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 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.
