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Maureen Hoey: Creating Critical Readers in the Classroom

About the Author

Maureen Hoey is a mainstream primary school teacher who qualified from St Patricks College,
Drumcondra with a Bachelor of Education in 2005 and completed a Master of Humanties
through St Patricks College in 2009. She was presented with an outstanding literacy achievement award in 2012 presented by the RAI, due to the implementation of a Literacy Hour in her
school. She also currently works with Hibernia College as a lead tutor on the PME programme.

About the Author

Maureen Hoey: Creating Critical Readers in the Classroom

Dedication
To Frank Serafini a true educator and professor, who always answered a question with a
question.

Dedication

Maureen Hoey: Creating Critical Readers in the Classroom

Maureen Hoey

Developing Critical Readers

in the Classroom
A guide to setting up a readers workshop

Copyright Maureen Hoey (2015)

The right of Maureen Hoey to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in
accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN xxx x xxxxx xxx x (Paperback)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2015)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ

Printed and bound in Great Britain

Maureen Hoey: Creating Critical Readers in the Classroom

Acknowledgements
Firstly I owe a debt of gratitude to Frank Serafini, with whom I had the good fortune to hear
present at the Reading Association of Ireland in 2012 and since then who has provided me with
consistent support, knowledge and insights into the true meaning of effective literacy teaching.
You are the reason this book is here.
In particular a heartfelt thanks to Therese Thompson and Siobhan Calleary, who read drafts
and consistently expressed confidence in my writing, I am grateful for your encouragement. I
would also like to thank the staff of Scoil Ursula who were willing to implement Literacy initiatives, which were integral in the journey of this book.
Heartfelt thanks also goes to the staff of Dromore West N.S.(Urusla Langan, Aine Mullarkey,
Nicola Duffy,Pamela Cawley) Shane OMeara, Angela Judge, Bernadette ODwyer and other
participants who were willingly to change their literacy practices with the goals of creating lifelong, proficient, sophisticated readers.
Special thanks to Annette Longman and the wonderful staff at Austin Macauley Publishers,
who have provided me with this wonderful opportunity.
My parents and my family, I am grateful for all their support and encouragement. To Tommy,
who has always supported me, provided my haven for writing and the glass of Guinness!
Finally and most importantly, I would like to thank the children of Scoil Ursula, to the children
I have taught and who have taught me.

Acknowledgements

Contents
Why this Book and Who is it For?

Chapter 10 60

Introduction 3

A Focus Unit

Chapter 1 7

Chapter 11 62

A Picturebook Study

Focus Unit: Being a Reader

Chapter 2 19

Chapter 12 81

Read Aloud Demonstration

Focus Unit: Author Study

Chapter 3 24

Chapter 13 98

Interactive Discussions

Focus Unit: Slavery

Chapter 4 30

Chapter 14 118

Independent Reading

Focus Unit: Myths & Legends

Chapter 5 35

Chapter 15 132

Literature Responses

Teacher Planning

Chapter 6 43

Chapter 16 138

Listening Station

Assessment

Chapter 7 48

Chapter 17 145

Reading Strategy Groups Guided Practice

Accommodating ICT as part of

the Readers Workshop

Chapter 8 51

Chapter 18 157

Literature Groups - Extension

of Guided Practice

The Irish English Curriculum

and the New English Language
Curriculum

Chapter 9 59
The Optimal Learning Model

10

Conclusion 166

Maureen Hoey: Creating Critical Readers in the Classroom

Why this Book and Who is it For?

This book is about informing teachers how to teach literacy reading to pupils, with a major
focus on picturebooks and demonstrating to teachers how to utilise picture books to their fullest
potential. There has been a transition in Ireland and in the British Isles from text books to the
use of picture books on a daily basis. There have been numerous articles, research and books
based on picture books; detailing the cognitive and aesthetic aspects of picture books, addressing how picture books can support the literary development in children and how picture books
continue to develop, expand and change in presenting new paradigms. This books highlights the
importance of using picturebooks on a daily basis to enable pupils to understand, connect with
and appreciate literature. Picturebooks provide pupils with authentic opportunities to interpret, evaluate texts and critically engage in the authors message. This book provides practical
examples of how picture books have been used to inspire, motivate and allow space for critical
thinking and reading.
In September 2012, Frank Serafini attended the Reading Association of Ireland in Dublin, held
at Marino Institute of Education. He was invited by the Reading Association Committee to
be the keynote speaker for the conference. He gave an outstanding, inspiring presentation at
the conference, based on Creating a Space for Readers, initiating teachers to rethink our classroom spaces; whos benefit are they for? how can I create space that encourages specific reading
habits? how can I gain optimal use out of my classroom to set up a readers workshop? How can
picture books can be used to provoke critical thinking? His consistent thought provoking questions, thinking outside the box philosophies, and humorous use of pictures to get a point across
made for an engaging, insightful, thought provoking presentation. Intrigued by Serafinis work,
I read extensively on what it meant to teach reading to pupils, through consistent email support
from Serafini I began to implement the framework, structure, components and methodologies of
the Reading Workshop into my classroom.
This book entails my interpretation and expansion of Serafinis vision and passion for teaching
reading to pupils, ultimately demonstrating and portraying what a Readers Workshop can look
like in an Irish classroom setting when it is put into practice. The aim of this book is to demonstrate to teachers what each of the components of the Reading Workshop entail, detailing how
to implement the components into the classroom and giving specific samples of evidence. It
describes in detail the processes and practices that occur on a daily basis as part of the Readers
Workshop programme. It gives an account of how I taught reading to pupils for a period of four
months, my hope is that it will enable you to set up your own Readers Workshop in the classroom, that you will adapt the structures, components and methodologies to suit the needs and
interests of your own pupils to teach reading effectively, making a lasting impact on pupils in
their journey developing as self-proficient, engaged, life-long readers.
This book is divided into three main parts. The introduction reflects on an overall view of the
process of how we teach reading to primary school children in Ireland, examining and highlighting how some of these factors can be detrimental to the children. It also provides a focus on how
some guiding principles can change these factors to enable pupils to become more engaged,

Why this Book and Who is it For?

motivated, active participants in the process of reading. Part one, examines what a picture book
is in detail, facilitating your understanding of the various components that make up a picture
book. In addition, part one illustrates and demonstrates how to set up a Readers Workshop;
it examines in detail the components that can be applied in the teaching of reading. Part two,
which is made up of four focus units, provides concrete examples of how to conduct a focus
unit with your class. It provides detailed lists of picture books, daily plans and ample evidence
of pupils work. It also demonstrates how it is integrated as a part of the reading workshop. Part
three, aims to demonstrate how ICT can be integrated as part of the reading process. It also
focuses on the assessment of pupils during the Reading Workshop, drawing upon varied strategies to enhance the teachers understanding of the pupil as a reader. My aim in this part is also
to demonstrate how the Readers Workshop can be incorporated as a part of the new language
curriculum.
This book demonstrates how literacy change can happen; it specifies what it takes for us teachers to move out of our comfort zones of using the class texts and shift our existing theories and
practices to become more effective, efficient teachers of reading, where reading comprehension
comes to be the process of generating, articulating, negotiating and revising interpretations and
understandings within a community of readers. (ARTRW180 Days pg xii) I have chosen to
share my thoughts, ideas, experiences, lessons, questions that I pondered and found solutions
to in my own development of the Reading Workshop in order for you to have a clear idea and
insight to creating and sustaining a Readers Workshop. It is not an all- encompassing book, I
have chosen to highlight components, factors, strategies, lessons, resources and analysis that are
critical for improving effective literacy practice in the classroom, it is important to spend time
reading particular recommended readings at the end of chapters for a more in-depth knowledge.

Maureen Hoey: Creating Critical Readers in the Classroom

Introduction
Cultivate an ethos of diversity, creativity and curiosity, you will have readers who will exceed
your expectations
Primary schools operate in a space of ever increasing demands; where there is an increasing
diversity of pupils, a place where almost one in four pupils in mainstream are in classes of thirty
or more, an overburdened curriculum teachers feel pressured to cover, and where literacy and
numeracy have been prioritised by extending the duration these subjects have to be taught,
without a reduction in other curricular areas. There is recognition that the curriculum is overburdened with content, whilst there is a growing awareness that the 21st century is demanding
pupils to acquire the skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity in
becoming effective citizens in the workforce. Given the overwhelming amount of content to be
taught, little space is given to developing these skills. There is a growing consensus that schools,
colleges, universities and professional development courses will begin to shift their focus from
rote-learning, formulas, over-reliance on text books to an emphasis on teaching, modelling, scaffolding and allowing participants to apply and utilise these skills.
There is a further recognition that our society and future society require education to become
more responsive to societal needs, the ability to think creatively, show initiative, participate
effectively in a group, demonstrate flexibility and adaptably, factors which our current system
lack in. A curriculum which is predetermined, compulsory and which is predominantly focused
on the acquisition of knowledge and rote-learning, poses challenges to the development of these
skills. In regards to literacy, how does one go about incorporating these key factors into our literacy lessons? How can we ensure there is a clear balance between knowledge and skills, whilst
encouraging creativity, curiosity and diversity? How can we organise and change our classroom
practices to ensure effective literacy is taking place?
In the hope of developing an effective literacy practice which encompasses factors such as creativity, curiosity and diversity it is important to reflect on and discuss the definition of reading,
and understand what principles guide these practices. A schools definition of reading is closely
related to the type of texts they use, how they are used, and the role the pupils play and how
meaning is constructed. (Frank Serafini) Traditionally schools in Ireland closely align their
reading definition through the use of class texts, round-robin reading and the passive role of the
pupil as the receiver of knowledge. Schools that utilise class texts in these ways operate out of
the principle conformity. Conformity is the reign of most reading lessons; pupils are required to
read the same class text at the same time, whilst the teacher takes the active role in constructing
meaning with the text. The teacher directs the understanding of the text through their control
of the text, their questions and their pacing. Pupils are expected to conform to the ideologies
text-books require; all pupils have the same reading rate, all pupils have the same interest in
the pre-selected text, and pupils spend time answering literal questions. The Primary School
Curriculum celebrates the uniqueness of the child, as it is expressed in each childs personality,
intelligence and potential for development Utilising class texts does not celebrate the unique-

Introduction

ness of each child, their personality is not expressed through the class as it is not their choice
of text, their intelligence and potential for development is hindered through answering literal
questions on a weekly basis, and not providing for authentic reading situations. The approach I
speak about above makes reference to a Modernist Perspective, as Serafini states Teachers are
simply required to make sure that readers get the correct messages from these authorised texts.
Little educational space is left for an individuals response or questioning of which texts should
be read. Irish class texts have been used as an instrument for teaching reading for years, maybe
even a century, over the course of years they have been revamped, modernised, always gauged
towards the average reader, but always acting on the same principle; teachers ensuring pupils
get the correct meaning from the texts and emphasising a culture of conformity.
Recognising that there is a need to change from conformity to diversity; what is diversity and
how does this work as part of the Readers Workshop? The Oxford Reading Dictionary characterises diversity a range of many people or things that are very different from each other ,
it is what makes the Reading Workshop interesting and intriguing on a daily basis. Pupils are
diverse learners in terms of their own abilities, interests, background knowledge and the way
they approach reading. Therefore it is imperative that pupils are allowed to choose what they
would like to read; a fiction book, a national geographic magazine, an expository text, when
pupils are taught how to make appropriate choices for their independent reading and recognise that reading is about understanding what they read, they become engaged in the reading
process. Through their choice of literature text that they read, diversity surfaces when pupils
are called upon to share their literature responses with the class, this time provides pupils to
express how they felt about what they are reading, express their meta-cognitive as they were
reading and respond in their own diverse way to that particular piece of text. In sharing their
responses with other pupils, it encourages active listening, active thinking and to re-think previous ideas they may had about a particular character, situation if they had read that book. It is
their diversity of reading interests that makes the reading workshop a wonderful experience for
all pupils. Antoine de Saint-Exupry shared the saying He who is different from me does not
impoverish me - he enriches me. The pupils in the reading workshop enrich each other every
day through their diverse ideas, thoughts, interests and experiences.
Referring to creativity, it involves a balance between teaching, knowledge and skills, and encouraging innovation. (INTO) Developing childrens creativity through the Reading Workshop
enables pupils to express themselves, to make sense of the texts, others and the world around
them. Teachers can build a repertoire of strategies to spark new ideas, and bring out a spirit
of creativity in children through; supporting them in the construction and organisation of the
classroom library, modelling a variety of ways to authentically respond to literature, improvising
and collaborating on what are the deeper meanings of the literature in question. Engaging in this
type of dialogue, with themselves and others through quality literature, children can discover
ways of shaping themselves and the world around them.(INTO) The focus is to create readers
who are capable of thinking in new, creative ways about a text. In primary schools, where class
text books are utilised to teach children how to read begs the question; do these texts stimulate
creativity and curiosity within the pupils? Creativity can be eradicated when children have to
spend time answering questions about a selection of text, rather than responding it to authentically. Teaching pupils to read is a highly creative process, it is not a delivery system whereby
pupils learn mechanical aspects of reading guided by text book programmes. We want pupils
not only how to read but to become readers.

Maureen Hoey: Creating Critical Readers in the Classroom

Central here is also the notion of curiosity. Children are natural learners, when pupils are
eager to learn and to know something, learning comes second hand to them, they will often
learn without any further assistance. We want pupils to become curious about literature, to
deepen their understanding of what it means to be literate, not merely the ability to read or
write but write but also the ability to evaluate and synthesize information, media, and other
technology.(http://educationinnovation.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/08/buzz-word21st-century-learning-skills.html) In mentoring, stimulating, provoking and engaging children
in developing into curious readers requires role-models, opportunities to practice, and guidance.
Children will not be curious about the books in the library if time is not spent organising, structuring and celebrating it, children will not become curious about books, if time is not spent
presenting book talks, pupils will become disengaged with books if they have to spend time
answering questions about it. Einstein stated that Curiosity is a delicate little plant which,
aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom. Einstein makes reference to the
importance of freedom, as a means to solve that curiosity, similarly children need that freedom
of choice to choose what they would like to read in order for them to be actively engaged in the
act of becoming a capable reader. Curiosity in its simplest form presents itself in the reading
workshop, when you hear silence and look around to see the pupils immersed blissfully in their
reading because they are eager to read on, curious to know what happens to the characters.
*****
Ken Robinson delivered a speech on How to Escape Educations Death Valley in 2013 during
a TED Talk. His presentation received the highest number of page views than any other talk.
His talk touched on the important point of no child left behind policy, emphasising the importance of social, human and artistic capital in learning. He made reference to the Death Valley
in America, describing how it was the hottest, driest place in America, where nothing grows.
He described how one winter, seven inches of rain fell over a short period of time,that spring
there was a phenomenon as the whole of Death Valley was covered in flowers. He made the
point that Death Valley wasnt dead, but dormant. Right beneath the surface are these seeds
of possibilitywaiting for the right conditions to come about,and with organic systems, if the
conditions are right,life is inevitable. We need to change the conditions if we want our pupils
to blossom into curious, creative, proficient, life-long readers. We can change the conditions by
eradicating the class texts, we can give the pupils a sense of possibility by allowing them control
over what they read, we can give them a new set of expectations, a broader range of opportunities can be applied by implementing various components of the readers workshop, relationships
will blossom between readers and the teacher, reading lessons that once may be seemed boring
may spring to life. When you change the parameters and climate by implementing the Readers
Workshop pupils will rise to the expectations and achieve things you did not anticipate.
In the terms of teaching pupils to read there has been major progress, immense reform has
been met through supplementary programmes such as paired reading, guided reading, literacy
stations, but the time has come to push the boundaries even further, to allow pupils endless
opportunities to be curious and creative, to celebrate their diversity, lets change our thinking as
teachers; yes that all pupils have varied reading abilities, lets not see it as a hindrance, but an
opportunity, a challenge to help them develop as successful readers. These are the pupils who
have fallen through the proverbial cracks, through the use of classroom texts, while other pupils
have learnt to read in spite of them. Lets push the boundaries for those pupils, and those who
excel at reading. Cultivate an ethos of diversity, creativity and curiosity, you will have readers
who will exceed your expectations, readers who will want to become successful, lifelong readers.

Introduction