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Reading Practice Intensive

THINKING:

Higher Order Thinking to Access Deeper Meaning

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Thinking & Reading in the Curriculum

“ students learn to appreciate the power of language and literature, gaining insights into themselves and others…

The study, use, and enjoyment of language and literature in a variety of text forms enables them to access the thoughts and perspectives of others, to walk in different worlds, and to broaden their horizons by experiencing diverse cultures, ideas, and viewpoints.”

(Te Mātaiaho, 2024 p. 3).

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Pillars of Practice

Designing Reading with the End in Mind

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Recap: Thinking

In any reading programme learners should have opportunities to develop awareness of the ‘levels of thinking’ involved in being a good reader.

LEVELS OF THINKING
Evaluative	“Reading beyond the lines” to relate the information to other knowledge and make judgements
Interpretative	“Reading between the lines” to interpret what the author might mean indirectly
Literal Level	“Reading on the lines” to find out what is being said or stated directly

Effective Literacy Strategies, 2004

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Access to Deeper Meanings

Teaching learners to read beyond the superficial, and below the surface level of meanings, is an issue of equity.

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Higher Order Thinking

LEVELS OF THINKING
Evaluative	“Reading beyond the lines” to relate the information to other knowledge and make judgements
Interpretative	“Reading between the lines” to interpret what the author might mean indirectly
Literal Level	“Reading on the lines” to find out what is being said or stated directly

Effective Literacy Strategies, 2004

higher order

In the Effective Literacy Strategies, thinking is framed as a progression from literal to interpretive and evaluative. This three-part framework is a good entry point “on-ramp” for designing and planning for raiders to understand and engage with the more complex meanings in text.

At the literal level we tend to be comprehensing “who”, “what” and “where” information. Answering questioning about the text requires the reader to perform “seek and find” answers. As long as the reader comprehends what’s directly stated in the text, the literal meanings can be determined from one place (a word, line, sentence) or by putting together stated information from multiple places across the text. Note: The QAR strategy refers to…

However, at the interpretive level readers have to recognise where the author is making “implied” meanings. The meaning is not directly stated (“between the lines”) and must be inferred or reasoned. “Between the lines” refers to a negotiation the reader makes with the text to actively ‘work out’ the meaning. This is harder work because the reader must make connections in their mind based on what the author has implied (or hinted at), to their own knowledge and experiences to ‘decipher’ the intended meaning.The difficulty lies not only in whether the reader picks up on the references from the implied meanings (to be able to connect to their background knowledge) but whether they have this knowledge in the first place to activate. Evaluation takes the thinking even further, because the reader is primed and practices in making value judgements about the the intended meanings related to standards, consequences, truthfulness etc.

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An Example:

Accessing Deeper Meanings through Higher Order Thinking

literal level

(reading ‘on the lines’)

family outing to West Tower where Matiu faces his fear of heights within a supportive tuakana teina relationship

interpretive level

(reading ‘between the lines’)

Matiu disguises his fear;

it’s also revealed that his uncle has prepared a way for him to save face

evaluative level

(reading ‘beyond the lines’)

Weighing up whether Matiu can be brave if he’s scared at the same time?

Gender representation across texts.

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Planning for Thinking Beyond the Literal

Response to Text Activities (including higher level ‘Create’)

Extended Discussion

Modelling

(critical analysis of text, questioning & ‘thinking about thinking’)

These are three effective ways of planning for learners to think beyond the literal. We will explore each in detail throughout the day.

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Vignettes: Year 4 Group

Today, we will follow the Kākāpō group through a week’s reading instruction and activities. The vignettes will demonstrate planned instruction to support higher order thinking to access the deeper meanings in text(s).

Text Set

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Kākāpō

WEEK 3, TERM 3

LI. We are:

Reading texts closely to analyse evidence
Making connections between evidence to think and read critically

MONDAY

CHOICE BOARD

Teacher Notes

WITH TEACHER (TUESDAY)

WITH TEACHER (THURSDAY)

MAHI TRACKER

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Activity: Before Guided Reading Tasks, ‘Beyond the Literal’

1. In the Main Group, take 2 mins to individually reflect on the Kākāpō pre-Guided Reading activities (sl ide 11).

2. In Breakouts, discuss the activity instructions and agree on the required level of thinking for the students: literal, interpretive or evaluative. Nominate a group Initiator to label the annotation:

Group 1; Group 2.

3. Add your response ⏫ to the Figjam question