Oxford University Press
What Makes a Good Guided
Reading Text for Early Readers?
By Dr Sue Bodman
R
eading experiences in the first
few years of schooling are key
to future successes. Guided
reading is one possible wholeschool strategy to ensure positive
experiences when learning to read
in Arabic. Guided reading involves
working with a small group of similarlyattaining pupils. Reading a text with
accessible challenge, they are taught
to apply and extend reading strategies.
It is a powerful teaching methodology
designed to ensure that pupils
acquire positive reading attitudes
and motivations as well as reading
skills and knowledge of words and
letters. Therefore, the books we use
for guided reading lessons need to be
more than words brought together to
satisfy a prescribed learning sequence.
They need to be worth reading.
We need to choose wisely.
The
criteria below will help ensure that
every guided reading experience you
provide uses texts that will help inspire
reading motivation by helping you
choose a ‘just right’ book.
Is the book designed for
guided reading?
Not all books for early readers are
compatible with the guided reading
methodology. A guided reading
lesson for early readers is designed
to support progress in many areas of
literacy learning:
• Comprehension of the text’s
message, avoiding the pitfalls of a
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reliance on decoding at a later stage
when diacritics are no longer used
• Letter knowledge and how to
use known letters as a source of
information whilst reading
• Learning how to decode letter
sounds from right to left into whole
words
• Knowledge of high frequency words
to support fluent reading
• Language development so that
the grammar and vocabulary used
in the Modern Standard Arabic
(MSA) language register become
increasingly accessible
Not all texts for early readers offer
these characteristics, focusing instead
on just one or two aspects of the
reading process; this is not helpful in a
guided reading lesson.
Does the book have good
content?
In order to develop motivation to read,
books need to have well-conceived
stories or interesting information
that relate to pupils’ own experience
and interests. Early texts need to be
well-authored in written language
that builds on rich oral language
experiences but empowers through
effective use of register. Clear story
structure - problem – climax – resolution
– encourages the development of
reading comprehension and makes
pupils want to read. Satisfying story
content and endings are the reward of
reading.
Class Time
Is the text strongly supported
by clear design and layout?
Some early for guided reading texts
include poor or distracting layout
inappropriate
spacing
between
words that don’t facilitate clear
demonstration of directional and
matching principles. These need to
be avoided in favour of books that
present text clearly, have enlarged
spaces between words and clear fonts.
This allows discrimination of letters
and diacritics to develop as quickly as
possible. As learners progress, they
will need to meet diversity and variety
in all of these areas and these features
become less of a consideration in
book choice.
Are the illustrations clear and
supportive?
Illustrations are an integral part of early
reading. They extend the meaning
conveyed in the text. But they should
not detract attention from the text or
take away the need to attend closely
to print to understand the author’s
message. Good illustrations add an
additional source of information to the
reader, not dominating or distracting.
Choosing books for guided reading
is a skill worth developing. Effective
book choices for guided reading
lessons ease pupils into reading MSA
and provide successful experiences
with books. Engaging books for
guided reading lessons, like those
included in the Arabic Club Readers
series, help forge reading motivation
that lasts a lifetime.