Guided reading is, potentially, a very powerful approach that teachers can use to develop students’ literacy. The extent to which that potential is reached is determined by a range of factors (some of which may be beyond an individual teacher’s control, for example, the range of texts available for use with students). Discuss Jeanne Biddulph (2002) Guided Reading Theory and Research. Wellington: Learning Media Ltd.
The traditional definition of literacy is 'the ability to read and write' (Oxford Dictionary). However, as our views on education and child development have progressed, this may be seen as a narrow description that leads to the misinterpretation that literacy has a binary outcome. Academics and practitioners are now debating that literacy actually has a broader definition. To the National Literacy Trust, 'literacy is the ability to read, write, speak and listen in a way that lets us communicate effectively and make sense of the world'. Furthermore, according to Project Literacy, 'literacy is critical to economic development as well as individual and community well being'. This concept has been widely discussed and researched. For example, The Guardian wrote an article in 2014 discussing their view on why literacy is important- highlighting literacy does not just give us knowledge, skills or facts, but it 'supplies a whole mode of thought'.
The traditional definition of literacy is 'the ability to read and write' (Oxford Dictionary). However, as our views on education and child development have progressed, this may be seen as a narrow description that leads to the misinterpretation that literacy has a binary outcome. Academics and practitioners are now debating that literacy actually has a broader definition. To the National Literacy Trust, 'literacy is the ability to read, write, speak and listen in a way that lets us communicate effectively and make sense of the world'. Furthermore, according to Project Literacy, 'literacy is critical to economic development as well as individual and community well being'. This concept has been widely discussed and researched. For example, The Guardian wrote an article in 2014 discussing their view on why literacy is important- highlighting literacy does not just give us knowledge, skills or facts, but it 'supplies a whole mode of thought'.
Thus, it stands to reason, if
literacy is key to different aspects of our being (personal, social, emotional,
spiritual) as well as helping us to become competent members of a community- we
should then try to ensure that those skills are taught and acquired as early as
possible. By the end of primary school, pupils are expected to have met the
overall English national curriculum aim- 'to promote high standards of literacy
by equipping pupils with a strong command of the written and spoken word, and
to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.'
(Department of Education, 2013, p14). There are various strategies
practitioners use to help children meet this aim- one of them is guided
reading. In this paper, I aim to explore how effective guided reading is as an
approach to develop students’ literacy. Within this, I will explore two
different factors which may impact on the extent to which it is a successful
strategy.
According to Biddulph (2002)
‘Guided reading is an important approach in literacy education’ (p2), and for
young children to develop their literacy skills, they need to become effective
readers (Hardie, 2013, p1). Guided reading is a fairly new concept- it was
first formally introduced to schools as part of the National Literacy Strategy
in 1998- created by the Literacy Task Force in 1996 by David Blunkett. This was
due to an Ofsted report, suggesting the way teachers helped children to read
was unproductive. Therefore, the aim was to create a strategy which would substantially
raise the standards of literacy in primary schools- this was guided reading.
Thus, 'the ultimate goal of guided reading is to help children learn how to use
independent reading strategies successfully.' (Beard, 2000, p20). Although
opinions of how guided reading should be taught differ, practitioners and
academics agree upon the importance of having small groups (of around six
pupils) all with a similar ability (Perkins, 2017, p82) and reading texts of a
90-95% accuracy (Rog, 2003, p41).
The range of texts a teacher
employs, within guided reading, will be one of the factors that determine how
powerful it will be in developing pupils' literacy. Biddulph (2002) states, a
teacher must 'select a text that is appropriate for a particular group of
students' (p2), as well as finding 'texts...which children enjoy' (Beard, 2000,
p20). This is so children see reading as a meaningful pursuit.
When finding a text, Braunger
and Lewis (1997, p37) advise practitioners to consider their pupils previous
experiences, knowledge and ideals which may match the ideas embedded in the
text. This is because 'children bring to texts their own understandings and
their awareness of themselves' (Barrs and Cork, 2016, p13). It is inferred that
this may increase engagement as well as comprehension. As children are making
personal links to the text, as well as drawing on existing notions- to gain
understanding. Therefore, it is important teachers have an awareness of pupil’s
prior knowledge which is required to read particular texts.
An issue raised is pupils may
have a limited/lack of previous knowledge which may be needed to access a text.
However, in these situations, teachers need to make judgments about whether the
text should be used or if an alternative and more relevant book may be needed
(Biddulph, 2002, pp4-5). I, however, believe that texts in which the pupils
have no prior experience of, provide opportunities for practitioners to teach
strategies which are needed in order to unpick the text. This may vary from the
teacher introducing exploratory activities for the children- to build new
knowledge and experiences which they can apply to the text. Or, the teacher may
decide to use it as a teaching point and model the strategies.
Additionally, to encourage
children to want to read, there must be a purpose- and ideally an enjoyable
one. This notion is highlighted by Papen (2015) who states, 'reading is always
about reading something that as the reader I deem worthy of my attention' (p3
of chapter 10). Therefore, if we want children to engage with a text, we need
to ensure the text itself is engaging to them. Hall and Coles (1999) suggest
that the 'provision of literature for children also needs to be informed by
what they choose to read in their leisure time' (Cited in Fletcher-Campbell,
Reid, Soler, 2009, p147). This idea is supported in the Ofsted 'Reading for
Pleasure and Purpose' report (2004), as pupils had distinguished between school
reading books (which they appeared to lack interest in) and their home reading
books (which they 'did not regard... as learning to read'- p14).
However, educators may make
the mistake of levelling the texts used. Fountas and Pinnell (2013) express
that the text gradient and levelled books are the teacher's tool 'not a child's
label' (p17). This may hinder a skill development. As guided reading is
providing children with lifelong strategies of ways to access literature, we
should encourage pupils to learn how to select books the way experienced
readers do. This is by recognizing when a text is too hard- not by looking at
the colour sticker on the spine.
Secondly, another factor which
could impact on how powerful guided reading is, is the way the teacher organizes
the pupils to read the text. The majority of academic literature suggests that
when reading the text, pupils should do this silently (Biddulph, 2002, p2, for
example). However, the method round robin reading [RRR], where pupils are
expected to follow a text as an individual pupil reads aloud, is still
practiced- this has also been confirmed by my own experiences in schools.
According to Carruba (no date,
p10) RRR is still a popular approach for teachers due to its convenience. She
suggests this may be because of one (or both of) two reasons: it requires
little preparation time; and teachers may find behaviour management easier.
Concerning preparation, a teacher could simply use a reading guide. This may
supply suggested literature, lesson plans (including comprehension questions to
ask pupils), work sheets to assess comprehension afterwards. Secondly, she
suggests that a teacher may feel as though they have greater control over the
classroom, as there is only one child speaking whist others follow along
silently.
Although, a differing view on
why teachers use it, according to Hoffman (1987) is that 'teachers have not
been given many viable alternatives' (cited in Rasinski, 2003, p18). Neither
Ofsted or the DfE have suggested which strategy is more effective in terms of
developing literacy-leaving schools to decide whether they feel it is an
effective approach for their pupils (Ofsted, Moving English Forwards, p30).
What is apparent, is that many academics feel RRR is an 'outmoded practice' (Harris and Hodges, 1995, Cited in McEwan,
2007, p103) and have found may flaws through their own research- for example
Dowhower (1999) found it decreased comprehension (cited in Biddulph, 2002, p4),
Rasinski (2003) found teachers and pupils playing a game of sorts due to a lack
of engagement (p18) therefore little was learnt.
Personally, when using the RRR
approach, I experienced both of these flaws as well as many others. One which
appeared to frustrate pupils was the pace of the lesson. As the oral reader was
slower than the silent readers who were following along, this meant some
children read ahead. As the children read ahead, engaged by the text, it meant
they were not focused when I asked comprehension questions. When pupils were
asked not to read ahead, it seemed pupils didn't engage with the text when
passively listening to the words read by their peer.
Therefore, quiet, independent
reading is regarded as a more effective strategy to teach guided reading.
Biddulph (2002) highlights that 'it is more authentic and relevant to real life
than oral reading' (p4), which is accurate as taking in turns to read aloud
does not occur much in our adult lives, instead we prefer to read silently and
then engage in a discussion about what we comprehend. This ideal is what Myers
and Burnett (2004) suggest- stating that we engage in active dialogue before or
after the reading of the text with pupils (p63).
I appreciate that, although I
have only discussed two factors, there are a variety of other factors which
also impact on the effectiveness of guided reading and how it helps to develop
literacy. From doing a wide amount of reading on academics and research, I have
discovered new information which will inform my future practice. This is from
stopping the approach of RRR, and (depending on the pupils and their needs)
applying approaches such as silent or echo reading (for example). I also now
have a different view on what guided reading should be and what it should
promote- giving children life-long strategies they can use to access texts
independently.
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