Don't miss the bus!
2. Walking buses are a good way to get exercise.
3. Walking buses are fun.
- Remind students that the main idea is what the author wants readers to understand is important and valued in the text as a whole. This means the written as well as the visual texts.
- Explain that Part a) assesses if they can find details that show how going to school by walking bus is safe.
- Explain that Part b) assesses if they can find details that show how walking buses are a good way of getting exercise.
- Explain that Part c) assesses if they can find details that show how walking buses are fun.
- Explain that Part d) assesses if they can then identify the main idea of the text.
- Explain that as long as they can justify their responses, their ideas will be accepted.
- This task can be done individually or in groups.
- For younger students, it may be more appropriate to spread the task over two or three sessions.
- Responses can be discussed by teacher and student only, or within larger groups.
- use comprehension strategies
as described in the Literacy Learning Progressions for Reading at: http://www.literacyprogressions.tki.org.nz/The-Structure-of-the-Progressions.
Your students may find details not listed below. These lists are guides only; they are unlikely to be complete. Your students may disagree with some of the details listed or with each others' details. Regard disagreement as an opportunity for discussion.
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Task a) Possible responses that support: Walking buses are a safe way to get to school. |
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| Page 2 |
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| Page 3 |
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| Page 4 |
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| Page 5 |
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Task b) Possible responses that support: Walking buses are a good way to get exercise. |
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| Page 2 |
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| Page 3 |
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| Page 4 |
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| Page 5 |
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Task c) Possible responses that support: Walking buses are fun. |
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| Page 3 |
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| Page 4 |
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| Page 5 |
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| Answer to Task d) Students identify the correct main idea: | |
| Going to school in the walking school bus is fun and safe and helps to keep you fit. | |
Tasks a), b) and c) Details identified by students:
Students generally had no difficulty finding at least two or three details in the text that related to each of the three groups of details identified for them.
At a), details the trial students most commonly identified were the more explicit and familiar references to safety. For example, over three quarters of the trial students identified details on page 2, where someone at the front of the walking bus carries a flag so drivers can see the walkers and take extra care when driving past; a third identified the detail on page 4 where a definition of a walking bus is given and explicitly states it is a safe way to get to school; a quarter identified the detail 'keeping close together' on page 3; another quarter identified 'watching out for cars' on the same page; and yet another quarter identified the walking bus having an adult "driver" detail from page 4.
As at a), the details for b) and c) trial students most commonly identified were where information is stated more explicitly. For b), Walking buses are a good way to get exercise, the most commonly identified information was from page 5 where the students say they 'keep fit'; a third identified the detail on page 4 where the definition of a walking bus is given and uses the word 'active'. For c), Walking buses are fun, over half of trial students identified the bullet point on page 5 where the students say they 'like walking to school with our friends'; almost the same number identified the detail on page 3 where the students talk and laugh as they walk, a third identified the detail on page 4 where the definition of a walking bus is given and uses the word 'fun'.
In finding details for a), b) and c), one area of difficulty emerged:
Students identifying only explicitly stated information
As stated above, the information most commonly identified in tasks a), b) and c) were details that were explicitly stated. Implied information was less commonly identified, for example, making a link between Walking buses are a good way to get exercise and either sentence of Lagi sets a smart pace and doesn't stop between pickup points. This walking bus doesn't dawdle!
Two strength areas emerged:
Students justifying their responses
Some students who identified implied information then went on to independently justify their responses. For example, one student wrote about the safety issues implied by the children saying they liked walking to school with friends: "Because if you are walking with friends and someone shoves you into a car, your friends can tell the police what the man looked like and the police can find him." Another student explained why he chose the fact that the walking bus stops at "bus stops" (page 4) as a detail related to safety: "This means the kids can catch the bus and get to school safely. If it didn't stop, they would get left behind and someone might steal them." These trial students' responses to the safety afforded by the walking bus were however dominated by "stranger danger" thinking, despite all the safety references in the text being about traffic and environmental benefits. For students who rely too heavily on prior knowledge, stress to them that they need to use their prior knowledge in connection with text.
Students combining evidence from across the text
Some students who identified implied information, were also able to do this across distant parts of the text. For example, for Walking buses are a good way to get exercise, one student combined the details on page 2 that state the children are waiting for the walking bus at 8 o'clock and have to walk three kilometres, with the details on page 4 "At last they can see their school at the end of the street. By 8.30 a.m., they're in the playground." This student said this evidence suggested "It's a nice, long walk".
Task d)
Three quarters of students identified the correct main idea at task d). Just over a fifth identified the second option "Adults are in charge of the walking school bus. Walking buses save petrol".
Students who chose this option did so because they knew the word "adult" is important to this text, but did not go on to reject this option because of its second sentence about saving petrol. These students do not understand that a main idea cannot be made up of unrelated sentences.
Although most students correctly identified the main idea, it cannot be assumed that they can independently do so since this resource provides considerable scaffolding. For example, students are given headings for three groups of details which they combine to get the main idea at task d). If they were independently finding the main idea they would need to find, group, and combine all the important information the text presents.
If students rely on explicit information, they need to know that information and ideas can be suggested in texts without words actually "telling" them. Model this in a familiar context. For example, give one student a card with the words "be shy" written on it. Ask the student to role play that. The other students then have to infer what the acting student is "telling" them. Ask students to justify how they know what the acting student is "telling" them, e.g., "I know that he is shy because he just looks down at the ground all the time."
Now look at the written text you have been working on. Talk aloud as you make links between why a piece of information in the text "tells" you something not actually written down.
Self-assessment
Involve students in the process of working out areas of success and need identified by this assessment task. When working on their next steps with them, plan and encourage periods of reflection on exactly what learning is taking place and how it is taking place, e.g., if the need is to be able to identify key words, students know that they can do this by working out what kinds of words could be relevant, then when possible key words have been found, justifying why they are relevant.