Guided reading is an instructional practice where teachers support a small group of students to read a text independently.1 It enables students to interact with the teacher to develop and practise effective reading strategies, leading to independence, while working with a text at the students’ instructional level. 

Guided reading is based on the belief that optimal learning for a reader occurs when they are assisted by a teacher to read and understand a text with clear but limited guidance.1

During guided reading, the teacher monitors student reading processes and checks that texts are within students’ capabilities, allowing them to practise their newly acquired skills.2

Before Guided Reading:

• use your assessment data to identify each student’s specific needs, teaching focus and grouping

• decide on the learning intention and the relevant components of the success criteria 

• choose an appropriate text at the students' instructional level  

• pre-read text and plan the introduction, reading, and discussion of the text

• plan any follow-up activities.

During Guided Reading:

• state the learning intention and the relevant components of the success criteria 

• introduce the text, consider word meaning, language, and visual information

• activate students’ prior knowledge and supply additional information to help them relate to the text

• teach an identified strategy

• students read the whole text or part of a text, sometimes aloud and sometimes silently

• ‘listen in’ and confirm student’s attempts and successes

• monitor and record the student's reading and strategies employed

• generate discussion and draw out student's responses to the text

• reflect on the learning intention with the students and how they felt they went.

After Guided Reading:

• reflect on how the session went

• evaluate the students' engagement with the text

• record further notes on the students' progress and identified needs

• organise related activities arising from the session

• plan further teaching and learning experiences.

Reciprocal teaching is a comprehension routine designed to promote students comprehension of text. It is based on the foundations students acquire in guided reading and involves meaningful dialogue about the text between students and teacher or between students. It involves four comprehension strategies - predicting, questioning, clarifying and summarising. Explicit teaching of these strategies and modelling of how to apply them in a small group setting is required before students can facilitate reciprocal teaching independently. Meaning of the text is jointly constructed through discussion between all group members. An appointed group leader prompts discussion for each of the strategies, so that all students are given the opportunity to apply and refine their skills when predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarising. Students use scaffolded supports such as bookmarks with their role clearly outlined and sentence stems to provoke conversation to assist them as they work through the text.

Reciprocal Teaching is an effective and supportive comprehension routine because it:

• supports students content knowledge and vocabulary

• makes visible what good readers do - predict, question, clarify, summarise

• promotes meaningful dialogue between students about texts

• helps students to develop skills is locating, defining, recording and organising information in preparation for writing

Implementing Reciprocal Teaching

Initially, the teacher will model the procedure by acting as the leader of the discussion—modeling, discussing and explaining the use of the four strategies. Efficient readers are able to synthesise these strategies when reading. However, to make them explicit to students, it is important that each one is modelled and scaffolded separately. As students become familiar with the four strategies and are competent in their use, they are ready to take on the role of leader. Initially this may be by leading one of the four parts of the discussion. Once students can competently lead the full process independently the teacher takes on a secondary role, providing encouragement, feedback and support where necessary.

Text Selection

The teacher selects a text at an appropriate level of difficulty for the students. The teacher identifies the supports and challenges in the text and selects a teaching focus based on the students' learning needs. Each student refers to an individual copy of the text. It will typically be a text that students have not read before.

As Reciprocal Teaching emphasises the importance of dialogue in promoting comprehension, short non-fiction text types are particularly suitable. However, a text may be read over several sessions if it contains chapters or challenging vocabulary or concepts.

Assessment

During Reciprocal Teaching sessions the teacher can make anecdotal observations on the level of student participation and their strategy competence. These records of observations form the basis of future planning and teaching. It is envisaged that when students can competently use the strategies developed during Reciprocal Teaching they will be integrated, internalised and transferred to their independent reading.