Sindhi reading performance standards sindh province ECE to

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SINDHI READING PERFORMANCE STANDARDS SINDH PROVINCE ECE TO GRADE 5

DISCLAIMER The authors’ views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In May of 2015, the Ministry of Education of Sindh Province embarked on an initiative to improve early primary students’ reading abilities. As part of that initiative, the Ministry established a Reading Commission composed of representatives of the Curriculum Wing, Bureau of Curriculum-Government of Sindh, PEAC, PITE, Sindhi Language Authority, University Faculty of Education and Language Department, program staff of SBEP & ELD, Sindhi Language Authority, classroom teachers, and writers and academic staff of a few prominent private chain schools. The Reading Commission’s mandate was to “Coordinate activities related to the establishment of reading standards in Sindh Province in phases: first in Grades 1 and 2, then in Grades 3 to 5”. Reading Commission members met over a period of six months to examine data on students’ reading abilities and identify initiatives to improve that performance. The results of their deliberations are captured in this document as well as a companion document, “Supporting Standards-Based Instruction: Reading Skills Progression, ECE - Grade 3”. Both documents lay the foundations for the launch of a comprehensive reading reform initiative with the potential to significantly improve young children’s reading performance. The Reading Commission has benefited from technical and financial assistance from the USAID-funded Pakistan Reading Program (PRP) and Sindh Reading Program (SRP). The programs organized an initial five-day technical working session in Islamabad in June 2015 to examine results of recent student assessments of primary students’ reading skills and establish preliminary performance standards based on those results. Commission members also participated in a follow-up five-day technical working session in Karachi in October 2015 to review the June decisions and lay out a reading skills progression for ECE to Grade 3 that would ensure that future students are able to meet the proposed standards. This document and the companion document are the culmination of many hours of deliberation and discussion. They provide the foundations for the launch of a research-based reading reform initiative with the potential to improve significantly the reading abilities of future young learners.

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Members of the Sindh Reading Commission

Name Location (Taluka/Town/District) Designation Institution/ Department

Ms. Fauzia Khan Karachi Head of the Curriculum Wing

Curriculum Wing (GoS)

Dr. Parveen Munshi Hyderabad Dean Faculty of Education-University of

Sindh

Dr. Adal Soomro Sukkur Professor Retired Chairman-Department of

Sindhi- Shah Abdul Latif University- Khairpur

Dr. Altaf Jokhio Naushahro Feroz Assistant Professor-Sindhi

GDC Kandiaro

Dr. Ishaque Samejo Jamshoro Associate Professor-Sindhi

Department of Sindhi-University of Sindhi

Mr. Idrees Jatoi Jamshoro Deputy Director Burue of Curriculum-ELD (GoS) Mr. Hafeez Gambhir Karachi Program Manager Sindh Basic Education Program

(GoS) Ms. Tehseen Kousar Jamshoro Subject Specialist-

Sindhi Provincial Education and Assessment Cell- ELD (GoS)

Uzma Panhwer Hyderabad Assistant Professor Department of Education-University of Sindh

Mr. Khaild Azad Hyderabad Deputy Director- Children Literature

Sindhi Language Authority (GoS)

Ms. Shabana Parveen Sukkur Teacher District Sukkur

Mr. Allah Nawaz Nawabshah Subject- Specialist- Urdu

Provincial Institute of Teacher Education (GoS)

Ali Nadeem Karachi Manager-Academics The Citizens Foundation Dr. Meenhas Shams Karachi Director- Academics Aga Khan Education Services

Pakistan

Shagufta Parveen Sukkur Assistant Professor-Urdu

GCE- Sukkur

M. Yousuf Karachi Principal GCE-Liyari-Karachi Ms. Rehana Meerani Jamshoro Subject Specialist-

Sindhi Provincial Education and Assessment Cell

Dr. Sajida Zaki Karachi Dean Faculty of Humanities-NED

University Karachi

Saleem u din Tando Allahyar Assistant Professor-Urdu

GDC Nasarpur

Dr. Saleha Parveen Hyderabad Chairperson Department of Education

University of Sindh

Waseem Mughal Mirpur Khas Assistant Professor-Urdu

GCE- Mirpurkhas

Ms. Zubaida Gopang Jamshoro Teacher GGPS District Jamshoro

Ms. Tehmina Rani Jamshoro Teacher GGPS Jamshoro Faheem Charchar Karachi Section Officer Provincial Department-ELD (GoS)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 7

1.0 READING SKILL AREAS AND ASSOCIATED PERFORMANCE STANDARDS .. 11

1.1 Listening Comprehension (RS1) .................................................................................... 11

1.2 Phonological Awareness (RS2) ...................................................................................... 14

1.3 Print Concepts (RS3) ...................................................................................................... 15

1.4 Alphabetic Knowledge (RS4) ........................................................................................ 16

1.5 Vocabulary (RS5) ........................................................................................................... 19

1.6 Reading Comprehension (including fluency) (RS6) ...................................................... 20

1.7 Appropriate Ethical and Social Development (RS7) ..................................................... 22

2.0 CRITERIA FOR GRADE-LEVEL TEXTS, GRADES 1 TO 3 ........................................ 23

BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................... 26

ANNEX A: PERFORMANCE STANDARDS BY GRADE LEVEL .................................... 29

ECE Performance Standards ................................................................................................ 29

Grade 1 Performance Standards ........................................................................................... 30





ANNEX B: SINDHI HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS LIST ................................................... 35

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LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Standards Outlined in 2006 National Curriculum, Grades 1 to 5 ................................ 7

Table 2. Percentage of 2013 Students Meeting Key Performance Standards by Proposed Performance Standards ............................................................................................................ 10

Table 3. Performance Standards for Listening Comprehension .............................................. 13

Table 4: Performance Standards for Phonological Awareness ................................................ 14

Table 5: Performance Standards for Print Concepts ................................................................ 15

Table 6: Performance Standards for Alphabetic Knowledge .................................................. 18

Table 7: Performance Standards for Vocabulary ..................................................................... 19

Table 8: Performance Standards for Reading Comprehension (including fluency) ................ 21

Table 9. Criteria that Determine Level of Difficulty of Primary-Level Texts ......................... 23

Table 10. Criteria for End of Grades 1, 2, and 3 Texts ............................................................ 24

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INTRODUCTION The current national curriculum defines two standards for reading in the primary grades as summarized below in Table 1. Table 1. Standards Outlined in 2006 National Curriculum, Grades 1 to 5

Standards Grade 1 Grades 2 & 3 Grades 4 & 5

Standard 1

Read simple text with accurate pronunciation.

Read simple text with accurate pronunciation, accent, and understanding.

Read text fluently, with comprehension of its purpose and objectives.

Standard 2 Develop study habits through silent and oral reading.

Develop study habits through silent and oral reading.

Develop study habits through silent and oral reading.

Standards define the ultimate goal of language instruction at each grade level, namely to ensure that students have the knowledge, skills and dispositions to be successful readers (Government of Sindh, Education and Literacy Department, National Urdu Curriculum, 2006). The overall reading standards summarized in Table 1 describe, in broad terms, what abilities students should be able to demonstrate at the end of each grade level. In June of 2015, members of the Sindh Reading Commission began reviewing the results of recent reading assessments to determine the extent to which students in the province are meeting the above standards. They examined both the extent to which students could read with understanding as well their mastery of foundational reading skills. The deliberations resulted in the identification of two priorities:

1. A need to identify for teachers the breadth of reading-related skills, and in

particular, the foundational reading skills, that students must develop at each grade level in order to become autonomous readers by the end of Grade 3. Providing schools and teachers with a clear indication of all the reading-related skills students need to develop, as well as how these skills need to progress as students move through the grade levels, would allow schools and teachers to deliver a more comprehensive and better sequenced reading program.

2. A need to define, for key reading skills, the minimum level of performance students must demonstrate at the end of each grade level in order to meet grade level expectations. Providing district officials, head teachers, teachers and parents with objective measures against which to assess students’ progress would allow them to determine whether students have developed the level of skill required to be successful at the next grade level.

In response to the first need, Reading Commission members developed a document titled: “Supporting Standards-Based Instruction: Reading Skills Progression, ECE - Grade 3”. That document outlines the seven reading skill areas as well as the key competencies primary students must develop with respect to each of the skill areas. It also specifies, for each competency, the specific learning outcomes students must attain for each grade level.

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In response to the second need identified, Reading Commission members developed this document, “Sindhi Reading Performance Standards, ECE to Grade 5”. This document outlines grade-specific reading performance standards for Sindhi for each of the seven reading skill areas. The performance standards have a narrower focus than the overall reading standards outlined in the national curriculum and presented in Table 1. Performance standards complement overall reading standards by specifying the minimum level of mastery students must demonstrate, with respect to each reading skill area, in order to be considered as “meeting grade-level expectations” for that skill area and grade level. Standards provide an objective reference that schools, teachers, and parents can use to determine if the performance of a student is “good enough”. Students who exceed the established performance levels are considered to be exceeding grade level expectations. Students who do not meet the performance levels specified are considered not to be meeting grade level expectations. An analysis of the 2013 EGRA results suggests that these students are at risk of not developing into successful readers and learners (Evans, 2015; Stern, 2015) and need targeted remedial programs to strengthen their skills.1 Performance standards for a given reading skill area become increasingly more challenging as students move up the grade levels. The performance standards are based on student results from the 2013 Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) conducted throughout Pakistan. The assessment, the most comprehensive evaluation of early primary reading skills ever carried out in Pakistan, provides insights into the performance of Grade 2 and 4 students with respect to a number of foundational reading skills. In the case of Sindhi, data was collected on a provincially representative sample of around 12,793 Grade 2 and 4 students. The fact that the sample was provincially representative allowed Reading Commission members to extrapolate the results to the entire province.2 In establishing grade-level expectations for different reading skills, Reading Commission members focused on the performance of students at each grade level who were able to read at grade-level text with 80% or greater comprehension. The performance of this subset of students on key skills (oral reading fluency, familiar word reading, unfamiliar word reading or decoding) was used as a reference for establishing grade-specific standards for these skills because the goal of reading instruction is for students to read with comprehension. Therefore, the students who were able to read with 80% or greater comprehension served as a model for determining the minimum performance level of all key skills. 1 The ultimate goal of reading, at every grade level, is comprehension. The performance standards proposed in this document for oral reading fluency are the minimal levels associated with 80% or more comprehension of the texts used in the 2013 Early Grade Reading Assessment carried out in Pakistan in 2013. The standards for high frequency or common word reading and for unfamiliar word reading or decoding were established by examining the performance of students who read with the levels of oral reading fluency required to support 80% comprehension. Students who perform below these levels, i.e, who are not meeting grade level expectations, are at risk of not developing the reading skills required to support reading with understanding. For a more complete discussion of the correlations used to arrive at data-driven performance standards for Urdu and Sindhi, see Evans, 2015 and Stern, 2015.

2 Although EGRA studies carried out in Sindh Province since 2013 have had larger sample sizes, they have been restricted to a subset of districts. As a result, the data are not representative of the results of students across the entire province.

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Unfortunately, the 2013 EGRA revealed that very few Grade 2 students in Sindh province were able to read with 80% or greater comprehension (10%) (Stern, 2015). At Grade 4, the percentage was higher (26%) (Stern, 2015). Therefore, the 2013 compliance levels3 for Grade 2 and Grade 4 reading comprehension were 10% and 26%, respectively. The table below outlines the performance standards established for Grades 2 and 4 for three other key reading skills:

1. Unfamiliar word reading (or decoding), 2. Familiar word reading, and 3. Oral reading fluency.

As stated previously, these standards were established by examining the performance of the subset of students (10% of Grade 2 students and 26% of Grade 4 students) in the 2013 EGRA who were able to read with 80% comprehension. The right-hand column in the table below gives the percentage of students in the 2013 study who met each of the proposed standards. These percentages are relatively low, ranging from 17% to 33%, or only one out of four or five students, depending on the skill. Therefore, the performance standards proposed in this document are ambitious. Significant progress will need to be made in order for the vast majority of students to meet the proposed standards. Although the standards are ambitious, they are also accurate. They represent the level of mastery, at each grade level and with respect to each of the three key skills, that correlates with reading with 80% or more comprehension.

3 Compliance levels refer to the percentage of students meeting or expected to meet the standards for a particular skill and grade level.

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Table 2. Percentage of 2013 Students Meeting Key Performance Standards by Proposed Performance Standards

Standard Grade Level

Proposed Performance Standard

(Number of correct words per minute, or CWPM)

% of Students in the 2013 EGRA Study in Sindh

Province Who Met This Standard

Standard for Unfamiliar Word Reading (decoding): Number of invented words students can correctly read in 1 min (from a list of invented words) when presented with a grade-appropriate list of invented words.

Grade 2 25 to 35 CWPM 17%


Standard for Sight Reading: Number of common or high frequency words students can correctly read in 1 minute when presented with a grade-appropriate list of common/high frequency words.



Standard for Oral Reading Fluency: Number of correct words per minute students can read when reading, out loud, a grade-level text.



Given the ambitious nature of the standards, it is unlikely that, over the short term, the vast majority of students at a given grade level will be able to meet the proposed standards. Rather, districts, schools, teachers and parents should focus on:

1) Identifying the percentage of students at each grade level meeting the standards and 2) Increasing that percentage, incrementally, each year.

Setting annual targets, then measuring, and reporting annually on the percentage of students meeting those targets is a realistic approach. The performance standards outlined in this document align with the Sindhi primary curriculum. The grade-specific student learning outcomes for each competency and skill area are aligned with the performance standards for those learning outcomes. If students at a given grade level have mastered the learning outcomes for a particular reading skill, they should be able to demonstrate the level of performance described in the performance standards.

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1.0 READING SKILL AREAS AND ASSOCIATED PERFORMANCE STANDARDS Learning to read requires developing a broad range of skills that can be grouped into seven different skill areas:

Reading Skill 1 (RS1): Listening Comprehension Reading Skill 2 (RS2): Phonological Awareness Reading Skill 3 (RS3): Concepts of Print Reading Skill 4 (RS4): Alphabetic Knowledge Reading Skill 5 (RS5): Vocabulary Reading Skill 6 (RS6): Reading Comprehension (including fluency) Reading Skill 7 (RS7): Appropriate Ethical and Social Development

1.1 Listening Comprehension (RS1) There is a strong correlation between listening comprehension and reading comprehension: good readers tend to be good listeners and good listeners tend to be good readers. (Diakidoy et. al, 2004; Just & Carpenter, 1987; Olofsson & J. Niedersoe, 1999; Scarborough, 1990; Buchweitz et. al., 2009; and Aaron et. al, 1988). The correlation between listening comprehension and reading comprehension is strong in the early grades and becomes increasingly stronger as children move up the grade levels (Just & Carpenter, 1987). The correlation between listening comprehension and reading comprehension is not surprising. As Carlisle and Felbinger (1991) point out, listening and reading comprehension processes draw from the same set of strategies. When children listen to oral communication, for example, they use comprehension-processing strategies to understand what is being said. For example, they use their prior knowledge to predict what the speaker will say next. This helps them understand what is being said (Nunan, 1991). They use these same processes when negotiating meaning from a written text.4 Listening comprehension is a critical skill in learning to read (Howell, 2005; Bredekamp, Copple, & Neuman, 2000) and the foundation of reading comprehension. Before young students can begin to understand texts or stories that they read on their own, they need to be able to understand ideas that are communicated to them orally, including ideas contained in stories that are read aloud or told to them orally by a teacher or other adult (Robeck & Wilson, 1974; Sleight & Prinz, 1985). Teachers help children develop critical listening comprehension strategies when they ask children to summarize a text that has been read aloud, or when they ask children to listen for and summarize key information that is being communicated orally (Howell, 2005). Competence in understanding oral narratives is an important skill for appreciating print narratives or stories (Hoskins, 1990). Children who are able to understand stories that are read to them are better able to identify and analyze ideas in stories they read on their own. This is because as young children listen to stories, they gain an awareness of how stories work. They come to realize that all stories have a beginning, a middle and an end, that stories have characters and events, and that they generally center around a problem that needs to be

4 The cognitive demands of reading and listening comprehension are different, however. The cognitive demands of reading comprehension are much higher. See Carlisle and Felbinger, 1991.

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solved. When children begin reading their stories on their own, they bring these understandings with them (Shanklin, 1991, Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). Additionally, listening to others read helps children develop key understanding and skills, such as an appreciation for how a story is written and familiarity with book conventions, such as “once upon a time” and “happily ever after” (Bredekamp et al., 2000). Furthermore, reading aloud demonstrates the relationship between the printed word and meaning – children understand that print tells a story or conveys information – and invites the listener into a conversation with the author. This preparation helps them better understand what they are reading. Stories or texts read to children or told aloud also present children with new vocabulary and sentence structures. As children listen to stories or texts they learn new vocabulary and new sentence structures, knowledge they eventually bring to texts they read on their own. Finally, reading aloud or telling stories or texts to children develops their interest in reading and shows them that reading is an important, meaningful and personally satisfying activity. It increases children’s desire to read, which is the foundation for the development of a culture of reading (Mooney, 1990). Table 3 summarizes the performance standards for listening comprehension from ECE through Grade 5. The standards become gradually more challenging as students move up the grade levels.

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Table 3. Performance Standards for Listening Comprehension

Grade Performance Standards

ECE Correctly answer, sometimes with support or prompting of teacher, 2 out of 4 simple literal comprehension5 questions on a simple, ECE-level story read aloud or told by teacher.

Grade 1

Correctly answer, orally, 3 out of 5 simple literal comprehension questions on a simple, grade-1 level text or story read aloud or told by the teacher.

Make a basic connection between a character or event in a story or information in a text that the teacher has read aloud or told to the class to his/her own life.

Grade 2

Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 simple literal comprehension questions on a grade-2 level text or story read aloud or told by the teacher.

Make a reasonable connection between a character or something that happened in the story to his/her own life (e.g., I got lost once in the market, too, but my mother found me.)

Grade 3

Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a grade-3 level text or story read aloud or told by the teacher.

Correctly answer 2 out of 3 very simple inferential questions6 on a grade-3 level story or text read aloud or told by teacher (e.g., How did the character feel when that happened?)

Make a logical connection between a character or event in the story to his/her own life. (e.g., My brother once got lost in the market and he was really, really scared. He cried.)

Grade 4


Correctly answer 2 out of 3 basic inferential questions on a grade-4 level story or text read aloud or told by teacher.

Make and explain a logical connection between a character, event, or theme in the story or information or facts in a text that the teacher read aloud or told to the class to his/her own life or prior knowledge.

Grade 5


Correctly answer 2 out of 3 inferential questions on a grade-5 level story or text read aloud or told by teacher.

Make a basic connection between characters, events, and themes in a story, or information or facts in a text, to a story or text read aloud or heard previously.

5 Literal comprehension - Answers to literal comprehension questions are stated in the story. For example, if the story says “When the girl fell down, she cried”, a literal question might be “When the girl fell down, what did she do?” (She cried). 6 Inferential comprehension - Answers to inferential questions are not stated explicitly. For example, the story says “When the girl fell down, she cried”, an inferential question might be “Why did she cry?” The reader can infer that she cried because she got hurt when she fell. Another inferential question might be “How did the girl feel when she fell down?’ The reader can infer that she was unhappy. Importantly, the learner must be able to support her or his answer with evidence from the text and her or his own experiences.

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1.2 Phonological Awareness (RS2) Phonological awareness is an oral skill. It is the ability to hear, be aware of and manipulate sounds in spoken language. Children who possess phonological awareness can tell you how many words there are in a sentence they have heard orally. They can also identify how many syllables there are in a word the teacher or someone else has said. Eventually, as their phonological skills develop, they can hear and identify the individual sounds or phonemes in a word. This level of achievement - being able to hear the individual sounds or phonemes in a spoken word - is called phonemic awareness. Studies show that there is a strong correlation between students’ ability to identify individual letter-sounds in words (i.e., their level of phonemic awareness) and their ability to read texts. Measures of phonemic awareness are among the best, if not the best, predictors of success in learning to read (Adams, 1990; National Research Council, 1998; Learning First Alliance, 1998; National Reading Panel, 2000). Children who can identify and isolate the individual sounds in spoken words are much better able use their knowledge of letter-sound relationship to sound out or read new words. For that reason, teachers need to spend time in the early grades developing students’ phonological awareness skills, and in particular their phonemic awareness skills. Phonological awareness is considered to be one of the building blocks of reading and hence needs to be to be developed by the end of Grade 2. Table 4 outlines the performance standards for phonological awareness. Table 4: Performance Standards for Phonological Awareness


ECE

Correctly identify, by counting or clapping, 70% to 80% of the time, the number of words in a simple 3 to 5 word sentence spoken by teacher.

Correctly identify, by counting or clapping, 70% to 80% of the time, the number of syllables in 1 to 3 syllable words spoken by teacher.

Grade 1 Correctly substitute, 70% to 80% of the time, an initial sound in a word with another to produce a new word.

Correctly identify, 70% to 80% of the time, all of the individual letter-sounds in one syllable words (beginning, middle, and end sounds).

Grade 2 Correctly remove, 70% to 80% of the time, an initial sound in a word to produce a new word.

Correctly blend, 70% to 80% of the time, individual phoneme sounds together to form a word.

Grade 3 No performance standards, as phonological awareness skills must be mastered by end of grade 2.

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1.3 Print Concepts (RS3) Print concepts refers to what students need to know about how texts are organized and how reading “works”. This includes knowing in what direction to hold a book, where the front or back cover is and the direction in which we read (from right to left and from the top of the page to the bottom). It also includes knowing that sentences are made up of words, that words are separated by blank spaces on the page, and that words are made up of letters and that the same letter can take on different shapes, depending upon where it is in the word. Although these concepts sound basic or self-evident for adults, they are foreign to beginning readers. Developing print concepts is a major first step toward learning to reading. Basic print concepts are generally developed in ECE or in Grade 1. The most effective way to do so is to draw students’ attention to basic print concepts during teacher read-aloud time. When a teacher is reading a big book or a storybook to students, for example, he/she can use his/her finger to point to words as they are read. Doing so will allow students to understand that when we read, we read from right to left. If, when faced with a new page, the teacher stops to ask students where he or she needs to start reading, students will gradually understand that when reading, readers start at the top of the page and work their way down, line by line, until they reach the end of the page. As self-evident as this seems, it is not evident for non-readers or beginning readers. Table 5 outlines the performance standards for print concepts. Table 5: Performance Standards for Print Concepts


ECE

Correctly identify, 70% to 80% of the time, the following print concepts: • the right direction in which to hold a book • the right direction in which to open a book • the front and back cover of a book • the title

Correctly follow words from right to left, top to bottom, and page by page, when teacher is reading a story.

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Grade 1

Correctly identify, 70% to 80% of the time, the following print concepts: • the right direction in which to hold a book • the right direction in which to open a book • the front and back cover of a book • the title • the first page • where a reader should start reading on a given page • where a reader goes next after reading a line or a page • the direction in which we read (from right to left) • the first or last word in a sentence • the author and the illustrator of a book and what each does • a specific letter in a word or a specific word on a page

Grade 2

Correctly identify, 70% to 80% of the time, the following print concepts: a word, a sentence, a letter • where a reader goes next once she/he has finished reading a page • first word in a sentence • last word in a sentence • period or question mark and what it means or signifies • the author or illustrator of a book

Grade 3

Correctly identify, 70% to 80% of the time, the following print concepts: role of table of contents • role of headings and subheadings • role of chapter headings in stories • role of thought balloons

Grade 4 No performance standards, as basic print concepts skills must be mastered by end of grade 3.

Grade 5 No performance standards, as basic print concepts skills must be mastered by end of grade 3.

1.4 Alphabetic Knowledge (RS4) Alphabetic knowledge is the knowledge that written words are made up of letters and that the letters represent the sounds we say when we say words. It is also the understanding that by associating sounds to letters we can read words. Alphabetic knowledge is a critical reading skill (Andersen, et al., 1985; Adams, 1990; Ehri, 1991; National Research Council, 1998). Along with phonological awareness, it is one of the two building blocks of reading (Armbruster & Osborne, 2000; Anthony & Francis, 2005; Strickland & Riley-Ayers, 2006; Evans, Shaw & Bell, 2000) as displayed in Figure 1.

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Figure 1: Two Building Blocks of Reading

Once students can begin isolating sounds in spoken words (phonological awareness), they are ready to begin matching these sounds to letters (alphabetic knowledge). Because alphabetic knowledge is a building block of reading, students need to begin developing alphabetic knowledge in ECE and Grade 1. In developing alphabetic knowledge, students begin by being able to name the different letters of the alphabet (first in their stand-alone form, then in their initial, final and medial forms). Students then move on to identifying letters in words and recognizing the sound that the letters make. Once students can do this, they can use their knowledge to sound out or read (sometimes referred to as decoding) strings of letters in syllables or words. Students can be taught how to blend these sounds together to read a word. Children who are able to quickly identify the sounds that letters make and who use this knowledge to sound out or read words are better readers than children who are not able to do so. Not only must children be able to recognize and name letters and letter sounds, they must be able to do so quickly and accurately. The speed and accuracy which young readers recognize individual letters is in fact a critical determinant of their reading proficiency and future growth (Adams, 1999). Table 6 summarizes the performance standards for alphabetic knowledge.

BUILDING BLOCKS OF READING

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS

Ability to isolate and manipulate sounds in spoken words

ALPHABETIC KNOWLEDGE

Ability to identify letters in words, and the sounds they make, and to use that

knowledge to read a word

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Table 6: Performance Standards for Alphabetic Knowledge


Accuracy Fluency

ECE

Correctly identify, with 70% to 80% accuracy, letters by their name (full form only). Correctly identify, with 70% to 80% accuracy, the sound that letters make (full form only).

Correctly identify at least 40 letters per minute by their name (full form only). Correctly identify at least 40 letters per minute by their sound (full form only).

Grade 1 Read, with 70%-80% accuracy, the 20 highest frequency or most common words in Sindhi.7

Correctly identify 50 to 70 letters per minute, by their name. Correctly identify 50 to 70 letters per minute, by their sound.

Correctly read 20 to 30 high frequency syllables per minute. Correctly read 15 to 25 invented one syllable words per minute. Correctly read 15 to 30 common or high frequency words per minute.

Grade 2 Read, with 70%-80% accuracy, the 70 highest frequency or most common words in Sindhi.

Correctly read 30 to 50 high frequency syllables per minute. Correctly read 25 to 35 invented one to four syllable words per minute. Correctly read 50 to 70 common or high frequency words per minute.

Grade 3 Read, with 70%-80% accuracy, the 100 highest frequency or most common words.

Correctly read 30 to 45 invented one to four syllable words per minute. Correctly read 70 to 90 common or high frequency words per minute.

Grade 4

Correctly read 40 to 55 invented one to four syllable words per minute. Correctly read 90 to 110 common or high frequency words per minute.

Grade 5 Correctly read 50 to 65 invented one to four syllable words per min.

7 See annex A for list of highest frequency/most common words in Sindhi.

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1.5 Vocabulary (RS5) As students move beyond the most basic texts, they naturally encounter words that they do not know. This is because the text deals with a topic that is new to them or includes words that students do not generally use when they are speaking or have not heard the adults around them use. When this happens, students must be able to figure out, on their own, what the new words mean. Part of becoming an autonomous reader is developing a variety of strategies to figure out, without asking a teacher or another adult, what new words mean. This can range from looking for clues in the illustrations or in the sentence to looking within the word itself to see if there is a base word (root word) or prefixes/suffixes that might provide a clue to its meaning. As students move up the grade levels, being able to figure out the meaning of new words becomes increasingly important. This is because the texts encountered generally contain an increasing number of new words. Students who possess better vocabulary skills are better able to understand what they are reading (National Reading Panel, 2000). This explains why, after Grade 4, research suggests there is a strong correlation between students’ ability to figure out the meaning of new words and their ability to understand a text. Table 7 summarizes the performance standards for vocabulary. Table 7: Performance Standards for Vocabulary


ECE No performance standards for this level.

Grade 1

When presented with a simple Grade 1 text containing three newly encountered words, correctly explain what two of the words mean (sometimes with support from the teacher) by looking at contextual clues in illustrations or within the sentence or by examining clues in the word itself (root word, prefixes or suffixes, word endings).

Grade 2

When presented with a simple Grade 2 level text containing three newly encountered words, correctly explain what two of the words mean (sometimes with support from the teacher) by looking at contextual clues in illustrations or within the sentence or by examining clues in the word itself (root word, prefixes or suffixes, word endings).

Grade 3


Grade 4


Grade 5

When presented with a simple Grade 5 level text containing three newly encountered words, correctly explains what two of the words mean (sometimes with support from the teacher) by looking at contextual clues in illustrations or within the sentence or by examining clues in the word itself (root word, prefixes or suffixes, word endings).

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1.6 Reading Comprehension (including fluency) (RS6) The ultimate goal of reading is to understand the ideas presented in the text. Beginning in the early grades, students need to learn and use a variety of strategies to help them understand the ideas presented in text. A few critical strategies are described below:

• Before they read, students need to get themselves ready to understand the ideas presented by making predictions about what the text will be about. They can do this by looking for clues in the illustrations or the title.

• As they read, students need to compare the information in the text (or the new illustrations) with their initial predictions and if necessary modify their initial predictions to align with the new information presented. Students who continually make, verify and/or modify predictions are better able to understand a text. In addition to making and revising predictions, students need to compare the ideas presented with their own personal knowledge – what they know about the subject of the text. Students who do so are better able to understand the ideas presented in the text.

• After they read, students need to seek out and interpret information presented in the text. This helps solidify their understanding of the ideas presented.

Reading fluency is a critical component of comprehension. This is particularly true in the early grades. There is a direct correlation between the rate at which young students read (number of correct words they can read in a minute) and their ability to understand the ideas in a text (Laberge and Samuels, 1974). Students who read slowly spend so much time trying to read or decode individual words that by the time they get to the end of the sentence, they have forgotten what was in the beginning of the sentence. Rapid and accurate word reading frees children to focus their attention on the meaning of what they read (Ambruster et. al., page 5). Although fluent decoding is not sufficient for high levels of reading comprehension, it is definitely a prerequisite for comprehension (Chard, Pikulski &Templeton, 2000). Additionally, students who read not only accurately but expressively, i.e., who interpret punctuation correctly and who adopt appropriate expression when they read, are better able to understand the ideas expressed in a simple, grade-level text. Table 8 summarizes the performance standards for reading comprehension and reading fluency.

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Table 8: Performance Standards for Reading Comprehension (including fluency)


Accuracy Fluency

ECE No performance standards for this level as students begin reading texts in Grade 1.

Grade 1

Correctly answer, orally, 3 out of 5 simple literal comprehension questions on a simple, Grade 1 text or story read independently or with support from teacher. Make a basic connection between a character or event in a story or information in a text and his/her own life.

Read Grade 1 level text at a rate of 15 to 30 correct words per minute (basic texts composed of high frequency/common words studied during weeks 1 to 36).

Grade 2

Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a Grade 2 level text or story read independently or with support from teacher. Make a reasonable connection between a character or event in a story or information in a text and his/her own life.

Read Grade 2 level text at a rate of 50 to 80 correct words per minute.

Grade 3

Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a Grade 3 level text or story read independently or with support from teacher. Correctly answer, orally, 2 out of 3 simple inferential questions on a Grade 3 level story or text read aloud or told by teacher. Make a logical connection between a character or event in a story or information in a text and his/her own life.


Grade 4

Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a Grade 4 level text. Correctly answer 2 out of 3 basic inferential questions on a Grade 4 level text. Make and explain a logical connection between a character, event or theme in a story, or information or facts in a text, to his/her own life or prior knowledge.


Grade 5

Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a Grade 5 level text.

Correctly answer 2 out of 3 inferential questions on a grade five level text.

Make a basic connection between characters, events or themes in a story, or information or facts in a text, to those in a story or text read or heard previously.


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1.7 Appropriate Ethical and Social Development (RS7) A critical contributor to students’ social and intellectual development is developing an understanding of the importance of reading and an interest in reading. Equally important is ensuring that students read widely and often, both for academic purposes and for pleasure. Stories and informational texts provide students with an opportunity to understand both their own culture and the culture of others. Exploring the ideas presented in stories and informational texts allows students to develop an informed view of the world and of themselves. It can help children become aware of contemporary ideas and issues and help instill ethical and social attributes, ensuring that they develop the values relevant to a multicultural society. For that reason, teachers are encouraged to choose texts that address appropriate ethical and social development themes and engage students in an examination of the key messages contained. No performance standards are given for Appropriate Ethical and Social Development (RS7). That is because appropriate ethical and social development is best developed through the judicious selection of stories to read to students or for students to read on their own. Teachers are encouraged to choose texts that address appropriate ethical and social development themes and engage students in an examination of the key messages contained.

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2.0 CRITERIA FOR GRADE-LEVEL TEXTS, GRADES 1 TO 3 Performance standards describe what students should be able to do when presented with a grade-level text if they are meeting grade-level expectations. Therefore, when defining performance standards for a given grade level, it is necessary to also define the basic characteristics of texts for that grade level. There are many criteria that determine whether a text is easy or difficult for students to read. Some are qualitative - for example, the complexity of the ideas presented. Others are strictly quantitative- for example, the total number of words or pages. Table 9 below provides examples of the type of criteria that affect the degree of difficulty of reading material in primary grades. Table 9. Criteria that Determine Level of Difficulty of Primary-Level Texts

CRITERIA EXAMPLES

Organization of print on the page

Font choice Font size Spacing between words, sentences or paragraphs Arrangement of print and illustrations on page

Vocabulary Complexity of vocabulary used Ratio of high frequency/sight words to new words

Predictability and complexity of language

Presence of repetitive words or sentence structures Complexity of sentences

Graphic markers Presence of diacritics or punctuation

Illustrations Number of illustrations Complexity of illustrations Link between illustrations and text

Complexity of content Complexity of storyline Degree to which information or events presented align with students’ experiences

Length

Total number of words Total number of pages Average number of syllables per word Average number of words per sentence Average number of sentences per page

Table 10 summarizes specific criteria for end of grade-level texts for Grades 1, 2 and 3. Similar criteria for end of Grades 4, 5 and 6 have yet to be developed.

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Table 10. Criteria for End of Grades 1, 2, and 3 Texts

CRITERIA GRADE 1 GRADE 2 GRADE 3 Organization of print on the page

• Large font (MS Word, MB Sindhi FONT) 32 to 34 point

• Triple spacing between words

• Triple spacing between lines

• Consistent placement of print on page – print always in same place, illustrations always in same place

• Sentences are fully contained on one line (i.e., End at the end of the line. Do not continue on the next line.)

• 1 to 2 lines of text per page

• Large font, but not as large as Grade 1 (MS Word, MB Sindhi FONT) 28 to 30 point

• Double spacing between lines

• Print is usually, but not always, consistently placed on the page (i.e, may be at bottom of page on one page and at top of page on the next page)

• Up to a half page of text on a page

• Sentences may go over one line (i.e., continue on the next line)

• 4 to 5 lines of text per page

• Still enlarged font, but not as large as Grade 2 (MS Word, MB Sindhi FONT) 24 to 26 point

• 1.5 spacing between lines • Print is not always

consistent – may be at different places on consecutive pages (top on one page, lower right on another page, lower left on another page, etc.)

• More print on the page – may go up to ¾ of the page

• Sentences may go over one line (continue on the next line, with a new sentence starting on the same line that the previous sentence ends) or to next page (i.e., continue on the next page)

Vocabulary

• Simple, familiar language, basic vocabulary

• A large number and percentage (90%) of high frequency/sight words

• Still a significant portion (80% to 90%) of high frequency/sight words, but also non sight words (new words) introduced that student must decode

• Still mostly (75%+) high frequency/sight words, but also new words

• Beginning of “literary language”: a blend of oral language (words that children use and hear in oral speech) with written language structures (words or structures we use in print but not in conversation)

Predictability and complexity of language

• Strong sentence pattern (same basic sentence on each page, but with two or more words being different)

• Very simple sentence structure

• May still be, but not always, repetitive patterns

• Some cumulative or chronological patterns (e.g. days of the week -“On Monday, we…”, “On Tuesday, we…”, etc.)

• Short, choppy sentences

• Few patterns in language • Longer sentences, both

simple and compound

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CRITERIA GRADE 1 GRADE 2 GRADE 3 Graphic markers

• Diacritics present to indicate vowels

• Conventional punctuation (periods, question marks, commas)

• Diacritics present to indicate vowels

• More complicated punctuation (exclamation marks, dialogue indicators, suspension points, etc.)

• No diacritics

Nature of illustrations

• Illustrations with familiar objects or actions provide strong support

• Illustrations generally separated from text

• Clear, uncluttered

• Illustrations continue provide moderate to high support for text

• A little more detail in illustrations

• Not as many clues in pictures. Pictures provides, at best, moderate support for text

• More detail in illustrations

Content and Concepts addressed

• Usually about common experiences of young children

• Many familiar objects and actions

• Simple sequence of events

• Predictable, simple story line

• More conversation

• Predictable storyline with increasing sophistication

• May have a “twist” at the end

• Conversations among several characters

Length

• 40 to 150 words • 6 to 12 pages • 1 to 3 syllable words • 5 to 8 word sentences • Max of two simple,

basic sentences, one under the other

• Total 200 to 300 words • 8 to 16 pages • 2 to 4 syllable words • Up to 8 to 12 word

sentences • 2 to 3 sentences/page

• Total 300 to 500 words • 12 to 24 pages • 1 to 5 syllable words • Up to 12 to 15 word

sentences • 3 to 4 sentences per page

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Aaron, P .G., Kuchta, S. & Grapenthin, C.T. (1988). Is there a thing called dyslexia? Annals of Dyslexia, 38: 33-49. Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print. Cambridge, M A : MIT P re s s . Ambruster, B., F. Lehr, Osborn, J. Put reading first, Kindergarten to Grade 3: The research building blocks for teaching children to read. National Institute for Literacy (Available in FSU dropbox) Anderson, R. C., Hiebert, E. H., Scott, J. A., & Wilkinson, I. A. G. (1985). Becoming a Nation of Readers. The National Academy of Education & the Center for the Study of Reading. Anthony, J. L. & Francis, D. J. (2005). Development of phonological awareness. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(5), 255-259. Bredekamp, S., Copple, C., & Neuman, S.B. (2000). Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children. Washington: DC. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Buchweitz, A., Mason, R., Tomitch, L., Just, M.A. (2009). Brain activation for reading and listening comprehension: An fMRI study of modality effects and individual differences in language comprehension. Psychol Neurosci. 2(2): 111–123. Carlisle, J.F. & Felbinger, L. (1991). Profiles of listening and reading comprehension, Journal of Educational Research, 84(6): 345-354. Chard, D.J., Pikulski, J.J., Templeton, S. (2000) From Phonemic Awareness to Fluency: Effective Decoding Instruction in a Research-Based Reading Program. Current research in Reading/Language Arts. Houghton Mifflin. Diakidoy,I., Stylianou, P., Karefillidou, C., Papageorgiou,P. (2004). The Relationship Between Listening and Reading Comprehension of Different Types of Text at Increasing Grade Levels. Reading Psychology International Quarterly, v26 n1 p55-80. Jan-Mar. Ehri, L. (1991). Development of the ability to read words. In R. Barr, M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, & P. Pearson, eds. Handbook of Reading Research. (Vol II, pp. 383–417). New York: Longman. Evans, N. 2015. Establishing Data-Driven Performance Standards for Primary Reading in Pakistan. Summary Report of the June 8th to 12th, 2015 National Workshop to Establish Performance Reading Standards for Urdu and Sindhi held in Islamabad. Document produced for the Pakistan Reading Program (PRP), International Rescue Committee.

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Evans, M. A., Shaw, D. & Bell, M. (2000). Home literacy activities and their influence on early literacy skills. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 54(2) 65-75. doi:10.1037/h0087330 Fountas, I.C., & Pinnell, G.S. (1996). Guided reading: Good first teaching for all children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Government of Sindh, 2006. National Curriculum, Urdu, Grades I-XII. Available at http://www.sindheducation.gov.pk/nationalCurriculum/nationalCurriculum.jsp. Juel, C. (1991). Beginning reading. In R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, & P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (pp. 759-788). New York: Longman. LaBerge, D., & Samuels, S. J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading. Cognitive Psychology, 6, 293–323. Learning First Alliance (1998). Every Child Reading: An Action Plan. Learning First Alliance. Hoskins, B. (1990). Language and literacy: participating in the conversation, Topics in Language Disorders, 10(2): 46-62. Howell, S. (2005). Teaching Listening Comprehension. Retrieved from: http://repo.lib.ryukoku.ac.jp/jspui/bitstream/10519/2626/1/KJ00004297307.pdf Just M. A., and Carpenter P.A. (1987). The psychology of reading and language comprehension. Newton, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Mooney, M.M. (1990). Reading to, with, and by children. Katonah, NY: Richard C. Owen. National Reading Council (1998). Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. National Academy Press. National Reading Panel (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read. National Institutes of Health Pub. No. 00-4754. Nunan, D. (1991). Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook for Teachers. London: Prentice Hall. Olofsson, A. & Niedersoe, J. (1999). Early language development and kindergarten phonological awareness as predictors of reading problems. Journal of Learning Disabilites. 32 464-472. Robeck, M.C. & Wilson, J.A.R. (1974). Psychology of Reading: Foundations of Instruction. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Shanklin, N.L. (1991). Whole language and the writing process: one movement or two? Topics in Language Disorders, 11(3): 45- 57.

http://www.sindheducation.gov.pk/nationalCurriculum/nationalCurriculum.jsp

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Scarborough, H.S. (1990). Very early language deficits in dyslexic children. Child Development (61) 1728-1743. Sleight, C.C. & Prinz, P.M. (1985). Use of abstracts, orientations and codas in narration by language-disordered and non-disordered children, Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders. (50) 361-371. Stern, J. 2015. Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) Standard Setting: Aggregate Performance Standards. Power point presented at National Workshop to Establish Performance Reading Standards for Urdu and Sindhi, Islamabad, Pakistan. RTI International. Stern, J. 2015. Familiar and Invented Word Reading: Correlations with Oral Reading Fluency. Power point presented at National Workshop to Establish Performance Reading Standards for Urdu and Sindhi, Islamabad, Pakistan. RTI International. Strickland, D. S., & Riley-Ayers, S. (2006). Early literacy: Policy and practice in the preschool years. Preschool Policy Brief: National Institute for Early Education Research, 10, 1-12.

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ANNEX A: PERFORMANCE STANDARDS BY GRADE LEVEL ECE Performance Standards

Reading Skill Performance Standards

Listening Comprehension (RS1)

Correctly answer, sometimes with support or prompting of teacher, 2 out of 4 simple literal comprehension questions on a simple, ECE-level story read aloud or told by teacher.

Phonological Awareness (RS2)

Correctly identify, by counting or clapping, 70% to 80% of the time, the number of words in a simple 3 to 5 word sentence spoken by teacher. Correctly identify, by counting or clapping, 70% to 80% of the time, the number of syllables in 1 to 3 syllable words spoken by teacher.

Print Concepts (RS3) Correctly identify, 70% to 80% of the time, the following print concepts: • the right direction in which to hold a book • the right direction in which to open a book • the front and back cover of a book • the title Correctly follow words from right to left, top to bottom, and page by page, when teacher is reading a story.

Alphabetic Knowledge (RS4)

Accuracy: Correctly identify, with 70% to 80% accuracy, letters by their name (full form only). Correctly identify, with 70% to 80% accuracy, the sound that letters make (full form only). Fluency: Correctly identify at least 40 letters per minute by their name (full form only). Correctly identify at least 40 letters per minute by their sound (full form only).

Vocabulary (RS5) No performance standards for this level. Reading Comprehension (including fluency) (RS6)

No performance standards for this level as students begin reading texts in Grade 1.

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Grade 1 Performance Standards



Correctly answer, orally, 3 out of 5 simple literal comprehension questions on a simple, grade-1 level text or story read aloud or told by the teacher. Make a basic connection between a character or event in a story or information in a text that the teacher has read aloud or told to the class to his/her own life.


Correctly substitute, 70% to 80% of the time, an initial sound in a word with another to produce a new word. Correctly identify, 70% to 80% of the time, all of the individual letter-sounds in one syllable words (beginning, middle, and end sounds).

Print Concepts (RS3) Correctly identify, 70% to 80% of the time, the following print concepts: • the right direction in which to hold a book • the right direction in which to open a book • the front and back cover of a book • the title • the first page • where a reader should start reading on a given page • where a reader goes next after reading a line or a page • the direction in which we read (from right to left) • the first or last word in a sentence • the author and the illustrator of a book and what each does • a specific letter in a word or a specific word on a page


Accuracy: Read, with 70%-80% accuracy, the 20 highest frequency or most common words in Sindhi Fluency: Correctly identify 50 to 70 letters per minute, by their name. Correctly identify 50 to 70 letters per minute, by their sound.

Correctly read 20 to 30 high frequency syllables per minute. Correctly read 15 to 25 invented one syllable words per minute. Correctly read 15 to 30 common or high frequency words per minute.

Vocabulary (RS5) When presented with a simple Grade 1 text containing three newly encountered words, correctly explain what two of the words mean (sometimes with support from the teacher) by looking at contextual clues in illustrations or within the sentence or by examining clues in the word itself (root word, prefixes or suffixes, word endings).

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Reading Comprehension (including fluency) (RS6)

Accuracy: Correctly answer, orally, 3 out of 5 simple literal comprehension questions on a simple, Grade 1 text or story read independently or with support from teacher. Make a basic connection between a character or event in a story or information in a text and his/her own life. Fluency: Read Grade 1 level text at a rate of 15 to 30 correct words per minute (basic texts composed of high frequency/common words studied during weeks 1 to 36).




Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 simple literal comprehension questions on a grade-2 level text or story read aloud or told by the teacher. Make a reasonable connection between a character or something that happened in the story to his/her own life (e.g., I got lost once in the market, too, but my mother found me.)


Correctly remove, 70% to 80% of the time, an initial sound in a word to produce a new word. Correctly blend, 70% to 80% of the time, individual phoneme sounds together to form a word.

Print Concepts (RS3) Correctly identify, 70% to 80% of the time, the following print concepts: • a word, a sentence, a letter • where a reader goes next once she/he has finished reading a page • first word in a sentence • last word in a sentence • period or question mark and what it means or signifies • the author or illustrator of a book


Accuracy: Read, with 70%-80% accuracy, the 70 highest frequency or most common words in Sindhi. Fluency: Correctly read 30 to 50 high frequency syllables per minute. Correctly read 25 to 35 invented one to four syllable words per minute. Correctly read 50 to 70 common or high frequency words per minute.

Vocabulary (RS5) When presented with a simple Grade 2 level text containing three newly encountered words, correctly explain what two of the words mean (sometimes with support from the teacher) by

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looking at contextual clues in illustrations or within the sentence or by examining clues in the word itself (root word, prefixes or suffixes, word endings).


Accuracy: Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a Grade 2 level text or story read independently or with support from teacher. Make a reasonable connection between a character or event in a story or information in a text and his/her own life. Fluency: Read Grade 2 level text at a rate of 50 to 80 correct words per minute.




Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a grade-3 level text or story read aloud or told by the teacher. Correctly answer 2 out of 3 very simple inferential questions on a grade-3 level story or text read aloud or told by teacher (e.g., How did the character feel when that happened?) Make a logical connection between a character or event in the story to his/her own life. (e.g., My brother once got lost in the market and he was really, really scared. He cried.)


No performance standards, as phonological awareness skills must be mastered by end of grade 2.

Print Concepts (RS3) Correctly identify, 70% to 80% of the time, the following print concepts: • role of table of contents • role of headings and subheadings • role of chapter headings in stories • role of thought balloons


Accuracy: Read, with 70%-80% accuracy, the 100 highest frequency or most common words. Fluency: Correctly read 30 to 45 invented one to four syllable words per minute. Correctly read 70 to 90 common or high frequency words per minute.

Vocabulary (RS5) When presented with a simple Grade 3 level text containing three newly encountered words, correctly explain what two of the words mean (sometimes with support from the teacher) by looking at contextual clues in illustrations or within the sentence

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or by examining clues in the word itself (root word, prefixes or suffixes, word endings).


Accuracy: Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a Grade 3 level text or story read independently or with support from teacher. Correctly answer, orally, 2 out of 3 simple inferential questions on a Grade 3 level story or text read aloud or told by teacher. Make a logical connection between a character or event in a story or information in a text and his/her own life. Fluency: Read Grade 3 level text at a rate of 60 to 90 correct words per minute.




Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a grade-4 level text or story read aloud or told by the teacher. Correctly answer 2 out of 3 basic inferential questions on a grade-4 level story or text read aloud or told by teacher. Make and explain a logical connection between a character, event, or theme in the story or information or facts in a text that the teacher read aloud or told to the class to his/her own life or prior knowledge.



Print Concepts (RS3) No performance standards, as basic print concepts skills must be mastered by end of grade 3.


Fluency: Correctly read 40 to 55 invented one to four syllable words per minute. Correctly read 90 to 110 common or high frequency words per minute.

Vocabulary (RS5) When presented with a simple Grade 4 level text containing three newly encountered words, correctly explain what two of the words mean (sometimes with support from the teacher) by looking at contextual clues in illustrations or within the sentence or by examining clues in the word itself (root word, prefixes or suffixes, word endings).


Accuracy: Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a Grade 4 level text. Correctly answer 2 out of 3 basic inferential questions on a Grade 4 level text.

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Make and explain a logical connection between a character, event or theme in a story, or information or facts in a text, to his/her own life or prior knowledge. Fluency: Read Grade 4 level text at a rate of 70 to 100 correct words per minute.


Reading Skill Performance Standards Listening Comprehension (RS1)

Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a grade-5 level text or story read aloud or told by the teacher. Correctly answer 2 out of 3 inferential questions on a grade-5 level story or text read aloud or told by teacher. Make a basic connection between characters, events, and themes in a story, or information or facts in a text, to a story or text read aloud or heard previously.



Print Concepts (RS3) No performance standards, as basic print concepts skills must be mastered by end of grade 3.


Fluency: Correctly read 50 to 65 invented one to four syllable words per min.

Vocabulary (RS5) When presented with a simple Grade 5 level text containing three newly encountered words, correctly explains what two of the words mean (sometimes with support from the teacher) by looking at contextual clues in illustrations or within the sentence or by examining clues in the word itself (root word, prefixes or suffixes, word endings).


Accuracy: Correctly answer, orally, 4 out of 5 literal comprehension questions on a Grade 5 level text.

Correctly answer 2 out of 3 inferential questions on a grade five level text. Make a basic connection between characters, events or themes in a story, or information or facts in a text, to those in a story or text read or heard previously. Fluency: Read Grade 5 level text at a rate of 100 to 130 correct words per minute.

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ANNEX B: SINDHI HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS LIST

Documents

Sindhi reading performance standards sindh province ECE to