Whole Class Junior Journal Resource Year 3 – A School Comes Home

Description

Enhance your Year 3 structured literacy program with this comprehensive resource designed to improve reading comprehension using Science of Reading principles. Based on the engaging “A School Comes Home” article from Junior Journal 62, this teaching tool focuses on critical comprehension strategies, vocabulary development, sentence structure, punctuation, and verbal reasoning.

Learn about the inspiring Redcliffs School story: The article details the community’s effort to save their school following damage from the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes, providing a compelling context for learning.

Key Benefits & Features:

• Science of Reading Alignment: Explicitly teaches comprehension, summarization, inference, and evidence-based reasoning.
• Comprehensive 70-Slide Presentation: Includes detailed lesson plans, support worksheets, and graphic organisers.
• Structured Literacy Approach: Breaks down the text into manageable chunks for explicit teaching and deep learning across three sessions.
• Vocabulary Building: Explicit vocabulary instruction with definitions, examples, synonyms, and antonyms.
• Text Structure Analysis: Utilises a sequence timeline graphic organizer to analyze text structure.
• Critical Thinking and Discussion: Engages students with discussion prompts, GIST summarisation, and critical thinking questions.
• New Zealand Curriculum Alignment: Directly supports Year 3 English Curriculum objectives focusing on comprehension, summarising, vocabulary, and inference.
• Improved Reading Skills: Promotes active learning, vocabulary growth, and stronger connections between text and personal experiences.
• Effective Comprehension Strategies: Focuses on monitoring comprehension, summarising, drawing conclusions, and using evidence.
• Writing Skill Integration: Literacy activities link directly to key writing skills, including sentence structure, figurative language, and punctuation.
• GIST Summarising Activity: Develops concise summarising skills for improved comprehension and memory.

How to Use:

• Utilise the PowerPoint presentation in presenter mode for seamless delivery.
• Distribute copies of the Junior Journal article for paired or small group reading.
• Follow the structured three-session plan, with extended activities on days four and five.

Ideal for educators seeking to:

• Implement Science of Reading strategies in their classroom.
• Improve student reading comprehension and vocabulary.
• Engage students with a compelling real-world story.
• Align with the New Zealand English Curriculum.