TRULY GUIDED READING AUTHOR LIZ SIMON

 

GUIDED READING IS MULTIFACETED Before, During and After

‘Teaching is complex and multifaceted’. (Teaching Literacies, Pedagogies and Diversity. 2019. 2^nd ed. Edited by Robyn Henderson. Oxford University Press Australia and New Zealand’) 

                                       ISBN:978-0-646-90781-9

Certainly, teaching is multifaceted but is it complex? In my book 'Truly Guided Reading’ you will find that in each part, 

Before reading, 

                             During reading 

                                                          After reading 

there are teaching and learning strategies that move from support and guided to independent reading and conversation about aspects of the story and language. Each are effective but not complex if you know how.

LAS Pedagogy and Success

Before working with Guided Reading groups.

Before Guided Reading begins in your classroom, explicitly introduce your class to the routines and tasks they will be involved in while you work with small reading groups. During rehearsals, they learn what it means to 'keep on task' and not interrupt the teacher. How this is done is in chapter 1 of the book.

You will find that spending time on this approach, children are engaged and you are able to work uninterrupted, with reading groups.  

Before groups read you orientate them to the story or information. This is not a picture walk (a fallacy) but shared conversation where schema is activated allowing students to anticipate structures and patterns when they read independently. Unfamiliar words are heard by the students, flowing from a phrase or sentence, rather than pointing out a single word. involving comprehension strategies, for example, making connections, predicting. How this is done is in chapter 3.

In the information about During reading discernible teaching strategies are revealed. Early readers read aloud. Levels 10-20 students read silently, a touch on the shoulder (or some other indication) alerts a child at this level to read aloud the part of the text h/she are currently at. 

After Reading. The best 'rule' is to allow the children to talk and the teacher explores their contributions, 'Why did you say that?' There are many examples of 'developing child discussion' in chapter 6 of my book. If you ask questions, opt for open-ended questions that allow children to interpret and analyse the text just read.

These are a few examples of the multifaceted nature of Guided Reading. Read Truly Guided Reading and you will find 'how' complexity is reduced. 

 

In Truly Guided Reading, each chapter the subheading states a misconception for example, ‘Guided Reading inevitably turns into word study’ and each misconception is dismissed and the true implementation of Guided Reading is set out for the reader.  In fact, the focal point in this chapter is ‘Students learn reading strategies – fix-up and thinking strategies’.

During Guided Reading students’ attentions are directed towards specific learning; it is genuinely student-centred pedagogy that moves towards catering more equitably for the diversity of learners present in everyday classrooms. Rigorous teacher decision-making is needed to make clear the expectations processes and specific outcomes, hence the need to brush away the fallacies that have surrounded Guided Reading over the years.

Hard copies are posted in Australia. $20 includes the postage                                           within Australia.

 

 Please email your address and by return email I will provide my bank details.

 Liz's Email: liz.simon@laspedagogy.com