I have spent the last three days talking with teachers about maximizing the effectiveness of time spent with students during guided reading lessons. The teachers I have been working with are fantastic, and I am so excited about our conversations that I wanted to share some insights.
We know the importance of planning a laser-focused book introduction based on the needs of the students, and we also know the importance of planning a follow-up after the reading in order to solidify the learning. As students begin to read, however, we venture into unknown territory. This is the time for teachers to observe how students are processing the text and how they are applying the strategies that we have taught, and sometimes students surprise us with what they are able (or not able) to do. During our sessions we discussed the fact that it is vital to give students the opportunity to read the text to themselves and to problem-solve when they encounter a difficult part. Quick decisions must be made about providing appropriate support because we know that our goal is to help students become independent readers. If we jump in to rescue students too quickly, we are not giving them a chance to use the strategies that we have taught. It is not an easy task, but there are times that we must refrain from solving their problems for them. We must ask questions like, “What can you do to help yourself?” The major thought that resonated throughout the session was the reality that we are teaching the students – not the book.
The goal of guided reading is NOT to make sure that students read a book perfectly or remember every detail about a book. The focus should be on the learning of skills and strategies that can be applied to other reading experiences.
More information on guided reading:
As the number of English learners in the United States continues to grow, we are constantly in search of the most effective ways to meet the needs of these ELs. Many “newcomer schools,” places where students spend their first year of education in the United States, are springing up across the country. These schools consist of dedicated educators who strive to learn the newest and best practices to meet the cultural, linguistic, social, and educational needs of these culturally diverse students. I have had the privilege of visiting many of these schools, and I have been able to observe firsthand many success stories. I spent the day at one of these schools in September, and I was inspired by this school, by these students, and by this group of teachers.
The school contained multiple nationalities and multiple ethnic groups, as well as excellent teachers. The doors had been open for only four weeks, and the classes were already bursting at the seams. Most of the students were from refugee families from a huge variety of countries. About half of the students had little or no formal education prior to this year, but others were well-educated in their native countries. Funding was scarce, but there was an abundance of compassion and outstanding instruction, and I observed teaching that was making a real difference in the lives of many students.
The teachers at this school were very dedicated to helping all of their students, and they made home visits before the beginning of school. During one home visit, they discovered a single mother of eight children from Somalia. Although some of her children were scheduled to attend the school, the teachers encountered an 18-year-old boy lying on the floor. The mother said that he had been shot in Somalia and was paralyzed. She had carried him when he was younger and weighed less, but now it was necessary for him to remain there on the floor. He had never attended school, and his mother knew that there was no way for him to attend school now with his brothers and sisters. The teachers mobilized community resources to procure a wheelchair for the boy and to get him the clothes that he needed for school. The week I was there was the end of his third week at the school, and he was beginning to speak English and recognized some letters and sounds in English. The boy was thrilled to be there and, with his head nodding and a jubilant look on his face, he told me, “Learn English.”
Many newcomer schools have received criticism because students return to their neighborhood schools after a year at a newcomer school, and they are not reading and functioning on, or even close to, grade level. Researchers agree that it takes non-English speakers at least 7-10 years to become as fluent as their native-English-speaking peers. It is helpful for us to realize that, with superior instruction, many ELs could achieve as much as 2-3 grade levels of literacy growth during one school year. Will a 15-year-old be reading at the high school level in one year? No, but with quality newcomer programs followed by targeted instruction at neighborhood schools, ELs will continue to make great gains.
There is one question that literacy specialists hear almost every time they discuss small-group reading instruction with teachers. Often, this is the major hurdle that teachers of literacy have to overcome before attempting small-group reading instruction. Teachers need a block of uninterrupted time to meet with a small group, and the other students need to be engaged in activities that provide them with opportunities to extend their literacy knowledge. Students must also know what to do if they need help while the teacher is working with others and what to do if they finish their current tasks. The following list suggests activities that allow students to apply and practice reading and writing at an independent level.
- Ask students to choose one book that they will be able to read independently and enjoy for at least 30 minutes. Provide students with sticky notes, and ask them to look for cause/effect text structures as they read. Ask students to consider how understanding these structures helped them to better comprehend the book. Students can place a sticky note beside any interesting cause/effect structures that they notice as they read. The teacher may need to model this activity before asking students to do it independently. Instead of cause/effect, students can locate compare/contrast structures, sequences of events, descriptions, similes, metaphors, and figurative language.
- After reading a nonfiction text with the teacher in small-group instruction, the students can create a fictional text on the same topic. The teacher can supply students with paper and ask students to write the text and create illustrations.
- Students can research and report on a topic that relates to a book that students have read. Students can choose a topic that interests them and one that they would like to explore. Students can create a chart, poster, or diorama to complete their report.
- Students can read a book or reread familiar text with a partner. Then the students will brainstorm a web that shows the main ideas and the important details of the piece that was read.
- Students can respond to independent reading in a journal. Students can relate any connections they have made that helped them to better comprehend the book or article, (personal connections, connections to another book, connections to community or world events), as well as their feelings about and reactions to material that was read.
- Students can write a letter or a postcard to a friend, a parent, a teacher, a historical character, or an imaginary person. They can explain something that they have learned from their reading, or they can discuss reading that they have enjoyed. Students might decorate their postcard, stationary, or envelope.
- Students can retell the book they have read by creating a cartoon strip or comic book. The characters in the cartoon can retell the sequence of events and important details in speech bubbles.
- Students can deepen their understanding of a piece they have read by drawing a graphic organizer that conveys the main points in the book they have read. (Venn diagram, flow chart, two boxes with an arrow between them for cause and effect, boxes for details and arrows from each box to one larger box where the main idea will be written)
- After reading, students can reread familiar text and go on a “scavenger hunt.” They can look for and list nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, dialogue, a statement, a question, and an exclamation. Ask them to consider why the author chose to use the items they have discovered.
- Students can create a retelling cube from a large sheet of paper. On one of the six sides, the students will write the name of the book they have read. Students can illustrate and write about the main events and information in the text on each of the five other sides. After the writing and illustration have been completed, then students can assemble the cube.
A well-organized learning environment provides a framework for familiar routines to promote students’ independence. It is vital that students be meaningfully engaged in a task that they can accomplish without the teacher’s assistance. It is equally important to allow students time to enjoy reading materials and to deeply comprehend the text that they are reading.
Below are additional websites that provide even more suggestions.
When I was an elementary school student in Texas, there was a policy in place stating that students were to speak only English at school. Due to this policy, many students who spoke other languages at home (usually Spanish in Texas) were silent in the classroom and on the playground. Sometimes it was years before they felt confident enough to take the risk of speaking English. Even then, I wondered about the fairness of this rule. I continued to wonder about this through my teenage years when I noticed that many Spanish-speaking students began to drop out of school as they turned sixteen.
When I became a classroom teacher, there were still no accommodations being made in most school districts for students who spoke languages other than English. Teachers were just told to remediate and to deliver the instruction more slowly, and the students who didn’t speak English would eventually catch on. In addition, English learners and special needs students were considered to have very similar educational needs. In recent years, I have enjoyed observing and participating in the awareness of the necessity for education to target and to support the needs of the English learner. It has been a pleasure to see appropriate instruction being delivered and appropriate materials being developed for our English learners. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely! But we are heading in the right direction.
Here are a few resources to help support your English learners:
As a former teacher, I would wake up eager to see what my day would bring. Between fire drills and runaway hamsters, my classroom was never boring. Now that I have moved into the role of an educational consultant, things have not changed. The life of a traveling consultant is always rewarding, sometimes hectic, sometimes frustrating, always busy, and NEVER boring. Just like a typical classroom, every day is different and full of surprises. I am often asked about the most unusual training session that I have conducted, and I never hesitate when I respond. This training took place a few years ago during the week of Thanksgiving in a small town in Alabama. I will recount a few of the details.
Because of rain, my flight from New York on Monday afternoon was delayed, causing me to miss my connecting flight from Atlanta to Montgomery, Alabama. When I arrived in Atlanta, it was already after 10:00 PM on Monday night, and there was no way to retrieve my luggage, which had been checked through to Montgomery. In addition to my clothing, all of my training materials were in my bag – books, handouts, demonstration materials, etc. Because I didn’t want to miss the session on Tuesday, I rented a car in Atlanta and drove to my hotel in Auburn, Alabama, arriving after 3:00 AM. It was so late that I wasn’t even charged for the hotel room that night!
Not having a change of clothing (I have since learned better), I rinsed out a few things so that I would at least be somewhat clean the next morning. Of course, everything was still soaking wet when I was ready to dress for the training at 7 AM, and I was still dripping when I arrived at the school. Fortunately, the school’s new materials had already been delivered, so I simply used their books for the reading demonstration lessons scheduled for that day. All went well, and I was thrilled that my missing suitcase had appeared at my hotel that afternoon. Clean, dry clothing never looked so good! All was right with the world.
On Wednesday morning, I went to the school to present an overview of their new materials to the staff. Everything progressed smoothly until approximately 10 AM when the tornado sirens began to shriek! The training session was moved to the custodian’s closet for protection. I was grateful that the custodian had a spacious room for his tools, as there were thirty-two of us standing in there among the brooms and cleaning supplies for the two hours before lunch. The staff was delightful, and they insisted on hearing the complete training, in spite of the circumstances. Just as I was thinking that we would be able to return to our original meeting area in the media center after lunch, the tornado siren sounded again! Back to the custodian’s closet for the remainder of the day.
After saying my goodbyes to this wonderful staff on Wednesday afternoon, I began to walk to my car, thinking of spending Thanksgiving with my family the next day. Then my cell phone rang. All flights had been canceled because several tornadoes had been sighted in the area. Oh well. At least we were all safe, and there were Thanksgiving leftovers!
As the school year begins, assessment is on everyone’s mind. As a former Reading Recovery teacher, I feel strongly that running records are the best measure of a student’s reading performance, as well as the best way to analyze a student’s strengths and weaknesses as a reader. I am often asked if it is appropriate to give running records to English learners. It absolutely is, because this assessment provides us with valuable information about how a student is processing text. We must, however, keep a few things in mind:
- Some English learners may need more time for processing, as they may be mentally translating some or all of the English text into their native language, thinking about the meaning, and then changing their thoughts back to English. This takes time. Yes, we want them to eventually think in English, but this can take a while. Most importantly, we want students to comprehend the words they are reading.
- Proficient readers use three types of cues when reading in their native language: meaning cues, syntactical cues, and visual cues. English learners often do not have full use of all three cueing systems when they read in English because they have difficulty discerning whether or not the text makes sense or if the syntax is correct. This is due to the fact that they are not reading in their native language, so they often must rely on visual cues alone (running records give us this information). We must then provide strong support to enable students to build the other two cueing systems. If we don’t provide appropriate instruction, students will inevitably become “word callers” (students who can fluently decode connected print but they do not fully understand the meaning of what they have just read) and comprehension might always be a stumbling block.
- We must take pronunciation into consideration. For example, if students always struggle with the pronunciation of the word “with” and instead say “wif,” this should not be counted as a miscue.
We can learn so much from running records, much more than just the student’s reading level. If we carefully analyze the running record, we will see what areas we need to target to maximize students’ reading progress.
