- actively thinking and talking about what and how they read
- being explicitly exposed to comprehension and processing strategies in a systematic way
- practising flow, expression and phrasing in their oral reading
- reading titles that are carefully scaffolded to build and reinforce vocabulary and letter–sound relationships.
The humorous fiction titles and fascinating nonfiction titles engage readers.
The wrap-around covers increase excitement and add information about the book before reading.
There are an equal number of fiction and nonfiction titles at each level.
The design is cutting-edge, to appeal to young, visually savvy learners. Features include speech bubbles, variety of fonts and design, and nonfiction features.
To make nonfiction more accessible to beginning readers Key Links uses a documentary style.
Using a ‘case-study’ approach, experiences of animals or people are recounted to give students a more familiar story-like feel.
- Focus Panels
- Visual Summaries
- Scaffolding and Reinforcement
- Step-by-step guidance
- Class-to-home link
Hide and Seek, Red 2
Hide and Seek, Red 2
Fiction
The titles in Key Links have been carefully sequenced to scaffold and reinforce literacy skills and strategies including:
- letter–sound relationships
- high-frequency words
- vocabulary
- punctuation
- reading fluency
- processing skills
- comprehension strategies.
The position of each book in the Key Links sequence is shown on the inside back cover of each book, eg KL-M1 – Key Links – Magenta 1
Example:
KL-M1
Key Words: I am
KL-M2
Key Words: I am a
KL-M3
Key Words: Here is the
KL-M4
Key Words: The ___ is
KL-M5
Key Words: The ___ are
Guide Notes are provided at the beginning of each book.
The FOCUS PANELS provide a to help ensure parents and teachers are ‘on the same page’ if books are taken home.
Often parents are unsure how to use take-home reading books.
The prompts in the Focus Panels can be used by parents to discuss Key Links books and also to give them ideas for how to approach other books they read with their children.
