This week we focused our learning on text selections. We practiced selecting suitable texts for 'pretend students' depending on their reading level, interests and most urgent next learning steps. We had discussions around how we group our students and if they are place in groups for ability and how often they may move groups. Ashley and I chose to create a reading group for students who needed to work on summarising as their learning intention.
This session we discussed on students recording themselves reading aloud, and I am thinking that this would be an important next step in my teaching and tasks for students to complete. Students hearing themselves reading aloud is important for improving their reading aloud and their pronunciation. This is part of our homework so I will work with Super Squad students and they can record themselves reading aloud. 
We had a look at the text coverage tab in the workbook and I started added the texts that I have used for each reading group already throughout the term. This is a great way to keep track of the types of texts that students have read so that they can be exposed to a variety of text types and genres. We do not actively ‘monitor our text types but we relate them to our big ideas, e.g sustainability, Te Tiriti, ANZAC Day, so this will help us keep a closer eye on what they have done.
Discussions around Finding the time to read with lower groups or individual students without them just reading with the teacher aide is a wondering of mind. This can be a challenge with everything we are trying to get done so it can be a challenge to read with those students with such limited time.
SUMMARISING
This afternoon, we looked at summarising and one thing that stood out to me was that even if a child can summarise at a lower level when they start reading more challenging texts they need to revisit summarising because the text itself is more challenging with broader concepts. I also noted that deleting the less important parts of a text to write a summary can be challenging for students and we need to be able to model this to them, do it together and then they can try summarise on their own.
Kia ora Jazz,
ReplyDeletegetting your Super Squad group to record themselves is a great way to get going with a new task. As you say - it is important that they hear themselves read and become fluent.
I like the look of your new layout for the Anzac Day reading task board. I look forward to hearing how it goes.
from Cheryl
Hi Jazz, I too like your new taskboard layout, I think the students will find it easy to navigate and understand the tasks they need to be doing. I really liked the summarising skill builder too. I hadn't thought about teaching explicitly to remove the irrelevant things first but once we talked about it it just makes sense. I like your reflection about how we can get more teacher time with our struggling readers. This is an ongoing concern and might make for an excellent staffroom discussion about how others make time for this? Nga mihi Kiri
ReplyDeleteKia Ora Jazz, it's been great popping in for a look at your blog and reading your reflections. I am excited to read about the things you want to try out in your class reading programme. Ngā mihi, Perky
ReplyDelete