May Professional Reading Reflection

May

INTRODUCING STORY BOOKS TO YOUNG READERS

This article from Clay, M. M. (2014). By different paths to common outcomes; Literacy learning and teaching (Rev. ed.). Auckland, New Zealand: The Marie Clay Literacy Trust explains the importance of a good introduction for new texts. Introducing the text before reading should be a conversational exchange that helps to develop a shared understanding for the ideas in the text, link to prior knowledge and introduce new vocabulary or language structures. Teachers may ask questions about the meaning of the pictures or prior knowledge and extend on the students ideas to support concepts that will come up in the reading of the text. This reading really re-enforced and reminded me not to skip the introduction when it comes to guided reading tasks.