We recently noticed some discussion about the Ministry of Education’s Ready to Read and School Journal series. In this article, we’ll take a look at the Ready to Read series and, hopefully, clarify understanding.
Check out ‘Better understanding of the School Journal’.
Ready to Read
From 2013 to 2014, a review of Ready to Read (and Junior Journal) was carried out by a Ministry-convened Early Years Reading Advisory Group comprised of New Zealand literacy specialists.
The review was part of the Ministry’s ongoing cycle of revision and the particular aim was to ensure that the materials were “fit for purpose”. In other words, that the materials enabled students to meet the expectations described in The Literacy Learning Progressions and the National Standards. (Although schools are no longer required to report according to the National Standards, the descriptions of texts and reading behaviours at specific colour wheel levels remain relevant.)
Theory and levelling
From the review, the theory underpinning the development of the series (as described in Effective Literacy Practice in Years 1 to 4 (MoE, 2003) was confirmed and levelling criteria were updated. The criteria cover such aspects as:
- familiarity and explicitness of content
- sentence structure
- word-level considerations – for example, the use of high-frequency words, and that interest words are well supported
- text length and layout.
The outcomes of the review of the series are explained in a webinar, Curriculum Update 28 from September 2014, and in communications documents sent to schools. These include a Greedy Cat flyer that demonstrates the gradient of difficulty at the earliest colour wheel levels.
Key principles in the Ready to Read series
Some of the key underpinning principles for the Ready to Read series are:
- the series includes materials for shared reading and guided reading
- the materials are designed to help students become confident, engaged readers. It is crucial in years 1–3 is for students to establish a self-extending reading processing system
- students need to have built a foundation for guided reading before they begin reading books at the Magenta level
- the books are designed to be used in the ways that are described in the teacher support material (TSM). For guided texts, this involves a rich introduction, minimal intervention on the first reading, and several re-readings of the text (over more than one lesson)
- there is strong internal consistency within the series. Guided texts are carefully constructed to ensure a clear gradient of difficulty, with texts at each colour level building on the one before. This gradient closely reflects the expectations of readers as described in The Literacy Learning Progressions.
To further ensure “fit for purpose”, all new texts are still trialled in schools before publication, with teachers (and students) providing feedback. Trial teachers also take Running Records to provide explicit data to guide the levelling of texts.
Have a question about the purpose or use of Ready to Read books? We want to hear it! Get in touch, or message us on Facebook.
Who we are
As you’ll know, Learning Media, the State-owned Enterprise that published all the Ministry of Education materials, was closed down by the New Zealand Government in 2013. This meant that all materials published by them were put up for tender by the Ministry. Lift Education was awarded the contracts to publish Ready to Read, Junior Journal, School Journal, and School Journal Story Library. Lift (as a provider of publishing services) works closely with the Ministry (as the publisher) continuing a long tradition of providing a wide range of engaging, lively texts that reflect and affirm the identities and cultures of New Zealand’s diverse learners.
Thank you for this overview of the Ready to Read and the review that took place. I look forward to sharing this succinct article with teachers and schools.