Ruided Geading

[Guest]

Last Year I taught in reception and I was told to do guided reading in the summer term to 'get them ready for year one' ( I hate that phrase!)

 

Another year wiser, I've been much more critical of things that have been put in place (before I arrived) with respect to a: whether we should be doing them at all in recpetion and b: are activities to 'get the ready for year 1' smothering the FS curriculum.

 

So before I argue my case in school, I thought I'd tap into this wonderful source of knowledge on here

 

so basically, does anyone know if we HAVE to do guided reading in reception?

 

or, does anyone have any views on it being done in reception?

 

I'm very much in two minds... thanks puzzlingly ~ Paul

[Guest]

I prefer to hear individual readers, but will occasionally do group reads with my higher attaining children (they are the only ones who can read without a lot of adult input). Other than that I consider big books to be guided reading.

[Susan]

I used to love doing Guided reading in reception throughout the year and found it much more manageable than individual reading especially at the early stages. Of course I did all the guiding and the reading but the children were so enthusastic about it too, it couldnt have been a dreadful experience for them.

[Guest]

I enjoy it too Susan. I think it makes a difference if you have lovely books to share and see it as an enjyable way to discuss the same book and for you to show what you do when you read (e.g. point to the words, look for clues in the pictures, ooh I've got one of those letters in my name)

I think if you do it in a relaxed fun way it is really useful. My children do have low baseline score when they enter our Nursery so it is really not that we are in some leafy suburb ! Some of the children start to click and spot the odd word or talk about the pictures. We establish the turn taking round the circle and I will read them 1 page and if it is a repeated text ask them all to independently have a go reading at the same time ! I used to think this was crazy and how could you know how the children were doing and was it appropriate, but I do think it can be !

 

I don't think we should put up with the 'Get ready for Year 1 ' phrase ! Year 1 (so say OFSTED and lots of recent research) should be more like Reception .. (Check the OFSTED website for useful ammunition !

Guided reading isn't compulsory I don't think but can be an efficient use of your time and fun... HONEST !

 

Galleon

[Guest]

What lovely positive thoughts about guided reading. I do it all year too with the Oxford Reading Tree books which my children have loved. The language and vocab that you get out of discussing the pictues is great. Also, as part of the stepping stones and early learning goals in CLL I feel that it is a must in order to cover the curriculum.

[Guest]

I have started doing guided reading with my class since Easter. I find it a fun and useful way to find out what the children can do / know about books and they have good role models from the other children in the same group. The higher attining children are using all sorts of strategies now, and the really low attainers tend to play games based on the high frequency words, or share a book without words to develop language further instead of 'official guided reading' as I feel they are not ready for that just yet. We have recently found out that we will have a mixed R/Y1 class (the more socially capable/mature/academically ready are going to be in the mixed Y1/Y2 class) so I plan to carry on how I work now, with some official guided reading, and some much more basic language based, depending on the children's needs.

I agree with the other comments, that there are so many good enjoyable books available for guided reading, it seems a shame not to do it. And the children always look forward to their turn!

I'm not sure whether you 'have to' I imagine not, but personally I think it si good practice for those that are ready!

Marie

[Susan]

Yes, I used to do all those things and my children were majority EAL with low entry baselines. I did not follow the guided reading as described/illustrated in the NLS guidance video but adapted wht I saw for my own needs and of course those of the children!

I used to have a group with my every day and the others would be with my NN doing free reading and language acquistion activites. How could I expect the children to read English if they had such limited English vocabulary? Initially I worked alot with book skills, page turning etc and later on word identification--identifying the spaces and where one word starts and ends is a skill we take for granted. Alongside this we would be tracking the print, talking about the pictures and the stories, extending language etc, then as phonic skills and word recognition developed they could begin to these skills.

I also developed what the children with the NN did to include phonic reinforcement and sight vocabulary according to need.

I am certain that this made me a better teacher of reading and how can you fit all that in 30 times and ensure that each child gets as good as an input as the last, if you are only reading individually?

 

We used a variety of books initially but the graded readers of Rigby Starr were a great investment and meant a book at the right level was always available! Teachers notes were great too, they could be adapted or enabled you to ensure equal input. The accompaying worksheets would have been made into game resources had I been there long enough!

[catma]

Rigby star are fab! I love them. Don't get shared reading (big book whole class/large group looking at text types etc) muddled with guided reading (book at groups level, teaching/reviewing strategies and differentiated to the children). Yes, you can do group reading work with children in R, for some I wouldn't as they are not developed in the prerequisite skills yet. I think the working on a text as a group gives a model/scaffold for less confident children and if you have a clear objective for the group to assess against then it is, as said above, a good use of time. 30 children x 10-15 minutes each reading properly 1-1 = around 7 hours!! That would mean the rough equivalent of a day and a half just on reading!! I do also believe that book changing should be an opportunity to talk with the child about the book, what they liked etc and not just a routine adult organisational chore! So often I see adults just doing this with no interaction with the child at all. MAkes me so cross!!

[Susan]

Agreed Catma, but sometimes other pressures take over and there just isnt time! I always used to get my children to talk about their library books in that way and we used to change our reading books as a whole class sitting in a circle and passing books round. Then the children could look at the books while the teacher/NN recorded the title. Later I used the book title recording as a copy writing activity, when the children were able to do so. This meant children were at least looking at their books on their own and had some writing practise.

[Guest]

Don't get shared reading (big book whole class/large group looking at text types etc) muddled with guided reading (book at groups level, teaching/reviewing strategies and  differentiated to the children).

30393[/snapback]

You can still teach and review strategies with the children and get them to interact with terxt and pics in big book sessions. You can also differentiate appropriately and target specific groups of children. Shared and guided reading are not mutually exclusive!

[catma]

No but shared is effectively where the adult is modelling/teaching new concepts like using picture cues or segmenting a cvc word to the whole group and guided is where the children are using and applying previously taught strategies or trying out new ones with support, on texts at their own level. I think there is a distinction between the 2. Guided builds on shared.