Reading Class: ‘The rhythm matters’

What is rhythm in the Reading journey?  How can it affect readers and their varied pace?

Rhythm is the flow in the learning process. 
Getting started and persistence increases learning. Let me share a few proven methods that help the reading journey.

1) Flow for fascination: Just like other skills, reading too demands continuous practice and training. With no significant academic interruptions, learners’ basic reading skills are developed. Once this routine gets embedded, it can lead to branching novel ideas in the reading process. The continuity of any skill, especially reading, has the power to make the task easy and interesting.

2) Solution for Struggling groups: Despite educators following the reading routine, it has been noted that there is a need to have a creative solution for a group with varied efforts, abilities and speed.

2 a) Patience for Pace: We teachers need to be patient, flexible, and courageous in our  approach while teaching reading to varied levels. It is vital to fill learners with the belief that, with regular reading practice, they can sooner or later achieve the required level. Encouraging even a bit of growth noticed in a specific reading area is a key. 

2b) Flipped Learning Methods:
Assigning homework activity of reading a passage with a couple of questions to comprehend prior to a reading lesson is certainly beneficial to learners. They come prepared to the class with the basic vocabulary, comprehension ideas and answers to the questions. The class discussions increase as do reading skills.

•••What if some learners come to the class without reading the assigned activity? 

2c) Differentiated plan for diverse readers: Having a plan B assists teachers in uncertain outcomes. Grouping active readers and the other Group, who are yet to read the assigned task, is a good solution and teachers may allot higher order activities for active learners such as create task based questions, word-games, rubrics for peer observations; whilst the second group will focus on the group reading and can answer the questions right after. Learners collaborate and complete the tasks.

3) Peer Teaching : Leadership opportunities can be assigned to the active group to peer-teach as a class or in small groups. Encouraging all learners to take turns in participating in peer teaching is incredibly effective. 

4) Digital version: Some creative EL teachers are seen preparing a digital version of the grade level reading books as an alternative source to ease readers’ tasks.

5) Vocabulary for Higher level reading:  Higher lexical Range is directly proportional to reading fluency. The more diverse the word bank, the higher the decoding process,  and hence probability of understanding the advanced or strategic context.

6) Collaborate to Collect Ideas:

Reading is a cognitive ability and we all have unique approaches towards understanding the given text. Sharing how individuals work to reach the answers is incredibly useful, as readers learn to collaborate and embrace each other's uniqueness and learning styles.

Average: 5 (2 votes)

Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

See our publications, research and insight