creating readers (prue goodwin)
DESCRIPTION
Presentation given at SLA one-day conference "Reading for Excellence", 14th November 2014TRANSCRIPT
School Library Association
SLA Guidelines
Creating Readers: A
Reflective Guide for
School Librarians and
Teachers
www.sla.org.uk
A common cause
• Teachers, parents, librarians, authors,
publishers, journalists and even politicians
want pupils to read for pleasure.
In fact, reading for pleasure is now in the
national curriculum.
Reading for pleasure in the curriculum
• develop a love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment
• develop the habit of reading widely and often for both pleasure and information
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• establish an appreciation and love of reading
• open up a treasure-house of wonder and joy for curious young minds. Primary NC 2013 page13
• Make sure pupils engage in reading for pleasure and information. NCEF: Curriculum change review 2014
Pupils should:
• be expected to read for pleasure and information
• develop an appreciation and love of reading independently
• read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction
• choose and read books independently for challenge, interest and enjoyment.
English PoS Ks3 2013
What are the pleasures of reading?
• Getting totally lost in a book • Being emotionally engaged with the text• Becoming absorbed in an unfolding narrative;
needing to know what happens next• Being fascinated by information on an intriguing
topic • Anticipating enjoyment from reading - both
words and the images• Talking to other readers – informally or in
organised book groups• Being inspired by books (response).
… further, deeper, greater pleasures of being a life-long reader?
• Having a close relationship with certain texts for life
• Turning to a page that you know will provide you with excitement, challenge, truth, comfort or delight
• Seeing literature as the means by which we can understand and accept ourselves and the rest of humanity.
Teaching reading
Where does reading for pleasure
fit into the curriculum?
Learning to read: two aspects to organise throughout school years
• Teaching reading – the active intervention by teachers to introduce and develop all aspects of reading and becoming a reader
• Individual development – provision of individual support to all pupils by making strategic interventions in their individual understanding and in their book choices.
Developmental stages
Early stages – learning to decode print
and seek meanings from texts.
Transition – increasing
reading skills, literary
experience and
independence.
Independent - sustained reading
for pleasure and enlightenment.
Becoming a student
• Educational demands dominate
reading requirements.
• Encouraging reading for pleasure
tends to depend more on librarians
than on teachers.
• Reading books for pleasure is
in competition with technology
and social development.
Creating readers who read for pleasure
Teaching• Reading aloud from a
variety of texts
• ‘Getting lost in a book’ starts when we read aloud to pupils – introduces books and
literary language– increases literary
experience– models how meanings
are lifted from the page.
Independent reading
Pupils become readers when
they can read with ease
• are engaged by the materials
on offer
• are not discouraged by poor
design of text or unnecessary
complexity of language
• are not being assessed on
what they have read
• are engaged in genuine
response with other readers.
Becoming independent
• In primary school, individual growth as a reader is usually related to materials known as ‘reading books’. (What is the purpose of ‘reading books’ in primary classrooms?)
• In secondary schools pupils have a variety of experiences (reading for homework, library sessions etc.) but are seldom given timetabled time to read independently. Librarians offer greatest support in facilitating reading for pleasure in school. (What time during the school day do librarians get to encourage it?)
What is the purpose of reading for pleasure (i.e. independent reading) in school?
• To experience enjoyment and success; to be made aware of how rewarding and fulfilling it is to be lost in a book.
• To practise and enhance reading skills
To gain confidence in growing ability, feeling independent and in control
To develop stamina as a reader
To increase literary experience
To begin to feel and behave like a reader.
The many pupils who do not experience pleasure in school are unlikely to become readers.
Reading with ease …
• … gradually shifts the pleasure of reading from performance to content
• … enables understanding beyond the literal as the decoding skills do not detract from meaning making
• … allows readers to experience being ‘lost in a book’ as reading is as fluent as possible
• … introduces books and language which stretches children’s literary experience, thinking skills, imaginative ideas and vocabulary
• … accelerates their growing ability as readers.
Ask yourself why am I doing this?
How does it help create readers?
What made me a reader?
• read aloud to pupils from texts you love
• offer them accessible (easy) texts for
independent reading
• model ‘readerly’ behaviours
• have conversations about reading & books
• teach them how to select for pleasure
Remember that person, book or situation that made you a reader?
Can you provide a significant moment for your pupils?
We cannot make youngsters read for
pleasure.
But by reading aloud to them, using high quality texts for teaching and providing accessible books for independent reading we can offer significant moments in the reading lives of our pupils.