Jacob's Ladder Gifted Reading Comprehension Program, Years F-1, 2nd Edition

The Jacob’s Ladder Gifted Reading Comprehension Program targets reading comprehension skills in high-ability learners by moving students through an inquiry process from basic understanding to critical analyses of text, using a field-tested method developed by the Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary. Students in Years F–1 will learn to comprehend and analyse any reading passage after completing the activities in Jacob’s Ladder, Years F–1 (2nd ed.).

Research conducted by the Center for Gifted Education demonstrated that the Jacob’s Ladder Gifted Reading Comprehension Program delivers results related to improved reading comprehension, increased critical thinking and enhanced interest in reading.

Using skill ladders connected to short stories (picture books) and poetry, students move from lower-order, concrete thinking skills to higher-order, critical thinking skills. The ladders include multiple skills necessary for academic success, covering common English curricular goals such as sequencing, determining cause and effect, classifying, inferencing and recognising main ideas. The second edition of the book builds off the previous edition, including new readings and ladders for students to use.

Each book in the Jacob’s Ladder Gifted Reading Comprehension Program comprehensively engages with the Language, Literature and Literacy strands of the Australian Curriculum: English, as well as touching upon aspects of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics and Science instruction in non-fiction passages across the series.