RPI Day 1 - Reading is Core

Reading is Core and rocket science! Dorothy has reminded us about the detrimental effect of poor reading and the vital role of teachers for students' future success.

A good reader “has the ability to understand and use those written language forms required by society and/or valued by the individual. Readers can construct meaning from texts in a variety of forms. They read to learn, to participate in communities of readers in school and everyday life, and for enjoyment.” Progress in International Reading Literacy Studies (PIRLS), 2021

A good reader profile (my takeaways):

• Decodes, understands and uses texts in a meaningful way

• enjoys reading (widely and explores different genres)

• has strategies to process texts for different purposes

• draws on background knowledge to make sense of new information

• thinks critically about what they read - engages with texts emotionally and intellectually

• believes they can improve and grow as a reader (growth mindset!!)

• participates in reading communities at school, home, etc (range of context, connected to their lives and interest!)

We completed the Reader Profile as teachers and got a sense of what questions we could ask our learners about their reading preferences, and behaviours. We also read through the results of a survey completed by a sample Year 5-6 Class.

Reflecting on my Reader profile compared the the student’s responses to the same survey:
1. How similar/different are your reading habits to this class (see Qu. 4 & 7)? Write why you think  it’s important to be a teacher-reader for your students?
- I love reading fictions - same as many kids
- Borrowing books from the library - similar to some of student, I often find books online (esp research) and online libraries/ open resources rather than going to the library
- My interests are obviously different from kids:)

I noticed from students' responses that they see the teacher as a role model. They need teachers to plan and promote reading, give them time to read, and expose them to different genres!

2. Write the title of one text you would make the time to read (from Qu.10-11). Write why:

David Walliams books - so much fun, humour, engaging, love to know what my learners read and enjoy.

As Teachers, we need to know our students, know children’s literature and to share our enthusiasm for reading, being a role model and read to the class as well as encourage reading across curriculum and for pleasure (plan and allow time for this in the weekly programme)

Reading across the curriculum (example):

Link the multimodal learning to promote reading - purpose, real life application and understanding to extend their learning across the curriculum (science and reading)

Reading for enjoyment - Robyn’s case
Reading for enjoyment is more likely to raise student achievement in reading!!! They need to read outside of the classroom to achieve this!

There is a reinforcing reciprocal relationship between oral language influencing reading development, and reading influencing oral language development.

J., Hattie - Importance of the Extended Discussion

For planning - just write “Student discuss/ talk” to mark that you expect the extended discussion. Plan how will you facilitate the extended discussion

Developing the right environment to promote and achieve ‘extended discussion’

6 Ground rules for Talk:

1. Actively listen (includes not talking over others);

2. Respectfully take part giving ideas, reasons and evidence; 

3. Ask questions;

4. Be inclusive: invite the participation of others;

5. Stick to the topic;

6. Look at other sides of the issue (e.g. fully informed to think critically & make best decisions)

Could start by posing a provocative question or “would you rather’ question to practise these rules.

Use a game (see Rob’s class on air) - provide opportunities to talk, teach, scaffold and practise the use of Ground Rules.

We had to use the ground rules for talk to have a productive group discussion about: Which Reader Profile graphs would you share with these Year 5-6 learners and why.

Thanks to Naomi and the RPI team for including this activity - I really enjoyed practicing the ground rules! I believe my group did really well but I noticed that it's really important to go over or clarify the question to ensure a common understanding and stay on topic during the discussion.

Reflecting on this from a learner's perspective, I wonder if, when my students share additional (but not totally unrelated) thoughts, it might be because they’re not 100% sure about the question. Maybe it’s worth asking one of the students to repeat the question before or during discussion:)

Research Readings:
I chose to read:
Quote: “...None of these actions speeds a reader along. None of these can be done without thinking” (p.29)

My takeaway: Quality over speed! Let students stop, reflect and discuss, eg, reading one paragraph and then summarising in their own words before moving on.

Quote: “The most learning was obtained when multiple strategies were taught in combination.” (p32)

My Takeaway: Teach, scaffold and practise different strategies because by using a range of different strategies, kids stay engaged and actually understand what they read.

Comprehension isn’t just about answering questions, it’s about getting kids to think about what they read, connect it to their world and talk about texts in a way that makes sense to them. By using different comprehension strategies, students will move from passive reading to real, deeper understanding.

Final thoughts on Day 1 learning:

RPI Day 1 was such a great day - so much learning and so many reflections! I’m now itching to finally pick up that book I’ve been meaning to read for ages but never seem to have time for… Well, my weekend is officially sorted:)

This session reminded me that I’ve been on the right track in my teaching, which is always reassuring.
What I’d do differently now? Get familiar with the new curriculum! But it’s not about reinventing the wheel… It’s about improving consistency and making small, intentional tweaks that enhance good practices into more powerful targeted habits. For example: teaching students to find a good-fit book, making reading for enjoyment a structured, supported experience, modelling positive reading habits, encouraging discussions where students share discoveries, recommend books and connect reading to other learning areas.

I’m walking away from today feeling inspired to keep building on what works, fine-tune for effectiveness and consistency, and make reading an even bigger part of my classroom culture... And actually also getting some ideas for the MPI:) Thanks Naomi and Georgie!