The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

I got one of the top marks in our school for my English GCSEs but by the end of the course I hated studying books, so I didnt do English A level. I regret that now.
Student, aged 17

I didnt want to do literature, cos I struggle with longer books but the way its taught its like my favourite subject now, cos we discuss things, get to say what we think and I dont mind reading more after that.
Student, aged 15

Reading in GCSE English, English Language and English Literature presents opportunities for students to hone, develop and apply their reading skills, but also raises challenges for the teacher to engage learners with the texts they encounter, so that they do not see them simply as a body of content that they have to get through. It is clear that awarding bodies do not see specifications as merely sets of hoops through which candidates must jump, as these two examples demonstrate:
We want to help you bring the wonderful power of English to your learners lives, and this is reflected in texts we have chosen.
OCR GCSE in English Literature J360 Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations. Used with kind permission.

Following a course in GCSE English Literature should encourage learners to be inspired, moved and changed by following a broad, coherent, satisfying and worthwhile course of study. It should extend learners interest in, and enthusiasm for literature as they develop an understanding of the ways in which literature is rich and influential.
Extract from WJEC GCSE in English Literature (Draft) WJEC. Used with kind permission.

If nothing else, these statements from learners and awarding bodies should convince us that our approach to reading needs to pay attention to the learner himself or herself. GCSE should be seen as an opportunity to address a wide range of texts and contexts for learning, which reflect more than the particular demands of the assessment outcomes. Thus we need to consider what GCSE offers the developing reader, and what you as a teacher can do to balance the interwoven demands of specifications, wider entitlement to reading range and variety, and preparation for the next stage of learning and life.

Crown copyright 2009

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

Key challenges for me

Issue or challenge To ensure I know how students can achieve their potential in the reading element of GCSE English, Language and Literature To ensure that I am able to balance the focus on GCSE demands with the wider entitlement to reading, and enjoyment that can be derived from study To manage the range, variety and challenge of reading a number of texts during the course To have a sense of how reading at GCSE might contribute to future pathways, and other areas of the curriculum or study To cope with new demands on my knowledge related to areas such as digital and multi-modal texts, increased focus on non-fiction, etc. To understand the different ways in which reading is being assessed at GCSE, and any new content related to coverage and range To find a way to be ambitious in my choice of approach and/or texts while pitching the learning appropriately for my students To know what aspects of the reading curriculum and specifications present most difficulties for my students Is this an issue for me?

Wider entitlement and vision

GCSE is a significant part of students development in reading, but it is not the only one. Apart from the fact that learners are, of course, reading across a range of subjects, contexts and through a variety of tasks and activities, a range of key curriculum documents emphasise the need for the curriculum at Key Stage 4 to allow for a broad approach to reading development.

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

Crown copyright 2009

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

For example, the Programmes of Study remind us that the texts selected should:
be interesting and engaging, allowing students to explore their present situation or move beyond it to experience different times, cultures, viewpoints and situations allow students to experience depth and breadth in their reading, enabling them to make connections across texts.
Extract from English Programme of Study for Key Stage 4 Qualifications and Curriculum Authority 2007

The Framework for English has objectives for Years 10 and 11 (and at extension level) which may propose objectives that do not necessarily emerge from GCSE specifications, but remind us of the variety of ways a text might be brought to life during study.
Speaking and Listening: Drama, 4.1 Using different dramatic approaches to explore ideas, texts and issues Year 10 Compare, question and analyse complex and challenging ideas, texts, issues and themes by using a wide variety of dramatic approaches and conventions GCSE example: While studying Lord of the Flies, use Forum Theatre at the point where Ralph goes with Piggy to see Jack to explore whether he could have done things differently. Year 11 Draw on a repertoire of dramatic approaches and conventions to pursue original and inventive lines of thought when exploring ideas, texts and issues, and transfer them to other ideas and texts GCSE example: Use thoughttracking to create a second voice to explain in a dramatic scenario the actions and words of Medusa by Carol Ann Duffy.

At extension level, opportunities to take students beyond what might be strictly necessary for a top grade, for example, are worth looking at:
Reading 5.2 Understanding and responding to ideas, viewpoints, themes and purposes in texts Extension: Compare, contrast and analyse in depth, with empathy and discrimination, a wide range of viewpoints and purposes in and between texts, and the range of perspectives of readers, writers and critics GCSE example: While studying The Crucible, read some of the contemporary accounts by critics, and reviews of the play, and compare them with a more recent perspective.

One would argue that the latter would not only be an excellent preparation for A level study, but would also hone skills of analysis and reflection which would transfer into other forms of reading, whether for GCSE or not. The Framework for English provides a sub-strand which places engagement as a key component of reading development.
Crown copyright 2009 01102-2009PDF-EN-03

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

Reading 5.3 Reading and engaging with a wide and varied range of texts Year 10 Sustain and extend their personal reading, and make interesting comparisons and connections across a range of texts and writers GCSE example: Alongside the study of their set text, choose another text by the author or one in a similar genre for personal reading. Year 11 Make independent, informed judgements about a wide range of texts and writers, and articulate personal reading preferences and tastes GCSE example: Contribute to the design and composition of a Year 11 website dedicated to reviews of recent novels and poetry collections.

Finally, the Functional Skills standards remind us that the independent application of skills is necessary for Level 2 attainment. What this means in practice is that opportunities must be provided for progression through increased technical demand, greater independence, increased unfamiliarity of contexts, and so on. Whilst we could no doubt agree that attainment at higher levels at GCSE requires increased technical skills, ensuring students have the opportunity to deploy these independently, and in unfamiliar contexts, is more challenging.

The bigger picture: planning for GCSE

Practical matters
It is inevitable that much of what you will want to get right in terms of reading relates to coverage and planning in other words, making sure your students do the things they are supposed to, address the skills they need, read the set or selected texts. There will therefore be some key questions you might need to address:

What are the different demands in reading between English GCSE, English Language, and English Literature GCSE? Am I clear what the demands are for reading in each particular specification? (i.e. how many papers, when and where assessed, what percentage of marks, etc.?) What resources already exist that I can use? Is there an agreed curriculum plan or scheme of work in the department to guide me through the process? What restrictions are there on the texts I choose to teach? What new opportunities exist for choice?

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

Crown copyright 2009

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

The balance between assessment, text, skills and range

Whatever the answers are, you will need to have a clear idea of how you will organise the learning for your classes. Of course, examination boards and commercial publishers supply a range of suggested approaches, schemes, units of work, etc., but it is vital you keep a sense of what it is students need not just to cover a specification and prepare for assessment, but to ensure engagement, progression and the securing of key skills. As the diagram that follows shows, it is quite understandable that in planning teaching for GCSE we inevitably place particular emphasis on specific parts of the process or provision. In these two examples (and we could include others) the first places the study of text at the centre; the second places transitional assessment at the heart.

Model 1: text at the centre

Framework objectives Years 10, 11, extension

Assessment objectives

Programmes of Study range and content

The set or selected text

Examination board assessment task

Programmes of Study skills

Good because: likely to be engaging, focused on personal response, deals with text features Issues could be: overly reliant on coverage of whole text; difficult to build progression; insufficient focus on assessment in terms of reading skills

Crown copyright 2009

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

Model 2: assessment task at the centre

Framework objectives Years 10, 11, extension

Assessment objectives

Programmes of Study range and content

Examination board assessment task

Set or selected text

Programmes of Study skills

Good because: likely to focus on skills development, but particularly and specifically related to the assessment; might lead to generic skills development from start of course Issues could be: deals with text or texts only insofar as is required to gain highest grade or level; not engaging with developed ideas across the whole text

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

Crown copyright 2009

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

Model 3: learner at the centre

Assessment task/s

Assessment objectives

Framework objectives Years 10, 11, extension

Learner
Programmes of Study range and content Programmes of Study skills and processes Set or selected text

Crown copyright 2009

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

With this model, you: Initial assessment and review

Start with what the learner already knows and can do

Plan for what he or she needs to know and learn (in relation to all the above)

Plan to balance coverage of content with skills development and assessment preparation Ongoing assessment of progress Build and use the vocabulary of reading and assessment

Reiteratively build, develop and apply independently, reading skills in a range of contexts and situations

Complete range of assessed outcomes related to exam board specifications Final assessment via controlled task or exam Review and prepare for next stage of learning

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

Crown copyright 2009

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

What does the learner know already?

Focus: understanding the new emphases in elements of reading at GCSE It may be the case that particular emphasis is given to certain new areas at GCSE. For example, students are likely to have to:

read longer texts in greater depth write in an informed way about some media, digital and moving-image texts draw some links and connections between texts and in some cases compare and contrast across types and genres engage and respond in more detail to poetry, in some cases unseen use a greater degree of inference distinguish fact, opinion and bias use sophisticated and fluent ways of referring to evidence in responses (for example, through embedded quotations) interpret and respond in a targeted way to a variety of questions and tasks on a range of texts read and write under tightly controlled or timed conditions (potentially) be assessed through their speaking and listening responses to texts.

Focus: how to assess students readiness Any analysis of students performance at the end of Key Stage 3 or the start of Key Stage 4 should take into account their abilities in the areas above and whether or not they have had sufficient opportunity to build and develop the requisite skills. Ask students key questions to elicit their progress and knowledge, for example:

What are the key skills and processes you need for success in reading (at GCSE and/or in Functional Skills)? How does what you have said measure up against what examination board specifications, the Framework objectives, Functional Skills standards, etc. actually say? What do you understand these terms, phrases, skills, processes to mean? Can you give me concrete examples? To what extent do you feel you have already secured these skills? What would help you to understand and develop these skills?

Crown copyright 2009

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

10

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

Focus: narrowing the gap between key stages There are two linked changes which need to take place if student readiness is still in question:

At Key Stage 3: plan for future students to have the opportunity to build and develop skills in these specific areas, by adapting and adjusting current schemes of work to provide these opportunities. For example, you might introduce a pre-GCSE course in earlier years in which some texts from specifications (whether finally studied or not) are approached in the ways indicated above. At Key Stage 4: ensure particular attention is given to these aspects, as if they have not been addressed earlier you will be beginning from a standing start. For example, you might decide to spend proportionately less time on finding and selecting information from a text, and rather more on inferring or interpreting.

Building the vocabulary

The reading students undertake during Key Stage 4 should build on and extend the skills developed during Key Stage 3. Whether it is reading and responding to extended texts, shorter extracts, verses, or unseen texts, students need to internalise the range of skills and strategies they need to succeed, both in terms of formal attainment and in terms of wider development for life beyond school.

Talking through the objectives

Focus: making sure students engage directly with the vocabulary of reading assessment and objectives GCSE Assessment Objectives Take the core vocabulary from the AOs and elicit what it means from students. For example:

Explain skills such as collating from different sources appropriate to purpose by providing concrete examples. Provide definitions and examples of linguistic, grammatical, structural and presentational features. Unpick the meaning of key processes mentioned in the AOs such as how writers achieve effects, engage and influence the reader.

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

Crown copyright 2009

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

11

Framework for English objectives

Take the core vocabulary from the Framework related to reading and elicit what it means from students: For example:

Explain skills such as making independent judgements about texts; this is a key objective for progression, but explore with students how this is done (independent does not mean guesswork, but an informed response). Provide definitions and examples of terms such as complex ideas. Are these ideas that are not immediately obvious which you have to infer? Are they ideas which depend on the readers knowledge of other texts or information? Are they ideas which are essentially abstract and thus more difficult to quantify or exemplify? Unpick the meaning of key processes mentioned in the Framework such as: select effectively and flexibly from a range of reading strategies, which might mean knowing when it is necessary to read in depth and detail, when to skim and scan, when to make notes, linked to the purpose of the task.

The same can be done for the Assessment Focuses for Reading, and the Functional Skills standards. The key thing is that students have a chance to unpick the language.

Embedding the vocabulary

Focus: secure the vocabulary of reading with visual reminders and verbal practice This can be done in a range of ways. For example:

Display and define display key terms and language both in class and in the students own resources (a checklist on the wall, a glossary in the front of an exercise book or file). Talk the skills get students to refer to the language of reading both before, during and after work. For example, in a starter, ask them to explain what it means to collate, synthesise, infer, etc.; during work, use keep glossaries close at hand so that the shared terms can be used in discussion here the writer implies that, or, I think this texts structure contrasts with the second one Practise and refine talking the language is best done as a reiterative process and as a natural part of classwork. It is no good simply defining and then not actually using the language. Ask students while they are working to articulate the key language both in reading and writing. Refine it by introducing when students are ready, more complex, specific or detailed terms, vocabulary and processes; for example, structure to narrative perspectives to omniscient narrator.

Crown copyright 2009

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

12

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

Building, developing and applying reading skills

Teachers know that the best work and the best understanding arises from learning in which students are actively engaged. A number of issues can militate against that at GCSE, namely:

the idea that all texts (perhaps poetry in particular) have a single, hidden secret meaning which can be uncovered. students own wish, quite understandably on occasions, to have an unequivocal answer to the question what does this mean? that a texts meaning is universal and unchanging that the writer alone controls the meaning that what is true of one text type is automatically true of others the mere fact that examined literature or a non-fiction text such as an unseen passage, poem, leaflet, or article is seen as a test or obstacle to overcome.

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

Crown copyright 2009

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

13

How can teachers ensure that these issues do not hinder progression?
Challenge: the text and its hidden meaning
Solving problems is often seen as a stimulating approach for students, so we should not too readily dismiss work in class that seems simply to be about unpicking or deconstructing a text to arrive at a notional meaning. However, this works best when you do not set out, as a teacher, with a single answer about the texts meaning in your own head. Some possible approaches:

Work from the inside out: start with a few lines from a poem, but without the title, and ask groups to assemble it in stages, with a few more lines being added each time. The goal is to get the title, but by exploring all the possible meanings of the lines provided, students get inside the construction of the text. Make annotations of texts much more question-focused; Does this mean the writer?; making annotations more about links and connections; This reminds me of, seeing annotation not just as a means towards the final answer but the meat of the answer itself. In other words, transfer the explorations, questions into a fuller written or oral response, so that there is a sense of the student trying out ideas. Brief groups within a class to come up with distinctive interpretations of a text and then argue the case; this can work even for information texts. For example: Group 1: your job is to argue that this advertisement depends for its effect on its visual appeal above everything else. Group 2: your job is to argue that this text does not depend on visual appeal and that the core message is in the supporting text. Group 3: your job is to argue that the data, figures and price are the most influential aspects to any potential buyer. Equally, when discussing any text, it is at the point when students go beyond the general to the specific that plurality of meaning is best exploited. For example, we may say of an advertisement, Its selling a lifestyle, but interpretations of the sort of lifestyle may differ; for example, putting greater emphasis on an outdoor background, rather than the age of the people pictured. Or in a literary text agreeing that a characters fall is tragic but disagreeing about the nature of that tragedy Its the tragedy of youth cut short, or, The tragedy is all for those who survive and have to live with the knowledge of what they did.

Crown copyright 2009

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

14

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

Challenge: the writer as sole controller of meaning

The key thing here is for students to see that writing critically about a text, or exploring a texts impact and effect, is a creative activity in itself. By approaching explanatory or exploratory writing about texts as being just as creative as writing fiction or poetry, students will inevitably engage with the ideas, and write in a more personal way. Some quick approaches:

Use metaphor or analogy in their own interpretative writing: e.g. By the end of the play, Macbeth wears a certain weary cloak; hes had enough. Macbeth is no rat on a sinking ship; he stays put to the end. Use linguistic flourishes to summarise texts, whether literary or not: The advertisement is compelling, clever and corny! By showing the mother with the pretty child, we are sold the same old thing; family and maternal love.

Note: Clearly, where the social and historical context of texts is part of the assessed outcome it would be foolish to view the writer as entirely in control of the meaning in any case.

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

Crown copyright 2009

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

15

Challenge: the idea that texts of a certain type are identical to others
The teaching of the conventions of a text is an important part of the reading process, but the key aim must be to get students to respond to what they see or read, not what they hope to see. Thus a text that argues a point of view may not contain a pattern or list of three ideas or rhetorical questions on every occasion. The important question is; what are the features and conventions of this text? Some approaches:
Ask good questions about the texts for example:

How is this text like others you have read? (not necessarily from the same genre for example, an advertisement could be like a short story, a poem like a postcard, a diary like an information text, and so on). Do all stories begin by setting the scene? What does setting the scene actually mean? Does this story have a main character? What does main character mean? Move beyond convention-spotting: examination boards give few, if any, marks for listing the features and conventions of particular texts, which is a corollary of the set conventions approach. By going back to the vocabulary of reading you can encourage students to explore, explain and interpret, rather than list and identify. For example: practise using phrases such as, this conveys the idea that, this could be interpreted as, perhaps the writer is suggesting that, or, perhaps this could be viewed as; the effect of this is, this can be explained as, etc.

Crown copyright 2009

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

16

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

Challenge: seeing the reading process as part of a test to be overcome

For some, the test can itself be a stimulating challenge, but where that is the case, this often relies more on interest being stimulated by the success of mastering examination techniques to write about texts, rather than intrinsic interest in the text itself. However, we cannot ignore the fact that test and reading technique is a valuable part of building students confidence. To that end work with students to:

explore the language of reading questions (i.e. defining words such as convey, effect, features, etc.) understand the particular demands of the reading assessment by doing the skills (i.e. selecting and using evidence; giving an interpretation; making connections and comparisons; using apt quotations and examples, etc.) improve skills not just through practice or mock exam responses, but, importantly, through talk; key features in progressing to higher levels/ grades are developing and sustaining ideas in response to text, so setting up pair or discussion work in which students are actively directed to extend and develop points and interpretations will reap rewards share the vocabulary of approaches to reading such as anticipate, hypothesise, sum up, recall , compare and contrast, challenge, etc. and then address these through a range of texts and tasks, so that the habit of enquiry and exploration becomes second nature. Provide examples of questions that students can generically apply to a range of texts, adding their own specifics: What do you think is likely to happen nextand why? What is the evidence? What motives do you think X had when she left Y in Chapter 3? In fact, did she have any motives at all? How would you sum up what happened to X on pages 35? How would you sum up the message (if any) of the opening two paragraphs of the leaflet? Tell me the story of the poem in one sentence. What two events happened in scene two of the play? Do they link to any later events? Can you see any similarities between the opening of this poem and the second? What is different? X is clearly to blame for all subsequent tragic events. What do you think?

In all these examples there is no set, single answer implied in the question. The onus is on the student to discover for themselves. In developing strategies for engaging with texts in assessed contexts, the purpose must

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

Crown copyright 2009

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

17

remain to develop independent judgement, so while giving them the tools to recall, select, analyse, compare, contrast, etc. is vital, the real measure of their progression comes at the point when they feel confident about using all these as a springboard to engaged, personal interpretation and response.

Next steps
Action Review and assess my own knowledge with regard to the requirements of the examination specification and Framework objectives for Years 10 and 11. If I am unsure, clarify what elements signify progression between levels of attainment, and share these with students. Set out a longer curriculum plan which ensures a balance between addressing Assessment Objectives, coverage of range and content, the wider needs of the students, and engaging contexts for learning (also at Key Stage 3, in preparation for GCSE). Use objectives from the Framework for English to ensure progression is built into each unit of work and across the course. Evaluate my own approaches to teaching reading skills in the context of GCSE; identify core areas to adjust or develop as necessary. Draw up a range of key vocabulary and language about reading to share and use with students. Develop approaches in short- and medium-term plans which enable students to express preferences, develop interpretations and make informed, independent judgements. Build into my teaching units a range and repertoire of questions that allow students to draw their own conclusions. Other (my own priorities) By what date? Completed?

Crown copyright 2009

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

18

The National Strategies | Secondary Key leaflet: Reading at GCSE

Acknowledgements
OCR GCSE in English Literature J360 Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations. Used with kind permission. Extract from WJEC GCSE in English Literature (Draft) WJEC. Used with kind permission. Extract from English Programme of Study for Key Stage 4 Qualifications and Curriculum Authority 2007.

01102-2009PDF-EN-03

Crown copyright 2009