Blogs

• 09May2012

  Creating independent readers

  Posted by Guest blogger

  Guest blog by literacy expert Prue Goodwin

  After the hard work of learning to decode, children in their primary years reach a point when the majority are able to read an entire book – albeit a simple one – without help.

  At this stage, once a sound knowledge and understanding of phonics, word recognition and language structure are in place, it is essential that making meaning takes “centre stage”; becoming an independent reader becomes the key objective. Newly independent readers need to practise their new found linguistic competencies but they also need to:

  • develop their ability to understand beyond the literal
  • build up reading stamina and range of literary experience
  • be introduced very gradually to more demanding reads
  • grow familiar with the full potential of what it means to be readers.

  Learning these aspects of being literate becomes the focus of the teaching of reading in primary classrooms but recently there has been little mention in the media, politics or even within education itself of what should happen in schools at this vital stage.

  Emphasis has been on early reading but we now need to reconsider what happens next. Teachers need to plan for the breadth of experience required which will involve a wide variety of approaches ranging from reading aloud to children to making library visits.

  Shared and guided reading can be used most successfully. What makes both shared and guided reading so effective for teaching literacy at this stage is that they are based on interactive talk, through guided, but flexible and open-ended, discussion. Through such communal meaning making, teachers can lead children into the appreciation of literature and deeper understanding of what they read.

  Prue joins us at this year’s Reading Talk, Reading Thought conferences in York and London. With a wealth of experience and specialism in children’s literature, oracy and the literacy curriculum, Prue shares her thoughts, expertise and practical experience in developing creative effective guided reading.

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