I chose the text “A Very Clever Possum” (Joseph, 1999) because it is one that students may be able to relate to, because possums are fairly common in New Zealand (dependent on location) and it provides opportunities to develop discussions before, during and after the text has been read, which will “enhance the students understanding of what they are reading” (Bidulph, 2002, p.1). I believe that an effective guided reading lesson can be produced from this story.
I have chosen to introduce the text “A Very Clever Possum” by asking the students whether they have had any experiences with possums and what they know about possums. I chose to do this because accessing students’ prior knowledge will enhance the learning experience. This gives the students the chance to connect what they already know with new information, which will help them to “make meaningful connections with that new information” (Biddulph, 2002, p.3). In the introduction of the text I have also asked the students to make a prediction to what the possum may do in the story. I have not given too much information about the storyline in the introduction because if I had, …show more content…
This is important because it is transferrable across multiple learning areas with regards to making conclusions. This is also how we understand the underlying themes that the author is communicating indirectly (Ministry of Education, 2003). I believe that I have used questions that will promote inferences by asking questions about characters which are not explicitly described by the author, which encourages the reader to “read between the lines” (Ministry of Education, 2003, p.132) and the students come to a personal conclusion. Some of these inferences will create different responses, which will create discussion among the students and
I have chosen to introduce the text “A Very Clever Possum” by asking the students whether they have had any experiences with possums and what they know about possums. I chose to do this because accessing students’ prior knowledge will enhance the learning experience. This gives the students the chance to connect what they already know with new information, which will help them to “make meaningful connections with that new information” (Biddulph, 2002, p.3). In the introduction of the text I have also asked the students to make a prediction to what the possum may do in the story. I have not given too much information about the storyline in the introduction because if I had, …show more content…
This is important because it is transferrable across multiple learning areas with regards to making conclusions. This is also how we understand the underlying themes that the author is communicating indirectly (Ministry of Education, 2003). I believe that I have used questions that will promote inferences by asking questions about characters which are not explicitly described by the author, which encourages the reader to “read between the lines” (Ministry of Education, 2003, p.132) and the students come to a personal conclusion. Some of these inferences will create different responses, which will create discussion among the students and