Whole-Class Reading FAQs

Recently, my school has moved away from carousel "guided reading" lessons and we have been teaching reading skills in whole-class lessons. It has been an interesting process and we are still adapting and tweaking to improve; it is by no means a perfect solution. I've blogged about it throughout the way and have shared resources but people often have questions about certain elements. Here, I will try and answer some of the most common questions.  Some answers will link to previous blog posts so all links will open in a new tab so you can keep reading here as well. 

What is whole-class reading?

Very simply, it is when reading skills are taught in lessons similar to maths, science, art and music, with the teacher teaching the whole class and ensuring all children are challenged through differentiation of language, instructions, activities etc. as appropriate.  

Why move to whole-class reading?

Rhoda covered this in her post called Our Solution To The Problems With Guided Reading.  The two biggest reasons people consider moving is because it takes up much less teacher planning and preparation time and children produce a lot more work than in carousel lessons. 

How do whole-class reading lessons work?

I've answered that in this blog post. You can see a sample plan and download a blank version and all the resources for the lessons.

What is RIC?

RIC is a character which I made to help children remember the most important reading skills: retrieval, interpretation and commenting on authors' choices.  He is a Screen Bean and is used in the logos I made to brand the main reading objectives of the new curriculum.  You can download all the RIC resources here.

What are the main reading objectives for the new curriculum?

For KS2, I have adapted to the old APP AFs for the new curriculum. They are: retrieve, interpret, (author's) choice, viewpoint, perform, review. You can read more about how they came about in this post.

Where do you get the learning objectives from?

We take them directly from the new National Curriculum, using the RIC assessment sheets to help us.  You can see more about the assessment sheets and download them here. 

What is a RIC starter? 

It is a short activity used at the beginning of reading lessons to help children use the important reading skills (retrieve, interpret, choice) to answer questions about some form of media; it could be a short paragraph, a poem, a song, a film clip or trailer, a photograph or cartoon or one of the short films from The Literacy Shed.  The idea is that all children can answer the retrieve and interpret questions and that children add to their answer as they hear others' responses.  The "Choice" question can be about the author's choice or a creative choice made by a director, photographer, lyricist or artist.  There are a lot of examples of RIC starters to view and download here and a whole blog post about creating RIC starters here. 

How often and how long?

Mostly, we have one-hour lessons twice a week. Sometimes we have had three sessions in a week and occasionally we have long RIC sessions (half an hour rather than the normal ten minutes) if there's a really good one from which we can get a lot of high-quality discussion. 

Are the lessons extra to your English/writing lessons or as part of those?

This really requires a whole other blog post about how our English lessons are organised.  Our reading lessons are in addition to any writing or SPAG/grammar lessons. 

What about the really poor readers?

You need to ensure every child is challenged at their level.  That means, for children who struggle to read, you may need to adapt the activity so they can still meet the lesson objective.  It could mean using a smaller extract or changing some of the words.  They might have a matching activity or filling in the gaps to simple retrieval sentences rather than writing a paragraph in response (as your highest ability might).  Their activities tend to focus more on word reading and understanding rather than the interpretation of texts.  Think about what you would do in maths for those who struggle and transfer that to reading; it's not that dissimilar.  To help you, there's an example of a lesson with some very poor readers here.  Also, it's important to mention that these children still get phonics input each week or day (as appropriate to them) on top of the reading lessons in class.

How are the higher ability stretched?

We have found that whole-class lessons demand more complex written responses to texts from children. We have seen analytical paragraphs from 8-year-olds, including quotes and explanations of texts, that we ourselves wouldn't have written until we were at secondary school. 

How do you assess Reading in whole-class lessons?

I feel there are three types of assessment which we do in relation to reading lessons. Firstly, during the lesson we circulate and give advice, address misconceptions and ensure children are suitably challenged.  As with other lessons, we look at books and mark according to children's success and next steps.  Finally, we get our reading assessment data using the RIC assessment sheets which you can download and read about in this post here.

How do you choose texts?

There are three main ways in which we choose texts. Either we focus on word level, our current theme or the children's interests.  Books like Charlotte's Web and Matilda have been chosen because they contain many words from the year 3/4 word list and language of a similar complexity as well as being just above the general reading ability. We have chosen texts about ancient Egypt or Rome when studying those civilisations and likewise have used river poems or mountain-based news articles during geography themes.  We have also been known to plan single lessons on subjects like ballet, horses, Lionel Messi and dragons at the request of children - they love learning reading skills through their favourite things! With all texts, we use the curriculum word list as a basis for the difficulty we look for.

How do you resource books/texts?

We have used a variety of texts in year four over the last two years of whole-class reading. We've done single lessons or a short series of lessons based on poems, song lyrics, newspaper articles, online articles and blog posts, none of which require any money.  Also, being a school, we have made use of the 5% of books that we are allowed to copy so have copied sections of books for each child - most of the time is this a paragraph or double page.  Each year, we have bought a half class set of books to focus on for a few weeks.  We have 16+ copies of Charlotte's Web, Matilda and Romans on the Rampage.  These we have bought with travelling book fair money or through the English (Reading) budget.  When we are focusing on one book for a period of time, we let the children know in advance what it will be and some of them choose to bring their own copy in or to get it out their local library; this increases the amount of copies we have in school. 

Who reads the text?

Sometimes it is the children independently, or in pairs.  At times children read paragraphs aloud or read a sentence at a time and occasionally the adults read the text aloud or play an audio version of the text.  It all depends on what the objective is and what is most appropriate for what we want children to achieve. 

What do KS1 do?

I will try and get a KS1 year leader to write a bit about what they do when we start back in September but I'll do my best. Currently, our KS1 children have daily phonics lessons; we use RWI and children are streamed.  Year One have added in a few whole-class phonics sessions to ensure all children get exposure to all the relevant content for the (stupid) phonics screening.  KS1 children also do some RIC activities as a class every week. 

How do whole-class lessons fit into your timetable?
We have two hour-long reading lessons each week and we fit in two independent reading sessions.  During these, teachers and TAs listen to children read and we can pick up on any misconceptions and help children choose new books.  Below is a sample weekly timetable so you can see how this fits in around other subjects.  English-based activities are in pink.  Maths-based are in blue. For Theme lessons, I've indicated which subject is being covered.

Click to enlarge.

Can I come and see a lesson?

The simple answer to this is yes you can.  I'm near Brighton, if you can make it to me then I'm happy for you to come and watch a lesson, nosey in some books and have a chat. Many people already have.  Contact me on Twitter or email me if that's something you'd be interested in. 

If you have a question that hasn't been answered here, please leave it in the comments below and I will add it in! 

Lessons I've Learned About Parenting

I am not a parent.  I am a teacher.  However my four years of doing the latter have given me some insights into preparing for the former.  So here are the things I've learned about parenting from being a teacher.  Please note: I am completely aware that this is easy to write but less easy to actually implement but hey...a girl can dream! 

Lesson 1 - Make "no" mean "no".

It is very easy to identify the children for which "no" often turns into "maybe" and then "yes" through a series of whinging, sulking and shouting.  At school, it only takes a few chances before they realise what the expectations are and they stop the silliness...mostly!  Don't give in. Fight it until it works. 

Lesson 2 - Read as often and as widely as possible. 

In my experience, the best readers are the best writers and the best mathematicians are often confident readers.  This is because children who are exposed to lots of books not only steal words, phrases and ideas but also absorb an awareness of how to entertain their reader so the quality of their writing is higher than their non-reader counterparts.  Also, much of how maths is assessed requires some form of reading; therefore the logically minded need good reading skills to show their maths ability.  

Lesson 3 - Give them money and a watch.

Generally, children are similar across the different skills in maths.  However, in telling the time and dealing with money, there is no way to predict how good they will be.  That is, until you know if they wear a watch and get pocket money.  Children who do, wherever they stand with maths, are very good at both.  

Lesson 4 - Play board games and card games and let them lose.

There are so many benefits to this.  Firstly, it keeps them off the screens for a short while.  Also, it encourages communication with other children and adults.  It is clear to see the children whose parents bubble wrap them and allow them to be the winner all the time.  Helping them to deal with losing early on in life will support them in their friendships and play.  Lastly, most card and board games require mental maths: number complements and bonds, sometimes fractions or percentages and everyday maths.  Monopoly is a personal favourite for encouraging a plethora of skills. 

Lesson 5 - Keep them safe online by talking to them. 

In parenthesis: don't just use filters.  In fact, consider not filtering content at all.  The best form of e-safety is communication; in school and at home.  Ask your children what they are doing online, go on their device with them, recap and review their history together and deal with any incidents as a team.  Make accessing the internet in a public part of the house the norm.  I have experienced first-hand the dangers of letting your children roam the world wide web with no supervision and have seen the shocked look on the faces of parents when presenting them with evidence of their children's less-than-angelic online activities of which they were completely unaware. 

Lesson 6 - Make rewards and sanctions appropriate.

This sounds obvious but you need to find what ticks for your child.  The carrot is generally better than the stick but don't threaten something that can't be followed through. Ensure sanctions really make them stop and think but ensure you don't take away things which are good for them or important.  

Lesson 7 - Know when you're being played! 

All parents think their children are angels.  I get that.  I'm sure I would too.  However, it's important to know when you're being taken for a ride.  Believe that teachers generally want the best for your child and accept that sometimes your child might be in the wrong.  

Lesson 8 - Take the TV out of the bedroom.

There's not much to say here except consider whether that screen needs to be the same place as where they sleep?  I've been concerned when parents have told me their child is struggling to sleep.  When I then hear phrases like, "he/she stays up all night watching the TV in bed," I struggle to sympathise.

Lesson 9 - Abide closely to the ratings on video games, movies, TV shows and websites.

Ratings are allocated for good reason.  Children learn their behaviour, good and bad, from things they experience.  Bad language is quickly picked up and repeated by children but it is the violence and numbing of emotions which have a less obvious but more profound effect on a child.

Lesson 10 - Share jokes, puns and quotes.
The children in my classes who have had the best general knowledge of the world are ones who get my funny comments and laugh along.  They have heard songs from throughout the decades and have watched classic films as well as the new ones.  Their families have a laugh and joke and they don't take themselves too seriously.

Teaching and parenting are completely different ball-games.  I'm sure you can be good at one and not at the other.  These lessons and more will stay with me as I continue in my teaching career and, perhaps, will come in useful one day a bit closer to home! 

Summer Holiday Challenges #Summer10

Inspired by Rachel, who posted a blog of 10 personal challenges for her summer holiday, here are 10 things I aim to achieve/do/complete over this summer holiday coming.  Like her, I have kept a work/life balance: 9 things for life and 1 solo work activity!

1) Get better and relax - Things have been a little difficult recently.  I've been having some very uncharacteristic issues and so I'm hoping to relax over the holidays and be rid of the problems. 

2) Read...alot - My Kindle has got a few new books on (including some Peter James) and I've got a good wishlist to work my way through, full of the thrilling crime books which keep me turning the pages at lightning speed.  I love getting lost in a story over the holidays!

3) Read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg - I've been inspired by Sheryl Sandberg ever since I watched some of her talks on YouTube.  She has gone from a very high-powered position at Google to being the most powerful woman at Facebook.  She has a family and recently lost her husband.  I cannot wait to read this book which is about 'women, work and the will to lead'.  I hope to learn about leading, life and be inspired to be the best I can be in life and work.  

4) Catch up with friends - I have been using my weekends to relax at home recently so I hope to see more of friends that I should have caught up with. 

5) Try yoga or pilates - My doctor has suggested I try this sort of relaxation technique so I need to find a way to make it work for me.  Hopefully this will help me to chill as the holidays start and let go of the school tension quicker.

6) Tidy up & clear out - Maybe this will be the year we move house?! Either way, I need to have a good sort out and get rid of some stuff.  

7) Fall back in love with running - I haven't done much running this year but I hope the summer is the time to use it as a cardio form of exercise to get the endorphins flowing.  

8) Family time - This year I have holidays with my family and the in-laws, including celebrating Grandad's 90th birthday. This will bring the opportunity to share quality time, without screens; something I feel is lacking in the craziness of term time.   

9) Bake / Cook / Make - I hope to use the oven, my ingredient cupboard and maybe even the sewing machine to let my creative juices flow.

10) IT Logins - I need to move all children up into their new classes on the various online subscriptions we have.  This is the one main school job that I aim to do, among others of course! 

Remember to share your 10 challenges for the summer using the hashtag #Summer10! 

Trello - A Life-Changing To-Do List Tool

I was going to describe this tool as 'life-saving' but that would be a clear exaggeration.  However, I have no doubt that this has forever changed how I organise my to-do list for the better.  As a teacher, the list of jobs is neverending: the planning, teaching and marking, cutting, laminating and making, letters, reports and e-mails to write, tests to deliver, mark and analyse, all before you consider the bureaucracy and paper trail to be accountable to others.  

I have always been a fan of to-do lists.  I started out having a book; it was never in the right place at the right time.  Next, inspired by something I'd seen Michelle Mone (creator of Ultimo) do, I turned to post-it notes.  I would stick them all over my desk and carry a small pack with me.  This turned out to be tricky if my outfit didn't have pockets and my desk was totally covered in post-its.  I was then given a to-do list notepad similar to this as a present.  This worked better as I could use different sheets for different sorts of jobs.  However it was always in the wrong place when I needed it. 

As part of some work with a parent-governor, I was introduced to the free online tool which changed how I organise myself: Trello.  Trello advertises itself as "a collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards. In one glance, Trello tells you what's being worked on, who's working on what, and where something is in a process."  The main thing that has made Trello such a life-changing tool is that I can access it wherever I am across an array of devices and it's completely free.  I have the app on my iPhone and iPad but often login through browsers on my school and home PCs.  As I record and complete tasks, the tool synchronises across all the devices.  

I started off with one board, my school board, which is still my most-used.  Since then, I have added other boards to organise different parts of my life.

My Trello Boards (iPhone app view)

Throughout the year, I have generally had three lists on my main board but in the last few weeks of term I have needed to add in a list for next year.  You can see my four lists below.

Whenever I access Trello, my lists are displayed as below and I can drag and drop the cards between the lists.  My 'Done' list is incredibly long but I like to keep it that way to remember the hundreds of jobs that I've completed.  As a year leader, I use the 'Year Meeting' list to record things I must discuss with my team when we meet.  

View of "Jo@Vale" board lists

Trello can do lots of amazing things which I don't use, particularly for collaboration.  One option which I do make good use of is adding Checklists within the cards.  

Checklists

When you click to expand the checklists, you can see the individual steps to completing that job and can check those off individually.  On the boards, Trello then shows you how far through completing the checklist you are.  

Checklist view

Mostly, I use Trello for myself to keep up-to-date.  I have also had some experience in using Trello collaboratively, including with Digital Leaders.  In doing this, I've found that you can colour-code jobs, add comments, invite people via emails and include stickers, links and images.  When a PGCE student who I mentored needed to complete some activities for university, I set up a Trello board so that we both could track his progress towards completing the work.  

Collaborative Board

I am sure there is much more Trello can do for collaborative projects but, for me, it does exactly what I need to organise my very busy teacher to-do list.  In Tesco recently, a parent spotted me and asked about something to do with school.  Immediately, I could put it into Trello on my phone and not think about it until I was ready to do some work when previously I would have had to remember it for a long time! 

Teacher Bloopers

I go to the theatre a lot and watch many movies.  Obviously, it's great when things go to plan but I absolutely love it when things go wrong - the bloopers! You'll find me waiting behind during the credits at the cinema to see if they included any funny ones and I'm never happier that when something goes wrong on stage, particularly in my favourite show, Wicked.  I've seen it too many times so I know it by heart.  I know when they forget their lines and when they are ad-libbing certain bits. For me, it adds to the experience and I love having a great theatre blooper to share.  

Now teaching really isn't that far removed from the world of movies and theatre.  There is you, part of the main cast, giving performances on your classroom stage day in, day out.  There is your audience - your pupils - who you must entertain as well as teach, this is a fully-interactive piece! You are judged by the critics and they publish their thoughts.  The directors and producers keep you in check and a backstage team ensure things run smoothly.  However, teaching is a performance of 6+ hours everyday so there are bloopers aplenty.  Here are my favourite 5 from my first few years on stage!

5 - "wrapped"
As part of our Ancient Egyptian theme at the beginning of year four, children write an explanation of mummification.  Their titles go along the lines of "How did the Ancient Egyptians mummify their dead bodies?".  We focus on past tense and first person.  To help, I made a word bank so that the difficult words were spelled correctly.  Words which featured on the list were: mummification, sarcophagus, embalming, decomposing.  One key word which didn't feature on the list was the word "wrapped".  Many children wrote this word but spelled it without the W and with only one P, totally changing it's meaning among sentences about dead bodies.  Next year, "wrapped" will definitely feature on the word bank!

4 - Lime vs Lime

We were learning about rivers, boats and bridges so I wanted to take my class to a local spring to see the water bubbling up and learn about the history of the spring.  I had diligently researched the paper factory which used to be on the site and set about explaining how the water was useful.  Sheep skin was important, as was the spring water but both were combined with lime.  I told the children that I wasn't too sure how they shipped limes over from more tropical countries in the mid-19th century but they added the limes to the water.  No one batted and eyelid, not my TA or any of the parent helpers and, although it sounded strange, I continued.  It wasn't until the next day when we were back in class that my TA suggested it could be the other lime as in limestone, of which there was plenty local to the spring. Oops! I made my apology and re-explained the paper-making process, this time with the Internet to help! 

3 - Context is everything...
In a lesson about adverbs (I believe), I learned an important lesson about providing clear contexts as I read this sentence afterwards.

Please note the correctly underlined nouns...every cloud! 

2 - Redback on the Toilet Seat
As part of our RIC reading starters, a colleague had planned an activity based on the first two verses of the song "Redback on the Toilet Seat".  I hadn't had time to read the plan so set to teaching the lesson.  The RIC involved children reading through the following poem and answering questions.

There was a redback on the toilet seat, 
When I was there last night.
I didn't see him in the dark, 
But boy I felt his bite.
I jumped up high into the air, 
And when I hit the ground.
That crafty redback spider, 
Wasn't nowhere to be found.

I rushed into the Mrs, 
Told her just where I'd been bit.
And she grabbed my cutthroat razor, 
And I nearly took a fit.
I said 'Forget what's on your mind, 
And call a doctor please.
For I've got a feeling that your cure, 
Is worse than the disease.'

When going through the answers to the questions, I noticed that the poem was quite a lot funnier than I'd first thought but tried my hardest to keep this from the children. In our next team meeting, I brought up the question of where the man had been bitten.  The rest of the team answered "his bottom" without hesitation.  I then had to explain that I didn't think he'd been bitten on his bottom...

1 - You're teaching my child...what??!

Picture this... It's the summer curriculum news. The parents of children in my class are gathered in my room a few days after Easter and I'm going over the important topics and events for the term.  I explain that in PE we will be preparing for a performance at the May Fayre.  Quickly, I move onto the next item and then notice a couple of parents grinning, a few sniggering and one man is giggling uncontrollably.  I ask them if I've said something wrong and they all just burst out laughing before one of the manages to control themselves. She informs be that I told them their children will have "weekly pole dancing lessons ready for a performance at the May Fayre".  Thankfully maypole dancing is a tradition at the school and I was swiftly forgiven but it wasn't forgotten!

We all have #TeacherBloopers - are you brave enough to share yours?

P.S. For the record, I don't drink all that much...and never near or under lamp posts!

Why Can't Our Impact Be Measured By...

•  ...the times during a lesson a child says, "Ooohhh, I get it now!" in the way teachers get so excited about? Even if it's after a fifth or sixth different explanation? 
• ...the smiles on children's faces as they enter our classroom? Or perhaps by the quantity who say, "Thank you" at the end of the day?  Surely that's the sign of a great teacher? 
• ...the good choices made by pupils when they've done something wrong? When they own up immediately and apologise with heart?  What about those children who choose to do the right thing when previously they would have chosen the other option? 
• ...the unprompted learning which children complete at home? Their page of maths calculations which they did when 'playing schools' or the thousands of questions they answered on an educational game before breakfast?
• ...the quality of work, views and comments from around the world on the school blogs? Surely they demonstrate wonderful learning and brilliant opportunities? 
• ...the free extra-curricular activities which we diligently run after, before and during school in order to provide a holistic experience for the pupils we value so much?  Don't they give opportunities for children to shine and be proud of something they've learned? 
• ...the messages we receive in cards and on little notes? These show that parents and children are happy with the job we are doing...doesn't that count for something? 
• ...the value we put on the non-core subjects that are being desperately squeezed out in favour of 'more important' subjects?  Surely keeping children active and involved in the arts is having a positive impact on their learning too? 
• ...the quality of the productions we stage? Or our sporting achievements?  What about the quality of the crops which our gardening club produce? Or the skills of our chess players? 

...instead of by a series of meaningless numbers decided on one day at the end of their time with us for which they lose real learning opportunities while relentlessly practising test skills?

Assessing Reading in the 2014 Primary Curriculum (KS2)

After many blog posts based around teaching reading in the 2014 National Curriculum, lots of people have enquired about assessment.  As a school, we've had a long journey about assessment in general and are by no means *there* (wherever that is!).  Something we, in year four, have found particularly useful are these reading objective sheets for key stage two.  I envisage them being used in many different ways, some of which I have outlined below.

Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4):

Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6)

We have used these sheets in our planning to ensure that we are covering all of the objectives throughout the year.  All the objectives for key stage 2 are split up into the RIC logos and so can be easily linked to the whole-class plans in the Google Drive folder.  Also, these sheets can also be used to save time writing objectives, as I know some schools still have to each lesson.  This year, my class have been writing the RIC word which we are focusing on each lesson.  For example: Choice or Viewpoint.  However, next year I'd like to stick one of these in each child's reading book and they write the RIC objective and the number underneath.  For example: in year 4, if we were retrieving from fiction and non-fiction texts, children would write 'Retrieve 4' at the top of their work.  When it comes to making a judgement, it will be quick to see their work for each objective in their book.

As we head towards the end of the year, these objective sheets are proving useful for assessment too. If you are doing carousel guided-reading, these can be edited to create assessment documents for teacher group sessions.  However, if you've made the move to whole-class guided reading, you will have a lot of written evidence over the year to cover each of the objectives.   The objectives sheets could then be used to check the extent to which groups of children have achieved the objectives.  I have included an example below from a recent reading moderation with an explanation below.

Highlighted number = some evidence of achieving the objective.

Highlighted objective = objective achieved independently across a range of contexts. 

For moderation purposes, I used different coloured mini post-its to show which objective under the RIC headings was on that page and put notes of extra things to consider.  This made it quick and easy for my colleagues to moderate my judgement.  We only did this for one child's work as it is a lot of effort! From doing this for only one child, it became clear which objectives we still need to cover before the end of the year so was a very useful exercise. 

Other ideas for using the objective sheets:

• Stick it in the front of the child's book - highlight when they've achieved an objective.  You can then use it at the end of the year to make a best-fit judgement according to your assessment system. 
• Complete for groups in the class to judge the extent to which those children are covering the objectives, a bit like how APP was meant to be used! 
• Complete for each child (consider how useful this time is??)
• Children have a copy in their book.  They keep track of which they think they've achieved throughout the year as you teach.  

To download these objective sheets, including editable versions, and all the other RIC resources for free, click here.  If you have any other ideas for using these objective sheets or for assessing reading in the new curriculum, get in touch in the comments below or on Twitter.