Types of reading you might see in our classrooms
There are several different types of reading that our students engage in at school. This is to maximise the impact of our reading teaching and to give our students sufficient time to practise applying reading strategies as they learn them, with feedback from their teacher.
We also strive to instil a love of books and reading in our students by offering such a variety of ways to read.
Read aloud
Every class in our primary school, from EL2 up to Grade 5, has time set aside for reading aloud to students. This is where the teacher models reading aloud with fluency and expression, and models reading strategies to students. Our students focus on listening to, comprehending and enjoying the books.
Shared reading
This is similar to a read-aloud, where the teacher models reading a text, but students can also join in with the reading. This is particularly used when texts have a rhyme or repeated refrains that children can predict and read along with: for example, in We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, the children may join in with the repeated refrain: “We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. Oh no! We’ve got to go through it.”
Guided reading
This is where the teacher takes a small group of children who are able to read at a similar level and guides them through using reading strategies using a book that is at a level that is just challenging enough for the students.The teacher listens to each child in the group individually and coaches them on their use of reading skills and strategies.
Book clubs
A group of students read the same book and engage in student-led discussions around the text. This helps to develop a deeper understanding of books, and also helps children to develop a love of books and an understanding that real readers also like to discuss what they have read and what it made them think of, or how it changed their perspective on an issue.
Partner reading
Students read collaboratively with their reading partner. They take turns and offer feedback or ask questions to check comprehension. This can help our students to develop their oral reading fluency as well as enhancing their understanding of what they are reading.
Independent reading
Students read “just right” books alone with minimal assistance, applying the learning they have done in reading. The teacher confers with the students and reinforces their application of reading skills and strategies. This is where a lot of practice and consolidation of reading learning happens!