10 Benefits Of Using Reciprocal Reading In Your Classroom

Comprehension is always high on the list of teachers concerns about their students reading ability. It has always been an almost constant goal for my students of every level throughout each year. As teachers and advanced readers we know that if our students can just ‘get’ this, they will soar and develop the love of reading which is the main reason I teach teach reading.

“When a teacher actively uses reciprocal teaching in most readings required of students, reading levels increase one to two grade levels in three to six months” (Stricklin, 2011, as cited in Oczkus, 2005; Spörer, Brunstein, & Kieschke, 2009).

What is Reciprocal Reading?

Reciprocal reading (also known as Reciprocal Teaching) is a teaching model that allows teacher and students to scaffold and contract meaning around a section of text in a social setting by using think-alouds,  discussion, and modelling. In the beginning the teacher models and scaffolds the four strategies of summarising, questioning, clarifying, and predicting until students are ready to start assuming the role of guiding each others comprehension through these strategies.

What are the benefits of Reciprocal Reading?

1. Improved understanding and use of these four reading strategies.
2. Improved reading comprehension through the use of these four reading strategies.  
3. Provides a safe group environment to explore unknown vocabulary and ideas.
4. Enable students to reflect on their understanding and develop higher order thinking skills.
5. This one strategy can be used to develop literacy and comprehension across all learning areas.
6. Allows the teacher to be able to step back and be the guide on the side.
7. Give students voice and the power to teach and learn from each other.
8. It can be used with any text type or media.
9. It can be used with learners of all ages.
10. Allows all learners (including ESOL) to access the curriculum through social support.

"The findings have pedagogical implications for the ESOL classroom in Malaysia, as the results show a significant impact on the reading comprehension of the students"

The Reading Matrix, Volumn 11, Number 2, April 2011 Retrieved from http://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/april_2011/choo_eng_ahmad.pdf

There are many free reciprocal reading resources online and I encourage you to give it a go, you and your students will benefit.  If you want all the resources provided and read to print, you can visit my TeachersPayTeachers site to get my reciprocal reading packs for junior and more advanced readers (available in US and British spelling).

Fathers Day Craft Ideas for Your Students

Fathers Day is this Sunday, and I always like to have a few quick and easy Fathers Day present ideas for my students. After all the best present a parent can get is one made with love by their own special little one.

I often get my kids to make heart cards cut out of coloured cardboard, it's quick, easy and they can write a personal message inside. Use a writing lesson to scaffold the written content and the making as a post or independent activity.  I have attached two free card templates for your use, they are easy to draw yourself in class too. Most of my ideas come from Pinterest of course, so I'll add a link to my board plus show two of my favourite ideas below.

Do you have a good Fathers Day craft idea?

My Benediction to Spring

As a teacher I am always trying to inspire and incite students to write regularly and express themselves. Yet looking back I have done little myself, aside from blog posts. My goal is to write more creative and spontaneously, to explore my own inner poet unashamedly. So I write at least one poem a week, I try capture those moments when I feel emotions tug my insides and I keep most of them as my private collections. However it has made me more creative and I am really enjoying writing more just for the pleasure if it. My lesson has been; practice what you preach; not everything needs to be shared; don't be afraid to share; and poetry is good for the soul. 

So here is my Spring poem, and I thank @kimyeo for the inspiration after a conversation on Twitter about the weather. I pray I inspire you to write a Sping poem too.

Hidden in darkness

light and life

you are always within us

ready to sing

I open my eyes

I open my heart

you were always with me

welcome home Spring.

Top Digital Citizenship Resources on Pinterest

It is never to late to promote, model and teach digital citizenship, in fact it should be integrated into all learning experiences.  These are some of my top digital citizenship posters and you can find many more resources on my Pinterest Digital Citizenship Board. I hope these help get the message across.

Do you have a favourite digital citizenship resources?

How May I Serve?

Loving what we do in our daily lives, and finding joy and peace in every moment blossoms when we ask, " How may I serve?"  This is especially true for those of us who teach.

This beautiful truth I learnt from Dr Wayne Dyer @DrWayneWDyer in "Your Journey To Enlightenment", I recommend following him.

I wanted these words as a wallpaper on my phone but most images online seem to be the wrong shape, so I made this one from one of my own photos. You are welcome to use it, the original is on my Instagram - mrwoodnz

Blessings & peace,

Shaun

@mrwoodnz

This Young Poet Will Touch Your Heart

After my last blog post "Poems in the Waiting Room" I have had some wonderful conversations with poet Judy Billcliff about how poetry can reach the toughest and most hurt kids. 

She was kind enough to share this poem written by a boy dealing with the death of his father; it touched my heart. This really shows the power of poetry and how it can help heal the hearts of our children. So if you aren't exploring poetry every week in your classroom, I urge you to do so. If you need advice I know Judy can guide you.

Judy Billcliff (@judirainbow) writes poetry for kids and offers workshops too. She was the 2013 runner up in the National children's poetry competition, and the 2014 Duffy Books In Homes Role Model. Please visit her website and be to Like her FaceBook page Rainbow Poetry and Words for You  & Snail Mail Day 13th June and I'd love you to Like my Mindcraft Learning FaceBook page too.

How often do your kids write poetry?

Poems in the Waiting Room

A Piece of Selfless Magic
This morning as I sat in the hospital waiting room feeling a bit anxious about having a small skin cancer cut from my shoulder, I looked for relief at the dismal pile of old Women's Weekly magazines. I sighed in dismay until a sky blue brochure caught my attention, it's white words "Poems in the Waiting Room" (PitWR) whispered with promise.

As I started to read, I smiled as the words painted pictures in my mind and lifted my spirits. Let me share one of these beautiful poems with you.

Ode to a Compost Bin
magical processing machine
taking in our potato
and onion peel
carrot tops and pea pods
that rotten apple
and the spotty slice of bread

giving in return
dark, crumbly compost
albeit with pieces
of undigested egg shell

like those sharp bits
of experience
still poking through
our reconstituted
success stories

Charmian Koed (1939 USB 3rd place)

Yours to Keep!
And yes I could keep this little waiting room miracle, take it home and soak in the magic of magic of these words again and again.

I was really touched and grateful for this gift of relief. These PitWR are supplied free to waiting rooms, hospices, prisons, and rest homes with new cards and poems distributed every season.  This project of love is run by a registered charity based in Dunedin, New Zealand and depends on donations to keep running, so please support them. You can also visit there website at www.waitingroompoems.wordpress.com.

Make a Difference in Your Community

After feeling blessed and a bit more at peace in that moment I wondered what if every classroom or school did a similar project for their local community?  Imagine your students learning to write poetry of love, kindness and sharing for a real product, a genuine context, to bring a bit of light and love to some special and perhaps lonely people in your community. I bet they could come up with some great community places to hand them out, perhaps even go read them to the local retirement residents.  The possibilities are endless and effect would be priceless. So to encourage you further, I've made up a basic tri-brochure template in Google Spreadsheet for your class or school to adapt and fill with beautiful words. I also have in in PPT format, just email me if you would like it, alternatively there are many free ones online.

Please pass this idea on, spread the love, and share back in the comments your thoughts and link to your projects.

"Love is a gift of one's inner most soul to another so both can be whole" - Buddha

Please signup to my email list today, and I'll keep you updated with my latest posts and specials, thanks Shaun.

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