Teacher Discussion Forums

I am struggling with some reading activities in class. I wonder how others on the boards approach reading. It was a much better part of class at the beginning of the year but I think motivation is low at this time of year, for them and for me! so effort and attention levels are falling off.

Our programme is based on stories and articles. We have a huge book with plenty of choice. When I do whole-class reading and discussion, it works with some classes sometimes but with others they don't pay attention and I get frustrated and so does the class because it ends up slow and boring, waiting for people to read or answer questions as they lose the place. Sometimes I get them to read individually and do questions in pairs but there are two problems there 1. Some go off task and chat about other things so that work is not done much 2. The weaker students get the answers or have the stronger students explain the texts and question answers to them so I wonder how much it is worth it educationally?

I see some students just don't read enough and I wonder how to motivate them.

At least partner work lets them work at their own pace and helps my frustration levels and I am considering abandoning whole class reading and discussion altogether as it is so patchy (it is hit and miss in terms of how much they participate) but then of course they miss out on teacher input/ class discussion.

Any feedback or suggestions on this are very welcome!

I found a good balance between whole group reading and small group reading worked for my class this year. The whole group reading allowed the strong students an opportunity to model fluent reading and good comprehension strategies. Plus they explain their answers in a different way than a teacher, which can help the weaker readers. Then on other days I would break up into small groups and in group I could target specific skills based on the needs of my class. With small groups I could give center work that was appropriate for the different levels in my class. It is a little bit of extra work, but it minimized frustration levels for my students and me. Plus starting something different midyear increase motivation and the students made a better effort. I told my students that I thought they were ready to try to work like the next grade they were starting in September and that also motivated them.