A week of teaching demonstrations in Grahamstown using the Reading to Learn methodology

Currently I am in Grahamstown assisting Deb Avery from Reading to Learn wherever possible.  Deb has been training an enthusiastic group of teachers from three schools in a Reaing to Learn course.  Read 'Five great things you need to know about the Reading to Learn methodology' to find out more about this very effective reading approach.

Deb Avery is a very experienced and inspiring trainer, and she offered to do reading lesson demonstrations at each school using the Reading to Learn methodologies. This post records the various demonstrations.

Graeme College in Grahamstown - Grade 6 Factual Text lesson
Four teachers from this well-known boys' school are on the course this week. Deb was invited to do two demonstrations at Graeme College.  The first was to a Grade 6 class using a factual text related to what they are learning about at the moment, namely Electrical Circuits. The lesson took place in the library and was observed by a number of teachers and teaching students. The aim of the lesson was to use a factual text to teach the boys how to make notes from what they read.

First Deb introduced the class to the topic and conducted the Preparing for Reading stage. This included linking the text to prior knowledge, summarising it for the class to give sequence and meaning, and reading the text to the class.

The Preparing for Reading stage

After that a stage known as Detailed Reading was followed. The class gave sentence summaries, and they were guided to find and underline keywords. This was followed by several minutes of language elaboration.

The Detailed Reading stage

This stage was followed by a session of Intensive Strategies where the class got to grip with a section of the text. Synonyms were found for the keywords.  The learners learned to spell key vocabulary and they practiced sentence making.

The Intensive Strategies stage

In further sessions the class will write a new text as a class using the Joint Writing step. This will be done on a flipcart or whiteboard. The final step is for the joint construction to be removed and for the learners to rewrite the text on their own, with reference to their notes. This heavily scaffolded process will lead to the boys eventually making notes on their own independently.

After this lesson, Deb was invited to address the whole staff in the staffroom on the Reading to Learn methodology.

Deb Avery preparing to address the staff.

Graeme College in Grahamstown - Grade 1 Shared Reading lesson
The next lesson was a Shared Reading lesson with Grade 1.  A number of the Foundation Phase teachers observed the lesson. The first step was the Preparing for Reading stage where Deb linked the selected text to the boys' context.

Deb links the book to the boys' contexts and prior knowledge

The Shared Reading session followed where Deb summarised the story and finally read the story to the Grade 1s. 

Shared Reading

A Sentence Making session followed where intensive strategies were used. Comprehension questions were asked, and the Grade 1s each received a section of the text to work with.

Deb asks relevant questions

Affirming learners who give correct answers

The boys start to manipulate the sentences.

A Spelling session followed.

The boys make sentences and read the words.

Once the class was very familiar with the text they started on the Joint Rewriting stage where the story was rewritten with new characters and a new setting. Deb used a flipboard to write the suggestions for new characters and new events. A vote was taken.

New ideas

A new story

Finally the Grade 1s were asked to draw a picture of the new story they had created in the Joint Writing section, for homework. Here is what one of the boys came up with,

Holy Cross School Grade 2 and 3 combined lesson
Deb demonstrated a Grade 2 and 3 lesson at the Holy Cross primary school. She selected a text from the Grade 3 Literacy Rainbow books that the Department of Education supplies to the schools.

The Preparing for Reading stage

The Making Sentences stage

Victoria Primary Grade 4 Factual Text lesson
The topic for this lesson was 'Energy'. A number of the Intermediate Phase teachers came to observe the lesson. Deb managed to get quite far in the cycle - she completed the Joint Rewriting section where the learners constructed notes together from the keywords. The teacher decided she would complete the lesson when we left and she did the Independent Construction session where each learner makes their own notes from the keywords, in the same way that they have just been taught. 

Preparing for Reading stage

Intensive strategies - the learners jumble the text and reconstruct it

Joint Reconstruction stage

Victoria Primary Grade 1 Shared Reading lesson
This lesson was done with the Grade 1 girls. The story was called Hi Zoleka. Deb drew her own pictures on red card, to show the teachers that they could make their own illustrations even if they couldn't raw.

The Grade 1s sequence the story

The learners cut up the sentences, jumble them up, and reconstruct the sentences.
 

Joint Reconstruction stage - writing a new story together

All these lessons were amazing. The learners were thoroughly engaged and the teachers who observed the lessons were very inspired to try out the Reading to Learn methodology.