The Reading Crew Session 4

2 Refresh ….. Card Activity 4

3 The green cards are where a younger pupil makes a mistake but doesn’t notice. With a partner, discuss what you would do. Check on the back. There are also blue cards when a younger pupil hesitates or gets stuck. What would you do? Check on the back.

4 Card Activity 4

5 Awesome Things to Say and Do – after the book is finished Reading in Phrases You are going to see DVD clip 4 of Ollie and Jamie reading. Listen to Ollie and Jamie reading. One way to read is slowly, word by word. A better way is to read in phrases so that it sounds like talking. We want our partners to read in phrases as it will help them to understand what they are reading and help them to read faster. Watch the clip and talk about it.

6 Using a pen, mark where you would take bigger pauses on the following: Cinderella lived with her three wicked sisters. She was very unhappy because her sisters made her do all the jobs in the house. From morning till night, Cinderella had to wash the windows, sweep the floor, feed the hamster and clean out its cage. The wicked sisters were nasty to Cinderella. They made her sleep in the cellar. Cinderella had to run up the stairs ….when the sisters called.

7 Questions… questions… My partner reads slowly, one word at a time and sounds like a Dalek! How can I help him/her to read in phrases so it sounds like talking? Here are five things that may help:

8 First, choose a book that your partner has read before. Ask your partner to read two pages and you read the third page. Read the whole book in this way. Your partner will hear how reading in phrases sounds and may start to copy the way you read.

9 Second, make sure your partner has lots of chances to read books he/she has read before. Because your partner knows the book and the words, he/she may be able to work on reading it in phrases.

10 Third, if your partner uses a finger to read a book he/she has read before, say, “You know this book, you don’t need your finger unless you get stuck.” Read with your eyes

11 Fourth, after a book, if your partner reads even a few words in phrases, say “I like the way you read this bit” (and copy what he/she did). This will make your partner want to read like this again.

12 Fifth, choose a page and show your partner the punctuation (., “ ” ? !). Read a few sentences using the punctuation. Ask them to copy you.

13 Record Keeping

14 Frequently Asked Questions

15 Q: Is it good for a partner to read and point at the words? A: Pointing at the words is useful sometimes. It helps young, beginning readers to read each word so they don’t get lost. Also using a finger when we get stuck can sometimes be helpful for anyone. But if readers use a finger all the time, reading will sound like a Dalek! Pointing at each word also means that we can’t read in phrases, and so it makes a book harder to understand.

16 Q: Is it a good idea to read the same book more than once? A: Yes! Yes! Yes! Reading a book 3-5 times over a couple of weeks improves a reader’s speed, confidence, and fluency. It helps a reader to understand the book…for example what all the words mean. It will especially help readers to read in phrases without a finger.

17 Q: Should I sometimes read with my partner? A: Sometimes but not always! If you sometimes read one page and your partner reads two pages, you will demonstrate what a good reader sounds like. That’s very helpful. But don’t do it for every book because your partner needs to build up the confidence to read books by him/herself.

18 Q: Should I ask questions about the book after my partner has read it? A: Occasional questions can be useful to check out your partner’s understanding of the book. Too many questions will make your partner think he/she is on The Weakest Link! This could spoil the enjoyment of reading. Sometimes, after a book, try getting a conversation going with your partner with an opening comment like: –My favourite bit in the book was….. –I wouldn’t want a sister like Jenny would you? –I liked this word “clatter” …it’s the noise the spoons made falling out of the lorry –That wood was dark and scary wasn’t it? Conversations will help your partner to understand the words and ideas in the book. Conversations are better than question and answer.

19 Q: Is it a bad thing if my partner uses the pictures to help read a word? A: No, as long as it’s just for the occasional word. With hard words, good readers often look at the picture to help them get an idea of what’s going on and what word would make sense. However, if your partner tries to do it a lot, the book may be too hard.

20 Q: What should I do if my partner is stuck on a word? A: ‘Awesome Things to Say and Do’ will give you some ideas

21 Q: Is it bad for my partner to read a book that’s too easy? A: By too easy I think you mean books which are simpler than this reader normally reads? And where a reader gets all the words right and reads it really quickly? No, that’s fine - we all like to read easy books sometimes. But reading books that are too easy all the time will not help readers to develop the skills they need.

22 Q: How do I know if the book is just right for my partner... and not too hard? A: A book is too hard if a child reads with less than 90% accuracy. Hear your child read exactly 60 words and count the mistakes. Use this check

23 60 Word Check Number of mistakes The book is not too hard The book may be too hard

24 Reading Crew Skills

25 know they have to be patient, positive and an experienced reader themselves to help their partner be a good reader

26 know that a partner needs to read a book that is at just the right level and not too hard. A partner needs to read a book with 90% accuracy. Reading Crew can check the percentage accuracy of a book using a ‘60 word check’

27 understand what good readers do (see ‘What do good readers do?’)

28 can use some prompts (things to say) to help the partner become a better reader

29 can show a partner the good things they did in their reading

30 can help a partner to read in phrases so it sounds like talking. Reading Crew understand that finger pointing at words can be useful sometimes but a problem at other times

31 can help a partner to talk about a book, to know what the words mean and understand the plot