Reading Practice Intensive Day 1: Reading is Core to Learning

 What is Reading Practice Intensive going to look like in my teaching journey?

Today was our first session of RPI. Our focus for today was looking at how reading is core to learning. 

First we looked at what makes a good reader. It was a good opportunity to think about the different attributes and characteristics that make a good reader, something I can keep watch for in my classroom. 

This then led onto the idea of teachers as readers. In all honesty, I am not a big reader. If anything, I only read if I have to, and I haven’t picked up a book to read for pleasure since I was a teenager. It made us think about how we can be role models in the class, and keep sharing positive thoughts towards reading. This also got us thinking about our own learners and the way they feel about reading.

We learned about extended discussion, and how we can use it in our classroom. We watched a video of Rob Wiseman showing us how to use Ground Rules for Talk when we want our learners to engage in extended discussion. This is something that I would like to implement in my classroom, which I know will take a few sessions to master. There is also a self-assessment tool to mark how you feel you did when engaging in the extended discussion, leading into goal-making. By doing this, it helps our learners to build a strong self-efficacy towards reading.

Something that I believe I can use from RPI to improve my capability and confidence in teaching reading is by becoming a reader myself. In the Teachers as Readers report from Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, it states “For the reader teachers in this study, reading was about finding pleasure, wellbeing, connection, relationship, meaning, and a sense of identity in the world. It was about being part of a community with a shared interest in meaning-making.” I thought this was good in terms of general practice for classroom culture, and can see it works well for reading and our learners.

I look forward to using Extended Discussion more effectively in my classroom, as well as establishing ground rules for talk with my learners. I know this will help my learners, and even encourage myself to take up reading for pleasure again.

*images are from the RPI Manaiakalani Slides