Amanda's Reflections

Reframing Readers Resourcefully

When I started this pilot I had 4 Year 5 students who thought that being a good reader meant you could sound out words and read with expression.  They didn't have a real understanding of their role as a reader or viewer.  They had poor self concepts about their reading skills and said that they often didn't read books they thought they may enjoy because of the hard words.In the short amount of time that I have been working with this group I have seen that they now see a real purpose for their reading. They also know that a good reader uses strategies to understand the text they are reading. It is not just about big words. Recently a colleague came to observe an R3 session. He taught one of the girls in Year 5 last year. At the end of the session he shared with the group that he had read with Emily last year in guided reading groups and that she would always try to avoid these groups. She never participated in the discussion, was always fussing around with lost books, uncomfortable chairs and trying to find a pencil. He was amazed at the depth of the conversation she was now participating in and the key role she played in all the discussions (Emily loves to lead the group questioning the text and finding new words).

I have gained so much from this program as a classroom teacher. The resource magazines we were given are excellent and the children have really engaged with them. They are now reading historical recounts, science reports, myths, biographies, newspaper reports and see the purpose of each of these texts. They are building their vocabulary and have new strategies to clarify unknown words without sounding out or chunking a word. Often this reading has prompted them to go away and do further research about some of the topics we have read about.

From this program we have really learnt how to choose quality texts to engage and challenge our readers. In addition to the magazines, I have used picture books to explore visual literacy, and excerpts from novels to focus on specific reading strategies. Incorporating library visits into the program has sparked a love of going to the library again for them and for me. I make it a priority now with my own Year 5 class to visit weekly and explore different parts of the library with them.
I am excited to implement many of strategies and resources I have gained from this program into my own classroom. I am concerned that waiting until students are in stage 3 is too late. This program
would be perfect in our stage 2 classrooms where the majority of students are independent readers and need more mature reading strategies to engage with a wider variety of texts.