Page 15 - Handbook for reluctant, struggling and poor readers

• P. J. Šafárik Gimnázium, Rožňava

CZECH REPUBLIC

• Gymnázium Františka Křižíka, Plzeň
• Hotelová škola, Plzeň
• Gymnázium Jana Keplera, Hradčany
From the analysis of the answers given by the teachers involved we can outline the following elements:
• Number of RSP readers per class: most teachers reported that more than 50% of the class are
RSP readers. Only a few stated that just 20% of the entire class are RSP readers.
• The narrower and wider environment often implies that (not) reading is the problem of the students
themselves, the skill they should have mastered in elementary school, and that reading activity is
related solely to the teaching of the mother tongue.
• The teacher described the existing curricula as a document that implies that all students have good
reading skills and abilities.
• The teacher pointed out that existing curriculum doesn't describe/prescribe activities and
procedures with students who have difficulties with reading, neither in the sense of methodology
nor in content, as well as adjustment of prescribed content to their needs.
• In addition to the list of literary titles, there are no instructions on how to handle and there are no
guidelines that would allow a teacher to tailor more demanding content to NPL students.
• Deep interpretation of a large number of canonical texts is required, which implies a high level of
adoption of literary terms and concepts and remarkable student's interest in reading. Insufficient
attention is paid not only to students' interests but also to their needs and opportunities.
• The reading itself of the text prescribed by the curriculum, is not graded, the teacher takes into
account the timing of reading a text and pre-sets the problem issue with which the text conversation
starts.
• To read mandatory works from the curriculum, the number of pages significantly influences the
motivation of the students to read.
• Apart from changing the list of texts, teacher emphasizes the importance of teacher autonomy and
their responsibility for developing student readers.
• The most serious issue the teachers are facing is that they have lack of motivation both from the
side, of the teachers and as well the students. They have to meet the requirements of the national
curriculum therefore they have no time for improving those skills which they should.
• Some teachers, with a curriculum text, deliver a contemporary text or parts of the text and updates
the topic, relationships, problems and possible solutions. The knowledge and reading experience
of a student on a particular text provides space during the teaching process by putting it in the
forefront of their teaching.
• They also encourage students to read aloud.
• They believe that RSP readers should also work in smaller groups.
• Some teacher found the solution, based on their practice and professional training on the topics of
encouraging reading skills of high school students, in the introduction of short literary forms - short
stories of contemporary themes - which provide the ability to read the full text on the lesson and
encourage students to discuss the problems of the world they live in.
• The choice of topics and genres is extremely important in terms of motivation and willingness to
read and often allows students to present topics within their interests in order to encourage other
students to explore the topics they are interested in. The students are more satisfied when they
read the texts they themselves proposed at the beginning of the school year as electoral texts.
These texts are read by almost all the students in the classroom and they all want to comment and
give their personal views and impressions about the read.
• Some teachers grades students after longer period of time and based on the notes they make on
their activities during conversations about texts (formative assessment).
• One of the possible incentive factors is seen in a better interaction between "developed" readers
and RSP readers (peer influence).
• Most of the teachers rarely, or not at all, involve motivational innovative activities. The initiatives
are sporadic and left to teachers' individual will for helping these students. These findings are
alarming.