3.+Early+years+readers



2) What have you learnt about early years reading practice in terms of identifying suitable texts, assessing fluency and comprehension, etc. through your engagements with early years learners? **Identifying Suitable Texts** It is important that children have a wide variety of genres available for them to read. (Winch et al. 2011, p.192).  Children need to read books that are a suitable level for them; it is often easier if the books are arranged by level in the classroom so that the children are able to select a book that is their level from a particular section of the classroom (i.e. the blue box). As their reading skill develop and improve they progress from level to level, ensuring that the books they are reading are still of a suitable level. It is also important that children have the freedom to choose a book that is not based on reading levels, such as when they choose a book from the library. This also encourages children to read as they can read about something that is of interest to them.

After an interview with child A it became evident of his interests, he loves football and cars. When asked to pick a book from a variety of books he went straight for the book about trucks, this book was interesting for Child A and was a challenge for him to read. Child A also takes home his reader every day and reads a book with his mum or dad that is of his specific level. Assessing Fluency We used a fluency of reading rubric in our interviews with an early years leaner (Hill 2006, p. 170). The rubric is used to monitor children's reading fluency by listening them read and selecting a suitable level they fit for each section. It is important to develop children's reading fluency as it allows them to 'concentrate on the meaning of the text' (Hill 2006, p.193). In my experience I worked with a student who struggles with reading fluency, he was constantly decoding words and it was important when reading with him to go back a reread the sentence more fluently so he could make meaning from the sentence rather than recoding each word. Figure 1: Reading fluency rubric (Hill 2006, p.170) =**Comprehension Questions**= Comprehension is the reason that children read, it is so that children not only read the words on the page but that they understand what they are reading and can make meaning from it (Winch et al. 2011, pg.89). **Literal Questions** Questions that ask the reader to recall literal information straight from the text. Eg- What was the boy’s name?
 * //Types of comprehension questions://**

Questions that make the reader ‘read between the lines’ (Winch et al. 2011, p. 107)
 * Interpretive Questions**

Eg. How did Max feel when he met the ‘wild things’?

Questions that allow the reader to think beyond the text
 * Inferential Questions**

Eg. Would you like to be king of the wild things? Why?

Comments: One thing that was particularly evident during teaching rounds was student’s desires to read interesting texts, not necessarily texts at their level. In one such instance one of the weaker readers in the class wanted to read an atlas rather than the books at his prescribed level. When asked why he simply stated that the other books were too small and boring. This reflected how important it is to keep children engaged at their level. Assessing a child’s reading ability and level regularly is important to ensure that they maintain an interest in the books they are reading and that they texts are suitable for the child.

It was also interesting to note children’s comprehension of the text. In certain cases a child would read fluently and easily however be unable to answer simple comprehensive questions. This demonstrates that a child is simply reading the words and not forming any meaning.

Siobhan Judge.

It is important for teachers to know about what their students like reading about in order to design an integrated curriculum and keep them engaged in the classroom and also to inspire them to read at home and expand their knowledge. This is especially important in early years classrooms as it is essential for students to learn about topics in literacy which assist and encourage them to make sense of their own personal experiences and life around them. (Hill, 2006 p429) It is also equally important for a child to be reading books at their own particular level of reading. Books which are too easy/hard for a child will not engage children and will ultimately discourage them from reading.

An experience in one of the classroom observations, one child believed she was particularly bright and therefore should be reading ‘chapter books.’ Upon reading the book allowed she was able to read very fluently however when asked comprehensive questions about what she had just read she struggled to formulate an answer, proving the book was above her level of comprehension.

Emily Banfield

Every child likes to read what they like and interested in. Before, the children read the book, or choose a book to read, they look at the front picture of the book and looks inside to see the length of the sentence. This is the reason why it is important for the teachers to understand their students what they like to read and try to improve their readings by choosing a book that the child is interested in. Reading fluency is important as it provides a bridge between reading comprehension and children’s attitude to reading (Hill, 2012 p.191). Teachers can notice if the children is a good reader or not by reading fluency and comprehension.

Esther Hong

These three concepts: text suitability, assessing fluency and comprehension, are all interrelated. With a suitable text, the student becomes familiar and begins to read the words “together in meaningful chunks (Hill 2012, p. 192).” In other words, they have shifted their attention from decoding the text, and can now focus on other areas such as: “clear phrasing, attention to syntax, full attention to punctuation and expression (Hill 2012, p. 193).” Once fluency rises and text structure is understood, the comprehension or meaning making can begin through use of literal, interpretive and inferential questioning.

Grace Eisenhut

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Children who are learning to read can be upset and frustrated if they are reading too beyond their capability. This means that it is really important for teachers to assess what level children are at and provide them with books that will still challenge them, but help them with a sense of achievement, as well as keep them interested. =====

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In my particular classroom, the class was studying farm yards, so most of the reading books were to do with animals and farms. Because the children were learning about this topic in many other areas of their learning, they were very interested to pick and read books about farms. =====

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From experience, I’ve seen many children read books with fairly fluently however not actually take in and understand the words. It’s really important that children are taught from an early age, not just to read any words on a page but are actually ‘extracting and constructing meaning from the text’ (Hill 2012 p. 215). =====

Caitlin Mason