The development of children's processing systems for reading: the influence of guided reading in the first year of school

Abstract

In New Zealand, teachers in the first year of school have an important role in ensuring 5-year-old children get underway in reading so that they become confident, proficient and independent readers. Guided Reading is a fundamental, early literacy instructional approach that leads to their independence and yet there is little evidence of the influence of this important practice on the development of children as early readers. This small qualitative case study, informed by Marie Clay’s complex literacy processing theory, undertook to examine Guided Reading in the first year of school. Three teachers in three schools were interviewed about their implementation of Guided Reading and each were observed teaching three lessons. Following the lessons, the oral reading of the 14 child participants was recorded by the researcher using Running Records of continuous text. Issues with the implementation of Guided Reading emerged. The teachers introduced children to Guided Reading in their first week at school. This contradicted published recommendations but reflected the teachers voiced sense of urgency in having children meet a national standard in reading after one year. This early initiation of children to the most intensive form of reading instruction led to implications for teaching that compromised children’s development of processing systems for reading. The Ministry of Education recently announced revisions to Ready to Read, the instructional series distributed to all schools. The revisions are designed to have impact on Guided Reading instruction in the first year of school. The findings suggest that in view of its potential to shape successful trajectories of progress for children there is some urgency in ensuring that schools align their implementation of Guided Reading against the revisions.