Guided Reading

I have always enjoyed taking guided reading. I never found it onerous and enjoyed the time I spent with my groups discussing books, text, online websites, poems, passages etc. Having spent the majority of my teaching career in the UK, comprehension was a big part of our guided reading programme. This was because in the past year 6 students had to take a reading comprehension test for their SATs. Therefore when I moved back to New Zealand, I continued to teach guided reading quite similar to how I did in the UK.

I spent more time focussing on them sharing their ideas and thoughts to see if they understood the text or passage they were reading. Making sure they could identify and comment on structure and organisation of a text. We would discuss the writers’ use of language and their purpose and viewpoints and the effect on them as readers. Alongside them learning to re-tell, describing and locating information. I wouldn't do all the above in one session usually only focussing one and something that group needed to focus on. This is something I have always done and had success in.

As a school, we have taken on board a whole school reading programme. While attending this reading course, I was surprised at how rigid and planned out some guided reading sessions were. It seemed teachers were planning all these elaborate questions and follow up activities.  If we are teaching children to read, why are we getting them to spend more time writing things out then actually reading? Do we really need students to complete a worksheet to see if students have understood what they have read? And if not why are we using these time fillers? I am not a big fan of worksheets so my students never went away and completed reading activities (instead they do a range of different activities that they pick). I gained a lot of insight about my students during my sessions and believe that reading is about learning to love books and to me worksheets turn students off.

Teachers were still getting students plough through a whole book where you were never allowed to read the next chapter until next weeks guided reading session. To be honest how many of us would cope with that?  I am not against children reading a whole book, stopping and starting sporadically doesn’t really help develop a passion for reading.

So far I am enjoying this reading programme mainly because it wasn’t that different from what I was doing in class which made me feel quite good about my reading programme! The students love it and so far we are having great success.

Once I have more time I will blog a post about our whole class routine and group routine.