
types according to how readers need to activate their background knowledge.
Type 1 – Literal level
Textually explicit questions require readers to locate relevant information directly from the
text.The wording of the statements may not always be exactly the same as in the text but the
meaning is similar.This requires literal level comprehension and can be expressed as
• Reading on the lines or
• Right there or
• The author said it.
When students understand texts at the literal level they are able to:
– locate information directly stated in a text
– locate information in titles,headings and captions
– connect information in a text and a labelled diagram
– make connections between information in consecutive sentences.
Type 2 – Interpretive level
Textually implicit questions require readers to reflect on literal information and see
relationships between statements.They require students to think and search for answers.This
is interpretive level comprehension and can be expressed as
• Reading between the lines or
• Think and search or
• The author meant it.
When students understand texts at the interpretive level they are able to:
– sequence events from a text
– identify a symbol by reading a key for a map
– extract information from maps,diagrams and visual images
– make connections in a text by following a pronoun reference.

16
Type 3 – Inferential level
Scriptually explicit questions require readers to apply and evaluate information by relating it to
their own background knowledge.This is applied level comprehension and can be expressed as
• Reading beyond the lines or
• On my own or
• The author would agree with it.
When students understand texts at the inferential level they are able to:
– presume information implied in a text
– deduce the main idea from key words
– identify the meaning of words using context clues
– identify the meaning of figurative language,eg a metaphor.
Student responses to the three levels of questioning along with their semantic knowledge
will provide useful information,regarding their understanding of written text,to inform
programming.

Primary student texts
Each text set includes:
• a student’s copy of the text from the original
• a student’s copy in clear type
• a teacher’s copy of accuracy and fluency measure recording sheet
• a comprehension measure containing text questions of different types.
Eggs Collecting water
Judo and kendo The race
Brian’s wheelchair Don’t waste water
Be a star performer Fantastic fruit

18
WARNING

Readability of primary student texts
The appropriate level of text for instructional purposes is text that a student can read with
above 90% accuracy (instructional level).For independent reading appropriate level text is
text that a student can read with 95% and above accuracy (independent level).
The number of high frequency words within a text is one factor which determines the
readability of the text.Each of the primary school texts states the percentage of high
frequency words it contains and is an indicator of the readability of that text.
The references used to determine this percentage are either the research of Maryann Eeds
which identified 227 high frequency words from children’s literature K-3 or Dale Johnson who
compiled a list of basic vocabulary for beginning reading.The first 100 words which Johnson
included in his basic vocabulary are the ones used here to indicate readability.
References:
Eeds,M.(1985).Using a beginning word list of high frequency words from children’s
literature K-3.The ReadingTeacher,38(4),418-423.
Johnson,D.D.(1971).A basic vocabulary for beginning reading.The Elementary School
Journal, 72(1),29-34.

20
Student’s copy
Copied under Part VB.Adapted from The egg case:cracked wide open,CHOICE,2007

Student’s copy
Eggs
A quick check for freshness is to pop a raw egg in its shell in
a glass of water.If it sinks to a completely horizontal position
it’s very fresh; if it tilts slightly it’s probably around a week
old and if it floats it’s not very fresh.
Why does this happen? It’s to do with the air pocket at the
end of the egg.In a really fresh egg it’s very small but as the
egg gets
older the air pocket becomes larger.This air pocket can be
clearly seen at the wide end of a hard-boiled egg when you
remove the shell.

22
Teacher’s copy
49% of the text consists of Johnson first 100 A Basic Vocabulary
Student’s name: Date:
Key Semantic (meaning - m) Grammatical (structure or syntax - s) Graphological (visual - v) Phonological (p) Error analysis Analysis
Word
count
Title: Eggs E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
9 A quick check for freshness is to pop a
21 raw egg in its shell in a glass of water.If it
27 sinks to a completely horizontal position
36 it’s very fresh; if it tilts slightly it’s probably
46 around a week old and if it floats it’s not
48 very fresh.
57 Why does this happen? It’s to do with the
68 air pocket at the end of the egg.In a really
78 fresh egg it’s very small but as the egg gets
85 older the air pocket becomes larger.This
93 air pocket can be clearly seen at the
102 wide end of a hard-boiled egg when you
105 remove the shell.
Strategies used o Reads for meaning o Uses punctuation
o Re-reads o Uses multiple cues (msvp) o Expression
o Reads on o Uses syllables to problem-solve o Fluent
o Self-corrects o High frequency words accurate o Makes substitutions/omissions
Fluency:correct words per minute Accuracy % Self-correction rate
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
Instructional (90-95%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Y 5-6 100-120 cwpm Hard (<90%) = ratio 1: = ratio 1:4
Comments

Text questions: Eggs
The text questions should be asked orally,with the student providing oral responses
transcribed by the teacher. Students may refer to the text for answers; so the text should
remain available to them throughout the activity.
NB:Record any prompts provided to enable the student to answer the questions.
Use of contextual information
Type 1 a) How do you the check freshness of an egg?
b) How old is an egg if it tilts slightly?
c) Where can you see the air pocket?
Type 2 a) What size is the air pocket in an egg that is a week old?
b) Why does an egg that is not fresh float?
c) Why does a very fresh egg sink to a horizontal position?
Type 3 a) If you are testing for freshness,why does the raw egg have to be in its
shell when you pop it in the water?
b) Why does the egg have to be hard-boiled for you to see the air pocket?
c) Why might you want to know the freshness of an egg?
Use of semantic understanding
a) The author says to‘pop a raw egg in a glass of water.’ What does‘pop’
mean?
b) The author talks about a‘raw egg.’What does‘raw‘mean?
c) Describe in your own words what‘horizontal position’ is.

24
Student’s copy
Reproduced and made available for copying and communication by the NSW Department of Education and
Training for its educational purposes with the permission of Heinemann International.

Student’s copy
Collecting water
Rainwater that falls from the sky is collected in different
ways.It can be caught by roofs and gutters and stored in
tanks.
In the country,this is the only water that some people have.
Windmills are often used to pump underground water to
the surface.
Sometimes,water comes to the surface by itself to form a
spring,or an oasis in the desert.
Water can also travel underground.People have to dig wells
to reach it.

26
Teacher’s copy
49% of the text consists of M.Eeds Bookwords
Word
count
Title: Collecting water E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
5 Rainwater that falls from the sky
10 is collected in different
16 ways.It can be caught by
20 roofs and gutters and
23 stored in tanks.
30 In the country,this is the only
35 water that some people have.
40 Windmills are often used to
44 pump underground water to
46 the surface.
51 Sometimes,water comes to the
57 surface by itself to form a
64 spring,or an oasis in the desert.
69 Water can also travel underground.
77 People have to dig wells to reach it.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions: Collecting water
The following questions should be asked orally,with the student providing oral responses
transcribed by the teacher.Students may refer to the text for answers,and so the text should
remain available to the student.
Type 1 (a) Where does rainwater come from?
(b) Why do we use windmills?
(c) What is an oasis?
Type 2 (a) How can we save and store rainwater?
(b) How can people reach underground water?
(c) What does a windmill help us to do?
Type 3 (a) How could you collect rainwater?
(b) Why do people pump underground water to the surface?
(c) What are some other ways a windmill could be used to help
people?
Use of semantic information
(a) In this text what is a‘tank’.
(b) In this text what is a‘spring’.
(c) In this text what does‘in the country’mean?
(d) ‘Water comes to the surface by itself’.In this text what is the‘surface’?

28
Student’s copy
See copyright information on the back of each section heading

Student’s copy
Judo and kendo
Judo and kendo are martial arts.They began as samurai fighting
skills.
In kendo,students learn to fight with long sticks.They dress up like
samurai,with a mask,breastplate and gloves.Once trained,they
fight with wooden swords.
There are no weapons used in judo.The word judo means ‘gentle
way’.
In a judo school,the colour of the belt tells what level a student has
reached.Beginners start with a red belt,then,after a test,move on
to white.The next belts are yellow,orange,green,blue,brown and,
finally,black.

30
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Judo and kendo E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
9 Judo and kendo are martial arts.They began as
12 samurai fighting skills.
21 In kendo,students learn to fight with long sticks.
30 They dress up like samurai,with a mask,breast
38 plate and gloves.Once trained,they fight with
40 wooden swords.
49 There are no weapons used in judo.The word
53 judo means ‘gentle way’.
64 In a judo school,the colour of the belt tells what
72 level a student has reached.Beginners start with
83 a red belt,then,after a test,move on to white.
91 The next belts are yellow,orange,green,blue,
95 brown and,finally,black.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions: Judo and kendo
The text questions have been linked to the ESL Scales.This will provide additional
informatiom about the language demands of the questions and can assist in the analysis of
the ESL student’s needs.
Type 1 (a) What are judo and kendo? (3.5.8)
(b) How did judo and kendo begin? (3.7.5)
(c) In judo what does the colour belt tell us? (3.5.8)
Type 2 (a) What colour is the highest level in judo? (4.7.6)
(b) How are kendo and judo different? (4.5.3)
(c) In kendo,when do students fight with wooden swords? (4.7.11)
Type 3 (a) Why do kendo students dress up with a mask,breastplate and
gloves? (5.7.5)
(b) Judo and Kendo are martial arts.What are martial arts? (6.5.11)
(c) Why is judo a gentle way of defending yourself? (5.7.5)
(a) Samurai wear a breastplate.What is a breastplate?
(b) What are weapons?
(c) What is a samurai?
(d) Judo means‘gentle way’.What does gentle mean?

32
Student’s copy

Student’s copy
The race
This extract is about Greg.He was quick at most things but always
came last in class races.Even though he watched the others
carefully,Greg was always last off the mark.One day a new teacher
came to the school.She watched Greg as he watched others and
so she found the clue to his problem.When she took the class out
to run a race and Greg was last as usual,she told the class to run
another race but with a different start.She said she would drop her
hand,instead of saying GO!
As they went back to the starting line,Greg was so excited that he
was jumping like a kangaroo.He had eyes like an eagle’s.He could
see that signal even if the teacher were a dot on the horizon.He
had long legs,strong legs too.He could run like an emu.He was
going to win this race.He knew.
Steadily he watched,and as the teacher’s hand began to fall,he
was up and away,off down the track.With nobody ahead of him it
seemed a different race,so quick,so easy,so much fun.
He crossed the line first! The teacher smiled at him and he watched
her lips form the words,‘Well done’.Greg smiled back.She had
found the clue.She knew a way for him to win the race.

34
Teacher’s copy
Word
count Title: The race
E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
10 This extract is about Greg.He was quick at most
19 things but always came last in class races.Even
27 though he watched the others carefully,Greg was
37 always last off the mark.One day a new teacher
46 came to the school.She watched Greg as he
56 watched others and so she found the clue to his
66 problem.When she took the class out to run a
77 race and Greg was last as usual,she told the class
87 to run another race but with a different start.She
96 said she would drop her hand,instead of saying
97 GO!
107 As they went back to the starting line,Greg was
116 so excited that he was jumping like a kangaroo.
122 He had eyes like an eagle’s.
126 He could see that
136 signal even if the teacher were a dot on the
145 horizon.He had long legs,strong legs too.He
156 could run like an emu.He was going to win this
159 race.He knew.

Word
count Title: The race E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
167 Steadily he watched,and as the teacher’s hand
178 began to fall,he was up and away,off down the
187 track.With nobody ahead of him it seemed a
196 different race,so quick,so easy,so much fun.
205 He crossed the line first! The teacher smiled at
214 him and he watched her lips form the words,
222 ‘Well done’.Greg smiled back.She had found
234 the clue.She knew a way for him to win the race.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

36
Text questions:The race
Type 1 (a) Who is this extract about?
(b) What did Greg do when the teacher’s hand began to fall?
(c) Why was Greg jumping like a kangaroo?
Type 2 (a) Why do you think Greg needed to watch the others carefully in class
races?
(b) How were the two races different?
(c) How did Greg know he was going to win the race?
Type 3 (a) Why did Greg win the race with a different start?
(b) What was Greg’s problem?
(c) Why might it be important to have a new teacher?
(a) Greg was always‘last off the mark’.In this text what does‘last off the
mark’mean?
(b) Greg was‘jumping like a kangaroo’.In this text what does‘jumping like a
kangaroo’mean?
(c) Greg had‘eyes like an eagle’s’.In this text what does‘eyes like an eagle’s’
mean?
(d) What is a‘signal’?
(e) What is the‘horizon’?

Student’s copy

38
Student’s copy
Brian’s wheelchair
“Hi,my name is Brian.I can walk without a wheelchair,but I use
my chair when I play basketball because I can’t run very well.
Basketball is my favourite sport.I play basketball nearly every
Saturday morning with a group of other kids who use wheelchairs,
too.
When I use my chair,I push the silver rims on the wheels to make
myself go fast.The sloping wheels make it easier for me to turn
quickly.That helps me spin around to take a quick shot,and also
helps me avoid crashes during the game.”
Many children like Brian would like to play basketball in the
Paralympic Games one day.

Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Brian’s wheelchair E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
8 “Hi, my name is Brian. I can walk
16 without a wheelchair,but I use my chair
24 when I play basketball because I can’t run
31 very well.Basketball is my favourite sport.
37 I play basketball nearly every Saturday
45 morning with a group of other kids who
48 use wheelchairs,too.
57 When I use my chair,I push the silver
66 rims on the wheels to make myself go fast.
74 The sloping wheels make it easier for me
81 to turn quickly.That helps me spin
89 around to take a quick shot,and also
96 helps me avoid crashes during the game.”
103 Many children like Brian would like to
109 play basketball in the Paralympic Games
111 one day.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

40
Text questions: Brian’s wheelchair
Type 1 (a) What is Brian’s favourite sport?
(b) When does Brian play basketball?
(c) Who does Brian play basketball with?
Type 2 (a) What makes it easier for the wheelchair to turn quickly?
(b) How do the sloping wheels help Brian?
Type 3 (a) What helps Brian avoid crashes during a game?
(b) What do you think it would be like to play basketball in a wheelchair?
(a) What does‘avoid’mean?
(b) What are‘’sloping wheels’?
(c) What does‘favourite’mean?
(d) What part of the wheel is‘the rim’?
(e) In this text what does‘take a quick shot’mean?

Student’s copy
© The State of New South Wales through the Department of Education and Training 2005

42
Student’s copy
Don’t waste water
Australia has the lowest rainfall out of all the continents,except for
Antarctica.Recently,much of the country has been in drought.As
Australia’s population grows,our need for water increases.We have
to think carefully about how we can use less water.
The average family in Australia uses over 4 full bathtubs of water a
day.That’s around 700 litres every day.
There are lots of ways you and your family can save water and
protect one of our most important resources.
Paths should be swept with a broom,not hosed.
A bucket should be used instead of a hose to wash a car as this can
save hundreds of litres of water.
When you brush your teeth,you should use a glass of water to
rinse your mouth because leaving the tap running can waste 70
bathtubs of water a year.
You should have short showers or shallow baths.
Remind your family not to waste water and tell them that you are
saving them money as well as the planet.

Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Don’t waste water E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
11 Australia has the lowest rainfall out of all the continents,except
22 for Antarctica.Recently,much of the country has been in drought.
31 As Australia’s population grows,our need for water increases.
43 We have to think carefully about how we can use less water.
57 The average family in Australia uses over 4 full bathtubs of water a day.
63 That’s around 700 litres every day.
76 There are lots of ways you and your family can save water and
83 protect one of our most important resources.
92 Paths should be swept with a broom,not hosed.
104 A bucket should be used instead of a hose to wash a
114 car as this can save hundreds of litres of water.
122 You should have short showers or shallow baths.
130 When you brush your teeth,you should use
138 a glass of water to rinse your mouth
143 because leaving the tap running
151 can waste 70 bathtubs of water a year.
164 Remind your family not to waste water and tell them that you are
172 saving them money as well as the planet.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

44
Text questions: Don’t waste water
Type 1 (a) What happens when Australia’s population grows?
(b) How many full bathtubs of water does the average family use each day?
Type 2 (a) How many litres of water does the average Australian family use each
day?
(b) When cleaning your teeth why should you use a glass of water to rinse
your mouth?
(c) How can your family protect one of our most important resources?
Type 3 (a) Why do we need to think about using less water?
(b) Why should paths be swept with a broom and not hosed?
(c) Why is water such an important resource?
(a) In this text what does‘shallow baths’mean?
(b) In this text water is an important resource.Can you think of another
important resource?
(c) In this text what does‘the country has been in drought’mean?

Student’s copy

46
Student’s copy
Be a star performer
Your body can only perform at its best when you look after it.
This means you should exercise and eat the right foods in the
proportions shown in this food pyramid.
Exercise helps you to digest food.Fibre in food also helps your body
to digest food properly and helps your body’s waste to pass out
quickly.
Foods that come from animals,such as meat,milk and eggs,do not
have any fibre but fruit and vegetables have a lot.However,there is
more fibre on the outside than on the inside of fruit and vegetables.
If you peel away the outside,you remove most of the fibre.Foods
that have had their peel,skins or husks removed are usually low
in fibre.When wheat is refined into white flour it is processed to
remove most of the fibre.
If you want to be a star performer,you should switch to high fibre
foods.Try eating wholemeal bread instead of refined and processed
white bread and choose brown rice instead of white.

Teacher’s copy
Word
count Title: Be a star performer
E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
11 Your body can only perform at its best when you look
21 after it.This means you should exercise and eat the
31 right foods in the proportions shown in this food pyramid.
42 Exercise helps you to digest food.Fibre in food also helps
52 your body to digest food properly and helps your body’s
57 waste to pass out quickly.
68 Foods that come from animals,such as meat,milk and eggs,
79 do not have any fibre but fruit and vegetables have
90 a lot.However,there is more fibre on the outside than
101 on the inside of fruit and vegetables.If you peel away
109 the outside,you remove most of the fibre.
119 Foods that have had their peel,skins or husks removed
129 are usually low in fibre.When wheat is refined into
140 white flour it is processed to remove most of the fibre.
150 If you want to be a star performer,you should
158 switch to high fibre foods.Try eating wholemeal
166 bread instead of refined and processed white bread
173 and choose brown rice instead of white.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

48
Text questions: Be a star performer
Type 1 (a) What does fibre in food help you do?
(b) What foods do not have any fibre?
(c) Where is most of the fibre found in fruit and vegetables?
Type 2 (a) What happens when you peel fruit or vegetables?
(b) What is wheat turned into?
(c) What are two things you can you do to look after your body?
Type 3 (a) What do you think a star performer is?
(b) What is this article mainly about?
(c) What would happen if you didn’t eat enough fibre?
(a) Explain‘perform’when the text reads“Your body can only perform at its
best…”
(b) What else can‘perform’mean?
(c) What does‘digest’mean?
(d) What does‘refined’mean?

Student’s copy

50
Student’s copy
Fantastic fruit
Everyone knows that fruit is good for you.However,according to
some researchers,children who watch a lot of television are likely
to eat more food that is high in fat,salt and sugar and eat less fruit
and vegetables.Experts say that children should eat two serves of
fruit each day.
Fruit and fruit smoothies are a healthy energy choice.They are
packed full of important vitamins,minerals and fibre which help
children grow and develop.Eating fruit instead of fatty,sugary
snacks will also give them vitality (energy) and help prevent some
diseases including Type 2 diabetes and a wide variety of cancers.
Most school canteens have stopped selling junk food including
lollies and soft drinks.As an alternative to unhealthy snacks and
drinks,schools and canteens have been encouraging students to
eat fruit.Some schools are even introducing fruit breaks to get
children to eat fruit regularly.
In NSW,55% of Year 6 boys and 37% of Year 6 girls drink more than
one soft drink a day.A better choice is a fresh fruit smoothie.As
well as containing fruit,smoothies are made with milk and yoghurt
which gives children calcium for their growing bones.
So next time you need a quick energy boost,grab a juicy piece of
fruit or a delicious fruit smoothie.

Teacher’s copy
32% of the text consists of Johnson first 100 A Basic Vocabulary
Word
count
Title: Fantastic fruit E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
9 Everyone knows that fruit is good for you.However,
19 according to some researchers,children who watch a lot of
32 television are likely to eat more food that is high in fat,salt
43 and sugar and eat less fruit and vegetables.Experts say that
52 children should eat two serves of fruit each day.
61 Fruit and fruit smoothies are a healthy energy choice.
69 They are packed full of important vitamins,minerals
78 and fibre which help children grow and develop.Eating
89 fruit instead of fatty,sugary snacks will also give them vitality
98 (energy) and help prevent some diseases including Type 2
105 diabetes and a wide variety of cancers.
114 Most school canteens have stopped selling junk food including
123 lollies and soft drinks.As an alternative to unhealthy
131 snacks and drinks,schools and canteens have been
138 encouraging students to eat fruit.Some schools
145 are even introducing fruit breaks to get
150 children to eat fruit regularly.
162 In NSW,55% of Year 6 boys and 37% of
171 Year 6 girls drink more than one soft drink
180 a day.A better choice is a fresh fruit

52
Word
count
Title: Fantastic fruit E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
186 smoothie.As well as containing fruit,
191 smoothies are made with milk
195 and yoghurt which gives
199 children calcium for their
201 growing bones.
208 So next time you need a quick
215 energy boost,grab a juicy piece of
221 fruit or a delicious fruit smoothie.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions: Fantastic Fruit
Type 1 (a) Who is likely to eat less fruit and vegetables?
(b) How much fruit should children eat each day?
(c) What have some schools introduced to get children to eat fruit more
regularly?
Type 2 (a) How have school canteens encouraged children to eat fruit?
(b) Why are fresh fruit smoothies a better choice than soft drink?
(c) Why are lollies and drinks considered unhealthy food?
Type 3 (a) Why have most school canteens stopped selling junk food?
(b) Why are children who watch a lot of television likely to eat less fruit and
vegetables?
(c) In this text the author says experts say that children should eat two
serves of fruit each day.Who do you think these experts are?
(a) The author says that‘according to some researchers,children who watch
a lot of television are likely to eat less fruit and vegetables’.What do
researchers do?
(b) In this text what does‘quick energy boost’mean?
(c) In this text what does‘alternative’mean?

54

Additional easier texts (stage 2-3)
These texts can be used to assess the reading accuracy and fluency of students in
years 3-5 who cannot read the texts in the previous section,at an instructional level
with age appropriate fluency.
Mum and the frog Ben’s snake
Sam’s trip Frog’s garden
My white pet mouse Going away for work
Party for Ben

56
WARNING

Readability of additional texts
The appropriate level of text for instructional purposes is text that a student can read with
above 90% accuracy (instructional level).For independent reading appropriate level text is
text that a student can read with 95% and above accuracy (independent level).
The number of high frequency words within a text is one factor which determines the
readability of the text.Each of the additional texts states the percentage of high frequency
words it contains and is an indicator of the readability of that text.
The reference used to determine this percentage is the research of Maryann Eeds which
identified 227 high frequency words from children’s literature K-3.The first 114 of words which
occurred most frequently in the texts examined are the ones used here to indicate readability.
A grade level of readability is indicated for each of the additional texts at the bottom right
corner of the teacher’s copy of the accuracy and fluency measure.
Reference:
Eeds,M.(1985).Using a beginning word list of high frequency words from children’s
literature K-3.The ReadingTeacher,38(4),418-423.

58
Student’s copy
Mum and the frog
Mum can see a big log.On the log is a fat green
frog.It is Fred the frog.Fred is hot.Fred the frog can
hop off the log.Hop,hop,hop.Can he jump into the
pond? The fat frog jumps into the pond.Splash!
Mum can see Fred in the pond.He is wet.When
Fred gets hot he swims in the pond.Mum can see
Fred swim to the end of the pond.He hops out of
the pond and jumps up on to the big log.Now the
frog is not in the pond.
When Fred the fat green frog sits on the log he
looks for bugs.Fred can swim in the pond.He can
sit on the log.He can look for bugs.

Student’s copy
Mum and the frog
Mum can see a big log.On the log is a fat green frog.It is Fred the
frog.Fred is hot.Fred the frog can hop off the log.Hop,hop,hop.
Can he jump into the pond? The fat frog jumps into the pond.
Splash!
Mum can see Fred in the pond.He is wet.When Fred gets hot he
swims in the pond.Mum can see Fred swim to the end of the pond.
He hops out of the pond and jumps up on to the big log.Now the
frog is not in the pond.
When Fred the fat green frog sits on the log he looks for bugs.Fred
can swim in the pond.He can sit on the log.He can look for bugs.

60
Teacher’s copy
55% of the text consists of M.Eeds first 114 Bookwords
Word
count
Title: Mum and the frog E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
14 Mum can see a big log.On the log is a fat green frog.
27 It is Fred the frog.Fred is hot.Fred the frog can hop
38 off the log.Hop,hop,hop.Can he jump into the
47 pond? The fat frog jumps into the pond.Splash!
59 Mum can see Fred in the pond.He is wet.When Fred
70 gets hot he swims in the pond.Mum can see Fred
83 swim to the end of the pond.He hops out of the pond
97 and jumps up on to the big log.Now the frog is not in
99 the pond.
111 When Fred the fat green frog sits on the log he looks
123 for bugs.Fred can swim in the pond.He can sit on
130 the log.He can look for bugs.
Adapted from story written by Helen Fletcher,Ruse Primary School
Readability:Kindergarten to Year 1
Guide Easy (96-100%) E + SC E.g.15 + 5
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm Instructional (90-95%) SC 5
Comments

Text questions: Mum and the frog
Type 1 (a) What is on the big log?
(b) What can Fred do?
(c) What can Fred do if he is hot?
Type 2 (a) Why did Fred sit on the log?
(b) Describe Fred the frog.
(c) How does Fred move?
Type 3 (a) Why does Fred the fat green frog stay near the pond?
(b) Why does Fred look for bugs?
(a) What is a‘log’?
(b) What is a‘pond’?

62
Student’s copy
Ben’s snake
Ben ran to his yellow truck.He had a green bag
in his hand.It was tied up with string.In the bag
was a long brown snake.He had found the snake
under the bed.Ben put the bag in a box at the
back of the truck.Then he got in the truck and
drove away.
He took the snake to the zoo.The zoo had lots
of snakes.Ben’s snake was put in a cage with
two other brown snakes.The cage was nice and
warm.The snake keeper gave the snakes three
fat black rats to eat.Ben’s snake slid under a flat
rock and went to sleep.

Student’s copy
Ben’s snake
Ben ran to his yellow truck.He had a green bag in his hand.It was
tied up with string.In the bag was a long brown snake.He had
found the snake under the bed.Ben put the bag in a box at the
back of the truck.Then he got in the truck and drove away.
He took the snake to the zoo.The zoo had lots of snakes.Ben’s
snake was put in a cage with two other brown snakes.The cage
was nice and warm.The snake keeper gave the snakes three fat
black rats to eat.Ben’s snake slid under a flat rock and went to
sleep.

64
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Ben’s snake E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
11 Ben ran to his yellow truck.He had a green bag
23 in his hand.It was tied up with string.In the bag
33 was a long brown snake.He had found the snake
45 under the bed.Ben put the bag in a box at the
56 back of the truck.Then he got in the truck and
58 drove away.
70 He took the snake to the zoo.The zoo had lots of
80 snakes.Ben’s snake was put in a cage with two
89 other brown snakes.The cage was nice and warm.
98 The snake keeper gave the snakes three fat black
109 rats to eat.Ben’s snake slid under a flat rock and
112 went to sleep.
Adapted from story written by Helen Fletcher,Ru
Read
se Primary School
ability:Early Year 1
Guide Easy (96-100%) E + SC E.g.15 + 5
Comments

Text questions: Ben’s snake
Type 1 (a) What did Ben have in his hand?
(b) Where did Ben find the brown snake?
(c) What slid under a flat rock?
Type 2 (a) Why did Ben tie the bag up with string?
(b) How did Ben take the snake to the zoo?
(c) What do snakes eat?
Type 3 (a) Why did Ben take the snake to the zoo?
(b) What would you do if you saw a snake?
(a) What does‘tied up’mean?
(b) What is a‘zoo’?
(c) What is a‘cage’?

66
Student’s copy
Sam’s trip
One day Sam and his family went on a trip.They
went to the museum.When they got there the
doors were shut.Sam wanted to see inside.A
man came to open the doors.The rooms were
very big with lots of old things to see.
At the museum Sam saw bones.He saw guns.He
saw tools.He saw books and he saw DINOSAURS.
Sam loved dinosaurs.He wished he had one.
“I’m sorry they are not real,”said Sam.“It would
be nice to play with a dinosaur.”
“And I think it would be nice to play with you,”
said a voice.

Student’s copy
Sam’s trip
One day Sam and his family went on a trip.They went to the
museum.When they got there the doors were shut.Sam wanted to
see inside.A man came to open the doors.The rooms were very big
with lots of old things to see.
At the museum Sam saw bones.He saw guns.He saw tools.He saw
books and he saw DINOSAURS.Sam loved dinosaurs.He wished he
had one.
“I’m sorry they are not real,”said Sam.“It would be nice to play with
a dinosaur.”
“And I think it would be nice to play with you,”said a voice.

68
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Sam’s trip E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
11 One day Sam and his family went on a trip.They
20 went to the museum.When they got there the
29 doors were shut.Sam wanted to see inside.A
38 man came to open the doors.The rooms were
47 very big with lots of old things to see.
56 At the museum Sam saw bones.He saw guns.
65 He saw tools.He saw books and he saw
71 DINOSAURS.Sam loved dinosaurs.He wished
81 he had one.“I’m sorry they are not real,”said
91 Sam.“It would be nice to play with a dinosaur.”
102 “And I think it would be nice to play with you,”
105 said a voice.
Adapted from Texas Education Agency,Texas 1st Grade.Texas Primary Reading Inventory
Readability:Year 1
Guide Easy (96-100%) E + SC E.g.15 + 5
Comments

Text questions: Sam’s trip
Type 1 (a) Where did Sam and his family go?
(b) Tell me two things that Sam saw at the museum.
(c) What did Sam love most?
Type 2 (a) What did Sam want to do with the dinosaurs?
(b) What do you think talked to Sam?
Type 3 (a) Why do you think the museum doors were shut?
(b) What types of bones do you think Sam saw?
(b) What other things could you see in a museum?
(a) What is a‘museum’?
(b) What are‘tools’?
(c) In this story what are‘old things’?

70
Student’s copy
Frog’s garden
One day Frog was in his garden.He was picking out the weeds
when Toad came hopping by.Toad stopped by the gate.He liked
Frog’s garden.Toad told Frog that he had a fine garden.
Frog thanked Toad.He told him that it was hard work to keep it
nice.Toad wished he had a garden just like Frog’s.Frog gave him
some flower seeds.He had to plant them in the dirt to make them
grow.Toad asked Frog how soon would he have a garden.Frog
told Toad that his garden would grow pretty soon.
Toad hopped home and planted the flower seeds.Toad told the
seeds to start growing.He hopped up and down a few times.The
seeds did not start to grow.Toad put his head close to the dirt
and loudly told the seeds to start growing.Toad looked at the dirt
again.The seeds had not started to grow.

Student’s copy
Frog’s garden
One day Frog was in his garden.He was picking out the weeds
when Toad came hopping by.Toad stopped by the gate.He liked
Frog’s garden.Toad told Frog that he had a fine garden.
Frog thanked Toad.He told him that it was hard work to keep it
nice.Toad wished he had a garden just like Frog’s.Frog gave him
some flower seeds.He had to plant them in the dirt to make them
grow.Toad asked Frog how soon would he have a garden.Frog told
Toad that his garden would grow petty soon.
Toad hopped home and planted the flower seeds.Toad told the
seeds to start growing.He hopped up and down a few times.The
seeds did not start to grow.Toad put his head close to the dirt
and loudly told the seeds to start growing.Toad looked at the dirt
again.The seeds had not started to grow.

72
Teacher’s copy
Student’s name:
Key Semantic (meaning - m) Grammatical (structure or syntax - s) Graphological (visual - v) Phonological (p)
Word
Title: Frog’s gardencount
10 One day Frog was in his garden.He was picking
Date:
Error analysis
E SC
Analysis
E SC
msvp msvp
18 out the weeds when Toad came hopping by.
27 Toad stopped by the gate.He liked Frog’s garden.
38 Toad told Frog that he had a fine garden.Frog thanked
51 Toad.He told him that it was hard work to keep it nice.
64 Toad wished he had a garden just like frog’s.
74 Frog gave him some flower seeds. He had to plant
85 them in the dirt to make them grow.Toad asked Frog
95 how soon would he have a garden.Frog told Toad
102 that his garden would grow pretty soon.
110 Toad hopped home and planted the flower seeds.
121 Toad told the seeds to start growing.He hopped up and
132 down a few times.The seeds did not start to grow.
143 Toad put his head close to the dirt and loudly told
154 the seeds to start growing.Toad looked at the dirt again.
161 The seeds had not started to grow.
Adapted from Texas Education Agency,Texas 1st Grade.Texas Primary Reading Inventory Readability:Year 1
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions: Frog’s garden
Type 1 (a) Who had a garden?
(b) What did Toad wish for?
(c) What did Toad do to in order to start a garden?
Type 2 (a) Why did Toad talk to the seeds?
(b) Why does Toad say his garden was hard work?
Type 3 (a) Toad planted the seeds.What else will Toad need to do to make a
garden?
(b) Frog planted flowers in his garden.What other things could he plant in
his garden?
(a) What is a‘garden’?
(b) What are‘weeds’?
(c) In this story what does‘hard work’mean?
(d) In this story what does‘few’mean?
(e) What is a‘gate’?

74
Student’s copy
My white pet mouse
One day a white mouse came
to our house.She was in a box.
That box was her home.She
ate there and went to sleep
there.She was a little mouse
with a little house.
A cat lives at our house too.
Our cat is black.The cat saw
the mouse.He sat still.He did
not move.The mouse did not
run.The cat looked hard at the
mouse.“I will eat you,mouse,”
the cat was thinking.
The mouse was thinking too.
“I can see you,cat,and you
are bad news.You want to eat
me.”
I took the mouse to my
bedroom.She will be safe in
my room.No more cat for this
mouse.

Student’s copy
My white pet mouse
One day a white mouse came to our house.She was in a box.That
box was her home.She ate there and went to sleep there.She was
a little mouse with a little house.
A cat lives at our house too.Our cat is black.The cat saw the mouse.
He sat still.He did not move.The mouse did not run.The cat looked
hard at the mouse.“I will eat you,mouse,”the cat was thinking.
The mouse was thinking too.“I can see you,cat,and you are bad
news.You want to eat me.”
I took the mouse to my bedroom.She will be safe in my room.No
more cat for this mouse.

76
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: My white pet mouse E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
10 One day a white mouse came to our house.She
21 was in a box.That box was her home.She ate
31 there and went to sleep there.She was a little
36 mouse with a little house.
47 A cat lives at our house too.Our cat is black.
58 The cat saw the mouse.He sat still.He did not
67 move.The mouse did not run.The cat looked
78 hard at the mouse.“I will eat you,mouse,”the cat
80 was thinking.
90 The mouse was thinking too.“I can see you,cat,
100 and you are bad news.You want to eat me.”
111 I took the mouse to my bedroom.She will be safe
120 in my room.No more cat for this mouse.
Adapted from Level 1 Form B MASI-R Multilevel Academic Skills Inventory-Revised Reading Screening Test
Howell,Zucker,Moorehead
Readability:Mid Year 1 to Year 2
Guide Easy (96-100%) E + SC E.g.15 + 5
Comments

Text questions: My white pet mouse
Type 1 (a) What came to our house?
(b) Where did the mouse sleep?
(c) What was the cat thinking?
Type 2 (a) What did the cat do when he saw the mouse?
(b) How many animals live at my house?
Type 3 (a) Why was the mouse not happy to see the cat?
(b) Why will the mouse be safe in my bedroom?
(a) What is a‘mouse’?
(b) In this story what does‘safe’mean?
(c) Tell me two things you have in your bedroom.

78
Student’s copy
Going away for work
Con’s mum and dad had to go away for work.“We will be gone two
days and two nights,”said Con’s mum.“Grandma Pat will take care
of you.”
Mum and Dad and Con went downstairs to wait for Grandma Pat.
Grandma Pat lives in the same street as Con.
“Here she comes!”cried Con.“Hi,Grandma Pat!”
“Hello,hello,”said Grandma Pat.“How is my good grandchild?”
Just then a taxi raced up.The taxi driver put some bags next to the
cab and out popped Granddad Jack.
“Here I am,”he called.
“Did you ask Granddad Jack to baby-sit?”Mum asked Dad.
“Did you ask Grandma Pat to baby-sit?”Dad asked Mum.“Now what
will we do?”

Student’s copy
Going away for work
Con’s mum and dad had to go away for work.“We will be gone two
days and two nights,”said Con’s mum.“Grandma Pat will take care
of you.”
Mum and Dad and Con went downstairs to wait for Grandma Pat.
Grandma Pat lives in the same street as Con.
“Here she comes!”cried Con.“Hi,Grandma Pat!”
“Hello,hello,”said Grandma Pat.“How is my good grandchild?”
Just then a taxi raced up.The taxi driver put some bags next to the
cab and out popped Granddad Jack.
“Here I am,”he called.
“Did you ask Granddad Jack to baby-sit?”Mum asked Dad.
“Did you ask Grandma Pat to baby-sit?”Dad asked Mum.“Now
what will we do?”

80
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Going away for work E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
10 Con’s mum and dad had to go away for work.
20 “We will be gone two days and two nights,”said
29 Con’s mum.“Grandma Pat will take care of you.”
38 Mum and Dad and Con went downstairs to wait
47 for Grandma Pat.Grandma Pat lives in the same
50 street as Con.
58 “Here she comes!”cried Con.“Hi,Grandma Pat!”
66 “Hello,hello,”said Grandma Pat.“How is my
68 good grandchild?”
78 Just then a taxi raced up.The taxi driver put
87 some bags next to the cab and out popped
95 Granddad Jack.“Here I am,”he called.“Did
104 you ask Granddad Jack to baby-sit?”Mum asked
113 Dad.“Did you ask Grandma Pat to baby-sit?”
121 Dad asked Mum.“Now what will we do?”
Adapted from Texas Education Agency,Texas 2nd Grade.Texas Primary
Readability: M
Reading Inventory
id Year 1 to Year 2
Guide Easy (96-100%) E + SC E.g.15 + 5
Comments

Text questions: Going away for work
Type 1 (a) How long were Con’s mum and dad going to stay away from home?
(b) At the beginning of the story,who does Con think will baby-sit him?
(c) Who arrived in a taxi?
Type 2 (a) Why did both grandparents come to baby-sit Con?
Type 3 (a) When both of Con’s grandparents came to baby-sit,what do you think
the parents did?
(b) Why do you think Granddad Jack came in a taxi?
(a) What is a‘taxi’?
(b) In this story what are‘bags’?
(c) What is a‘Grandma’?

82
Student’s copy
Party for Ben
Last Sunday,there was a party for Ben.First,Mum baked a big cake.
She packed something for us to drink and we put the food in a
pretty basket.We put in some balloons too.Ben likes balloons.Then
I got Ben and we were ready to go!
We walked to a park with lots of big trees all around.We looked and
looked.At last we found a nice spot with green grass.We unpacked
our party food.
Mum poured some milk for me.I blew up a big red balloon for Ben.
We sung“Happy Birthday”with loud,funny voices.We ate white
cake with dark icing and it was good! Then Mum told some funny
jokes.I told her some jokes from my school.We laughed and played
more games.
Then it was time for Ben’s presents.
Mum gave him a soft new rug.I gave
him a new blue hat and lots of
balloons.We both gave him birthday
hugs.
We walked home happy.Ben was
happy too,but he was tired.I put
him on the bed upstairs.That bear
had some birthday!

Student’s copy
Party for Ben
Last Sunday,there was a party for Ben.First,Mum baked a big
cake.She packed something for us to drink and we put the food
in a pretty basket.We put in some balloons too.Ben likes balloons.
Then I got Ben and we were ready to go!
We walked to a park with lots of big trees all around.We looked
and looked.At last we found a nice spot with green grass.We
unpacked our party food.
Mum poured some milk for me.I blew up a big red balloon for
Ben.We sung“Happy Birthday”with loud,funny voices.We ate
white cake with dark icing and it was good! Then Mum told some
funny jokes.I told her some jokes from my school.We laughed and
played more games.
Then it was time for Ben’s presents.Mum gave him a soft new rug.
I gave him a new blue hat and lots of balloons.We both gave him
birthday hugs.
We walked home happy.Ben was happy too,but he was tired.I put
him on the bed upstairs.That bear had some birthday!

84
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Party for Ben E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
9 Last Sunday,there was a party for Ben.First,
17 Mum baked a big cake.She packed something
29 for us to drink and we put the food in a pretty
38 basket.We put in some balloons too.Ben likes
47 balloons.Then I got Ben and we were ready
49 to go!
60 We walked to a park with lots of big trees all
69 around.We looked and looked.At last we found
78 a nice spot with green grass.We unpacked our
80 party food.
91 Mum poured some milk for me.I blew up a big
99 red balloon for Ben. We sung “Happy Birthday”
108 with loud,funny voices.We ate white cake with
117 dark icing and it was good! Then Mum told
120 some funny jokes.
126 I told her some jokes from
134 my school.We laughed and played more games.
143 Then it was time for Ben’s presents.Mum gave
157 him a soft new rug.I gave him a new blue hat and lots
165 of balloons.We both gave him birthday hugs.

Word
count
Title: Party for Ben E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
174 We walked home happy.Ben was happy too,but
184 he was tired.I put him on the bed upstairs.
189 That bear had some birthday!
Adapted from Level 2 Form B MASI-R Multilevel Academic Skills Inventory-Revised Reading Screening Test
Howell,Zucker,Moorehead
Readability: Year 2
Guide Easy (96-100%) E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm Instructional (90-95%)
Comments

86
Text questions: Party for Ben
Type 1 (a) Who was the party for?
(b) What did Mum bake?
(c) Where did we go for Ben’s party?
Type 2 (a) What made Mum and me laugh?
(b) Who or what is Ben?
Type 3 (a) Why do jokes make people laugh?
(b) Do you think Ben had a good party?
(a) What are‘balloons’?
(b) What is a‘park’?
(c) In this story what does‘blew up’mean?
(d) In this story what does‘soft’mean?
(e) In this story what does‘spot’mean?

Secondary student texts
Each text set includes:
• a student’s copy of the text from the original
• a student’s copy in clear type
• a teacher’s copy of accuracy and fluency measure recording sheet
• a comprehension measure containing text questions of different types.
The dump Skin
Water-dragons Plastics in the sea
The Bunyip Journal
The atmosphere:past and present

88
WARNING

Student’s copy
Copied under Part VB.Mahy,M.,Down in the dump with Dinsmore,Puffin,Victoria,1999,ISBN 0141309466,p2

90
Student’s copy
The Dump
Every day,after school,Dinsmore went down to the dump.He liked
it there.He liked turning over the stuff that other people threw
away.He liked thinking about the mystery of it all,and taking notes
on the people who threw it out.
But not everybody approved of this.
‘Dinsmore,there are strange stains all over you this morning,’said
his school principal sternly.‘Does this mean you have been down in
the dump again?’
She did not want to spoil his interest in a hobby but,on the other
hand,she wanted Dinsmore to be a credit to the school.
‘I am doing research for my school project,’Dinsmore explained.
‘I am writing about the great merry-go-round of the world.At the
dump you see lots of things coming and going,round and round
and round.I have seen the same old exercise bike go round three
times.’
‘That’s quite enough,Dinsmore,’said the principal in thunderous
tones.‘I forbid you to go down to the dump.’
But that very day,after school,Dinsmore went down to the dump
once more.

Teacher’s copy
Word
count Title: The Dump E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
9 Every day,after school,Dinsmore went down to the
20 dump.He liked it there.He liked turning over the stuff
29 that other people threw away.He liked thinking about
40 the mystery of it all,and taking notes on the people
44 who threw it out.
50 But not everybody approved of this.
59 ‘Dinsmore,there are strange stains all over you this
67 morning,’said his school principal sternly.‘Does this
76 mean you have been down in the dump again?’
89 She did not want to spoil his interest in a hobby but,on
100 the other hand,she wanted Dinsmore to be a credit to
102 the school.
111 ‘I am doing research for my school project,’Dinsmore
120 explained.‘I am writing about the great merry-go-
132 round of the world.At the dump you see lots of things
142 coming and going,round and round and round.I have seen
152 the same old exercise bike go round three times.’

92
Word
Title: The dump E SC E SC
count msvp msvp
162 ‘That’s quite enough,Dinsmore,’said the principal in
172 thunderous tones.‘I forbid you to go down to the
173 dump.’
183 But that very day,after school,Dinsmore went down to
187 the dump once more.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions:The dump
NB:Record any prompts provided to enable student to answer the question.
Type 1 (a) Where did Dinsmore go every day,after school?
(b) What was Dinmore writing about?
(c) How many times has Dinmore seen the same old exercise bike go
round?
(d) Where did the principal forbid Dinsmore to go?
Type 2 (a) What does Dinsmore do down at the dump?
(b) What is Dinsmore researching for his school project?
(c) Is the principal male or female?
(d) What did the principal want Dinsmore to be?
Type 3 (a) Why would Dinsmore have‘strange stains’all over him?
(b) Why would there be a‘mystery’involved in thinking about activities at
the dump?
(c) Why is the principal annoyed?
(d) What might happen to Dinsmore in the future?
(a) What is a‘dump’?
(b) What does it mean to‘turn over the stuff that other people throw away’?
(c) What does it mean to‘approve’of something?
(d) What are‘strange stains’?
(e) What is a‘hobby’?
(f) What does‘research’mean?
(g) How would the old exercise bike‘go round three times’?
(h) What does it mean to be‘a credit to the school’?

94
Student’s copy

Student’s copy
Skin
Your skin is a close fitting suit of armour,presenting a sealed
layer of dead cells to the outside world.Bacteria that could cause
infection live harmlessly all over this surface.Your skin acts as a
raincoat and also protects you from harmful radiation from the sun.
Skin helps keep you warm when it’s cold and helps cool you off
when necessary.Skin enables you to perceive touch,pressure,pain
and temperature variations.
The skin is made of two layers.The dermis is the thicker,deeper
layer.It contains nerve endings,blood vessels,connective tissue,
sweat glands,the roots of hairs,pressure receptors and the tiny
muscles that cause goose bumps.
The epidermis rests on top other dermis and provides a shield of
dead outer cells.It is composed of five layers.Its deepest layer is
made up of rapidly dividing cells that are programmed to fill up
with a tough protein and then die.
The outermost layer of dead cells is about twenty-five to thirty cells
thick.It is these cells that are constantly being shed like scales.
The outside surface of your skin is made of dead cells.This dead
skin is peeling off you all the time.
Sweat glands make the sweat that keeps you cool on hot days.

96
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Skin E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
11 Your skin is a close fitting suit of armour,presenting a
20 sealed layer of dead cells to the outside world.
28 Bacteria that could cause infection live harmlessly all
39 over this surface.Your skin acts as a raincoat and also
48 protects you from harmful radiation from the sun.Skin
58 helps keep you warm when it’s cold and helps cool
67 you off when necessary.Skin enables you to perceive
73 touch,pressure,pain and temperature variations.
84 The skin is made of two layers.The dermis is the
92 thicker,deeper layer.It contains nerve endings,blood
100 vessels,connective tissue,sweat glands,the roots of
108 hairs,pressure receptors and the tiny muscles that
111 cause goose bumps.
120 The epidermis rests on top other dermis and provides
131 a shield of dead outer cells.It is composed of five
141 layers.Its deepest layer is made up of rapidly dividing
151 cells that are programmed to fill up with a tough
155 protein and then die.

Word
count
Title: Skin E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
165 The outermost layer of dead cells is about twenty-five
176 to thirty cells thick.It is these cells that are constantly
180 being shed like scales.
191 The outside surface of your skin is made of dead cells.
201 This dead skin is peeling off you all the time.
211 Sweat glands make the sweat that keeps you cool on
213 hot days.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

98
Text questions: Skin
Type 1 (a) How many layers is the skin made of?
(b) What is the outside surface of your skin made of?
(c) What makes the sweat that keeps you cool on hot days?
(d) What do fat cells do?
Type 2 (a) What is the percentage of protein in the skin?
(b) What is composed of five layers?
(c) Which part of our hair is alive?
(d) How does your skin cool you on hot days?
Type 3 (a) How does your skin act as a‘suit of armour’?
(b) Why is radiation from the sun‘harmful’?
(c) Is the diagram true to life? (Give reasons for your answer)
(d) Do you think skin is important? (Give reasons for your answer)
(a) What does it mean to‘perceive’?
(b) What is a‘suit of armour’?
(c) What does‘chemical composition’mean?
(d) What are‘goose bumps’?
(e) What does‘harmful’mean?
(f) Explain what a‘variation in temperature’means?
(g) What is an‘infection’?
(h) What is the difference between‘touch’and‘pressure’?

Student’s copy
Copied under Part VB.Wrightson,P.,The Water-dragons,Puffin,Victoria,1999,ISBN 0141305363

100
Student’s copy
Water-dragons
The lizards were water-dragons.They were big,with wide,flat
bodies shaped like great,broad leaves.Their tails were thin like
whips,and the dragons could move as fast as a whip.
If they were frightened,they lifted their heads and opened their
mouths very wide.Then you could see their pink tongues,and
a long row of small,flat teeth.With the spiky bristles under their
chins,they looked fierce; but really they were friendly and a little
bit shy.
The dragons were partly tame,but still partly wild.They did not live
in cages; they were hood at looking after themselves.Sam would
hear a dragon rustling among ferns in the front garden.
Lin’s liked to lie in the sun behind her dad’s compost heap.
Jerry’s often dozed under the back steps.
But all of them went off to secret places of their own,and Jerry’s
dad said those would be in the drain.

Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Water-dragons E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
9 The lizards were water-dragons.They were big,with
18 wide,flat bodies shaped like great,broad leaves.Their
28 tails were thin like whips,and the dragons could move
33 as fast as a whip.
42 If they were frightened,they lifted their heads and
51 opened their mouths very wide.Then you could see
62 their pink tongues,and a long row of small,flat teeth.
71 With the spiky bristles under their chins,they looked
82 fierce; but really they were friendly and a little bit shy.
91 The dragons were partly tame,but still partly wild.
102 They did not live in cages; they were hood at looking
110 after themselves.Sam would hear a dragon rustling
116 among ferns in the front garden.
127 Lin’s liked to lie in the sun behind her dad’s compost
128 heap.

102
Word
count
Title: Water-dragons E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
135 Jerry’s often dozed under the back steps.
147 But all of them went off to secret places of their own,
157 and Jerry’s dad said those would be in the drain.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions:Water-dragons
Type 1 (a) What could the dragons move as fast as?
(b) What colour were their tongues?
(c) What were the dragons good at?
(d) Where did Lin’s dragon like to lie?
Type 2 (a) Why did the dragons look fierce?
(b) Whose feet do you think we can see in the picture? (Give reasons for
your answer)
(c) Why would the writer describe the dragons’tails and movement
like a whip?
(d) How many dragons does the writer tell us about in this extract?
Type 3 (a) Why do you think these lizards are called water dragons?
(b) Would you find these dragons where you live? (Why or why not?)
(c) Would you keep a dragon like this in a cage? (Why or why not?)
(d) What do you think you should do if you find a‘wild’animal?
(a) What is another word for‘frightened’?
(b) What does it mean to be‘shy’?
(c) What does it mean if something is‘wild’?
(d) What is a‘compost heap’?
(e) What does the phrase‘good at looking after yourself’mean?
(f) What does‘doze’mean?
(g) What is a‘secret’place?
(h) What is a‘drain’?

104
Student’s copy

Student’s copy
Plastics in the sea
Plastic is the new visible face of ocean pollution.It is the most
common manufactured item sighted at sea.It is often found
thousands of kilometres from land,in otherwise untouched areas.
Plastic is strong,long lasting,cheap and light.These qualities
have made it very popular,but have also made it dangerous and
unwelcome in the sea.
Because plastic can float,it can be carried by the wind and currents
across the ocean.So it can harm unsuspecting marine creatures
hundreds,or even thousands,of kilometres from where it was
originally discarded.While recreational boat-users cannot be
blamed for all the problems of plastics pollution in New South
Wales waters,research indicates that boat-users drop an average of
half a kilogram of garbage into the water on every trip.
On Clean Up Australia Days plastics are the major portion of
discarded wastes recovered from waterways and along the coastal
fringe.
The main items found include,bags,bottles,cups,straws,caps and
lids,plastic utensils,six-pack holders,clingwrap,fishing line,bait
bags,floats,cigarette butts.
Most,if not all of these items are commonly tossed from boats.
Although cigarette butts are not made of plastic,their synthetic
composition is equally damaging and long-lasting in the marine
environment.

106
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Plastics in the sea E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
11 Plastic is the new visible face of ocean pollution.It is
20 the most common manufactured item sighted at sea.It
29 is often found thousands of kilometres from land,in
32 otherwise untouched areas.
41 Plastic is strong,long lasting,cheap and light.These
50 qualities have made it very popular,but have also
58 made it dangerous and unwelcome in the sea.
69 Because plastic can float,it can be carried by the wind
78 and currents across the ocean.So it can harm
84 unsuspecting marine creatures hundreds,or even
92 thousands,of kilometres from where it was originally
99 discarded.While recreational boat-users cannot be
109 blamed for all the problems of plastics pollution in New
116 South Wales waters,research indicates that boat-
126 users drop an average of half a kilogram of garbage
132 into the water on every trip.
141 On Clean Up Australia Days plastics are the major
148 portion of discarded wastes recovered from waterways
153 and along the coastal fringe.

Word
count
Title: Plastics in the sea E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
161 The main items found include,bags,bottles,cups,
169 straws,caps and lids,plastic utensils,six-pack
176 holders,clingwrap,fishing line,bait bags,floats,
178 cigarette butts.
188 Most,if not all of these items are commonly tossed
197 from boats.Although cigarette butts are not made of
203 plastic,their synthetic composition is equally
211 damaging and long-lasting in the marine environment.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

108
Text questions: Plastics in the sea
Type 1 (a) What does the writer say plastic is?
(b) Who cannot be blamed for all the problems of plastics pollution?
(c) How much garbage do boat-users drop into the water on every trip?
(d) What are five of the main items found on Clean Up Australia Days?
Type 2 (a) What is often found thousands of kilometres from land?
(b) What qualities have made plastic dangerous and unwelcome in the sea?
(c) How is plastic carried across the ocean?
(d) What has killed the‘Little Penguin’in the picture?
Type 3 (a) Why do you think these pictures were chosen for the text?
(b) Why are plastic items such an issue to the marine environment?
(c) Why would it be important to compare the results from Clean Up
Australia Day 2005 with 1991?
(a) What is another word for‘ocean’?
(b) What does the word‘pollution’mean?
(c) What is a‘manufactured’item?
(d) What does‘originally discarded’mean?
(e) What are‘utensils’?
(f) What are‘bait bags’?
(g) What is‘polystyrene’?
(h) In the final paragraph,what does‘composition’mean?

Student’s copy

110
Student’s copy
The Bunyip
In the Dreaming,there were two Koori children.The boy was called Surrin
and the girl was called Lulardeea.They were from the Wiradjuri nation.
The children were told by the Elders,‘Never,ever go to the river alone.’
‘Why?’they asked.
‘Because the big,scary,hairy,hungry bunyip lives in the river and he likes
to eat children.’
One hot day the children decided to disobey their Elders and go for a
swim in the river.On the way they met an old,dusty,jumping kangaroo.
‘Where are you going?’asked the kangaroo.
‘We are going to the river for a swim,’said the children.
‘No,don’t go!’said the old,dusty,jumping kangaroo.‘A big,scary,hairy,
hungry bunyip lives in the river and he will eat you.’
‘Don’t be silly! We don’t believe in bunyips!’said the children.Off they
went on their way to the river.
At last they came to the river.The children began taking off their clothes.
Suddenly a big,fat,golden cod poked his head out of the water and said,
‘What are you doing?’
‘We are going for a swim,’said the children.
‘No,don’t go!’said the big,fat,golden cod.‘There’s a big,scary,hairy,
hungry bunyip who lives in the river and he will eat you.’
‘Don’t be silly!’said the children,and into the river they dived.
And do you know,the cod was the last one to see those children.
So you must never,ever go swimming without an older person with you,
and never,ever go swimming alone and always obey your Elders!

Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: The Bunyip E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
11 In the Dreaming,there were two Koori children.The boy was
22 called Surrin and the girl was called Lulardeea.They were from
32 the Wiradjuri nation.The children were told by the Elders,
39 ‘Never,ever go to the river alone.’
42 ‘Why?’they asked.
53 ‘Because the big,scary,hairy,hungry bunyip lives in the river
59 and he likes to eat children.’
71 One hot day the children decided to disobey their Elders and go
85 for a swim in the river.On the way they met an old,dusty,
87 jumping kangaroo.
94 ‘Where are you going?’asked the kangaroo.
106 ‘We are going to the river for a swim,’said the children.
117 ‘No,don’t go!’said the old,dusty,jumping kangaroo.‘A big,
130 scary,hairy,hungry bunyip lives in the river and he will eat you.’
142 ‘Don’t be silly! We don’t believe in bunyips!’said the children.Off
150 they went on their way to the river.
163 At last they came to the river.The children began taking off their
164 clothes.

112
Word
Title: The Bunyip E SC E SC
count msvp msvp
177 Suddenly a big,fat,golden cod poked his head out of the water
183 and said,‘What are you doing?’
192 ‘We are going for a swim,’said the children.
205 ‘No,don’t go!’said the big,fat,golden cod.‘There’s a big,scary,
218 hairy,hungry bunyip who lives in the river and he will eat you.’
230 ‘Don’t be silly!’said the children,and into the river they dived.
243 And do you know,the cod was the last one to see those
244 children.
255 So you must never,ever go swimming without an older person
266 with you,and never,ever go swimming alone and always obey
268 your Elders!
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions:The Bunyip
Type 1 (a) Who are the paintings by?
(b) How many Koori children were there?
(c) What were the children told by the Elders?
(d) What was in the water?
Type 2 (a) Who were from the Wiradjuri Nation?
(b) Why did the Elders say the children should not go to the river alone?
(c) How does the storyteller describe the kangaroo?
(d) Who was the last to warn the children about the bunyip?
Type 3 (a) What is happening in the picture at the top corner of the page?
(b) What do you think happened to the children?
(c) Would you expect to see a bunyip in the river?
(d) What advice does the storyteller give us?
(a) What is a‘Dreaming’story?
(b) What does‘Koori’mean?
(c) What is an‘Elder’?
(d) What is a‘bunyip’?
(e) What does it mean to‘disobey’?
(f) Where would you most likely find a‘cod’?
(g) What does it mean when you‘believe’in something?
(h) What does it mean to‘poke your head out of the water’?

114
Student’s copy

Student’s copy
Journal
Day 1
We’ve come down close to a river,in a wide valley.Thick forest
everywhere.Dad may be badly hurt.When I dragged him out of his
seat,he groaned without opening his eyes.He’s still unconscious,
hours later,and his right leg looks as though it’s broken.The
booklet in the first-aid kit tells you how to reset a broken limb,but I
don’t think I can do it on my own.I wish he’d come round.
I can’t remember much about the crash.Just the tree-tops rushing
past below and Dad yelling for me to hold on.Then a lot of noise
as we hit the canopy.After that I must have blacked out because
the noise had stopped when I opened my eyes.I could hear birds
and the sound of water.And the cockpit looked different.Greenish
from all the leaves pressing in from outside,with a splintered
branch poking through the windscreen space.
Apart from scrapes and bruises,I seem to be all right.I’ve been
outside for a look around,but there’s nothing to see.Only the
forest and the river.The plane’s a wreck.No wings or tail,the body
wedged between two giant trees.I suppose we’re lucky to be alive.
Except I don’t feel very lucky.It’s getting dark and I’m scared.I don’t
know what to do.

116
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Journal E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
11 We’ve come down close to a river,in a wide valley.
19 Thick forest everywhere.Dad may be badly hurt.
29 When I dragged him out of his seat,he groaned
36 without opening his eyes.He’s still unconscious,
46 hours later,and his right leg looks as though it’s
58 broken.The booklet in the first-aid kit tells you how to
72 reset a broken limb,but I don’t think I can do it on my
78 own.I wish he’d come round.
88 I can’t remember much about the crash.Just the tree-
98 tops rushing past below and Dad yelling for me to
110 hold on.Then a lot of noise as we hit the canopy.
120 After that I must have blacked out because the noise
130 had stopped when I opened my eyes.I could hear
140 birds and the sound of water.And the cockpit looked
148 different.Greenish from all the leaves pressing in
156 from outside,with a splintered branch poking through
159 the windscreen space.

Word
count
Title: Journal E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
170 Apart from scrapes and bruises,I seem to be all right.
180 I’ve been outside for a look around,but there’s nothing
191 to see.Only the forest and the river.The plane’s a
200 wreck.No wings or tail,the body wedged between
210 two giant trees.I suppose we’re lucky to be alive.
221 Except I don’t feel very lucky.It’s getting dark and I’m
228 scared.I don’t know what to do.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

118
Text questions: Journal
Type 1 (a) Where did they come down?
(b) Who may be badly hurt?
(c) Which leg looks as though it’s broken?
(d) What could the writer hear when he opened his eyes?
Type 2 (a) What was wedged between the two giant trees?
(b) Who groaned when he was dragged out of his seat?
(c) What did the writer see when they went outside?
(d) How did the cockpit look after the crash?
Type 3 (a) Why is Dad unconscious?
(b) Do you think the writer is badly injured?
(c) When do you think the plane crash happened?
(d) Why are they lucky to be alive?
(a) What is a‘journal’?
(b) What does a‘splintered branch’look like?
(c) What is a‘cockpit’?
(d) What would it mean to‘reset a broken limb’?
(e) What does‘unconscious’mean?
(f) Why would it make‘a lot of noise’when they‘hit the canopy’?
(g) What does it mean to‘black out’?
(h) What does it mean to be‘wedged between’?

Student’s copy

120
Student’s copy
The atmosphere: past and present
The atmosphere is the layer of gas around the Earth.It may feel
light,but if you lie on the ground,there are about 13 000 kilograms
of gas pressing down on your body.
This gas layer has four parts.We live in the troposphere,with
trips into the stratosphere now and again.Only a few humans
have reached the mesosphere.The ionosphere is mainly charged
particles.
The gas is at its most dense at sea-level,but thins out rapidly as you
rise through the troposphere.It is this mixture of gases we call air.
What is in air?
This pie chart shows the gases that make up air.
The composition of air is not exactly the same everywhere.It
changes a little from day to day and place to place.For example,
there is more water vapour in the air on a damp day.And over busy
cities and industrial areas there is more carbon dioxide,as well as
poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide.
A blanket around the Earth
The atmosphere acts as a layer of insulation between the Earth
and the Sun.During the day,it protects the Earth from the burning
heat of the Sun.At night,it acts like a blanket,keeping in the heat
absorbed from the Sun during the day.

Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: The atmosphere: past and present E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
11 The atmosphere is the layer of gas around the Earth.It
23 may feel light,but if you lie on the ground,there are
32 about 13 000 kilograms of gas pressing down on your
33 body.
43 This gas layer has four parts.We live in the
51 troposphere,with trips into the stratosphere now and
59 again.Only a few humans have reached the
65 mesosphere.The ionosphere is mainly charged
66 particles.
79 The gas is at its most dense at sea-level,but thins out
89 rapidly as you rise through the troposphere.It is this
95 mixture of gases we call air.
100 What is in air?
110 This pie chart shows the gases that make up air.
119 The composition of air is not exactly the same
129 everywhere.It changes a little from day to day and
138 place to place.For example,there is more water
150 vapour in the air on a damp day.And over busy cities
159 and industrial areas there is more carbon dioxide,as
167 well as poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide
170 and sulfur dioxide.

122
Word
Title: The atmosphere: past and present E SC E SC
count msvp msvp
175 A blanket around the Earth
184 The atmosphere acts as a layer of insulation between
195 the Earth and the Sun.During the day,it protects the
207 Earth from the burning heat of the Sun.At night,it acts
217 like a blanket,keeping in the heat absorbed from the
221 Sun during the day.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions:The atmosphere: past and present
Type 1 (a) What is the atmosphere?
(b) Where is the gas most dense?
(c) Which gases make up air?
(d) What acts as a layer of insulation?
Type 2 (a) How far above sea would you find research balloons?
(b) Name the four gas layers of the atmosphere.
(c) How does the Sun act as a layer of insulation between the Earth and
the Sun?
(d) Where would you find the ozone layer?
Type 3 (a) Why does the composition of air change?
(b) Why have only a few humans reached the mesosphere?
(a) What does‘orbit’mean?
(b) What is a‘research ballon’?
(c) In the diagram,what does ºC and –ºC mean?
(d) The pie chart shows there is how much nitrogen gas in the air?
(e) In the fourth paragraph,what is another word for‘composition’of the
air?
(f) What do you think‘water vapour’is?
(g) Describe what a‘damp day’might be like.
(h) What do you think‘a blanket around the Earth’means?

124

These texts can be used to assess the reading accuracy and fluency of students in
years 7-9 who cannot read the texts in the previous section,at an instructional level
with age appropriate fluency.
True blue A real hero
Christmas spirit Hey,lads,I’ve just had a great idea!
Nappy attack Best of both worlds
Green fingers Gwennie
Ivy Spooked
Down came a spider The hold-up

126
WARNING

Readability of additional texts
The appropriate level of text for an individual student is text that the student can read with
above 90% (instructional level) or above 95% (independent level) accuracy,with a fluency of
at least 100 correct words per minute.
Information about the readability of this collection of passages for assessment comes from
the Spelling and Grammar check on Microsoft Word (Flesch-Kincaid readability grade level;
reading ease score),and from using Fry’s readability graph.Further information on using the
Fry Readability Graph to determine the readability of other texts can be found at:
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/fry/fry.html
Group 1
Title Flesch-Kincaid Reading ease Fry readability
readability grade grade
True Blue 0 98.2 1
Christmas Spirit 0.2 91 <1
A Real Hero 0.4 97.1 1
Hey,Lads,I’ve Just Had a
Great Idea 0.4 94.6 1
Group 2
Nappy Attack 0.9 82.9 2
Best of Both Worlds 1 87.1 1
Green Fingers 1.2 87.8 2
Group 3
Gwennie 1.6 93.2 3
Ivy 1.2 95 5
Spooked 1 83.2 4
Group 4
Down Came a Spider 2.5 72.1 4
The Hold-up 2.8 84.3 5

128
Student’s copy
True blue
Mick tossed his bags on the back of the truck.Blue jumped up
and sat in the cab.Mick got into the truck and started it up.Man
and dog set off.Out west they went.
Blue was a cattle dog.He was bred to work with cattle.Mick got
him when he was just a pup.Everywhere Mick went Blue went
too.
The truck rocked and bumped in the sand and dust on the track.
This was outback Australia.As far as a man could see,there was red
sand and green scrub.
Mick and Blue were glad they had left the camp and were glad to
be going west to look for zinc and copper.
Back at the camp the men packed up.
Sam said,“It’s good that Mick knows where he’s going.That’s a bad
track he’s on.”
Copied under Part VB.Calder,H.A.,True Blue,Pascal Press 1992,ISBN 1875312005

Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: True blue E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
13 Mick tossed his bags on the back of the truck.Blue jumped up
28 and sat in the cab.Mick got into the truck and started it up.Man
36 and dog set off.Out west they went.
50 Blue was a cattle dog.He was bred to work with cattle.Mick got
62 him when he was just a pup.Everywhere Mick went Blue went
63 too.
76 The truck rocked and bumped in the sand and dust on the track.
89 This was outback Australia.As far as a man could see,there was
94 red sand and green scrub.
108 Mick and Blue were glad they had left the camp and were glad to
117 be going west to look for zinc and copper.
125 Back at the camp the men packed up.
137 Sam said, “It’s good that Mick knows where he’s going. That’s a
141 bad track he’s on.”
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

130
Text questions:True blue
Type 1 (a) Where did Mick toss his bags?
(b) Where did Blue jump up and sit?
(c) What was Blue?
(d) What did the truck rock and bump in?
Type 2 (a) Why did Mick take Blue out west?
(b) Describe outback Australia.
(c) Why did Sam say that Mick was on a‘bad track’?
Type 3 (a) What do you think Mick would have packed in his bags?
(b) Why do you think Mick took Blue everywhere?
(c) Why is it‘good that Mick knows where he is going’?
(a) How would you‘toss’something?
(b) What is a‘pup’?
(c) What is the‘cab’part of a truck?
(d) Where is‘outback Australia’?
(e) What does‘man and dog set off’mean?
(f) What is a‘cattle dog’?
(g) What does‘bred’mean?

Student’s copy
A real hero
Ann liked Prince a lot,and Prince liked Ann.He used to go over to
her place to see her,so I used to go along with him.
But things at home weren’t so good.Dad still wasn’t too happy
about having a dog around.If something was missing he would
blame Prince.If any plants in the garden were broken,Dad would
say that Prince had sat on them.I got a bit sick of it all.
Then one Saturday Dad went fishing and it was just as well for
Prince and me that he did.You see,that was the day that Prince
came running round the side of our house with a black chicken in
his mouth.If Dad had seen Prince he would have made me get rid
of him there and then.Anyway,I just about died when I saw Prince
with that chicken.
From A Real Hero by Bettina Bird,ISBN 0734403194.Reproduced and made available for copying and communication by the NSW
Department of Education and Training for its educational purposes with the permission of Pearson Education Australia.

132
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: A real hero E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
13 Ann liked Prince a lot,and Prince liked Ann.He used to go
28 over to her place to see her,so I used to go along with him.
39 But things at home weren’t so good.Dad still wasn’t too
49 happy about having a dog around.If something was missing
60 he would blame Prince.If any plants in the garden were
73 broken,Dad would say that Prince had sat on them.I got a
78 bit sick of it all.
90 Then one Saturday Dad went fishing and it was just as well
104 for Prince and me that he did.You see,that was the day that
115 Prince came running round the side of our house with a
127 black chicken in his mouth.If Dad had seen Prince he would
140 have made me get rid of him there and then.Anyway,I just
149 about died when I saw Prince with that chicken.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions: A real hero
Type 1 (a) Who did Prince like?
(b) What was Dad still not too happy about?
(c) What would Dad say if any plants in the garden were broken?
(d) What did Prince have in his mouth when he came running around the
side of the house?
Type 2 (a) How do you know that Prince liked Ann?
(b) Why weren’t things at home so good?
(c) Why was it‘just as well’that Dad went fishing on Saturday?
Type 3 (a) Why do you think that Dad didn’t want to have a dog around the house?
(b) How do you think Prince got the chicken?
(c) Why would Dad make Ann get rid of Prince if he’d seen him with the
chicken?
(a) What is Prince?
(b) What is another way of saying‘something was missing’?
(c) What does‘blame’mean?
(d) What do you do when you go fishing?
(e) What does‘I got a bit sick of it all’mean?
(f) What does‘I just about died’mean?

134
Student’s copy
Christmas spirit
Karl was lost.He was in a hire car.He had got it at the airport.The
map was not much good.He should have bought a better one.It
showed only the main roads,not the little lanes.And the weather
was bad.It was snowing.Soon it would be dark.
The airport had a hotel.He should have spent the night there.But
he wanted to be home for Christmas.He wanted to wake up at
home.He had been away in Hong Kong.He had not seen his family
for two years.His mum and dad had moved house.They had lived
in a big town,near their work.When Karl and his sister left,the
house was too big for them.
“You’ll love the cottage,”his mum wrote in a letter.“It is really pretty.
I’ve been working in the garden.I can’t wait for you to see it.”
He said the address out loud.
“Holly Cottage,Church Lane,Wetford.”
From Christmas Spirit by Iris Howden.Reproduced and made available for copying and communication by the NSW Department of
Education and Training for its educational purposes with the permission of Hodder and Stoughton Ltd.

Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Christmas spirit E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
16 Karl was lost.He was in a hire car.He had got it at the airport.
28 The map was not much good.He should have bought a better
40 one.It showed only the main roads,not the little lanes.And
52 the weather was bad.It was snowing.Soon it would be dark.
64 The airport had a hotel.He should have spent the night there.
76 But he wanted to be home for Christmas.He wanted to wake
89 up at home.He had been away in Hong Kong.He had not
101 seen his family for two years.His mum and dad had moved
113 house.They had lived in a big town,near their work.When
125 Karl and his sister left,the house was too big for them.
138 “You’ll love the cottage,” his mum wrote in a letter. “It is really
151 pretty.I’ve been working in the garden.I can’t wait for you to
153 see it.”
159 He said the address out loud.
164 “Holly Cottage, Church Lane, Wetford.”
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

136
Text questions: Christmas spirit
Type 1 (a) What was Karl in?
(b) What was not much good?
(c) What did Karl want to be home for?
Type 2 (a) Why should Karl have spent the night at the airport hotel?
(b) Who was the house too big for?
(c) Why wouldn’t the map help Karl to find his way to his parents’cottage?
Type 3 (a) How could Karl solve his problem?
(b) What do you think will happen when Karl gets to his parents’cottage?
(c) Why do you think that hire cars should have good maps in them?
(a) ‘Karl was lost.’What does‘lost’mean?
(b) What is a‘hire car’?
(c) What is a‘lane’?
(d) What is a‘hotel’?
(e) What does‘moved house’mean?
(f) What is a‘cottage’?

Student’s copy
Hey,lads,I’ve just had a great idea!
My friend,Wayne Lane,is full of good ideas.Well,that’s what he
thinks.But if his ideas are that good,why do they always go wrong?
One time,we went on holiday in Wales.Wayne had one of
his great ideas then.His Uncle Charlie had a van,and an old caravan
near Conway.We could use them – any time at all.Free! There was
room for all our gang.Wayne,his brother Jimmy,my mate Pepsi
Pete and me,Big Dave.
Good old Uncle Charlie,I thought.
Wayne didn’t tell me about the state of the van.Or that it smelled
like a chicken shed inside.But it was a van,wasn’t it?
Up came Charlie’s van,sounding like a shooting range.We just
stared! What a heap! I shut up fast.No van,no holiday.
From Hey Lads,I’ve just had a great idea! by David Clayton.ISBN 0602265509.Reproduced and made available for copying and communication by
the NSW Department of Education and Training for its educational purposes with the permission of Pearson Education Australia.

138
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Hey,lads,I’ve just had a great idea! E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
12
26
27
39
52
63
74
83
89
102
115
125
138
My friend,Wayne Lane,is full of good ideas.Well,that’s what
he thinks.But if his ideas are that good,why do they always go
wrong?
One time,we went on holiday in Wales.Wayne had one of
his great ideas then.His Uncle Charlie had a van,and an old
caravan near Conway.We could use them – any time at all.
Free! There was room for all our gang.Wayne,his brother
Jimmy,my mate Pepsi Pete and me,Big Dave.
Good old Uncle Charlie,I thought.
Wayne didn’t tell me about the state of the van.Or that it
smelled like a chicken shed inside.But it was a van,wasn’t it?
Up came Charlie’s van,sounding like a shooting range.We
just stared! What a heap! I shut up fast.No van,no holiday.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions: Hey,lads,I’ve just had a great idea!
Type 1 (a) What is Wayne Lane full of?
(b) What did Uncle Charlie have?
(c) What did the van smell like inside?
(d) What did Uncle Charlie’s van sound like?
Type 2 (a) Who were the members of the gang?
(b) What were the good points about Wayne’s idea?
(c) Why did Big Dave“shut up fast”when he saw the van?
Type 3 (a) Why do you think the gang wanted to go on a holiday?
(b) Describe what you think Uncle Charlie’s van would have looked like.
(a) What does‘full of good ideas’mean?
(b) What is an‘uncle’?
(c) What is a‘caravan’?
(d) What would a‘chicken shed’smell like?
(e) What is a‘shooting range’?
(f) What is a‘holiday’?

140
Student’s copy
Nappy attack
One day I am going to be rich.I am going to make a million.Maybe
two.How? I am going to invent a really way-out computer game.I
am going to call it‘Nappy Attack’. Grown-ups will hate it.But kids
will love it.
I got the idea for the game last Monday.It came to me in a dream.
Monday was just another‘Moan-day’.Mum was moaning about
my bedroom –“Clean it up,or else!”My sister,Beth,was moaning
about her bedroom –“Keep out,or else!”Even my brother,Tom,was
moaning and he is only a baby.
“He needs changing,”said Mum.“Will you do it,Beth? I’m dog-tired.”
“I did it last time,”Beth said running for the door.“It’s Craig’s turn.”
Copied under Part VB.Culshaw,C.& Thomson,M.,Nappy Attack,Oxford University Press.

Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Nappy attack E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
15 One day I am going to be rich.I am going to make a million.
27 Maybe two.How? I am going to invent a really way-out
37 computer game.I am going to call it‘Nappy Attack’.
47 Grown-ups will hate it.But kids will love it.
62 I got the idea for the game last Monday.It came to me in a
71 dream.Monday was just another‘Moan-day’.Mum was
82 moaning about my bedroom – “Clean it up, or else!” My sister,
92 Beth, was moaning about her bedroom – “Keep out, or else!”
104 Even my brother,Tom,was moaning and he is only a baby.
114 “He needs changing,” said Mum. “Will you do it, Beth?
117 I’m dog-tired.”
130 “I did it last time,” Beth said running for the door. “It’s Craig’s
131 turn.”
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

142
Text questions: Nappy attack
Type 1 (a) What is going to be invented?
(b) What was Monday?
(c) What was Mum moaning about?
(d) What was Beth moaning about?
Type 2 (a) What is the computer game going to be called?
(b) Why didn’t Mum want to change Tom’s nappy?
(c) What is it Craig’s turn to do?
Type 3 (a) Why do you think that grown-ups will hate the computer game?
(b) Why do you think everyone is trying to avoid changing Tom’s nappy?
(c) Why do you think Mum has‘Moan-days’?
(a) What does‘going to make a million.Maybe two.’mean?
(b) What does‘way-out’mean?
(c) What is an‘idea’?
(d) Show me how you‘moan’.
(e) What does‘the baby needs changing mean’?
(f) How do you feel if you are‘dog-tired’?

Student’s copy
Best of both worlds
Su’s full name was Su-ling Harris.Her mother was Chinese. Her
father was English.At school,Su-ling felt different from the other
girls.Her family ate different food.Her mum wore different clothes.
Su once tried to talk about it with her dad,but he got angry.He
loved her mum very much.
“What’s the matter Su?”he asked.“Are you ashamed of your mum?”
“No,of course not,”Su said.“Its just that people at school say
things.”
“What sort of things?”her dad asked.Su couldn’t tell him. She knew
he would be hurt.
“Take no notice,”her dad told her.“You were born here.You’re
English.”
But Su didn’t always feel English.The trouble was,she didn’t feel
Chinese either.Su had her mother’s dark eyes but her father’s
brown wavy hair.She was taller than a Chinese girl would be.Su felt
neither one thing nor the other.
From Best of Both Worlds by Iris Holden.Reproduced and made available for copying and communication by the NSW Department of

144
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Best of both worlds E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
10
20
31
33
47
53
64
65
78
79
90
96
107
109
120
131
142
152
Su’s full name was Su-ling Harris.Her mother was Chinese.
Her father was English.At school,Su-ling felt different from
the other girls.Her family ate different food.Her mum wore
different clothes.
Su once tried to talk about it with her dad,but he got angry.
He loved her mum very much.
“What’s the matter Su?” he asked. “Are you ashamed of your
mum?”
“No, of course not,” Su said. “Its just that people at school say
things.”
“What sort of things?” her dad asked. Su couldn’t tell him.
She knew he would be hurt.
“Take no notice,” her dad told her. “You were born here.
You’re English.”
But Su didn’t always feel English.The trouble was,she didn’t
feel Chinese either.Su had her mother’s dark eyes but her
father’s brown wavy hair.She was taller than a Chinese girl
would be.Su felt neither one thing nor the other.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions: Best of both worlds
Type 1 (a) What was Su’s full name?
(b) What was Su’s mother?
(c) How did Su-ling feel at school?
(d) What did Su-ling’s dad do when she tried to talk to him about it?
Type 2 (a) Why did Su-ling feel different from the other girls at school?
(b) Describe Su-ling’s appearance.
(c) Why did Su-ling’s dad get angry when she tried to talk about feeling
different?
Type 3 (a) What sorts of things do you think the girls may have said to Su-ling to
make her feel different?
(b) How do you think Su-ling would like to change her life?
(c) Why does Su-ling feel‘neither one thing nor the other’?
(a) What is your‘full name’?
(b) What does‘ashamed’mean?
(c) What does‘wavy hair’look like?
(d) What does‘take no notice’mean?
(e) What do you think‘different’food is?
(f) Explain‘Su felt neither one thing nor the other’.

146
Student’s copy
Green fingers
When Bill retired everyone told him to keep busy.
“You’ll need a hobby,”they said.“Time hangs heavy when you’re at
home.”
“Days seem to get longer as you get older,”said his retired friends.
But Bill knew all this.He had a hobby.It was something he’d been
doing for years.Now with all this time to himself he could really get
on with it.
Bill had always loved growing things.He’d never had a garden,only
a backyard.But he had a small greenhouse there.When he had
worked at the factory he’d not had much time for his plants. So his
hobby hadn’t been a problem for his wife,Winnie.But now she was
really fed up.
From Green Fingers by S.Woodcock & I.Howden.Reproduced and made available for copying and communication by the NSW
Department of Education and Training for its educational purposes with the permission of Hodder and Stoughton Ltd.

Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Green fingers E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
9 When Bill retired everyone told him to keep busy.
19 “You’ll need a hobby,” they said. “Time hangs heavy when
22 you’re at home.”
34 “Days seem to get longer as you get older,” said his retired
35 friends.
47 But Bill knew all this.He had a hobby.It was something
59 he’d been doing for years.Now with all this time to himself
66 he could really get on with it.
76 Bill had always loved growing things.He’d never had a
86 garden,only a backyard.But he had a small greenhouse
98 there.When he had worked at the factory he’d not had much
111 time for his plants.So his hobby hadn’t been a problem for his
120 wife,Winnie.But now she was really fed up.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

148
Text questions: Green fingers
Type 1 (a) What did everyone tell Bill to do when he retired?
(b) What had Bill always loved?
(c) Where had Bill worked?
Type 2 (a) Why did Bill’s retired friends say he would need a hobby?
(b) What was Bill’s hobby?
(c) How long had Bill had a hobby?
Type 3 (a) What does Bill do each day now he has retired?
(b) What changes do you think Bill made to his backyard after he retired?
(c) Why do you think Winnie became‘fed up’after Bill retired?
(a) What does‘retired’mean?
(b) What does‘hobby’mean?
(c) How do you‘keep busy’?
(d) What is a‘greenhouse’?
(e) What does it mean to be‘fed up’?
(f) What does‘Time hangs heavy when you’re at home’mean?

Student’s copy
Gwennie
What a night.It was getting worse every minute now. The air
was full of flying snow flakes.They made me feel a bit dizzy,as if I
couldn’t think straight.I had the windscreen wipers going all the
time.Still I found myself leaning forward in my seat,peering out
into the darkness.
I started going up another hill.I heard the engine groaning.I felt
the tyres slipping on the ice,just a little bit.I changed down a gear.
Then down another gear.
Someone was humming to herself.Someone was humming a little
tune,just behind me.
I looked in my mirror.The girl called Gwennie was sitting a couple
of seats back.She had a comb in her hand,and she was fiddling
with her hair.She was looking at her reflection in the window.And
humming this tune.
She saw me looking at her,and she smiled at me. ‘I’ve got to look
my best,’she said.
From Gwennie by Frank Usher.ISBN 0602265533.Reproduced and made available for copying and communication by the NSW
Department of Education and Training for its educational purposes with the permission of Harcourt Education.

150
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Gwennie E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
10 What a night.It was getting worse every minute now.
21 The air was full of flying snow flakes.They made me
34 feel a bit dizzy,as if I couldn’t think straight.I had the
43 windscreen wipers going all the time.Still I found
52 myself leaning forward in my seat,peering out into
54 the darkness.
64 I started going up another hill.I heard the engine
76 groaning.I felt the tyres slipping on the ice,just a
86 little bit.I changed down a gear.Then down another gear.
93 Someone was humming to herself.Someone was
100 humming a little tune,just behind me.
110 I looked in my mirror.The girl called Gwennie was
122 sitting a couple of seats back.She had a comb in her
132 hand,and she was fiddling with her hair.She was
141 looking at her reflection in the window.And humming
143 this tune.
154 She saw me looking at her,and she smiled at me.
162 ‘I’ve got to look my best,’she said.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions: Gwennie
Type 1 (a) What was the air full of?
(b) What were the tyres slipping on?
(c) Who was sitting‘a couple of seats back’?
Type 2 (a) Describe what was making it difficult to drive?
(b) Who was humming a tune?
(c) Why was Gwennie looking at her reflection in the window?
Type 3 (a) What sort of vehicle are they in?
(b) Why do you think the driver was leaning forward in his seat?
(c) Why do you think Gwennie was humming a tune?
(a) What does‘the air was full of flying snow flakes’mean?
(b) How do you feel if you are‘dizzy’?
(c) What are‘windscreen wipers’?
(d) How does an engine‘groan’?
(e) What does‘changed down a gear’mean?
(f) Show how you‘hum’.

152
Student’s copy
Ivy
The ivy rustled and tapped at the windows in a horrible way.
Barry had never seen anything like it.Old Mrs Hudson’s cottage was
being strangled by the stuff.All the walls and windows as well as
the front door were covered.It was even starting to spread over the
roof.
He stood in the lane and stared,feeling scared.A little wind was
making the ivy move to and fro like hundreds of snakes. Then Barry
realised there wasn’t any wind.The afternoon was completely still,
so what was making the ivy rattle?
Barry shuddered and ran back to his gran’s house as fast as he
could.
He didn’t like the country.It was boring,and when it wasn’t boring
it was scary.The owls seemed to hoot all night.
From Ivy by A.Masters.ISBN 0602261678.Reproduced and made available for copying and communication by the NSW Department
of Education and Training for its educational purposes with the permission of Harcourt Education.

Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Ivy E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
12 The ivy rustled and tapped at the windows in a horrible way.
22 Barry had never seen anything like it.Old Mrs Hudson’s
33 cottage was being strangled by the stuff.All the walls and
45 windows as well as the front door were covered.It was even
51 starting to spread over the roof.
63 He stood in the lane and stared,feeling scared.A little wind
75 was making the ivy move to and fro like hundreds of snakes.
84 Then Barry realised there wasn’t any wind.The afternoon
94 was completely still,so what was making the ivy rattle?
104 Barry shuddered and ran back to his gran’s house as
108 fast as he could.
120 He didn’t like the country.It was boring,and when it wasn’t
131 boring it was scary.The owls seemed to hoot all night.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

154
Text questions: Ivy
Type 1 (a) What rustled and tapped at the windows in a horrible way?
(b) What did Barry realise?
(c) Where did Barry run back to?
Type 2 (a) What was Mrs Hudson’s cottage being strangled by?
(b) Where was the ivy growing on the cottage?
(c) How could an afternoon be‘completely still’?
Type 3 (a) Why did Barry shudder and run back to his gran’s house?
(b) Why do you think there was so much ivy growing over the cottage?
(c) What do you think was making the ivy move?
(a) What is‘ivy’?
(b) What is a‘cottage’?
(c) What is a‘gran’?
(d) What is an‘owl’?
(e) What does the‘cottage was being strangled’by the ivy mean?
(f) What does‘shuddered’mean?

Student’s copy
Spooked
Dad called it a secret drawer.It certainly was very odd,
slotting into the base of the old chest so you’d never have known
it was there.No knob,no handle,no keyhole; no means of pulling it
open.I tried to jiggle it loose,but the drawer fitted much too tightly.
I managed to tip the chest forward,hoping the drawer might slide
out,and then I noticed a chink – a key-shaped hole in the wood
that I hadn’t noticed before.A tiny piece of wood had fallen out
onto the carpet.The drawer had never been jammed.It had a
hidden lock.
I’d found the chest in Dad’s workshop and wanted it straight away.
It was just the right size for hiding my heaps of old horror comics,
the ones that Mum would have liked to chuck straight into the
bin.She thought they were gruesome.They were.But that was the
point.They’d feel at home in that chest.
Copied under Part VB.Wooderson,P.,Spooked,Puffin:London 1996.ISBN 0140370587

156
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Spooked E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
11 Dad called it a secret drawer.It certainly was very odd,
23 slotting into the base of the old chest so you’d never have
34 known it was there.No knob,no handle,no keyhole; no
47 means of pulling it open.I tried to jiggle it loose,but the
52 drawer fitted much too tightly.
62 I managed to tip the chest forward,hoping the drawer
73 might slide out,and then I noticed a chink – a key-shaped
86 hole in the wood that I hadn’t noticed before.A tiny piece of
97 wood had fallen out onto the carpet.The drawer had never
104 been jammed.It had a hidden lock.
115 I’d found the chest in Dad’s workshop and wanted it straight
128 away.It was just the right size for hiding my heaps of old
139 horror comics,the ones that Mum would have liked to chuck
149 straight into the bin.She thought they were gruesome.They
161 were.But that was the point.They’d feel at home in that
162 chest.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions: Spooked
Type 1 (a) What did Dad call the drawer?
(b) How did the drawer fit?
(c) What had fallen onto the carpet?
Type 2 (a) Describe what the drawer looked like.
(b) Why did Dad call it a secret drawer?
(c) Why didn’t the drawer slide out?
Type 3 (a) Why do you think that the chest had a secret drawer built into it?
(b) Why did the drawer not have a handle?
(c) What do you think the stories in the comics would have been about?
(a) What is a‘secret’?
(b) What is a‘chest’?
(c) What is a‘knob’?
(d) What is a‘workshop’?
(e) What does‘gruesome’mean?
(f) What does‘they’d feel at home’mean?

158
Student’s copy
Down came a spider
Susan began to run a bath.She knew that always helped her to
relax.She turned the hot tap full on.The bathroom became warm
and steamy.With the sound of running water and the warm air it
made her think of the butterfly centre the weekend before.
She stepped into the bath and lay back,so that only her head and
the top of her neck were above the warm water.With her right
foot she turned on the hot tap.Susan liked her bath to be as hot as
possible.
She began to feel more relaxed now and a little sorry for Adam. For
the first time since they were married she had really shouted at him.
She was glad she had not said some of the things that had been on
her mind.She had been shocked at herself for thinking such unkind
things.
From Down Came a Spider by B.Read.Reproduced and made available for copying and communication by the NSW Department of

Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: Down came a spider E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
10 Susan began to run a bath.She knew that always
22 helped her to relax.She turned the hot tap full on.The
31 bathroom became warm and steamy.With the sound of
43 running water and the warm air it made her think of the
48 butterfly centre the weekend before.
61 She stepped into the bath and lay back,so that only her head
73 and the top of her neck were above the warm water.With
86 her right foot she turned on the hot tap.Susan liked her bath
92 to be as hot as possible.
104 She began to feel more relaxed now and a little sorry for
115 Adam.For the first time since they were married she had
128 really shouted at him.She was glad she had not said some of
140 the things that had been on her mind.She had been shocked
147 at herself for thinking such unkind things.
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

160
Text questions: Down came a spider
Type 1 (a) What had Susan begun to do?
(b) What did she turn full on?
(c) How did Susan like her bath to be?
Type 2 (a) Why did Susan run a hot bath?
(b) Why did the bathroom make Susan think of the butterfly centre?
(c) Why did Susan start to feel sorry for Adam?
Type 3 (a) How do you think Susan would have been feeling before she had the
bath?
(b) Why do you think Susan had been shocked at herself for thinking
unkind things about Adam?
(a) What is a‘bath’?
(b) How do you run a hot bath?
(c) How do you feel if you are relaxed?
(d) What is a‘warm and steamy’bathroom?
(e) What is a‘butterfly centre’?
(f) What does‘as hot as possible’mean?

Student’s copy
The hold-up
The driver looked across at Oliver as he drove past.Oliver wished
suddenly that he’d worn his old jacket instead of his new red parka.
Anyone who saw the parka would be sure to remember it.His heart
began to thud.He said to Amy,“Listen,Sis,go back home quickly.”
Amy stared.“What for? Are you nuts or something?”
“I think the guy in that car is up to something,”said Oliver
desperately.“Please go,Amy.”
He looked along the street.Except for a few passing motorists,no-
one else was about.Later there would be streams of children going
to school,some with their parents.
Amy said,“You’ve been watching too much telly,Oliver.If you don’t
like walking with me,just say so.I’ll go on ahead.”
From The Hold-up by J.Epstein.Reproduced and made available for copying and communication by the NSW Department of
Education and Training for its educational purposes with the permission of Harcourt Education.

162
Teacher’s copy
Word
count
Title: The hold-up E SC E
msvp
SC
msvp
10 The driver looked across at Oliver as he drove past.
19 Oliver wished suddenly that he’d worn his old jacket
30 instead of his new red parka.Anyone who saw the parka
41 would be sure to remember it.His heart began to thud.
51 He said to Amy, “Listen, Sis, go back home quickly.”
60 Amy stared. “What for? Are you nuts or something?”
73 “I think the guy in that car is up to something,” said Oliver
77 desperately. “Please go, Amy.”
88 He looked along the street.Except for a few passing motorists,
98 no-one else was about.Later there would be streams of
106 children going to school,some with their parents.
116 Amy said, “You’ve been watching too much telly, Oliver. If
129 you don’t like walking with me,just say so.I’ll go on ahead.”
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

Text questions:The hold-up
Type 1 (a) Who looked across at Oliver?
(b) What did Oliver wish?
(c) What did Oliver think about the guy in the car?
Type 2 (a) What worries Oliver about his red parka?
(b) Who is Amy?
(c) Why did Amy think that Oliver wanted her to go home?
Type 3 (a) Why do you think Oliver would have liked‘streams of children’to
be around?
(b) Why did Oliver tell Amy to go home?
(c) What do you think Oliver might be planning to do?
(a) What is‘Sis’short for?
(b) What is a‘parka’?
(c) What does‘his heart began to thud’mean?
(d) What does‘up to something’mean?
(e) How would you sound if you said something‘desperately’?
(f) What does‘streams of children’mean?

164

Specific level
assessment tasks
Educheck
Johnson basic vocabulary
Sutherland Phonological Awareness Test
Phonological awareness for older students

166
Specific level assessment tasks
WARNING

Educheck: Neal phonemic skills screening test
• Administration instructions
• Teacher’s copy
• Student’s copy
• Teacher’s copy
• Student’s copy
• Author’s note
• Sutherland Phonological Awareness Test
• Stimulus page
• Scoring and interpretation
Phonological awareness for older students

168
Educheck

170
Student’s copy page 1
a m s e
r d f i
t n c o
h u g l
w v p b
y x j z
qu th er sh
wh ch ck
oo oa or ai al
ea ou ar ir ur

if
fez
wax
up
lag
jut
at
zip
on
bud
pug
yen
wit
rod
chop
quiz
thick
which
shun
thud
whet
lash
chuck
quit
chess
shock
swim
glen
fret
spat
skip
plop
trot
bled
grim
crab
drum
twig
flog
scab
wept
limp
rift
gulp
fold
yell
zest
tiff
kelp
list
next
jazz
colt
ramp
bust
sink
hitch
splat
scrub
bunch
strap
shrug
fetch
clutch
thrip
prompt
botch
strict
cube
lame
gripe
hive
wage
crime
cute
vice
graze
nape
globe
froze
mile
rote
poke
slate

172
seen pert raid burn oats meal
loin horn coax jaw cart ray
firm head curt gout laud pew
loom fowl nigh mall tow guy
hoe soy thief
picnic
hopeless
visit
undertake
cricket
pressing
umbrella
wicked
expect
message
reject
engaged
lamb measure blind canyon dispute ration
salmon knit various gnaw initial vague
wrong phrase cough echo concise physics
gac kez vum hon jis chen
thack shol whid quox

Administration information
Test the student on the first one or two columns of the Johnson basic vocabulary.Words
must be recognised by sight and not sounded out.To enhance the information gained
from administering the Johnson basic vocabulary it is recommended that an automaticity
component be included. Information can be acquired by using a stop watch to time students
automatic recognition of words read.Oral Reading Rate Data Guide:Words in isolation (Neal
1990) recommends:
Year 3-4 30-45 wpm correct
0-2 errors
Year 5-6 45-50 wpm correct
0-2 errors
Administration procedure
Place the Johnson basic vocabulary sheet in front of the student showing the first two
columns only.(If the student has displayed any anxiety during the text reading assessment
the teacher may decide to display one column at a time.)
“I would like you to read some words for me.I am going to use the stop watch to see how
quickly and carefully you can read each word.You will need to read the words down the
column,(indicate the direction to the child).Remember how fast you read the words is not as
important as getting the words right.Any questions? I will start the stop watch when you say
the first word.”
If the child does not begin after 5 seconds tell them the word.

174
Student’s copy
the out our how
of so over too
and said man little
to what me good
a up even very
in its most make
that about made world
is into after still
was than did own
he them many see
for can before men
it only must work
with other through long
as new back get
his some years here
on could where between
be time much both
at these your under
by two way never
I may well day
this then down same
had do should if
not first those my
are any people now
no like Mr because

Student’s name:.............................................................. Date:...............................
the out our how
of so over too
and said man little
to what me good
a up even very
in its most make
that about made world
is into after still
was than did own
he them many see
for can before men
it only must work
with other through long
as new back get
his some years here
on could where between
be time much both
at these your under
by two way never
I may well day
this then down same
had do should if
not first those my
are any people now
no like Mr because
Teacher’s copy

176
Author’s note
Dr Roslyn Neilson has given permission for the original edition 1995 of the Sutherland
Phonological AwarenessTest (now out of print) to be reprinted here and copied as required
by users of this manual.The test may be used as a screener to determine whether further
follow up in the area of phonological awareness is indicated for individual children.Further
assessment should ideally use a current published phonological awareness test with up-to-
date normative data.
Screening results may be interpreted with reference to the following chart illustrating SPAT
Total mean scores at four grade levels:Kindergarten,Grade 1,Grade 2 and Grade 3.The
average range for each grade is indicated by scores within one standard deviation of the
mean.The abbreviation‘n’refers to samples sizes at each grade.
The norms were collected in 2004,in Term 3 of the school year.Testing included whole cohorts
of children from schools in low socio-economic status communities and more advantaged
communities within Sydney,NSW.Please note that this testing was carried out well before
systematic intensive phonics teaching was employed within local schools,so the results are
probably conservative estimates of current grade expectations.
Scores for a separate Kindergarten group are presented in parentheses,labelled as
Kindergarten Low.These scores represent results from one particular class,also tested in July,
which up to that point had had no formal exposure at all to the alphabet.These results may be
regarded as representing critically low scores during the first year of schooling.

SPAT total norms
(Kindergarten
Low n=31)
Kindergarten
n=63 Grade 1 n=90 Grade 2 n=105 Grade 3 n=64
+ 1 SD 23.03 38.51 48.97 53.82 54.44
Mean 14.65 27.05 39.33 46.74 48.39
– 1 SD 6.26 15.59 29.69 39.67 42.34
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
SPAT (1995)
Total Score
(Kindergarten
Low
n=31)Kindergarten
n=63
Grade
1
n=90
Grade
2
n=105
Grade
3
n=64
+ 1 SD
Mean
– 1 SD

178
used with the permission of the author,Dr.Roslyn Neilson,1995

180

182
STIMULUS PAGE 2
Subtest 12:Non-word Reading
ig
taf
spob
mesk
scrad
fouse
ripadal

Sutherland Phonological Awareness test scoring and
interpretation
Total SPAT score
For subtests 1 to 13,score one point per correct answer,and enter the score for each subtest
in the bottom left-hand corner of the subtest sections on the Score Sheet.Add these scores
and enter the Total Score at the bottom of Score Sheet.Note the child’s grade and refer to
Figure 1,overleaf,for interpretation (N.B.norms refer to mid-year achievement levels.) A Total
Score that falls more than one standard deviation below the mean for a given grade level
indicates a significant weakness in phonological awareness.For children in higher grades,the
Third Class level norms may be used as an indication of minimum phonological awareness
requirements.
Skills analysis
For subtests 1 to 11,circle P (Pass,3 or 4 correct),E (Emergent,1 or 2 correct),or F (Fail,0
correct).Refer to Table 1,overleaf to evaluate the child’s performance on each subtest by
comparison with grade-level peers.Indicate + or – for each subtest in the bottom right-hand
corner of the subtest sections on the Score Sheet.Note:‘Minus’represents the situation
where 80% of grade level peers score higher than the child does.‘Plus’indicates that the
child has achieved a Pass or Emergent score,and a comparable or lower result has been
achieved by 80% of peers.Subtests where the child failed,but so did over 20% of the peer
comparison group,may be left blank.Subtests marked‘minus’thus indicate skills that should
be remediated.
Note that the Third Class children in the normative sample did not achieve a‘ceiling’of a clear
80% Pass score on subtests 10 and 11 – approximately 70% passed and a further 25% scored
only at an Emergent level on both the consonant deletion tasks.Interpretation of Emergent
scores for 3rd
Class children on subtests 10 and 11 may be clarified by reference to the child’s
success with consonant blends in the non-word reading and spelling items of subtests 12
and 13,since the reading and spelling tasks tend to provide a more sensitive probe of a child’s
awareness of consonants in blends than the deletion tasks do.In general,if a child achieves
only an Emergent score on subtests 10 and 11,and also shows difficulties with consonant
blends in no-word reading and spelling,remediation should be considered.
In the normative sample the phonemic segmentation tasks,subtests 6 and 9,were somewhat
unstable in the sense that they were the only two subtests that showed an overall slight
decrease in performance from Second Class to Third Class children.Many of the older children
found it difficult to focus on phonemes when their knowledge of the word’s spelling interfered
with the phonemic segmentation required.The word‘seat’in subtest 6 was particularly
vulnerable to this source of confusion; indeed,the difficulty with this item started to be
evident as early as First Class.The syllabification task,too,was somewhat unstable,with the
item‘picnic’generating error responses from many relatively sophisticated children who
tended to prefer to segment it at onset and rime level (p…ic…n…ic) instead of breaking it
into syllables.

184
Normative sample
The Sutherland Phonological Awareness Test was administered to 353 children from
Kindergarten to Third Class during July and August 1994,mid-way through the school year,in
schools covering a wide range of suburban areas.For more information about the sampling
and testing procedures and reliability estimates,please contact Roslyn Neilson,Speech
Pathologist,PO Box 72 Jamberoo NSW 2533.
Scores were analysed in terms of grade level achievements for First Class (n=90),Second Class
(n=105) and Third Class (n=64).Kindergarten scores were analysed at two levels:Kindergarten
– Foundation,representing the data from an entire class of children who had experienced
very little phonological awareness teaching (n=31),and Kindergarten – Transition which
compromised children who had had extensive classroom exposure to tasks involving
phonological awareness (n=63).
Children were included in the sample if they came from homes where languages other than
English were spoken,unless their teacher judged that the children did not speak enough
English to understand the test instructions.Approximately 20% of the sample were either
rated by their teachers to be below average for their grade in literacy skills,or were known to
have learning difficulties.
Correlations
1. Correlation between phonological awareness on the auditory tasks (Subtests 1 to 11)
and word attack skills in non-word reading and spelling (Subtests 12 and 13):r = +0.82.
2. Correlation between Total Sutherland Phonological Awareness Test scores and Word
Identification skills (Woodcock:Reading MasteryTest):r = +0.75.

Figure 1 SPAT Total Scores:Mean and Standard Deviations,Grades K-3 mid year
Table 1 SPAT Skills Analysis:Levels achieved on Subtests 1 to 11 by at least 80% of children,
GRades K-3 mid year
** Where a cell is asterisked,over 20% of the children in that grade failed the subtest.
Subtest Kinder
(Foundation)
Kinder
(Transition)
First
class
Second
class
Third
class
1 Syllables Emergent or
Pass
Pass Pass Pass Pass
2 Rhyme detection Emergent or
Pass
Pass Pass Pass Pass
3 Rhyme production ** Emergent or
Pass
Pass Pass Pass
4 Onset identification Emergent or
Pass
Pass Pass Pass Pass
5 Final phoneme
identification
** Emergent or
Pass
Pass Pass Pass
6 CVC segmentation ** Emergent or
Pass
Pass Pass Pass
7 CVC blending ** Emergent or
Pass
Pass Pass Pass
8 Onset deletion ** ** Emergent or
Pass
Pass Pass
9 CVC segmentation ** ** ** Emergent or
Pass
Emergent or
Pass
10 Blends:Delete 1st
phoneme
** ** ** Emergent or
Pass
Emergent or
Pass
11 Blends:Delete 2nd
phoneme
** ** ** ** Emergent or
Pass
60
eor
50
40
30
TotalscT
20
ASP
10
0
ound
KinderF
ans
T
Kinder
r
lass
lass
lass
FirstC
ond
C
d
C
Sec
Thir
+ 1 SD
Mean
– 1 SD

186
Phonological assessment for older students
It may not be appropriate to use the same phonological screening for older students as for
younger students who are in the early stage of literacy learning.Most older students with
literacy difficulties have patchy learning and usually have learned about the sounds and
the spelling of many common words.This learning may interfere with screening which uses
these words to assess whether a student has a conscious awareness that there is a logical
connection between our speech,which is made up of sounds,and the words we write and
spell.
For older students it is more appropriate to assess phonological awareness and processing
through spelling than aural/oral activities.It is important that words which are known to the
student as spelling or reading words are not used,so in this instance the students will be
given some manufactured names to spell.It is also important that we assess the underlying
skill for this – that students can write the letter for the sound.This will be assessed first.
Step 1:
Provide a blank sheet of paper for the student to record responses.Ask the student to write
the letters for the following sounds:
h,r,a,w,t,u,o,s,e,d,g,j,l,z,c,b,m,f,y,k,x,v,n,i,p,
Step 2:
Ask the student to write the names of these aliens who have arrived on Earth.Tell them the
names should be written using English spelling and ask them to write the words the way they
sound.
Zeg,Frip,Plont,Drex,Smep,Slimp,Yub,Dind,Frund,Jast,Crob,Splond,
Vinter,Unbud,Loffy,Hemlack,Repkim,Fodinlan,Pedsubing,Widrupsim,
Gompessly,Nogmedant
Do not worry about lack of capital letters – what is important is the correct sequence of
letters.Accept“Vinta”and“Loffie”,“Loffey”or“Loffy”as correct.
Analysing the result
Observe student spelling and any patterns of errors.
Look for where the student has had difficulty with
• more than four sounds
• the order of sounds
• two or three consonant blends
• two or three syllables.

Proformas
Record of reading
Individual reading assessment:Student summary sheet
Class/group accuracy and fluency recording sheet
Literacy plan
Guided reading planning sheet

188
Proformas
WARNING

Proformas
Teacher’s copy
Record of reading
Word Title: E SC E SC
count msvp msvp
Guide
Y 3-4 80-100 cwpm
Easy (96-100%)
E + SC E.g.15 + 5
SC 5
Comments

190
Proformas
Individual reading assessment:
Student summary sheet
Student’s name: Class/Year: Date:
Text reading
Title accuracy cwmp self comprehension
correction 3 level guide semantic
Text 1 –
Text 2 –
Text 3 –
Instructional level text:
Reading strategies demonstrated:
Additional specific level assessments: attach recording sheets
Educheck Vowels to be learned
Circle: a e i o u
Consonants to be learned
Circle: b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x y z
Combinations to be learned
Circle: cvc consonant digraphs ccvc cvcc
3 consonant cvce
vowel digraphs multi-syllables
miscellaneous pseudo words
High frequency words Johnson Other
/100 /100
Sutherland Area of concern
Phonological Circle: Segmenting Blending
AwarenessTest or
Phonological awareness Non-word reading Non-word spelling
for older students
Summary and recommendations:

Proformas
Class/Group accuracy and fluency recording sheet
Class/Year:
Student Text Accuracy
%
Fluency
cwpm
Mean
fluency
Comments
1 1
2
3
2 1
2
3
3 1
2
3
4 1
2
3
5 1
2
3
6 1
2
3
7 1
2
3
8 1
2
3
9 1
2
3
10 1
2
3

192
Proformas
yplanacerLit
Student/s:....................................................................Class:........................Year:...................Date:..............................Classteacher:......................................................................................
STLA:..............................................................................Parent/caregiver:................................................................................CoordinatorofLST:...........................................................................
SLSC:..............................................................................Relevantpersonnelinattendance:....................................................................................Reviewdate...................................................
AreaofOutcomesIndicatorsStrategies/resourcesMonitoringPersonnelTimeReview/
needresponsibleframeevaluation
iculumplanning.recurtivaorollaboughctifiedthr
am.gro
tiden
yprac
orthisstudenomesf
oughtheclassliter
itisedoutc
essedthr
ior
eaddr
Thisplandetailsthepr
theroutcomeswillbO

Proformas
ContextualandsemanticinformationGrammaticalinformation
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Informationskills
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Guidedreadingprogrammingsheet:Focusoutcome:...........................................................................................Linkingoutcomes:...........................................................
Text:...............................................................................................Class:.......................................................Week:.........................................
GroupAssessment
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
GraphologicalandphonologicalinformationLinkwithwriting:....................................................................
RecognisinghighfrequencywordsPhonemicawarenessandletter-soundrelationships...........................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Othertextstoread:sametopicorsameauthor:.........................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Homereading:........................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ESLScales:Levels2/3:ReadingandResponding
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
eadingplanningsheetuidedrG

194
Proformas

PART 2 –
After assessment
This section is designed to assist teachers with the planning of effective
instruction to target specific individual needs identified by assessment.
Whole school approach
Accommodations and adjustments
Program planning
Teaching strategies for critical aspects of reading
Resources

196
Part 2 – After assessment
WARNING

Programming 197
Whole school approach
Interventions for students who require additional support in reading are more likely to be
effective in the context of an established school wide intervention approach.The learning
support team can be an effective means to identify,program and monitor interventions for an
individual,groups of students or a cohort.It is important that each intervention includes the
following aspects:
• Identifies priorities for instruction • Determines measurable objectives.
• Selects teaching strategies • Specifies monitoring and assessment
procedures.
• States time frame • Coordinates implementation
• Review of intervention.
Accommodations and adjustments
Whilst it is essential that students are supported by a range of accommodations and learning
adjustments in all key learning areas where appropriate,in order to access age appropriate
syllabus content and outcomes.It is important that such accommodations are provided in
addition to and do not replace instruction in critical skills of reading for students who are not
yet reading at age appropriate level.
Program planning
Following the administering of an individual reading assessment,the specific needs of
students will have been identified and can be used to inform program planning.An individual
literacy plan can be developed through the collaborative consultation planning process which
includes the parents/carers in a meeting with people who have significant knowledge of the
student,such as the classroom teacher,year supervisor and learning support personnel.
A literacy plan will target the most important literacy skills the student needs to develop.It
will list the priorities for instruction,the relevant syllabus outcomes,indicators of achievement,
teaching strategies,resources and accommodations,monitoring procedures,time frames
and personnel responsible for implementing the plan.The plan needs to be developed and
implemented within the context of the class literacy program.It is important to identify which
outcomes can be addressed by the class literacy program and which require individualised
planning.Support personnel,such as the Support Teacher Learning Assistance or the ESL
teacher,if available,can have an important role in working collaboratively with class teachers to
plan,implement and monitor individualised programs.
Where more than one student is identified with similar needs it may be appropriate to develop
a group literacy plan to meet their specific needs.
A literacy plan proforma is included for planning purposes.A planning sheet for guided
reading instruction is also provided to assist with programming for specific needs.
Further information regarding programming for students requiring additional assistance in
reading can be found in the Programming and Strategies Handbooks - Primary and Secondary.

198
Teaching strategies for critical aspects of reading
Literacy competence involves learning how to decode print and understanding what the
print means.Not all curriculum objectives contribute equally to reading development.Certain
critical skills are essential while other others are less important.Prevention and intervention
organised around the basic building blocks of effective reading instruction allows for the
most effective use of limited time.
The set of integrated sub-skills identified by research (Teaching Reading:National Inquiry into
theTeaching of Literacy (DEST,2005),Teaching Children to Read,(National Reading Panel 2000),
Independent review of the teaching of early reading (Rose Report 2006) include phonemic
awareness,phonics (often referred to as the alphabetic principle),accuracy and fluency with
connected text,vocabulary development and comprehension.
1. Phonemic Awareness:
The ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words.Blending and segmenting words at
the phoneme level are the critical phonological skills that facilitate reading.
2. Phonics:
The ability to associate sounds with letters and use these sounds to read words.Phonics
and phonemic awareness are the keys to successful decoding
3. Accuracy and Fluency with Connected Text:
The effortless,automatic ability to read words in isolation and connected text.
Comprehension is largely dependant on the ability of the reader to both recognise
printed words quickly and accurately and link the words with their meanings.If a
student can decode a text effortlessly all their resources go into extracting meaning
from what is read.
4. Vocabulary Development:
The ability to understand and use words to acquire meaning.Word knowledge is crucial
to comprehension and poor readers often lack the vocabulary knowledge required to
get meaning from what they read.
5. Comprehension:
The intentional interaction between reader and text to extract meaning.Research
suggests that teaching comprehension strategies to students along with the knowledge
of how and when to use these strategies can be effective in improving comprehension
All of these critical skills are reflected in the 2007 Literacy K-12 Policy,the Board of Studies
syllabus and other Department of Education and Training literacy support documents.
For students in years 3 and above,who have already experienced much failure and are behind
their cohort,it is important to maximise the instructional time available.By focusing on critical
skills along with carefully planning the components,sequence and delivery of instruction we
increase the likelihood of improved student outcomes.
Hyperlinks are provided to a selection of strategies for teaching critical skills in reading which
are available from both Linking NAPLAN 2008 to the Curriculum and the Programming and
Strategies Handbooks - Primary and Secondary.The teaching strategies included are intended
for a wide range of students as well as those identified as needing additional support in
reading.Click on each link to obtain full details of each strategy.

Programming 199
eadingtsofrecalaspiticorcrtegiesfaTeachingstr
ingLink
orawide
ailableineither
endedfeint
v
yarhe
ea
T.yondar
eading,whichar
ecSand
illsinr
yimar
alsk
rP-
eading.
oks
iticeachingcr
o
tinr
andb
or
egiesH
ort
at
egiesftaestrtiveceasampleofeff
grammingandStrorPorthe
tifiedasneedingadditionalsupp
miculu
egiesar
rur
ellasthoseiden
ta
otheC
,asw
wingstr
ts
ollo
AN2008t
hefT
NAPL
rangeofstuden
Knowledgeofletter-
soundcorrespondence
SkillStageSyllabusStrategySource
outcomesReference/hyperlink
Alphabeticprinciple
Decodingandencoding
1-2RS1.6
RS2.6
1.Letter-soundcorrespondence
2.Soundpicturecues
Programmingandstrategieshandbook
(Primary)p73-77
(Primary)p81
Accuratereading1-5RS1.6
RS2.6
RS3.6
1.Pause,promptandpraiseProgrammingandstrategieshandbook
(Primary)p36(Secondary)p29
Fluentreading1-5RS1.6
RS2.6
RS3.6
1.DevelopingfluencyProgrammingandstrategieshandbook
(Primary)p48,(Secondary)p32
Wordrecognitionskills
Highfrequencywordbank
Highfrequencyword
knowledge
1-5RS1.6
RS2.6
RS3.6
1.Matchtosample
2.Gamesforwordrecognition
3.Developingsightvocabulary:in
smallgroups
4.Developingsightvocabulary:in
KLAs
(Primary)p58
(Primary)p59-64
(Secondary)p38
(Secondary)p40

200
Phonemicawareness
Blendingandsegmenting1-3RS1.6
RS2.6
RS3.6
1.Markingsoundsinwords
2.Manipulatinglettertiles
(Primary)p70
(Primary)p72
Vocabulary
Buildingvocabulary1-2RS1.6
RS2.6
1.MatchtosampleProgrammingandstrategieshandbook
(Primary)p58
2-3RS2.6
RS3.6
2.Wordmeaningchecklist
3.Vocabularyclines
LinkingNAPLAN2008totheCurriculum
(Stage2-3self-checking)
Understandingword
meanings
2-5RS1.6
RS2.6
RS3.6
1.Matching
2.Matchmaking
3.Conceptofdefinition
4.Fitit
(Primary)p120
(Secondary)p73
Understandingword
meaningsusing
morphemicknowledge
3-5RS3.6
RS4.1
1.Structuralanalysis
2.Usingmorphemes
3.Usingmorphemicknowledge
(Secondary)p71
(Secondary)p50
(Primary)p112

Programming 201
Comprehension
Activatebackground
knowledge
1-4RS1.6
RS2.6
RS3.6
RS4.2.9
1.Beforeandaftercharts
2.Structuredoverview
Locatinginformation
directlystatedintexts
1-2RS1.6
RS2.6
3.Identifyingkeywords
4.3Hstrategy(Here,Hidden,
Head)
(Stage1-2locatinginformation)
Connectsideasina
varietyoftexts
1-2RS1.5
RS2.6
1.Connectingideasbyidentifying
cluewordsinquestions
LinkingNAPLAN2008tothe
Curriculum(Stage2connectingideas)
3RS3.61.ThinkAloudstrategyLinkingNAPLAN2008totheCurriculum
(Stage3locatinginformation)
4RS4.7.11.HighlightingkeywordsLinkingNAPLAN2008totheCurriculum
(Stage4locatinginformation)
2-4RS2.5
RS2.6
RS3.6
RS4.1.8
1.Connectingideasusingtext
andimages
2.Analysingtextlayouts
3.Readthepictures
4.Skimmingandscanning
5.Graphicoutline
(Stage2-3connectingideas)
(Primary)p155
(Secondary)p107
4
RS4.1
Science4.1
1.TextmappingLinkingNAPLAN2008totheCurriculum
(Stage4textmapping)

202
Identifyingthemainidea2-4RS2.5
RS2.7
RS3.6
RS4.2.1
1.Identifyingthemainidea
2.Skimmingandscanning
(Stages2-4mainidea)
Makingpredictions1-4RS2.5
RS2.7
RS3.6
RS4.7.9
1.MakingpredictionsProgrammingandstrategieshandbook
(Primary)p154
Questiongenerating1-4RS
RS4.1.5
1.QuestioningProgrammingandstrategieshandbook
Sequencinginformation1-4RS1.5
RS1.6
RS1.7
RS2.6
RS3.6
RS4.2.1
1.Retelling
2.Sequencing
Summarisingtext2-4RS2.6
RS3.6
RS4.2.1
1.Reciprocalteaching
Thisstrategycombinestheuse
ofthe4strategiesofmaking
predictions,clarifying,question
generating,andsummarising.
2.Collaborativestrategicreading

Programming 203
Resources
The following resources,some of which have been in schools for a number of years,provide
support for teachers when programming instruction for students requiring additional assistance
in learning.
Programming and Strategies Handbook (Primary)
This support document is also included in the Follow up to
BST folder.It assists teachers to choose strategies and make
appropriate adjustments to class programs for students
needing additional support in literacy.
http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/
schoolsweb/studentsupport/programs/disabilitypgrms/
pshandbook.pdf
Programming and Strategies Handbook (Secondary)
This support document provides instructional techniques
for both the Support Teacher Learning Assistance (STLA) and
Key Learning Area (KLA) teachers.It contains strategies for
developing the reading ability of students still struggling
to read the words on the page.It has extensive sections on
comprehension that support the collaborative teaching
between STLAs and KLA teachers.
pshandbooksec.pdf

204
Writing and Spelling Strategies
This practical resource can assist teachers to develop and
adjust teaching strategies and class programs to meet the
needs of a range of learners experiencing difficulties with
spelling and writing.This book is available in PDF format,as a
whole or by individual sections.
services/lrngdifficulty/writespellad.pdf
Linking NAPLAN 2008 to the Curriculum
This online resource provides practical assistance to inform
teaching programs and assist teachers with improving
targeted student learning outcomes.These teaching
strategies are linked to skills assessed in NAPLAN tests and
are available for both literacy and numeracy.
http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/7-12assessments/
naplan/teachstrategies/yr2008/index.htm
Literacy and Numeracy Follow Up for Primary
Schools
This resource contains training and development activities
to assist teachers to identify and work with students
experiencing difficulties in reading.The strategies and
planning processes outlined can assist schools in providing
effective teaching and learning programs for students
experiencing difficulties with reading
services/lrngdifficulty/litnumfollow.pdf

Programming 205
BST Literacy Teaching Strategies
2006 and 2007
The teaching strategy documents
developed in preceding years to link the
BST to the curriculum provide teachers
and learning support teams with a range
of additional strategies targeting specific
skills.
https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/
directorates/schoimpro/EMD/bst_
publications.htm
ELLA Literacy Teaching Strategies 2006
The teaching strategy documents developed in preceding
years to link the BST to the curriculum provide teachers and
learning support teams with a range of additional strategies
targeting specific skills.
https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/directorates/schoimpro/
EMD/ella_publications.htm
Teaching literacy in… Series
(Science,Geography,English,Creative Arts,PDHPE,History,
Languages,Mathematics,Design and Technology)
This series supports teachers of Year 7,highlighting the
literacy demands of each subject,and demonstrates how
these demands can be explicitly taught in sample units of
work.Advice is also given on using assessment information
to plan appropriate programs and ways in which a whole-
school plan for literacy might be developed.
Available for purchase from Curriculum Support at
http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/resourcesforsale/
yrs07_12/english.php

206

Assessment to programming for reading

More Related Content

What's hot (11)

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Assessment to programming for reading (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Assessment to programming for reading