Reading Signs

May 2017

Literacy at Tamaki College

The Protein Issue

Data Response

One of the earliest reading skills gained by humans was the ability to read  the paths created by herds of animals. Tracking individual animals by reading paw prints before hunting them must have been a higher level reading skill, one that developed much later as we moved up the evolutionary ladder. Initially humans simply followed a herd of grazing animals and waited discreetly for the predators to have their fill.

Following a herd of animals that are out of sight is a reading task and to complete this task  effectively the human mind must have been capable of pre-reading, during reading and post reading activities. Before reading the path, early humans needed to predict that up ahead the gap in the ground could have been created by a herd of animals.  During the  reading of the path, there was a need to focus  full attention on the path, to visualize a herd of animals and to integrate this new information by making a connection to previous experiences of  finding the animal paths. After reading the path, a band of hominids keen to find a freshly killed carcass to scavenge would need to summarise the major ideas found on the path. They needed to recall supporting details which told them the direction the herd may have travelled and even to infer that a freshly killed sheep or goat  was the most likely item on the menu for the evening meal.

These reading skills are innate,  but when it comes to reading a written text, specialist training is required. For students at Tamaki College, especially those who gain a PAT reading stanine score of 4 or less, these skills need strengthening. The reading skills are there but the reason their comprehension of  a text  is poor is that these skills are not employed consistently. There are gaps in their skill repertoire and they lack confidence and direction. If we want to improve reading comprehension skills we must ensure students are given real reading tasks every day. It is important that students are given tasks which enhance their ability to comprehend  but it is equally important that students are made aware that these are reading strategies that can be practised and strengthened.