What is the Reading Rotation?

I am the leader of the Fourth Grade Reading Rotation.  This is a reading intervention that takes place outside of the classroom in the 4th Grade Reading Lab.  Students participating in the Reading Rotation receive 90 minutes of reading instruction. 


Decoding and Reading Fluency:
Students spend 45 minutes working in a group focused on building skills with decoding and reading fluency using the Corrective Reading program.  This is a research based program developed by SRA/McGraw Hill. This program is also used in the grades 3 and 5 Reading Rotations at our school.  Here is a quote from the Teacher's Guide that describes the program:  "Lessons in the Decoding programs are designed to give students practice that leads them to become stronger in what is easier for them to do and that gives them progressive practice in the more difficult reading endeavors.  The lessons do this while remaining within the skill limits of the student, which means that an appropriately placed student will not be overwhelmed with difficult tasks or bored by tasks that are too easy."

Reading Comprehension:
Students also spend 45 minutes working in a group focused on building reading comprehension skills.  They participate in guided reading of fiction and non-fiction texts, practicing reading comprehension skills that make them stronger independent readers.  Students read paired fiction and non-fiction texts to find connections and work to develop their vocabulary.  Writing in response to comprehension questions is also an important part of the Comprehension group and students keep a reading comprehension journal that documents their growth. Students learn to "unpack" questions to determine the information they need to provide to answer a question completely.