At Paragraph Level, instructors aim to strengthen learners’ understanding of grammar and punctuation, instil a habit of daily reading, and strengthen reading comprehension. When children are able to read a simple paragraph or short story fluently, they are better equipped to begin reading and writing longer texts, and to start using text to think about more complex concepts. Children at these levels practice their critical thinking skills through comprehension activities.
 
FLUENT READING

In this group, children continue to develop fluency through regular reading practice. Many TaRL instructors begin to notice that children develop a sense of mastery at this stage, becoming more confident in their abilities, and enjoying reading. Children are encouraged to read new, more challenging texts, and grapple with the meaning of longer texts. Instructors introduce new, unfamiliar words to help children expand their vocabularies and begin to understand unusual letter combinations and pronunciations.
 

GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION

At Paragraph Level, the instructor focuses on more complex grammar rules, helping children to understand the difference between correct and incorrect sentence structures. In one grammar activity, instructors give children a set of incorrect sentences, and ask them to find and correct the errors. They also encourage children to notice the grammar in their own sentences, through prompting them to note differences in their spoken and written language. For example, if the child repeats “my sister” in each sentence, instructors might ask him to cover up his written sentences and speak briefly about his sister, noting that when he speaks about his sister, he sometimes uses the word “she” to replace “my sister”. Recognizing grammar rules through discussion rather than introducing a list of grammar rules, helps children to understand grammar through their own reasoning and helps them remember these ideas. Children also read and correct each other’s work.
 

READING COMPREHENSION

Children read paragraphs, moving from simple paragraphs to longer, more complicated texts. The instructor continues to use familiar topics that are interesting to the children, but varies sentence structure and vocabulary to help learners develop comprehension skills. Children work together to answer questions about text and help each other to grapple with more complex text. Through engaging with text together and answering questions, children build their reading comprehension skills.To introduce children to new stories, TaRL instructors might write the story on the board before the class, or write the story on a chart and paste it on the board. Instructors sometimes create their own stories, tweaking the difficulty based on the levels and interests of the children in the class. With guidance from training, instructors create their own challenging questions based on the text, or ask children to come up with questions to test their classmates’ knowledge and understanding.

CREATIVE WRITING

Children write longer texts, connecting their sentences to form paragraphs, and including more complex sentence structures. Instructors help children to express themselves through writing and to begin to think about grammar through discussing their own writing.
 

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