Reading is a strategic and reflective process and teaching approaches that are based on a student’s current level of ability will best support reading development. To be independent readers, students need to be able to read both individual words and connected text, with the goal being to understand an author’s message.

As part of providing a comprehensive reading program, students need to be taught how to draw on a range of strategies to decode and understand an author’s message. Reading programs should include focus on teaching students how to:

• decode words
• predict upcoming words using context
• self-correct their reading
• comprehend an author’s message.

While class reading programs will have many parts that make up the whole, effective educators can use guided reading sessions to teach specific reading strategies to groups of students identified as having similar learning needs. Skilful planning and teaching enables educators to maximise the time they spend with each guided reading group.

While educators may focus on development of the five key components of an effective reading program identified by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) in its National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy (2005), and use the four resources for planning (Freebody and Luke 1990, 1999 in Winch and Holliday 2006), it is students who ultimately decide whether they want to ‘buy in’ to what educators plan for them to do.

The foundation for effective teaching of reading is when educators know students’ current reading abilities. Educators need to be encouraged to strategically consider their processes for teaching and learning:

• What can the student already do without help?
• What skills and strategies has the child developed?
• What can the child do if given a little prompting and guidance?
• What gaps exist in the child’s previous learning?
• What does the child need to be taught next in order to make good progress?

Collecting data and information about students’ current reading abilities
Educators can gather information and analyse what a student can do using a range of strategies. These include:

• talking with the student
• talking with the family
• using information from private providers
• referring to previous reports
• observing student’s behaviour
• using checklists
• recording student’s reading practices through oral reading assessment
• analysing student’s reading responses.

Once educators have collected the data, they then need to respond to it. This involves planning guided reading sessions based on the information gathered.


For the latest research and professional support resources of the Oxford Wordlist research study, go to www.oup.com.au/thesuccessfulteacher

References
Department of Education, Science and Training (2005). Teaching Reading: Report and Recommendations – National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

Winch, G., & Holliday, M. (2006). A Balanced View of Reading. In G. Winch, R. Ross Johnston, P. March, L. Ljungdahl, & M. Holliday. Literacy. Reading, Writing and Children’s Literature (3rd Edn.). South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press.