LAURA ROBB

AUTHOR, TEACHER, COACH, & SPEAKER

ORGANIZING READING INSTRUCTION

In grades four, and five many teachers have a large block of time for reading and can organize instruction into three or at the most four guided reading groups. Once students enter middle school, many teachers have 45 to 60 minutes to teach reading, therefore, meeting frequently with guided reading groups becomes a challenge or it is impossible.

Whether your curriculum is based on guided reading, reading workshop, or a more traditional model, three teaching and learning practices should be an integral part of instruction: Instructional Interactive Read Aloud, Instructional Reading, and Independent Reading. As a principal I always refer to the “three” types of reading to my English staff. I encourage you do use these ideas and do the same.

INSTRUCTIONAL INTERACTIVE READ ALOUD

Reading can be taught, and having the teacher model in a think aloud how he/she applies a reading strategy and/or enlarges students’ mental model of how a strategy works. For this aspect of instruction, I suggest that the teacher models with a short text that matches the genre and/or theme that ties a reading unit together. Short texts can include a picture book, an excerpt from a longer text, a folk or fairy tale, myth or legend, a short, short story, or an article from a magazine or newsletter.

Once you’ve modeled how to apply a strategy such as making inferences, add the interactive component. The goal is to involve students as soon as possible for two reasons:

You can observe students’ thinking process. You can also identify students who don’t respond and confer with them to explore their reasons for not participating. Once you know why active involvement is minimal, you can help them gain the confidence to participate by helping them prepare to answer a question.
You’ll involve students in the lesson and make it interactive instead of passive. Involving students in the lesson can lead to engagement and an investment in the learning.

Here are some skills and strategies that you can model in interactive read aloud lessons:

Making inferences
Identifying big ideas and themes
Identifying central ideas and themes
Locating important details
Skimming to find details
Author’s purposes
Purposes of informational texts (nonfiction) and literature (fiction)
Literary Elements and how each supports comprehension: setting, protagonist, antagonists, plot, conflicts, other characters, climax, denouement
Informational text structures and how these support comprehension: description, compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solutions, sequence, question/answer
Word choice as a guide to pinpointing mood or tone
Vocabulary building with an emphasis on: general academic vocabulary, figurative language and comprehension, using roots, prefixes, suffices, discussing concepts, diverse word meanings, and different forms of a word.

During class, the teacher can continually circulate among students to observe and offer quick, desk side conferences.

INSTRUCTIONAL READING

Instructional reading should happen during class. Students need to read materials at their instructional reading level—about 95% reading accuracy and about 85 % comprehension. Organizing instructional reading around a genre and theme—for example biography with a theme of obstacles—permits students to read different texts and discuss their reading around the genre and theme.

The reading workshop model is ideal for this type of reading instruction. The class opens with an interactive read aloud lesson that lasts about ten minutes and occurs daily. These lessons include vocabulary and word building. You can find books for students in your school library, your community public library, and in your class library and school’s bookroom (if you have one). Instructional reading books stay in the classroom, as students from different sections will be using the same materials each day.

Teachers have students chunk instructional texts by putting a sticky note at the end of every two to three chapters. When students reach a sticky note, they stop to discuss their books with a partner and then a group of four. During this stop-to-think time, students can write about their books, connect the theme to the book, and apply strategies and skills the teacher has modeled during interactive read aloud lessons.

Partners should be no more than one year apart in reading levels so they have something to contribute to each other. Students reading far below grade level learn with the teacher.

INDEPENDENT READING

Reading forty to sixty self-selected books can become the achievement game changer, especially for students who read below grade level. Students can read graphic novels, comics, magazines, e-books, and print books. By encouraging them to read accessible books on topics they love and want to know more about, you develop their motivation to read, read, read!

Have students keep a Book Log of the titles they’ve read and reread. Do not ask students to do a project for each completed book, for that will turn them away from reading. A book talk a month and a written book review twice a year on independent reading is enough. Trust and a personal reading life are what your building. In the archived newsletter, “Independent Reading” you’ll find directions for four book talks and for writing book reviews. You’ll find this newsletter under the tab, “Resources” on my website.

Students should complete thirty minutes of independent reading a night, and that should be their main homework assignment. Try to set aside two days a week for students to complete independent reading at school.