How to Set Up a Reading Program

When you set up a reading program for your students, you should strive for balance. It should include instructional time to teach reading skills and time to practice reading independently. Take a good look at your classroom and sketch out various areas for children to work together, with you, with an assistant and by themselves. Beg, borrow and steal as many books and reading materials as you can for your students. Here are some ideas on how to set up a quality reading program.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Classroom
• Knowledge of reading trends
• Books
• Magazines

1. Find out what your school district does and also research your state standards for the grade level you will teach. This will tell you exactly what needs to be covered at your grade level.

2. Set up a space in your classroom with lots of reading books for all the different ability levels you have. There may be some books already therem and the school library can also help.

3. Begin your reading period working with your whole class on specific reading skills, such as recognizing word families, context clues, sight words, dictionary use and phonemic awareness. Also set behavioral expectations at this time for when children are working independently.

4. Divide students into ability groups and work with each group on their reading, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Spend time encouraging good study skills, work habits and at home reading.

5. Provide children with the opportunity to read to each other and by themselves. Provide them with both fiction and non-fiction materials and the time to share with others what they've read.

6. Have individual reading goals for each child, and assess their progress regularly.

7. Read daily to your students. A good time is at the end of the reading period. Talk about the characters in the books, and have them make predictions about future plot lines. Point out interesting illustrations or vocabulary so that it's not only enjoyable but educational, too.

Tips & Warnings

• The specific reading series or method your district uses will dictate a lot of your reading instruction and will provide you with complimentary materials. Set up your reading program to support it, and ask for help and the opportunity to observe other teachers.
• Start small and keep it simple. What works in some classrooms might not work for you. Strive for consistency and use management systems that can be easily implemented and expanded as the year progresses.

Resources

• ReadingLady.com
• Building Blocks for Reading

Who Can Help Sponsored

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[uplanddr]

on 7/31/2008 Thanks for the great information