| Some have said and will say that schools are our | | | | is put up on a mind map on large foolscap paper. |
| factories, producing widgets for our society. But if | | | | Here are some tips to getting your child or class |
| you've ever seen a teacher help children learn to | | | | into self-discovery mode. |
| read, you'd disagree with that. | | | | Tip #1 Start with a discussion about what they |
| We all went to school. We all learned what was on | | | | know about the book from the cover. |
| the menu from a very early age. Some balked. | | | | Tip #2 If the book has a particular subject or |
| Some misbehaved. Some pretended to be | | | | theme, discuss it and mine the class or child for |
| invisible. The majority paid attention and learned. | | | | his or her information on this topic. Answer |
| But what did they learn? Any variety of subjects | | | | questions. Ask more questions than you answer. |
| from Music to Language Arts and still at the end | | | | Tip #3 Prediction. Show them the book and have |
| of each of our school careers, we are all different | | | | them flip through the pages to tell you what they |
| and we have all taken out exactly what we've | | | | think happens in the book. |
| put in or wanted to get out of our educations. A | | | | Tip #4 Bring in a feature. Bring in a book from |
| good education leads us back to ourselves. | | | | the library about the topic and flip through the |
| We start school as people. Same with reading. We | | | | pages. Discuss the non-fiction book. |
| already know a considerable amount of | | | | Tip #5 Bring in a bag with some hints in it before |
| information about topics before we start school. | | | | showing the child or children the book. Have them |
| With reading, it used to be taught to rote. Learn | | | | play twenty questions to find out what the topic |
| this word and that word. Spell just these words. | | | | of the book is that day. |
| You don't have to like these words but know | | | | Tip #6 Show them words related to the book. |
| them anyway. Educators found that by and large | | | | Say them. Have the children record them in their |
| that approach didn't work. | | | | special notebook. Have them select the ones they |
| In the early 80's, an approach called Guided | | | | want to pack along in their notebook with them. |
| Reading started to pop up in Australia and New | | | | Tip #7 Remind them that what they learn from |
| Zealand. Naturally, we give them full credit for | | | | reading the book is more important than what the |
| zeroing in on what educators were already | | | | book is about. Query them afterwards as to |
| thinking. What does work is breaking children into | | | | what they've learned. |
| small groups for guided reading or teaching them | | | | Tip #8 Remind them that the words they |
| independently. What does work is speaking to | | | | remember are their words now. Reading should |
| children's self-knowledge right away in every | | | | be empowering too. |
| lesson. | | | | Tip #9 Ask them to bring in one thing that |
| Think about it. If we were told nothing about the | | | | reminds them about the story and put it in a box. |
| day ahead of us, we wouldn't be very interested | | | | Tip #10 Add one sentence to the word wall. This |
| in it. If we were told by our boss to start on a | | | | can be done in your own home as well. |
| project that had no meaning, we wouldn't be very | | | | More to the point, don't forget that we never tell |
| happy. Guided Reading's key precept is | | | | a child what they should have learned. It takes |
| self-discovery. | | | | away curiosity. Always ask them what they |
| Every lesson of Guided Reading starts well before | | | | learned. |
| opening the cover of the book involves finding out | | | | If self-discovery is the path back to ourselves |
| what the kids know. If the story is going to have | | | | then good teaching from educators or parents is |
| butterflies in it, the group or larger group is asked | | | | the path to reading. For this reason, I have |
| some things they know about butterflies. Often, it | | | | written this article. |