RPI 1 - Reading is Core

 Reading is Core - Day 1 - RPI

Like all good learners, it is important to know our focus/goals for the next nine sessions.

Dorothy - Scene setting

Reading, equity, and Life Outcomes stem from the ability to read. We need to confront the effects of poor reading because students must be able to read to access the entire curriculum and continue learning throughout life. Unfortunately, when individuals are unable or are less confident readers, this can lead to various issues across the community. Merely discussing the average reader or reading age overlooks the extremes, and this is where our focus needs to be.

On many occasions, Rebecca Jensen has spoken to us about acceleration and how it is not just about achieving and getting students to where they deserve to be. It's not simply moving at the same rate as everyone else. Dorothy's example of a travelator and walking along it while others walk along the path. Rowing the waka together.

Students can make great gains in a year, but this progress needs to continue year after year! 👌

The Manaiakalani Team consistently stays up to date with the ministry and government changes to ensure that what they offer teachers is relevant and practical, enabling teachers to implement best practices.

What Makes a Good Reader?

If learners are not engaged, they are not learning to their full potential. 

Imagine a driver not engaged in what they are doing. OMG

Richard Johnston on Reading Across the Curriculum

Reading doesn't just occur within the confines of a reading class; it happens across the entire curriculum. The most effective learners develop their reading skills through a variety of methods.

He uses the example of planting beans.

• Reading the bean packet
• Jack and the Beanstalk
• Ways to help beans grow
• Journal stories on growing vegetables

Once learners have read about a topic, they can then write about it.

The language used in academia differs from that found in fiction. Reading non-fiction texts presents a distinct challenge compared to reading fiction, as it requires understanding technical terms, especially in subjects such as science and social studies, before one can derive enjoyment from the reading experience. This is also important as teachers that we have a shared understanding of the terms we are using.

Case Study

We looked at a case study by Robyn Anderson, her focus was on improving reading for enjoyment. 

A few ideas that resonated with me included

• Book Chain - My learners are already starting to share their thoughts about what they have read, and this is taking it to the next level.
• Leaders in the Library - Tuakana/Teina, the idea of older students reading to younger learners at lunch. Utilising the open library.
• Reading Challenge - A range of different 'Create' activities for learners to choose from.

Robyn also explained how she used the results in a math lesson. Students studied them to draw conclusions and apply their reading ideas to math, and their findings to reading, especially as they can see themselves as part of the data.

Discussion about Text

It's important to establish ground rules for discussions. We all have different ways of participating in discussions due to our culture and home life, such as

• Speaking over one another, 
• Avoiding difficult conversations by changing the subject
• Remaining silent

These ground rules for the class are important and need to be explicitly taught and reinforced. Students can even report back on how well they think their group did.

Example from Reading Practice Intensive.

Looking at the Research

I looked at the National Reading Panel Report

For many years, the reading comprehension practice and instruction provided in schools have focused heavily on the reading of literature texts alone (Duke, 2000; Venezky, 1982). The problem with that approach, due to the big differences between literature and exposition, is that students cannot easily generalize these literature-reading skills to science or social studies.

When teaching comprehension, students cannot be struggling with decoding, as this is where their headspace will be. Building an understanding of characters and relationships, plot, structure, and how episodes interconnect is important. Reading comprehension practice and instruction provided in school have heavily focused on the reading of literature. Reading in science and social studies, which uses exposition texts and skills, is not easily transferred. We need to teach both genres and ways to understand them.

Here is an example of reading across the curriculum:

Where to from Here -

In returning to class I want to use the Student Survey to find out more about my class as readers. Then establish Ground rules for all discussions. With the students self-evaluating their discussion group. As they are Year 7-8 I think this will be a great reflection tool for them (Although I think they are the best class ever 😃). We are also looking at graphing so having the class read the graphs and purposefully read during maths to find trends and solutions will be interesting.

These are the Pillars of Practice Manaiakalani has established. The Green squares indicate what I believe I am successful with the blue are areas I would like to be more successful in. I am looking forward to seeing how this looks at the end of the RPI.