I loved how the Tompkins book summarized the five types of reading. I also enjoyed how they criticized each type of reading to show that there was no “right” way to have students read. I must admit that my CT uses many of these methods of reading. My personal least favorite, in her class, would have to be reading aloud to the students. My CT sits in her chair while the students sit at their tables. Students are allowed to be drawing but not talking or doing any other type of schoolwork while Mrs. M reads. Most of the class sits with their head on their desk, while others find ways to talk to each other. This is a third grade class full of energy, and while I think it’s great for them to have a break they can count on during their day, I don’t think this is the most effective way to have children listen to a story. I wish the students each had a copy of the book so that they could follow along (shared reading). I wish that they could see how Mrs. M uses different tones of voice, and how she pauses at the appropriate times.
I realize that my CT also uses other methods; buddy reading most of the time. Students are encouraged to read during their spare time, between assignments and so on. Students are allowed to sit anywhere in the room, as long as their comfortable, and with whomever they choose. If they become a distraction to the rest of the class they are told to move apart. However, some students find ways to sit with their book in front of them without actually reading their book. This is usually when myself, or the other intern step in. We asked these problematic children to read to us, because we are interested in the book they have. For the most part the children love the attention and they read until we tell them to stop. This example of guided reading is most effective when students have that one on one time with us.
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Suzie, I absolutely agree with your point about the CT simply reading aloud to the students! There has got to be a better method to getting them involved in the reading and the meaning of the story's context as opposed to just less-then-half listening and drawing doodles about something else. Shared reading takes place in my classroom quite a bit, and though this is a huge step up from simply listening to the story being read aloud, my students still sometimes struggle to focus on the text itself. Pausing during the reading to ask questions or having comprehension questions that will be discussed following the shared reading might keep the students a little more focused on the story. I love how you say this allows the students to notice your CT's voice inflections because this is a really cool thing for students to start picking up on as they become more mature readers.
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