PIRLS 2006 Encyclopedia

must also be able to differentiate between poetry and prose, respond to basic questions,and answer composition tasks pertaining to the texts.Grade 4 is concentrated primarily on developing tools for general understanding.New elements include structure, space, and time; highlighting connections; andcondensing and expanding sections. By the end of grade 4, students are expected to beable to compose their view of a story and their reading experiences.Mandated Materials for Reading InstructionThe Ministry of Education creates a list of approved publications from which teacherscan select their textbooks and teaching aids. In addition to textbooks, the Ministry ofEducation regulates, by law, the teaching aids to be used in reading instruction. Teachershave to use flash cards and play dough (to develop fine-motor skills), colorful letter cards,reading puzzles, and projected reading sheets to help students learn the system of signsfor reading.During grades 2 through 4, teachers are required to use recordings that show studentshow to practice breaks, rhythm, emphasis, and tone; demonstrate the use of phonetics;and break up compound sentences.Reading Instruction in the Primary GradesAccording to the National Core Curriculum, grades 1 to 4 should spend 32–42% ofinstructional time teaching literature and grammar, which is combined into the classperiod devoted to Hungarian. Schools decide on the number of class periods devotedto Hungarian based on their own local curriculum, which is prepared on the basis ofone of the ministry-approved curriculum frameworks. This results in 7 to 10 Hungarianclass periods each week, depending on whether the week’s focus is on the developmentof mathematics or reading skills. Classroom teachers are responsible for all pedagogicaltasks related to reading instruction, and reading specialists are not available. Studentswith special education needs, whose work is based on a specific curriculum, have20 Hungarian classes each week in the first term, which drops to 9 in the second term.Specific reading instruction, practice, and developing reading skills take 40–64% ofspecial education instructional time.In addition to Hungarian classes, the National Core Curriculum allots 2–6% of totalclass time to the teaching of a modern foreign language, the most popular being English,followed by German and French.PIRLS 2006 EncyclopediaInstructional MaterialsThe textbook series used in the first four grades consist mainly of alphabet books, practicebooks, workbooks and, in higher grades, storybooks. The Ministry of Education doesnot recommend one particular reading method over another, although the four mostcommonly used textbook series all use the sounding-analyzing method and focus onteaching the system of signs used for reading in early instruction. Some publishersprovide differentiated workbooks for those students who progress faster or slower inHungaryTIMSS & PIRLSInternational Study CenterLynch School of Education, Boston College 171