Adjustments to Practise

From the learning I have done at RPI, there are a few things changes I have made to my Reading programmes and my own practice.

Guided Reading Framework

I have found the guided reading framework useful when planning my reading. It has given me more structure in my guided reading sessions. In the past I would put more emphasis on the comprehension strategy I was teaching and often other components, like discussion or vocab, were brushed over during the lesson. It has helped my thought processes when planning and feeling less overwhelmed because I know I have covered all bases of a well-structured guided reading session.

Vocabulary

On thing that really stuck with me was idea of vocab knowledge being a big predictor of reading success. Over the course of the RPI I have built up the amount of vocabulary activities I have been using, from adding them into the response to reading tasks to beginning to use the Robust and interactive vocabulary activities. I particularly enjoyed using the spotlight activity as it gave me a good picture of which words to focus on during my guided reading sessions. 

I have also found that my teaching focus has shifted more from tier 3 words to tier 2 words. I think I used to focus on the more topic-specific / jargon-based words from a text. I have also been aware of discussing the contexts of the words and looking at words that can be used in various contexts.





Timetabling

While I haven't changed a lot with my timetabling I find my class needs direction/ structure. One thing I have done to build some independence is on days that groups aren't with me, I have added a must-do activity and then some choice options.  I am finding that this has been a good step to build independence and hopefully, I can give more of this time as the year progresses.