The reading program consists of both guided reading and independent reading experiences. Open-ended activities and questions during guided reading encourage diverse responses, critical and creative thinking, discussion, and skill development. Guided reading experiences also serve as springboards for student writing. During independent reading students are encouraged to use the abilities and knowledge they have acquired in their guided reading experiences.
Guided reading experiences should be structured using pre-reading, reading, and/or post-reading as a means of motivating students, and helping them to develop their metacognitive abilities and connect what they read with their own lives. Guided reading encourages student response and reflection throughout each reading experience. The use of structured experiences will vary, depending upon student needs and the reading selection; however, it is seldom appropriate to engage in pre-reading, reading, and post-reading activities for every selection.
Guided reading instruction engages students in:
Pre-reading: Setting the Stage for Understanding and Response
Pre-reading experiences introduce the reading selection and develop a framework for reading. They build and activate students' relevant prior knowledge about the topic, concepts, issues, and vocabulary contained in the text to be read. Through the use of pre-reading activities, teachers can determine the amount of background information that students have, and the amount that must be provided by the teacher or researched by the student. Pre-reading experiences encourage students to review their own beliefs, make personal responses, and enhance their understanding and appreciation of events and issues in the book. Teachers can model pre-reading strategies and guide students through the processes that will prepare them for independent understanding of their reading material. The following points describe the main purposes of pre-reading activities.
To spark interest and motivate students to read:
Young adolescents' preoccupation with social concerns, physical changes, and personal needs influence their level of motivation. Through involvement in structured pre-reading activities, students discover interests in topics or issues in text to be read and tend to be more willing readers.
To assess, build, or activate students' prior topical and linguistic knowledge:
The time to familiarize students with key concepts and essential or new vocabulary is before reading. Through pre-reading activities, teachers can assess the background knowledge and experience of the students regarding the topic, issues, concepts, and vocabulary contained in the text. If necessary, the teacher can provide experiences which build the students' background knowledge prior to reading the text.
To set purposes for reading:
Students who are aware that reading is done for a variety of purposes, and who learn to set their own purposes for reading, have a greater chance of reading effectively. It is important to encourage students to read with their purposes in mind and to be aware that they may find, in the text, values and ideas beyond their original purposes. Some purposes for reading include:
Pre-reading Activities
The following are examples of pre-reading activities that may be used as they are or adapted to fulfil the needs and interests of particular students. Using these scaffolds, teachers will be able to devise other useful and interesting pre-reading experiences.
An anticipation guide prepares students to interact in meaningful ways with the selection they will read. The following steps may be used to develop anticipation guides:
An example of an anticipation guide follows.
Title: Missing May
Author: Cynthia Rylant
Grade Level: 6-7
Summary: Summer is a grade 7 girl who has been adopted by an older couple, May and Ob. After the death of May, a very unusual three-way friendship develops between Cletus, a neighbouring boy also in 7th grade, Ob, and Summer. This curious friendship eventually helps both Ob and Summer deal successfully with May's death and provides them with the ability to view their future from a different perspective.
Please indicate whether you agree or disagree, and provide a reason for your response.
| Agree | Disagree | Statement |
| X | Foster children often experience unhappiness because they frequently move from home to home. Reason: I think they would feel like they didn't belong anywhere. | |
| "Old" people are not suitable friends for teenagers.
Reason: | ||
| It is difficult to keep living a normal life after losing someone you love.
Reason: |
Opinionnaires provide opportunities for students to examine their own thoughts about issues or topics they will encounter in the reading selection. An example of an opinionnaire follows.
Title: The Haymeadow
Author: Gary Paulsen
Grade Level: 8-9
Summary: Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, 14 year-old John Barron has been sent to an isolated haymeadow to spend the summer caring for the family's sheep. With only his faithful dogs and horse for company, John struggles against loneliness and fear of failure. His efforts in the face of floods, snake bites, and hungry coyotes make his stay in the meadow a maturing experience. John begins to recognize his own resourcefulness and courage, and when his father arrives, he realizes that his father is proud of his strengths and ability to survive hardships.
Following is a list of human characteristics, some of which you might consider strengths, others you might consider weaknesses. Put an "S" for the characteristics you consider strengths; put a "W" for the characteristics you consider weaknesses; put "SW" for those you consider to be both strengths and weaknesses. Leave blank any items you consider neither strengths or weaknesses. State reasons for your choices.
| Characteristic | Reason |
| ___ curious | |
| ___ stubborn | |
| ___ independent | |
| ___ cautious | |
| ___ selfish | |
| ___ honest | |
| ___ emotional | |
| ___ inexperienced |
Choose one of the characteristics you identified as a weakness and describe a situation in which that weakness might be a strength. Or, choose one of the characteristics you identified as a strength and describe a situation in which that strength might be a weakness.
One strategy that introduces students to concepts or themes in the reading selection is the teacher-presented narrative. This narrative enables the students to become acquainted with the primary concepts or themes and with the relevant vocabulary. Through teacher guidance, students will discuss pre-reading questions, tap background knowledge, and set a purpose for reading. The following steps may be used to develop teacher-presented narratives:
An example of a teacher-presented narrative follows.
Title: Enchanted Alley
Author: Michael Anthony
Source: Galaxies II
Grade Level: 7-8
What does it mean when we say something is "enchanted" or "enchanting"? What might something look like or be like if it were described as being enchanted? Different people find different places enchanting; these places fascinate them or seem magical to them for some reason. For example, a deep, dark forest, a sunlit meadow, or a beautifully structured building are enchanting to some people, depending upon their associations with these places. Are there places that you consider to be enchanting? What makes them seem that way to you? Sometimes children have forts or treehouses that they believe are enchanted. They use their imagination to create the mystery and magic that they associate with those places. Have you recently walked down any alleys where you live? What did you see? Would you consider them to be enchanting? Why or why not? Is it possible that alleys anywhere in the world could be described as enchanting? Read the short story "Enchanted Alley" to discover what it is about a particular alley in a city of Trinidad that so enchants the narrator. As you read, consider if you are also enchanted by the alley and by the techniques the author uses to enchant the reader.
As a means of helping students build a schema before reading, have them generate lists of ideas and words related to the key concept. Then organize these ideas graphically to provide a visual construct of ideas. These graphic organizers provide structured overviews which activate and build knowledge prior to reading, and help students make connections among ideas. Some kinds of graphic organizers are semantic maps and Venn diagrams.
Semantic Maps: These categorize ideas and concepts, and visually illustrate the relationships between the ideas and concepts. Semantic mapping may involve the entire class, small groups, or individual students. The following steps may be used to develop semantic maps:
Through the mapping and the discussion, the students become aware of what they know. Their interest is piqued in preparation for reading the selection. The process of constructing the map is as valuable as the completed map.
An example of a semantic map activity follows.
Title: Absolutely Invincible
Author: William Bell
Grade Level: 7-9
Summary: Four friends form a club to support each other and find ways to cope with their disabilities. Each encounters unique challenges, but a camping trip to a wilderness area of Algonquin Park presents challenges they must cope with as a group and cements their friendship.
Create a semantic map that identifies four types of challenges faced by the group of friends, and list some specific challenges in each category.
Venn Diagrams: These present a visual display of similarities between two topics or ideas, and allow students to see the differences. The section of the diagram that overlaps represents the ways in which the two are alike.
Constructing Venn diagrams can be a whole class or small group activity. The following steps may be used to develop a Venn diagram:
Through the Venn diagram, students activate prior knowledge and build schemas that will enhance their understanding of the reading selection. See page 264 in this curriculum guide for an example.
Teach New or Specialized Vocabulary
Middle Level students are continually adding new words to their vocabulary. When vocabulary is unfamiliar to students and is essential for the comprehension of a reading selection, it is helpful to introduce it prior to reading the selection. As teachers encourage and foster vocabulary growth, students will acquire a larger functional and conceptual vocabulary.
It is important that only one or two vocabulary activities be used at a time and these should be chosen according to the demands of the reading selection, as well as according to students' needs and abilities. Some instructional activities to help students develop vocabulary include the following:
Prior to reading a particular selection, the teacher may suggest one or two new or essential vocabulary words for students to record. In addition, individual students may collect and record their own vocabulary words during and after reading. In this way, both the teacher and the students can determine relevant words to add to the students' repertoire.
One way to encourage students to keep track of their expanding vocabulary is to have them record the identified words on index cards, which can then be filed alphabetically and referred to as needed. Teachers may wish to have students also write on the cards definitions of the words, sentences using the words appropriately, or sources of the words.
Another means of recording new vocabulary words is on a Vocabulary Log, such as the one shown on the following page. This log allows for some teacher guidance in vocabulary study and also provides for individual student vocabulary growth. Teachers can observe student vocabulary growth by creating checklists to record the appropriateness and frequency of new word use.
During Reading: Engaging in Text
During reading activities focus on the effective use of language and on promoting comprehension of language and ideas, and support readers as they interact with text to construct meaning. Encouraging students to reflect as they read on the writer's ideas and craft promotes thoughtful personal response and enhances the transaction between the student and the text. Opportunities should be provided for each student to respond and to experience success. The following points describe the main purposes of during reading activities:
To foster students' comprehension of text and ideas:
Students become more proficient readers when they are aware of the goal of the reading experience; when they are aware of what they know about the topic; and when they are aware of strategies they can use to enhance their comprehension.
To focus students' attention on such things as organizational patterns, themes, issues, or characters:
When students are made aware of text structures and organizational patterns, it is possible for them to read with greater understanding, as well as to transfer this knowledge to their own writing. By drawing attention to specific themes, issues, or characters, teachers help students to focus their reactions and responses.
To direct student attention to effective uses of language and language techniques (e.g., sentence structure, figurative language):
When students are made aware of effective and specialized language use and techniques in the context of what they are reading, they will more readily grasp the nature of language, will more likely understand what they read, and will transfer writing techniques and ideas to their own writing.
To encourage students' reactions and personal responses to ideas and the writer's craft:
Prompting students' personal reactions and responses helps them to make connections between the reading material and their own lives. It is important that, as students identify what they find most meaningful in the reading material, response be encouraged and valued.
During Reading Activities
The following are examples of activities that can support students' reading experiences. Teachers should use and adapt these according to students' needs and interests.
Character maps, sometimes referred to as sociograms, help students identify traits of particular characters in a selection and recognize the relationship between those characters. An example of a character map follows. The following steps may be used to develop character maps:
An example of a character map is shown below.
Title: Journey to Jo'burg
Author: Beverley Naidoo
Grade Level: 6-7
Summary: Baby Dineo is very ill with a high fever. Dineo's sister and brother, Naledi and Tiro, travel 250 kilometres by foot and truck to Johannesburg to find their mother so that Dineo can be taken to the hospital.
Partner journals provide for student interaction. Students respond to a reading selection at various points during their reading and share these responses with a partner, keeping up a written dialogue. This activity encourages reflection, extends thinking about the reading selection, and promotes student interaction. Students may be reading the same or different selections. The following steps may be used for partner journals:
An example of a partner journal follows.
Title: A Friend Like Zilla
Author: Rachna Gilmore
Grade Level: 6-8
Summary: This is the story of two girls, Nobby and Zilla, who develop a special friendship.
Dear Journal Partner,
I've just finished reading chapter 5 of the book and I think it's very interesting the way the author is teaching Nobby how not all people have to be the same. I think that even though Zilla has a learning disability she knows a lot that Nobby doesn't know about things like berry picking and cooking. And one thing Zilla seems especially to know is how to be a friend.
Your Partner
Dear Partner,
Yes, I think it's interesting too, and I like the way Nobby describes how she and Zilla fit together "like puzzle bits". I'm glad that they are becoming friends because at first it did not seem that Nobby wanted anything to do with Zilla because she was so much older and a teenager. But, she seems to have changed her mind about Zilla now that they have spent some time together. I wonder if Nobby is going to have problems with her Uncle Chad? She doesn't seem to like him. I wonder how her uncle will like Zilla? I don't think he will because he seems to want things to be perfect and Zilla is not.
Your Partner
Analyzing story characters' feelings assists students in relating to a selection on a social and personal level. The following steps may be used to develop a feelings analysis chart:
As students internalize the events of a story, they can begin to make predictions about what will happen next. Asking students to stop at various points during reading to make predictions about upcoming events and issues encourages them to become intuitive readers. The following steps may be used to encourage students to make predictions:
Post-reading: Making Connections and Extending Understanding
When students reflect on and respond to the literature they read, they experience thoughtful interaction with text and they build schemas which assist in future reading comprehension. The post-reading activities that a teacher chooses for students will affect their perceptions of their reading selections and processes. Teachers can encourage students to view reading as a meaning-making process by asking them to reflect, share responses, return to the selection to develop greater understanding, make connections between what they have just learned and what they already know, and use what was learned to extend their understanding. Being able to apply what is learned to new situations enables students to gain further insights and to put new understanding into perspective. The following points describe the main purposes of post-reading activities.
To encourage reflection on ideas, themes, issues, concepts, and the writer's craft as encountered in the text:
Reflection on the writer's craft provides springboards for the students' own writing. Reflection on and response to the ideas, themes, issues, and concepts allows students to make connections between their own lives and the literature that they read. These connections help students build and revise schemas, and lead to further understanding of other literature, themselves, and the world.
To engage students in analysis, synthesis, organization, and expression of ideas:
Students who engage in response to literature by discussing or writing are actively involved in constructing their own meanings, which leads to development of critical thinking skills (e.g., analysis, synthesis, and evaluation).
To clarify and extend comprehension:
Through rereading and rethinking activities, students experience further exploration of the text. Through discussion or writing activities, meaning becomes more evident and understandable to readers.
To examine relationships between prior knowledge and experience, and new ideas and information:
Activities that help students to make connections between the literature and their own lives lead them to build and revise their linguistic and topical schemas.