- Some students will work on very basic reading skills such as word analysis and comprehending simple texts.
- All students need instructional support so they can expand their competence across a greater variety of increasingly challenging texts.
In the upper elementary grades, it is important for students to have regular time with the teacher to learn how to become more effective readers. GUIDED READING IS THE BEST WAY TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL. Students can take what they are learning through guided reading and apply it to their independent reading, literature study and content area reading.
Teaching Within a Guided Reading Lesson
Before the lesson begins, teachers should prepare for the lesson. They should establish goals and potential outcomes for the lesson. Teachers should also be familiar with the book or material they are planning to use for the lesson.
Before having the students read the text, the teacher should set the text up. She can begin by introducing the author, prompt them to make connections, asking them what they already know about the topic or author, give a brief summary of the book, build background knowledge, etc..
During the introduction the teacher may want to point out important elements of the text such as genre characteristics, new and important language, text features, or even discuss similarities or differences to other texts by the same author.
Other things teachers may want to discuss before the reading may include:
*connections to background knowledge
*calling attention to the setting
*look at important details
*connections to personal experiences
*discuss plot of the story
*clarify the task
*establish a purpose for reading
During the Reading
As students read silently, the teacher will confer with individuals. During the conference the student:
*Reads a short piece of the text aloud softly
*Offers examples of interesting language
*Ask questions
*Converses with the teacher
For these interactions, the teacher will have evidence of what the student is doing well or what needs to be worked on.
After the Reading
After about 20 minutes of reading, the teacher will reconvene the group for a short discussion. First she will check their understanding. Then she invites them to share some of the language that they have found interesting or allow group discussion of the text.
Mediating the Text
Each lesson should not focus on more that a few new ways of thinking. Within the discussion of a text, there are different levels of teacher mediation:
Show = Demonstrate, explain behaviors related to the processing strategies
Support = Give readers opportunities to use the procession strategies with your support
Prompt = Call readers to action so that they use procession strategies for themselves
Reinforce = Acknowledge effective reading behaviors using specific description or praise
Observe = Notice behavioral evidence and infer readers’ independent use of effective procession strategies.
Teaching for Word-Solving Strategies
Effective strategies to derive meaning from words
Decoding
*Noticing the parts of words
*Using letter-sound relationships in combination with predictions about meaning
*Connecting new words with known words
Expanding Vocabulary - Knowing” a word means that you know the literal meaning . In addition good readers:
*May know several meanings for a word
*Know that words with the same definitions can have subtle meaning to different people
*May connect word attributes to larger bodies of knowledge
Supporting Decoding and Deriving Meaning
*Tell readers a word or the meaning of a word and point out the important characteristics
*Demonstrate analyzing word parts
*Demonstrate using context to suggest a meaning for the word
*Demonstrate how word parts are related to meaning
*Prompt students to use a range of strategies to problem-solve
*Reinforce effective problem solving
