----by Chaoran Yao

 Small groups make engaged, interactive learning possible.  Small groups allow us to differentiate instruction.  Well structured small-group work enhances student achievement. (Harvey, S., & Daniels, H., 2009)

 Kindergarteners. 30 minutes daily. Monday-Friday. This is their first year of learning Chinese.  and First graders. 30 minutes daily. Monday-Friday. This is their second year of learning Chinese.

Of all the reading materials I used in my classroom, which include story books, culture books and language books, I chose the language book to conduct group reading. The language books I used  contain 80%+ words that they have learned.  have structured sentences.  have picture hint.

Story books and culture books are funnier. But my students are not ready for complicated sentences. We read lots of story in shared read, guided reading and story telling instead of group reading.

 I used small group, no more than 4 students.  The students were grouped in two ways. 1) I assigned the students with different reading level in one group. 2) Students paired themselves with a learning partner. Boys were paired with girls. Girls were paired with boys.

1. Activate prior language knowledge 2. Teach the strategies that students can use when encountered with unfamiliar words. 3. Check students comprehension by using I know-I wonder wall. 4. Read aloud. 5. Build vocabulary and language knowledge.

Before we started a new reading materials, I have them  review related vocabulary with posters  Ask each other with related questions  Watch related videos to familiar them with the language knowledge they have already know.

The students  Ask each other/ Point at the poster “How to say salad?”  Ask each other simple questions, “What do you like to drink?” “What do you want to eat?”  Discussed with each other after they watch the video, “Where do you think this situation happened?” “Who are they?” “Why the guest’s face is turning red”, etc.

 The biggest problem for the kindergarteners and first graders are on the vocabulary basis. It’s important to give the students the tool to figure out what to do when faced with unfamiliar words, which include the words they forget and the words they never meet.

 Use Pinyin to read the words.  Look at the picture to guess the meaning.  Activate your previous knowledge.  Look at the structures of the characters.  Refer to your learning partner.  Refer to the word bank.

Students  Discuss what they can do if they come across unfamiliar words.  Jot down their ideas and share with our class.

“I know-I wonder” is a tool for students to self- reflect. They can use sticky note to write down the content they’ve known and the content they are not sure.

Students  Discuss the meaning of words and sentences.  Work together with the strategies for unfamiliar words to figure out the words they come across.  Write down the words or sentences they have already known and the ones they still question of.

Reading aloud helps students to focus on reading. Students are likely to comprehend if read a material for several times. It improve students’ prosody. Prosody connects fluency to comprehension. (Rasinski& Samuels, 2011) Choral or group reading is perhaps the most common assisted reading form for students. (Rasinski, 2010)

Students  Read aloud together with their reading/ learning partners.  Read in roles among themselves.  Read in roles with other groups.  Take turns to read different parts of the books.

 Vocabulary and language knowledge is the basis of comprehension. If students cannot speak out a Chinese sentence, it is less likely they can read in written language. Due to the features of Chinese written language, if the students cannot recognize the key characters, it’s less likely that the students can finish reading a sentence.

Students  Practice oral speaking with each other, which include  Ask each other how to say…  Take turns to make sentences with the vocabulary.  Take turns to ask basic questions.  Play word games with cards.

Assessment for students’ comprehension can be carried out in different ways, such as: 1. Ask related question./ Students translate the paragraphs. 2. use the puppet to re-tell the story. 3. Integrate reading and writing.

 The most direct approach to assess students’ comprehension is by asking questions.  Considering my reading materials, I only think of the superficial questions that they can easily find in the sentences.

When the students are reading in groups, no matter reading aloud or silent reading. They can discuss and share idea with reading/ learning partners. I walked by and stopped at a group. I asked some simple questions, such as “What is this book about?” “What do you know about Dad?” “What does the brother likes to do?” The students answered together or one by one. I must make sure that every member get a turn.

 Re-tell the story by role play is a typical way to demonstrate comprehension according to Bloom’s Taxonomy.  When students role play, it shows that they comprehend.

Students  Decide their own role in their groups. They practice to play out the reading materials.  Take turns to demonstrate their role play in the class stage.

 Reading and writing mutually reinforce one another and rely on some of the same cognitive processes. (Fitzgerald& Shanahan, 2000; Shanahan, 2006; Tierney& Shanahan, 1996)  Students must comprehend the sentences structure before they can imitate to write. In turn that if the students demonstrate correct writing and can read their own works, it shows the students comprehend the reading materials.

 Students make their own reading materials by writing, or cutting and pasting. Students can refer to their learning partners for help.  After students finish their writing, they read to each other.

Before I conducted my focus project, the mostly common used form of reading in my classroom are story-telling, choral reading, shared reading and guided reading. The teacher plays the major role in reading. After introducing group reading to my students, the responsibility of reading shift to the students. They are more engaged and find reading fun. As a teacher for 24 students, I cannot take care of all the students at one time. When they read with their reading partners, they learned faster. Moreover, after I applied group reading, I found reading can be conducted in many different ways. Though they are not capable of complicated Chinese reading materials, they have developed better social skills for further reading activities.

 Harvey, S., & Daniels, H. (2009). Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action. (pp ) Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.  McKenna, M. C., & Stahl, K. A. (2009). Assessment for Reading Instruction, (2 nd ed, pp ). New York: Guilford Press.  Duke, N.K., Pearson,P.D., Strachan, S., & Billman, A. K. (2011). Essential elements of fostering and teaching reading comprehension. In A. Farstrup & S. J. Samuels (Eds), What research has to say about reading instruction (4 th ed., pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association  Shanahan, T., Callison, K., Carriere, C., Duke, N.K., Person, P.D., Schatschneider, C., & Torgesen, J. (2010). Improve reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3 rd grade: a practice guide (NCEE )  Rasinski, T.V., & Samuels, S.J. (2011). Reading fluency: What it is and what it is not. In S. J. Samuels & A. E. Farstrup (Eds), What research has to say about reading instruction (4 th ed., pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.  Blachowicz, C;L., & Fisher, P. J. (2011). Best practices in vocabulary instruction revisited. In L.M. Morrow & L. B. Gambrell (Eds.), Best practices in literacy instruction (4 th ed., pp ). New York : Guilford Press.

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