Explicit teaching .au

15 min.

Readers Workshop

Explicit teaching

LI & SC

Teachers model `what good readers do.'

Links to prior learning

Mini lesson

Assessment conference

Purposeful Reading Task

30 min.

Conferencing

Assessment conference

Independent Reading

Students practise their `reading goal'.

Reflection

5 min.

All teachers follow a whole school shared approach that uses the Essential Ingredients to form the basis of teaching and learning in Reading. 6 Reading sessions (300 minutes) taught every week. Teaching and learning uses a common language to focus on comprehension. Children have access to appropriate books in Just Right Book Boxes that meet their reading needs and can be taken home for independent reading. Books are borrowed on a daily/needs basis. Reading stamina is built to reading 20 minutes a day. Borrowed books support the classroom reading program and well organised classroom libraries support the reading program. Teachers use the Reading Eggs program as an integral part of their classroom reading program. Reading Express is used as a support program. M100W words are used to generate students' sight and frequency vocabulary (there will be students in Year 1 and 2 that continue to need this step in their learning)

TEACHING READERS @ BANNOCKBURN

Non-negotiables

Explicit teaching

Time Guide: 15 mins.

Agreed Definition: A focused lesson, whole group instruction with an explicit skill or strategy focus.

Extended Explanation: Lessons come from what you know about your students (make links to prior learning) and are focused on a topic or skill that you know many of your students need. The topic of the lesson should not be something that most of the students already know how to do. The time spent on lessons will vary, but the majority of them should be quick. They have a clear learning intention and success criteria that carry into future sections of the reading lesson.

Possible Teaching Approaches:

Read Aloud Reading to students is a key component of any literacy program. It is a wonderful opportunity to motivate students to love reading. The read-aloud is an activity in which the teacher reads a book aloud to the whole group. The purpose of the read-aloud is to model appropriate reading behaviours and reading strategies. It is also a time to expose children to a variety of genres and literary styles. The teacher has an opportunity to show students the joys of reading and teach them how to think and discuss text. Teachers should have a set purpose for each read-aloud and should read with the proper fluency, rhythm, and intonation.

Shared Reading Shared reading is an interactive approach to the teaching of reading that promotes the development of new skills and consolidates those previously taught in a very safe and encouraging environment. During shared reading, the teacher demonstrates how to apply reading strategies in the context of authentic reading to the whole class or a small group by reading a text that all students can see, using an overhead, digital text, big book, chart, or poster. The teacher reads the text with the students, sharing the responsibility for reading at key instructional moments. The same text can be revisited several times for a variety of instructional purposes. A shared reading lesson should not last longer than 10 minutes and should focus on one or two specific teaching points.

Language Experience: The language experience approach is a method of teaching reading in which the teacher creates text by writing down words dictated by the students. It allows students to directly see the correspondence between spoken and written words, and gives students an opportunity to read their own words, which are familiar and meaningful to them. The general procedure for the language experience approach involves: o experiencing; o discussing the experience; o recording the experience for/with the students; o read the text aloud to students and then with students; and o use the record of the experience for reading and writing activities.

Creating anchor charts and class books. Collaboratively documenting thinking on large paper to be displayed as a point of reference for the students.

Viewing: Watching videos like you read a book. Reading a text, video comprehension is a matter of decoding, but with different symbols based on unique modalities. Light, sound effects, scene cuts, dialogue, voice-overs, video speed, music, and more. Link for more info:

Possible Explicit Teaching Content:

Reading Management (established early in the year) o Setting expectations/rules o Finding `Just Right' books that appeal to readers o Abandoning books o Keeping a reading list o Selecting a place to sit during reading time/mini-lesson o Giving a book talk o Being a good listener in a share session o Maintaining appropriate noise level o Asking questions during a sharing session o Setting individual goals o Getting ready for a conference o Taking care of books

Strategies and skills Concepts of print o concept of story o concept that print carries meaning o directionality o concept of "word"

Figuring out unknown words o using context o reading on o substituting o using picture clues o using the sounds of blends, vowels, contractions, etc. o Monitoring comprehension (Does this make sense and sound right?) o Asking questions while reading o Making predictions

Comprehension strategies o Connecting reading material to your own life o Using Post-Its to mark interesting parts o Making sense o Mapping a story o Retelling a story orally o Looking for relationships o Looking for important ideas o Making inferences o Drawing conclusions o Summarizing story o Distinguishing fact from opinion

Literary analysis / Craft Mini Lessons Differences between fiction and non-fiction books Parts of books Characteristics of different genres Poetry Books that show emotions Books written in the first, second, or third person Author studies Author's styles Learning from dedications How authors reveal characters How authors use quotations How the story setting fits the story Development of characters, plot, theme, mood How the lead hooks us How authors use the problem/event/solution pattern Titles and their meanings Characters' points of view

References:



Sources of Mini Lessons A huge list of planned mini-lessons...a must-see site!

Jessica Meacham has uploaded extensive plans for all her Mini lessons

More extensive ideas for Mini lessons

Some great examples of mini lessons from 'Reading with Meaning' by Debbie Miller and 'Growing Readers' by Kathy Collins (plus picture books to match them!)

Some great resource material on mini-lessons

A wiki full of pre-planned mini lessons

A series of videos of teachers implementing mini-lessons

Great photos of possible anchor charts for Mini Lessons

Sample mini lessons from Beth Newnham

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