Reciprocal reading
In a recent posting (‘Picot now’) I discussed ‘my major current concern: the turbulent and disappointing state of curriculum development and implementation’. My view was that notwithstanding the huge amount of effort going into curriculum development and implementation, the myriad of initiatives at all levels, and the sophistication of some of these efforts – in some respects curriculum performance is going backwards, and in many respects stalled. To put my money where my mouth is, I made a prediction that this year’s NEMP focuses would report art and technology as being stalled, and science as going backwards. [A recent statement from NEMP has been borne out the prediction on science; I am not clear whether the results for the arts and technology have been released.] In this posting I am recommending that an idea for reading, an already tried idea, is the kind of teacher- and child-centred idea that ought to characterise class practice. That idea is reciprocal reading (also called reciprocal teaching). But even this down-to-earth idea has started to be taken over by evidence-based fantasists, and morpheme technicists.
At base, like most successful classroom ideas, it is a very simple idea. When I was teaching I liked to take a simple idea, turn away from further explanation, and work out things from there – making the idea my own. That is why I provide below a straightforward explanation on reciprocal reading before moving on to greater detail.
It was developed in the mid-1980s by American reading researchers Ann Brown and
Ann-Marie Palinscar. In New Zealand it was picked up by Marie Kelly and Dennis
Moore and written about in the publication ‘Reciprocal Teaching’. The American researchers developed the idea for struggling readers (primarily in relation to comprehension) – my suggestion, though, is put that aside; if the idea is a good one it will be good for all children. There is also debate, once the process has been taught to the children, about whether it should be used by one group with other children doing other kinds of reading, or undertaken by the whole class in ability groups.
To start from the beginning, my suggestion is that the process should be modelled using a whole class approach with the teacher being the ‘teacher’. Then, while procedures are still being internalised, the process should be undertaken by the whole class in groups.
Later, reciprocal reading, in ability groups, should be used alongside shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading. (After all, there is not much difference in the techniques used amongst the reading processes.)
At a later date I intend to discuss why curriculum implementation is in a turbulent state and performance is stalling. One of the reasons I will point to, is too much is going on, too much which is really window-dressing for the ministry, review office, boards of trustees, and parents, or diversions for children. What is needed in classrooms is continuity of learning and a settled classroom atmosphere. In respect to reciprocal reading, the main thing that is needed is routine, stability, and a determination to fix the idea in place.

Reciprocal reading is about children sharing a common text and, using a four-stage process, taking turns assuming the role of ‘teacher’ and student.
It is very important, however, to appreciate that while reciprocal reading has always had an academic basis, despite this, or perhaps because of it, there seems to have been a
Chinese whisper effect in its development. The one thing all descriptions of reciprocal reading encompass are the four stages, however, that is where the consensus ends: ideas on the order of the stages, what the ‘teacher’ does, how the reading is done (for instance, read to the group by the ‘teacher’, read around the group, read silently), how the process fits into the reading programme as a whole, even the name of the process (it is also called
‘reciprocal teaching’) – vary widely. This variation, though, should be seen as healthy, and I encourage teachers to get a hang of the basic idea, and add their own whispers to make the process their own. One emphasis deriving from the American authorship of reciprocal reading I particularly query is the rather prescribed and traditional role allocated to the ‘teacher’; my suggestion is that the ‘teacher’ simply be charged with oversight of discussion through the various stages (initiation of discussion, questionformation, summarising, and predicting). In other words, I suggest the ‘teacher’s role’ be one of power sharing not exercising.
The suggestions that follow come from my experience with the process (using it myself, and working with other teachers). There follows immediately a brief outline of reciprocal reading and, further on, more detail
.
1.
Questioning
A child assumes the role of the ‘teacher’ and reads aloud a set of paragraphs (perhaps, two or three) as group members follow along silently. However, this and any other reading might occur silently, be read around the group, or be read to the group by a group member identified by the ‘teacher’. (Before any reading begins in a reciprocal reading activity, I suggest the ‘teacher’ provides an advance organiser, in this case: Be thinking of questions you have about your reading.) After the reading, the group members put forward their questions.
2.
Clarifying
The group members re-read, then discuss any difficult words, and clarify their ideas and questions.
3.
Summarising
The group members re-read, then discuss how the content might be summarised.
4.
Predicting
The group members then make predictions about the next set of paragraphs. Following that, another child takes on the role of ‘teacher’.

However, before you introduce reciprocal reading to the class on an ability group basis, I suggest for a number of weeks you use a whole class strategy so the process can be modelled.
Now, as you will notice from the amount of text that follows, I go into further detail but, if you are like me when I was teaching, what has been described above might be all you want to know. However, irrespective, you might be interested to know what prompted me to return to this retrospective of reciprocal reading.
On 13 May, 2008, the NZEI organised a symposium to discuss PIRLS (Progress in
International Reading Literacy Study). Many of the reading luminaries were there as well as hardened warriors from the frontline. It was a brilliant idea that had insightful and intriguing outcomes. These outcomes are can be read in a booklet put out in May, 2008, by NZEI.
There are the opening statements (remarkably partisan in some cases, but useful for all that); statements made during the discussion that followed; official statements, mainly about the nature of PIRLS, and the significance of some of the reported results; also a statement about LPDP (Literacy Professional Development Project) which was refreshingly candid; then, and this part was particularly interesting, a series of statements which were not attributed; finally, there were statements, sent in by the participants after the symposium, in which they stated the three priority actions they would recommend to improve literary practices. In reading the booklet, my feeling was of being moved closer to the truth about the actual state of reading, and how to bring about useful change.
For the purposes of this posting, however, it was two bullet points in the non-attributed discussion that especially caught my attention.
These bullet points read:
 ‘We need to know about the construction of grouping, that is, the quality and nature of grouping; and what is happening with the groups the teacher is not with.’
 ‘There are strong findings in reciprocal teaching. I was surprised that older teachers know about this but young do not. One gain is that it frees the teacher up to work with another group.
These points from the symposium were the prompt for me to return to my experiences with reciprocal reading.

Introducing reciprocal reading: whole class strategy for modelling (see above)
Say to the children:

Can you remember times when you have found it difficult to understand your reading?
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Discuss this question and the reasons why with the children.
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In our reading over the next few weeks we are going to learn four main ways to help you in your reading of articles and stories.
(For the purpose of this modelling exercise, choose a text that is not too difficult for the poorer decoders, but has good depth in its range of meanings.)
Introducing reciprocal reading: whole class strategy for modelling (concentrating on question generating)
In session 1, concentrate on question generating.

Read the paragraphs to the children while they follow along silently – or ask the children to read them silently, around the class, or by a child identified by the teacher.

Before the reading begins provide an advance organiser: Be thinking of questions you have about your reading.

What questions do you have about these paragraphs?
Introducing reciprocal reading: whole class strategy for modelling (concentrating on clarifying)
In session 2, concentrate on clarifying.

Ask the children to re-read the paragraphs (silently).

Before the reading begins provide an advance organiser: Be thinking of any words or ideas that still puzzle you.

Are there any words or ideas that still puzzle you?

Have the children discuss these with a neighbour and then as a class. (This class discussion also provides you with the opportunity to model some word attack techniques; also techniques to work out ideas.)

Introducing reciprocal reading: whole class strategy for modelling (concentrating on summarising)
In session 3, concentrate on summarising.

Ask the children to re-read the first paragraph (silently) to develop a summary.

Before the reading begins provide an advance organiser: Be thinking of how you could summarise the paragraph.
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Ask the children to do this with all the paragraphs. (In later sessions, the children could be asked to identify the topic sentences for the paragraphs.)

Ask the children for a summary of the paragraphs as a whole.
Introducing reciprocal reading: whole class strategy for modelling (concentrating on predicting)
In session 4, concentrate on predicting.

In our next set of paragraphs, what might follow?

What might we be discussing in our next reading?
When, after a number of weeks, the overall process has been successfully modelled, go through the same process, this time with the class divided into groups, but once again using the same text and the children being guided by you on class-wide basis. The end effect of this process should be the children being able to function in ability groups, with text chosen to match, in whatever permutation you choose for your reading programme
(for instance, other groups doing independent reading, shared reading, guided reading, literature circles).
Introducing the children to reciprocal reading, this time in groups, but once again using the same text and the children being guided by you on a class wide basis
Ask the children, on the basis of the title, what might the reading be about?
Identify a ‘teacher’ for each of the groups. (Subsequent ‘teachers’ appointed in rotation from there.)
Read the paragraphs to the children while they follow along silently – or ask the children to read them silently, around the class, or by a child identified by the teacher.
Before the reading begins provide an advance organiser: Be thinking of questions you have about your reading.

At the end of the reading ask the children to put forward their questions for discussion in groups led by the identified ‘teachers’.
Ask the children in their groups to re-read the paragraphs (silently).
Before the reading begins provide an advance organiser: Be thinking of any words or ideas that still puzzle you.
At the end of the reading ask the children to put forward for discussion in groups any words or ideas that still puzzle them. (These discussions to be led by the ‘teachers’.)
Ask the children to re-read the paragraphs (silently) to develop summaries of each paragraph, and the paragraphs as a whole.
Before the reading of each paragraph begins provide an advance organiser: Be thinking of how you could summarise the paragraph, and the paragraphs as a whole.
At the end of each reading ask the children to put forward in groups their summaries.
(These discussions to be led by the ‘teachers’.)
Ask the children what might follow in the next set of paragraphs.
Ask the children to put forward their predictions in groups led by the ‘teachers’.
It is now the turn for new ‘teachers’ to be identified for the next two or three paragraphs.
(Please note: Some class sharing of ideas from the group discussion can make a useful contribution to the modelling process.)
Some additional comments:

Teachers should develop a process that works for them, and so make it their own.

As is typical of ideas that have significant academic involvement, there are some descriptions of reciprocal reading that are mind-boggling in complexity.
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Reciprocal reading is simply a variation of shared reading and other reading approaches used in classrooms.
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Reciprocal reading seems to work best if used daily over, say, three or four weeks.
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Non-fiction seems to work best for the process.

Dictionaries and atlases should be readily available for reference.
Reciprocal reading is recommended as providing a useful twist to reading activities for older children. It supplements two common areas of weaknesses in second stage reading programmes: what to do with children who have learnt to decode reasonably well; and

helping children get meaning from that decoding when it is undertaken. I would like to hear from you about your view on the approach to reciprocal reading suggested, and your ideas on what has worked for you.