Reading Strategies

Reading Strategies Jessica Benfield & Angela Overfield

Which reading strategy is the best? • Whole Class Reading • Ability Grouping • Reading Centers • Weaver Reading • Partner Reading

Whole Class Reading • Teachers can read aloud to the students using books that the children wouldn’t necessarily read on their owns • Teachers can use Big Books so the entire group can see the words and the pictures easily • Teachers should finger point while reading so students can follow along with the words • If it is a short story it can be read several times so the students can memorize the words and then successfully finger point later on their own • Have students come up and point to different words on the page • The teacher should ask the students questions as he/she is going through the book to make sure the students are understanding the material and to keep them involved

Whole Class Reading • Pros: • When a teacher reads aloud to the students a wider range of vocabulary is made available to students • Reading aloud to children expands their experiences beyond their immediate surroundings • Reading aloud acquaints children with the style rhythm and structure of written language • Finger pointing allows the students to see the words as they hear them read

Whole Class Reading • Cons: • Whole class reading needs to be used as an add on with other reading activities • Students may not pay attention while the teacher is reading and thus not gain anything from it • Does not provide a way for students to learn to sound out words by themselves • Students who are visual learners would be impaired if big books aren’t used • Individual attention is not given to students • There is no way to pick a book that is on the same reading level of every student

Ability Grouping Pros: • Allows students who have similar reading skills to read stories and study word patterns at the level the whole group is at. • Small groups have more time to work with the teacher. • The teacher is able to observe students a little easier and determine how much material the students understand.

Ability Grouping • Cons: • It can decrease one’s self-esteem for lower level reading groups. • Students who are placed in a lower lever reading group for several grade are likely to be far behind their peers in reading. • It can be difficult for teachers to organize and manage.

Creating Centers • Centers must be organized and clearly labeled. • They must have a main focus and change periodically. • Students must receive explicit guidelines on behavior and expectations of what is to be done at each center. Directions need to be understood by the students so there is no miscommunication. • Assignments should be as open-ended as possible to allow students to achieve a higher thinking level.

Creating Centers • All materials needed should be supplied at the center, but it is not suggested to have too many materials at one center. • Do not have more centers than needed. • Each center must be introduced one at a time. The teacher demonstrates and practices each center with the students so that there is no confusion.

Types of Centers - Art and Writing Writing can be integrated by having students tell a story about the art piece, or write about what they did and why. • Science Observation logs and category charts can be used. • Reading Selected books that are out for students to read alone or quietly to each other.

Types of Centers • Word Pattern Study Have different cards with pictures or and letters and put them in the correct category. • Dress Up and Drama Place book about food, menus, charts, not pads, cook books, and more that students could use when playing in this center.

Weaver Reading Teaching Components • K-6 leveling system • Assessments based on the stages • Hundreds of literature titles • Integration w/ other subject areas • Continuous staff development • Does not rely on specific textbooks or published reading programs

Weaver Reading • Uses reading aloud, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading and independent writing • Reading aloud: introduces children to a wide variety of vocabulary through the teacher reading stories, also introduces children to books that they might not read on their own and it develops listening skills and comprehension • Shared reading: allows students to read with comfort and assistance from the entire class reading at once • Guided reading: students take turns reading in a small group and the teacher is able to ask thought provoking questions to get students thinking about the literature • Independent reading and writing: allow students to become proficient in sounding out words in order to read and write on their own

Weaver reading • Pros: • Children are able to learn about reading and writing at the same time • The assessments are specific and cover both reading and writing • There are many books made available to the students • Students are able to learn reading recovery strategies • The instruction is focused specifically to each level • Teaching students with a variety of instructional techniques caters to the learning styles of many students

Weaver reading • Cons: • Teachers need to have some training on this program before they can be successful using it • The leveled criteria is mostly subjective • The teacher must have access to many different leveled books

Partner Reading • Having children partner up to read to each other. • Older children help younger children read or older children can read to younger children. • Children of the same ability level can read to each other. • Higher reading level students can read with lower reading level students of the same age.

Partner Reading • Pros: • All students can be successful whether they are helping another student or getting help from another student • Motivates students to do better • Provides positive and productive peer interaction • Allows lower performing students to lead and teach

Partner Reading • Cons: • One student might end up doing all of the reading • The two students might not get along • The students might become frustrated because one can read the words and the other can’t • If both students can’t read the words they aren’t any help to each other and they will both become frustrated

Partner Reading • Tips to make it work: • Only use Partner Reading for a small part of the school day • Set it up in a way that makes sure that the student who is helping gets something out of it, as well as the student who is being helped. • Monitor the class to make sure both students are reading and understanding the literature • Choose level appropriate literature for the students to read

Sources - Guided Reading: Making It Work, By Mary Browning Schulman and Carleen daCruz Payne, Scholastic Professional Books, 2000 • Guided Reading: Good First Teaching for All Children, byIrene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, Heinemann 1994 - Every Child Reading by Darrell Morris and Robert E. Slavin, Pearson Education Inc. 2003

Sources • http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Pubs/topping2.html • http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/pals/

Reading Strategies