A PowerPoint Presentation

Background• Developed and used in schools across North America for

over 10 years

• Hawker Brownlow has versioned it for Australia, rewriting stories and adding Australian content

• CARS (Comprehensive Assessment of Reading Strategies)– The assessment portion: Pretest, diagnose strengths and weaknesses

of each strategy, level placement

• STARS (Strategies to Achieve Reading Success)– A prescriptive reading series: instruction based on the results of the

CARS Plus series to address gaps

• Provides differentiation, explicit teaching and student data

What is it?A 10 level program (P-H) that allows you to identify and teach twelve reading comprehension strategies:

1. Finding the Main Idea 2. Recalling Facts and Details3. Understanding Sequence4. Recognising Cause and Effect5. Comparing and Contrasting6. Making Predictions

• Levels P and AA focus on 6 strategies: • Pre-reading, listening skills, visual, teacher-guided

• Level A focuses on 8• Levels B–H focus on all 12

7. Finding Word Meaning in Context8. Drawing Conclusions and Making

Inferences 9. Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion10.Identifying Author’s Purpose11.Interpreting Figurative Language12.Summarising (Distinguishing between Real

and Make Believe in levels B and C)

What are the benefits?

• Comprehensive program that allows you to:• Diagnose student comprehension • Instruct to the level of their ability• Benchmark their progress• Assess their achievement• Provide differentiated instruction• Create structure and continuity

• Ability for the program to follow the child from Foundation to Year 9

• Facilitate instructional planning• Make recordkeeping easier with online scoring

management system

What Does it Look Like?

Student Books• CARS Plus Student Book contains:

– Student pacing chart– 5 pretests, 5 benchmarking tests and 5 post tests (40

minute lessons)

• STARS Plus Student Book contains:– 12 Strategy Lessons

• Each ‘lesson’ is broken into 5 ‘parts’: modelled instruction, modelled practice, guided instruction, guided practice and independent practice

– Each ‘part’ takes one class to teach, so a single strategy ‘lesson’ takes five days

– A 4-page review after every three strategy lessons– A Final Review:

• 12-Page review of all strategies: 4 reading passages, 48 multiple-choice questions

Teacher Guides• CARS Plus Teacher Guide includes:

– Definitions of strategies– Three teacher assessments– Pretest, post test and benchmark answer keys– NOTE: Has no lessons

• STARS Plus Teacher Guide includes:– Suggested Lesson Pacing Chart– Step-by-step instructions on how to guide students through lessons

including (NEW to STARS Plus!):

– Strategy Bookmarks– Reproducible answer form– Completed answer form

- Lesson objectives- Introducing the strategy- Model the strategy- Tips- ELL Support

- Genre focus- Teacher’s Corner- Reteaching- Connecting with

Literature

How Does it Work?1. Download the free Level Placement Booklet to assess which level your

students are at – Less than 6 correct go down a level, 6-10 stay there,11 or more correct go up a level

2. Order the CARS & STARS Plus books for your desired level – Note: Each level has a student and teacher guide.

3. Take the 5 pretests from the CARS Plus book to see where your students’ skills are in terms of the 12 strategies

4. Work through the STARS Plus books throughout the year

5. Administer the 5 benchmark tests during teaching STARS Plus to monitor progress

6. If students are struggling with a reading strategy, have them work on the specific Focus book OR if they are excelling, have them work on the Extensions books

7. At the end of the year, take the 5 post tests in the CARS Plus book to see how much the students have progressed.

Assessment• The CARS Plus book contains the following assessments:

– 5 Pretests • Five tests to be taken as soon as possible to fit in with school schedule• Use this data when teaching STARS Plus strategies

– 5 Benchmark Tests • To be done at your discretion throughout the year with STARS Plus• Corrected orally with the entire class

– 5 Post Tests• Assesses the results of the students• Great for parent-teacher interviews and to show student progress

• The STARS Plus program is the instruction portion, however it also contains:

– A review after every three strategies– A final review at the end of the book

STARS Plus Lesson FormatEach of the 12 lessons is broken into 5 Parts:

1. Modelled Instruction: “Think About the Strategy”

1. Guided Instruction: “Learn About the Strategy”

1. Modelled Practice: “Check Your Understanding”

1. Guided Practice: “Build on What You Have Learned”

2. Independent Practice: “Prepare for a Test”

Focus on ReadingAdditional Resources

• Focus books help to reinforce reading skills and differentiate instruction with concentrated practice on a single strategy– 6 books: one for each of the higher-order

strategies:• Understanding Main Ideas and Details• Understanding Sequence• Recognising Cause and Effect• Comparing and Contrasting• Making Predictions• Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences

– 20 lessons in each book– Great for remedial help and more

practice for specific strategies

Extensions in ReadingAdditional Resources

• Extensions Books are for students who are excelling in all strategies. It offers them more practice and extends the depth of their understanding

• IMPORTANT NOTE: In the CARS & STARS Plus program, students do not move up a level if they are doing well. They further build on their knowledge of the strategies with Extensions.– Extensions are available for levels A-H

• Other related resources that also focus on the 12 reading strategies:– ALC (Assessing Levels of Comprehension)– BLC (Building Levels of Comprehension)– View these products online:

CARS & STARS Online: Reports and Assessment

A holistic approach. Save time and get results!

•Teachers enter student results

•Automatically analyse student performance for each strategy

•View detailed reports by individual or class

•Print paper-based reports

•Great for parent teacher interviews or for

passing on to the student’s next teacher

•Online program for students coming soon!

Associated ProductsCAMS & STAMS is the same program re-designed for mathematics.

•CAMS (Comprehensive Assessment of Mathematics Strategies)

•STAMS (Strategies to Achieve Mathematics Success)

•SOLVE (Practice) C-H

•Includes Interactive Whiteboard Lessons for levels C-H

Learn More about CAMS & STAMS:

Next StepsDownload the Free Level Placement Guide from the website to get started!

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