Contribution by Ms Judit and Ms Renu
Reading is a crucial part of school life at ISD, and for us, educators, it is fantastic to experience the power of stories and reading every day. When we open a book in a classroom, there is suddenly magic in the air. Ears are listening and hearts are opening when teachers read a picture book for the little ones. Time stops when older students are immersed in a story during silent reading in class.
We can all sense that something extraordinary happens when students of PYP 6 read to their reading buddies in the Wallaby class; when kids from PYP 7 enthusiastically take on roles and read their lines for reader’s theatre or when PYP 5 follows the adventures of literary characters in their read-aloud sessions. It is heart-warming to see how kids from PYP 3 share their own experiences when they reflect on a story they have just read. Guided reading sessions with PYP 4 are always lively because students come up with countless story-related questions to discuss.
Children constantly surprise us with their insights and reflections. It is beautiful to witness how much they can empathise with fictional characters and how stories make them think about their own lives. Books open up different worlds, and we all love to step into these parallel universes. Through stories and discussions, children learn what it means to be human, and teachers learn what it means to be a child here and now.
Guided Reading at ISD
At the start of this academic year at ISD, the language team organised a big order of Guided Reading packs that covered all the reading levels across all the year groups at school. The library team and volunteer mums and dads helped process these book packs in the library.
The Guided Reading packs have proven to be an invaluable resource. Guided Reading is a great way to teach reading in small groups. Teaching reading in small groups provides us the opportunity to work closely with students at their appropriate reading level. We assess fluency in reading, comprehension, teach reading strategies, encourage discussion and questioning. We were happy that we could continue with these sessions during the time of online learning too!
It is a great, enjoyable, and magical experience to read with our students!