Teachers Perceptions of Best Practices for Reading in the Primary Grades

Running head : BEST PRACTICES IN READING

Chapter Three Methodology : Best Practices in Reading

CHAPTER THREE : METHODOLOGY

BEST PRACTICES IN READING

Introduction

Linder (2009 ) portrays excellent reading teachers as dedicated practitioners constantly seeking the best teaching methods to meet the needs of their students and willing to take risks and experiment with novel and innovative approaches . The International Reading Association issued a position outlining the attributes of excellent classroom teachers (IRA , 2000 . Exemplary reading teachers display several hallmark qualities of knowledge and practice

They understand the nature of reading

and writing development and share the belief that all children have the capacity to learn to read and write

They engage in continuous assessment of children 's individual progress and relate reading instruction to the child 's prior experience

They possess a repertoire of strategies for teaching reading , know when to employ each strategy , and know how to fuse different strategies into an effective teaching program

They offer students a variety of reading materials and texts

They employ flexible grouping strategies for the purpose of tailoring instruction to individual students

They are good reading coaches ' in that they know how to provide students with strategic assistance

Beyond the qualities intrinsic to successful reading instruction excellent reading teachers exhibit many generic characteristics of good teachers (IRA , 2000 . They possess strong content and pedagogical knowledge , proficiently manage classrooms to maximize student engagement , know how to motivate students to become independent learners , express high expectations for student performance , and help students overcome difficulties with...