Wednesday, March 2, 2011

One Size Fits All- Reading Programs

Every teacher would agree that children learn to read at their own pace and in their own ways. Techniques like chunking, context clues, and sound words out are popular ways of teaching children the basic skills needed to learn how to read. So if we all know children learn differently and are all at different levels, why do we use reading programs that’s “one size fits all”.

At our school we use a reading program called Voyager. The first grade theme is about a group of children who learn about the sea. Through the year the children are exposed to a variety of literature genres and are able to make connections with the characters. However, while I like the repetition the program supplies, asking our high reading group and low reading group to read the same thing is just silly. I have children who should be learning to read chapter books and others who should be learning their sight words and letter combinations. It is just painfully slow and so frustrating (for everyone involved) for the low children to get through the reading each day.

I feel that the Guided Reading set up (where books are selected for children based on their reading level) would give children more of what they need to excel. I try to differentiate the lessons based on level, for example asking the high group more abstract questions and giving the low group opportunities to succeed.

- Miss Hansen

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