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What a good reader can do (W9.1)
Traves (2015) describes the qualities of good readers. They:
- show versatility, reading different kinds of material in different ways (and sometimes the same material in different ways)
- develop and refine their own preferences for what to read while being open to new possibilities
- find ways to cope with unfamiliar and challenging material
- identify and follow the plot of a piece of writing (whether fiction or otherwise), inferring what is happening and speculating about where it may go next
- interpret ideas, themes and patterns and form questions and comments as they go along
- skim, scan, select and record in order to locate and log what they are after
- appreciate multiple meanings, ambiguities and other twists and turns of language
- connect what they read to their prior knowledge and experience
- cross-refer, combine and compare information from a variety of sources, as well as connecting what they read with their prior knowledge and experience
- make and articulate considered judgments about texts and how they are written
- reflect on the ways in which they go about their reading.
(Traves, 2015:10)
Working individually at first, reflecting on the class that you are most familiar with, highlight any parts of this list that the children are already tackling, for example, even early readers can connect what they read to their own experience and begin to show preferences for what they like to read.
Work with a colleague or colleagues who are more familiar with a different age range from you. What do you notice about how they have highlighted this list? Do you agree with Traves that ‘younger readers… should use the full range of abilities from the outset’? What might be barriers for them tackling the full list? Are the difficulties to do with the children themselves or the opportunities offered to them?
Reference
Traves. P.(2015) Reading 7 to 16. Leicester: Owen Education/United Kingdom Literacy Association.