b. Going more deeply into text
Through practical workshops student teachers become familiar with the layout and the terminology of the NLS. Aspects such as planning a guided reading session, classroom organisation and the structure of guided work are dealt with specifically through videos. However, in all this we strive to keep the focus on engaging children in the process of making sense of powerful text.
Activity i
Using the Scholastic titles such as the Julian Stories, The Shopping Basket, Little Bear, student teachers select a range of work suggested in the booklets and write lesson plans based on the book. They are then required to look at the NLS to see which objectives they have addressed.
Reading literature to student teachers and improving their knowledge of children’s literature again raises the issue of provision of a range of texts in the class in order for children to browse and enjoy them. Taking student teachers and children deeper into a text can also provide a context for a range of learning. Working with the Scholastic booklets and Judith Graham’s Cracking Good Picture Books at KS1, the student teachers begin to explore the potential of different texts. However it has to be noted that some authors object to teachers exploring or mining their books and indeed there is an issue here for discussion with student teachers.
Activity ii
Reading Games: games have an important role in the Early Years. Helen Bromley’s games are described in detail in a book, rather than sold ready-made (Bromley, 2000). They focus on making sense of picture books and so are very different from the more usual reading games, which tend to focus on phonics or word-recognition. They are excellent for extending children’s reading and their enjoyment of books. They include track games, strip sequences and dice games, covering a wide range of stories, from traditional tales to Michael Rosen’s Little Rabbit Foo Foo, always a favourite with student teachers and children. Bromley offers a number of examples of games and a list of books to use as a basis.
Initially we ask our student teachers to work in small groups to choose a game appropriate to the needs of the children they are in contact with and create the game, following Bromley’s instructions. Although the making of some of the games can be time consuming we feel they are well worth the effort. Once student teachers get the idea they begin to create their own games.
As well as reinforcing and extending their understanding of reading and learning to read, these collaborative activities also underline the connections between reading, talking and learning for our student teachers.
Connections to Standards
Q 4, 5, 6, 14, 18, 25, 26.
See also 2e. Drama and role play, 3e. Reading for pleasure and 4h. Gender and writing.
 
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