You know how difficult it is to monitor comprehension during your limited guided reading time. And you work so hard during guided reading, but it feels like you’re not getting through to all of your students. How can you ensure that each student is comprehending what he or she is reading?
If you’re looking for a new guided reading approach, especially one that is backed by research, then reciprocal teaching is the answer! You can pair down that lengthy list of comprehension strategies listed in your curriculum book and just focus on the four main strategies: predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing. Your students will become experts at discussing texts, they’ll begin asking their peers relevant questions that are on-topic, and they will learn how to think beyond the text. Reciprocal teaching encourages your students to take an active role in reading.
Make guided reading more effective for your students with reciprocal teaching
When you first implement reciprocal teaching, you will need to model the strategies often and with lots of examples. Students will learn how to ‘be the teacher’ and lead discussions, while highlighting the four main comprehension strategies. With practice, reciprocal teaching can be a valuable tool for helping all students improve their reading comprehension skills. Here are some tips and tricks to make guided reading using reciprocal teaching more successful in your classroom:
- Make sure all students are actively engaged in the discussion. Reciprocal teaching relies on all students being involved in order to be successful. If you have students who are off task or not participating, it will be difficult for the other students to stay on track.
- Keep discussions focused on the text. It can be easy for students to get off topic when they are leading the discussion. If this happens, gently redirect the conversation back to the text.
- Encourage students to ask each other questions. One of the goals of reciprocal teaching is for students to learn how to ask each other questions in order to clarify understanding. If a student asks a question that can’t be answered by the text, encourage their classmates to ask each other questions in order to figure it out.
- Be patient. It takes time for students to get used to leading discussions and using reciprocal teaching strategies. If you stick with it, you will see improvements in your students’ reading comprehension skills.
This Reciprocal Teaching Resource is for you
Not sure how to start? This Reciprocal Teaching Elementary Resource will help you and your students start using reciprocal teaching at your guided reading table. This resource is easy to implement, easy to navigate, and it is filled with valuable teacher information. Within the resource you will find mini-posters, worksheets, activities, student helper cards, bookmarks, and games that focus on the four main comprehension strategies. Best of all, everything is differentiated for your students’ varying abilities and it is provided to you in multiple formats to meet your needs as an instructor (virtual, in-person, or hybrid).
Want to Learn More? Check this resource out….
