Sharing Good Practice
Guided Reading in the Arabic
Classroom
By Marwa Al SamSam
5 Tips to get started
The grade level and the size of the
classroom will largely determine how
to approach guided reading; before
you begin, remember to test your
students to find out their reading
levels. Here is a general framework to
get you started:
1. Divide students into small groups.
Each group should be of the same
guided reading level.
2. The book and any new vocabulary
should be introduced. The teacher
should provide any background
knowledge required to help
students with comprehension.
3. As students read, the teacher
makes observations and provides
coaching to those who need
support.
M
any Arabic classrooms lack
the individualized attention
required for students’ literacy
needs. Reading and writing
materials gradually become more
difficult. Teachers struggle tracking
their students’ progress on different
aspects of their lessons, whilst also
making sure they have achieved their
learning outcomes.
Despite all the effort Arabic language
teachers spend on preparing materials,
and creating activity ideas to motivate
students, assessment still shows poor
results at the end of the year. Part of
this is due to insufficient time available
for teachers to assess a large number of
students and also track their progress.
Traditional approaches to teaching, are
still being used in Arabic classes and
the dominance of English language
subjects over Arabic, results in teachers
having to cover materials required by
school administration, without being
able to focus on the individual needs of
their students. In addition, the Arabic
curriculum does not explicitly teach
necessary reading and writing skills
to students. When done properly the
teaching of reading strategies can
provide the means for students to
overcome reading challenges.
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The benefits of Guided
Reading in Arabic classes
Implementing a guided reading
programme can be part of the solution
to successful Arabic language teaching.
Guided reading provides support for
struggling readers in a safe setting. It
allows teachers to differentiate their
instructions to meet the needs of
individual students. It also provides
opportunities to practice learned skills,
as well as talk about and use different
reading strategies on a variety of texts,
suitable to their proficiency levels.
Students are given the chance to apply
problem-solving strategies in order to
independently figure out unfamiliar
words, deal with different sentence
structures, and understand concepts
or ideas they have never before
encountered.
Arabic library classes can be used more
effectively by implementing a guided
reading programme. Instead of leaving
students to read independently,
teachers can use this precious time to
equip students with the tools needed
to overcome reading obstacles.
Class Time
4. When working with a group of
students, it is important that the
teacher is prepared with other
activities for the rest of the class.
5. The teacher should make sure
that all students understand
the procedure and
classroom
expectations during the guided
reading session.
Most students cannot expand their
reading abilities by themselves;
even if they are given time to read.
Teachers need to help their students
develop word reading skills, sentence
comprehension,
familiarity
with
different genres, and the necessary
reading strategies to be independent
learners. Guided Reading programmes
in Arabic provide flexibility for teachers
and the opportunity for practice
and overcome reading difficulties,
to become confident readers and
analytical thinkers.
Sources: Bodman, S, Frankil., G, 2014. Which
Book and Why. 1st ed. London: The institute of
Education Press, University of London.
Maamouri, M., 1999, “Literacy in the Arab
Region”, in Wagner, D.A., Venezky, R.L.
and Street, B.V., Literacy: an International
Handbook, Westview Press: Colorado.