Do you like Marmite? You either grinned and licked your lips or you grimaced and shuddered, “NO!”, thinking of that brown sticky goo that belongs in the depths of the bin. I’d expect similar reactions if I asked you, “Do you like teaching Guided Reading through a carousel?” When I hear the word ‘carousel’ used in the same sentence as reading, the hairs on my neck stand on end! Okay, that was a tad dramatic but reading is such an incredible and life-changing skill, so why are we stuck teaching it in a mundane way? I think the era of carousel activities is coming to an end, just like the 90s did. We may miss it but it might just be time to move on (S Club 7 you are still my fav!). I want to share with you a style of teaching reading that transformed my practice in the most wonderful way: WHOLE CLASS GUIDED READING. Let’s get to it; here’s my Recipe for Whole Class Reading. The Ingredients
The Step by Step GuideI rave about teaching this way! Like so many things in teaching, this is not something that will suddenly just work overnight (if it does, let me know your secret!). I invested time in delivering reading to a whole class. I can still remember the first session I delivered; it was a bit of a shambles! But I am so glad I stuck with it because it got better and better. Break down your lesson just as you would any other.
4. How can you differentiate? Differentiate by outcome, by the style of questions given. In previous teaching years I used a ‘Chilli Challenge’ differentiation approach across most subjects. The children had a choice of mild, spicy and hot activities depending on where they thought their level of understanding lay. Work mixed ability, work in ability, differentiate by the text type given or by the quantity of texts given depending on the needs of your learners. Instead of stopping for 30 minutes a day, extend your Maths or Writing session, and use the saved time for 2 hours of quality reading teaching a week. Instead of gathering your 7 children together and trying to remember where you read up to last week, introduce a new book or text every session! Do the children all need a copy? NO! Have the text on the visualiser, photocopy the page from the book or get the eBook on the iPads! Let’s instil excitement and enthusiasm in our young reader
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SearchWAGOLL TeachingWith a keen interest in the neuroscience and psychology of learning, WAGOLL Teaching is about sharing research alongside great, simple teaching ideas to a global teaching community.
Ben has been in education for over 10 years and is passionate about simplifying high quality teaching and learning through innovative and practical approaches in the classroom. sUBSCRIBECategories
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