Prior Knowledge

This strategy helps you to use what you already know, to make predictions about what you think may happen in a book or a section of a text.

At the beginning of a new book, think about what you already know about the author. Have you read any books by this author before? What type of books may be about? Next, look at the title, the cover and the blurb. Do these give you any clues about what will happen in the book? Think about where and when the book is set (the setting), who is in this book (the characters) and what you think will happen in this book (the plot).

Use this information (this is your prior knowledge), to complete the first two sections of the chart on the next page. In the first section, put all of the information that you definitely know. That is, the author, setting, characters, and what information you have on the plot from the blurb. In the second box, put your predictions – what you think will happen, based on what you have discovered from looking at the title, cover and blurb. Normally, you would be encouraged to discuss your thoughts with a partner, but as this may not be possible during this time, we will leave this section out.

Once you have completed the first two sections, read the first chapter, then complete the final section, adding any new knowledge that you have about the chapter and how your thinking may have changed by reading this chapter.

If you are not at the beginning of the book, but have already read some of it, you can still complete a prior knowledge activity. For the first section, think about what you already know about the events and characters leading up to this point. Then, in the second section, write what you think may happen, based on your knowledge of events leading up to this point. Then read the chapter before completing the final section, detailing what new knowledge you have gathered from the chapter.

Use the chart on the following page to complete your prior knowledge activities.

Prior Knowledge

Before Reading

After Reading

What I already know

What I think will happen

What new information have I learned?

Author: (You only need to give information about the author at the beginning of a new book, not each time you do prior knowledge.)

Characters: (Who is in this book and what type of person are they? What do they do or say that is important to this section?)

Setting: (Where is the action taking place? Why is this important?)

Plot: (What is happening or has happened so far?)

Think about the information you have written in the previous section. What does this make you think will happen in the next chapter? Continue to think about the characters, setting and plot as you complete this section.

Now that you have read the chapter, what have you learned? Was your prediction correct or did something different happen to change your thinking? Write about that in this section.

I will put a blank copy of this sheet on the following page, so you can use it to complete your prior knowledge tasks.

Prior Knowledge

Before Reading

After Reading

What I already know

What I think will happen

What new information have I learned?

Author:

Characters:

Setting:

Plot:

Metalinguistics

The purpose of metalinguistics is to use a variety of strategies to work out the meaning of new or tricky words. This means using clues in the text to work out the meaning of a word in the context of the section of text you are reading. By practising this strategy, you will become a problem solver as you gain better knowledge of words and will need to use a dictionary less often.

As you read through a chapter, choose four new or tricky words that you are not too sure of the meaning.

The metalinguistic strategies are:

· Read Back (RB) – Read back to the beginning of the sentence or paragraph the word is found. If this does not give you any clues, you can read back further, in case you find some clues there.

· Read On (RO) – Read the words following the word you are looking at, to see if this gives you any clues.

· Familiar Word (FW) – Does the word you are looking at look or sound like another word? Does this help you work out what this word means?

· Replace Word (RW) – Can you put another word in its place and it still makes sense? Does this help you work out the meaning of this word?

· Partner Discussion (PD) – Discuss your thoughts with someone else and write down what they think.

· Dictionary (D) – This is the final strategy you should use and ONLY use it if you have used all of the other strategies and still cannot figure out the meaning of the word. If you use this strategy, write the dictionary definition in the Strategies section, but you must also write the meaning of the word in the context of the section of the story in the final section.

Remember that when you are using the strategies, you must include evidence that you find. DO NOT JUST WRITE THE CODE AND NOTHING ELSE. This will help you as you move up to high school and have to reference your quotes.

Finally, write what you think the word means after having used all of the strategies. Remember, I am not looking for you just to write the meaning of the word, but what it means in the context of the section of the story you are reading. I will put an example of a metalinguistics activity on the next page, then a blank grid for you to use on the following page.

I will use a section of “The Eleventh Orphan” for this activity.

Metalinguistics

Word and Page Number

Strategies Used

What I think it means in this context.

choker p9

RB – “She wore a choker”

It’s something you wear.

RO – “three strings of pearls round her throat”

Maybe a necklace.

Throat – high up

FW – “choke”

To choke means you can’t breathe because something gets caught in your throat.

RW – “necklace”

She wore a necklace round her throat.

*The red text shows my thinking about the evidence I have included.

I think the word “choker” in this context means:

Florrie was wearing a tight necklace that sat high up on her throat and had three strings of pearls on it.

On the following page, I will include a blank metalinguistics grid for you to complete your tasks.

Metalinguistics:

Word and Page Number

Strategies Used

What I think it means in this context.

Strategies:

RB – Read Back RO – Read On FW – Familiar Word RW – Replace word

PD – Partner Discussion D – Dictionary

Remember always to include evidence with your strategies!

Visualisation

The purpose of visualisation is to create a visual image of a person, place of event, so you can have a clear picture in your mind about it.

Visualisers rely on you reading closely and picking out evidence from the text that tells you more about the person or situation you wish to visualise. It also relies on you reading between the lines and working out what the author is inferring in some situations. A visualiser can take different formats. You can use a satellite plan to visualise a person, place or an event, or you may choose to use a grid planner. I will include examples of both.

It is very important when creating a visualiser that you acknowledge the source of your information. That is, you MUST include quotes with speech marks and page numbers.

Again, I have used “The Eleventh Orphan” as an example.

Comprehension Strategies for Novel Studies

Visualisation – Satellite Planner

‘public house’ and ‘a glass of Guinness’ P1-2 & 3

These clues both suggest the Pig and Whistle is a pub.

‘The smell of beer and cigar smoke…sawdust on the floor’ p7

The bar doesn’t smell fresh; it is stale and musty.

‘yard stacked with beer barrels’ p14

There’s a back door to the pub which is where deliveries come.

‘The place had a magical look’ p9

Elfie is enchanted by the look and atmosphere of the pub.

The Pig and Whistle

‘the mahogany bar shone and the brasses were bright’ p7

The pub is clean and well-kept.

‘nether regions of the pub’ & ‘floor above’ p10

There is a whole other part to the building that isn’t for customers- it’s off limits.

‘gas lamps…flickering lights’ p9

Poorly lit and very old fashioned.

“This isn’t a gaol” p14

Ma Bigsby doesn’t want to keep Elfie locked up or treat her like a prisoner.

Visualisation

Character

She’s untrusting of others:

· “Elfie clutched her bag to her chest” p7 This suggests that she doesn’t want anyone looking inside her bag.

She was a thief:

· “She’s a bit light – fingered.” p8

· “What has she took?” p8

· “Couple of apples.” p8

This suggests that Elfie has no one to look after her and she has to steal food to survive.

Appearance

She had no shoes:

· “shifted her bare feet about on the cold pavement.” p7 This suggests that she is very poor and doesn’t have many clothes.

She was dirty:

· “So they were none too clean…you didn’t have much chance of cleaning yourself.” p7 This suggests that she has nowhere to get washed.

Elfie

Background

Elfie was an orphan:

· “When the eleventh orphan turned up…” p7 This suggests that her parents are dead.

She had no home:

· “When you had to doss down under a bridge…” p7 This suggests that she had to sleep outside.

Visualisation – Blank Page

Visualisation –Blank Page

Character

Appearance

Background

Inference

The purpose of inference is to read between the lines and work out implied meanings. We read closely to work what the author means, even though they may not have actually written those words. It is important to reference your sources. This means that you should include quotes from the text with speech marks and page numbers. It is also a good idea to write a few words, telling you what each quote means. I have included this in red.

Here is an example of an inference task:

Elfie’s bag and its contents are very valuable to Elfie. The author implies this in the following quotes:

“Elfie clutched her bag to her chest” p1

This suggests she doesn’t want anyone touching the bag or taking it from her.

‘ “What have you got in there that’s so precious?” they’d kept asking.’ p4

The author mentions that they kept asking her the same question. This suggests that she always has the bag with her and that she doesn’t let anyone see inside it.

‘She had guarded the bag with her life.’ p4

This suggests that the bag is very precious to her and she would keep it safe, at all costs.

‘Sometimes she’d have a bad dream and wake in a panic, thinking it was gone. That would be the worst thing that could happen to her.’ p4

If losing her bag is the worst thing that could happen to her, even though we know that she has had a terrible life so far, this means it must be very special to her.

‘She hated showing it to people’ p5

Elfie’s bag was very personal and she wanted to keep its contents private.

‘Reluctantly Elfie handed it over.’ p5

The word “reluctantly”, tells us that she did not want to give her bag to anyone.

Main Ideas and Summarising

The purpose of Main Ideas and Summarising is to find the main themes running through a text and to paraphrase, which means put into your own words.

When finding the main ideas, you note down anything you think is important as you read through the chapter. Once you have done this, look back over your notes and work out which ones are definitely important and which ones you can remove. After this, you can use your notes to write a summary, remembering to paraphrase, or put it into your own words. Try to add more information about each of the points you have considered important.

Here is an example of main ideas:

1. Family

· Elfie’s mother is dead and she know very little about her or her father

· The Bigsby’s have a very unusual family and some of them seem to care about Elfie

2. Trust

· Elfie wants to trust the policeman and Ma Bigsby but several times she has doubts about both of them – she seems to have been let down in the past and had a bad experience in an orphanage

· She is constantly frightened that someone will steal her bag

· She takes an immediate dislike to Ivy

3. Mystery

· Elfie has a picture of the Pig and Whistle but doesn’t know why or where it came from

· There might be a connection in her past to the place but neither the reader or Elfie know what it is

On the next page, you will see a chart, which includes these ideas and has marked which ones are and are not important.

Chapter 1

· Elfie is an orphan

· Elfie is taken to the Pig and Whistle by Constable O’Dowd

· The Pig & Whistle is a pub

· The Bigsbys live there

· Ma Bigsby looks after other orphans

· She isn’t sure if she should take Elfie in

· Elfie doesn’t trust many people

· PC O’Dowd drinks in the Pig and Whistle

· Elfie has a bag which she loves.

· Elfie has a drawing of the Pig & Whistle, which was her mother’s.

Here is a blank grid where you can do your Main Ideas and Summarising tasks:

Main Ideas

Delete Less Important Ideas

or X

Summary

Good luck with all of your activities. Remember, I am always here to help!