Reciprocal reading is a structured method of guided reading where children are gradually taught to take on group roles to explore and find meaning in texts. The common reading emphasizes teamwork and supports independent comprehension skills.
Example Roles In The Reciprocal Reading
Reciprocal reading is used with reading comprehension exercises. Each student is assigned a different role in the group and performs set tasks. Take a look at some example roles and the part they might play in a common reading task:
- The Leader decides who will do what. They are in charge! The Leader introduces the text and must ensure everyone is joining in and following.
- The Predictor asks all the readers to make predictions about the text based on information they already know. What do you think will happen? What will happen next? What will this character do now?
- The Clarifier helps the group identify confusing words, sentences, and ideas. They help the group to understand the text. It can be useful to ask each reader to highlight confusing words, sentences, or passages for discussion as soon as the reading is over.
- The Summariser helps the group to identify the most important ideas in the text and what the text is mainly about. Finally, they provide a summary of the text.
- The Questioner asks questions about the text. Guided Reading Questions Blooms Taxonomy could help establish which questions to ask to encourage higher-order thinking.
- The Illustrator draws or illustrates what they have read about in a picture, diagram, or cartoon.
- Passage Master looks for what they think is the most interesting passage in the story and justifies their selection to the group.
- Feelings Finder finds words or parts of the story which show or describe feelings or emotions.
- Word Finder picks out new or interesting words used by the author and can give their definition.
- Link Maker links between this story and other stories or real-life events.
The children work together, play their different roles, and in the end, they gain a more thorough understanding of the reading text while also gaining valuable teamwork skills.
