The Rationale for a Balanced Reading Program
Experts recognize the importance of teaching balanced reading to support students to become independent readers. Therefore, teachers benefit greatly from being suitably prepared, engaging in professional teaching development, and recipients of resources to carry out carefully structured learning in reading and writing. There is a chronic gap in teacher training in Indonesia between what is needed and delivered while teaching students to read. When placed in schools with effective principals, strong curricula, and well-supported teachers, almost any student can learn to read.
Based on this need, YLAI developed a balanced reading training program with innovative reading methodologies, and provided specific support in implementing a strong reading program in the early grades. With this training, it is hoped that teachers can teach reading with clear, specific, and practical instructional strategies that can guide students to become critical readers and love reading independently.
6 Elements of a Balanced Reading Program
The process of learning to read requires:
- Development and a habit of reading motivation.
- An understanding of how letters sound and letter identification relates to reading syllables and words.
- Ability to decipher unknown words.
- Ability to read fluently.
- Development of comprehension strategies to get meaning from reading.
- Basic knowledge and sufficient vocabulary to support understanding.
Therefore, the Balanced Reading program developed by YLAI consists of 6 components.
The first 3 components relate to the development of reading culture in the classroom, where students are motivated to read through exposure to a print rich classroom environment, interesting and engaging reading books in reading corners, and regular reading of picture books by teachers in interactive reading activities.
Then, the second 3 components relate to skill development through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. These skills are taught through a phonics program that is taught systematically, a modelled shared reading program using big books, and a guided reading program using graded reading books.
Reading Corner Management and Interactive Reading Training
YLAI incorporates a variety of teaching and learning strategies that are recognised as integral to the support of literacy skill development. These are:
- Interactive reading training which includes interactive reading activities.
- A print rich classroom environment.
- A reading corner in the classroom to support independent reading activities.
Interactive Reading
Interactive reading is a reading activity designed to foster student interest in listening, verbally participating in questions and answers, and discussions, as well as role playing. It develops reading habits, critical thinking skills, and interactions between teachers and students.
YLAI provides training for teachers to implement interactive reading activities. Teachers are trained to use reading mechanisms with interaction when reading books, communicating, and conveying and receiving reading messages in the books they are reading. Specifically, the teaching and learning activities involve and encourage teachers and students with listening, oral participation, question and answer, discussion, and role play to develop students’ confidence in using their language skills. For the interactive reading activities teachers use picture story books that have been developed to mirror contexts Indonesian children will recognise.
To support these activities, YLAI commissioned the development of 20 titled of picture books that follow identified conventions with attractive illustrations and text adapted for novice readers. These are accompanied by teaching resources for grade 1-3, with supportive lesson plans for teachers and work books for students.
Print-rich Class Environment
A print-rich class environment is created in the classroom so that the space and experiences that occur within it encourage student involvement in the reading experience. The literate classroom environment is supported by the presence of posters, student work, labels, and appropriate level reading books. Students are assisted in their reading progress by viewing the modelled words, directions, and sentences displayed around their class, allowing them to interact independently with reading and writing.
A print-rich class environment shows how reading and writing are useful in everyday life. The environment allows students to interact with the reading independently. The environment allows students to interact with the reading independently.
Independent Reading & Reading Corner
In independent reading, students read various books individually according to their interest and level of reading readiness. To support this, the existence of a reading corner in the classroom is needed to provide access to books for students.
YLAI provides training to principals and teachers in developing and managing reading corners to support independent reading activities for students in the classroom.
Phonics and Phonemic Awareness Training
Pre-reading skills are basic skills that children must have in order to become skilled independent readers. The first step is to teach phonics.
YLAI developed the Foniku program which includes teaching Indonesian phonics in a fun, child-centred, and multisensory way. Letters and letter sounds are taught using interactive stories, songs, and movements. During this program, children will have the opportunity to learn to read and write letters and words.
In phonics learning, teachers introduce letter sounds using story poster books and letter sound books. The two media contain pictures and stories that focus on the sound of a particular letter and use various words that begin with the focus of that sound.
To support phonics learning, YLAI has developed the Foniku package which contains: 2 story poster books, 26 letter sound books, teacher’s manual, letter cards, 3 letter recognition posters and letter sounds, and 29 letter sound song videos. In addition, there are also learning support resources in the form of lesson plans for teachers, as well as letter writing books and exercise books for students.
To support phonics learning, YLAI has developed the Foniku package which contains: 2 story poster books, 26 letter sound books, teacher’s manual, letter cards, 3 letter recognition posters and letter sounds, and 29 letter sound song videos. In addition, there are also learning support resources in the form of lesson plans for teachers, as well as letter writing books and exercise books for students.
Shared Reading and Writing Training
The shared reading activity uses enlarged text so that all students can read it together with the teacher. Reading together involves all students in one class. The teacher models various reading skills on each page while involving students during the reading process.
YLAI provides shared reading training for teachers. During the training, teachers are equipped with techniques to guide students through reading skills, focusing on comprehension, text construction, and the semantics and visual cues of text. Teachers learn how to model good reading through overall classroom teaching using large books. These teaching strategies develop in students, an understanding of text construction, an enriched vocabulary and deeper comprehension skills.
This training focuses on co-writing topic based activities, where teachers model how to write words and sentences, and link ideas into paragraphs.
In shared reading activity, teachers use a big book. This allows all students to see the story text and accompanying illustrations during the reading process.
To support this activity, YLAI has developed 37 titled big books and teaching resources for grades 1-3, with lesson plans for teachers and work books for students.
Guided Reading and Five Minutes Reading (Baca Lima Menit - BALIMA) Training
Guided Reading
Guided reading activities are carried out in small groups consisting of students with the same reading ability (homogeneous). Teachers use diagnostic assessment tools to help determine students’ reading levels and appropriate books to help them progress in reading.
YLAI provides training for teachers in joint reading activities with techniques for conducting reading activities in small groups that focus specifically on comprehension, vocabulary, and developing reading skills.
The teacher learns to give reading instructions in small groups using leveled reading books. This student-centered approach is effective in equipping students with the skills needed to develop independent reading habits.
Teachers also learn how to link reading and writing through follow-up activities and how to conduct reading assessments to determine students’ reading levels.
Five Minutes Reading (Baca Lima Menit - BALIMA)
In the Five Minutes Reading (BALIMA) activity, the teacher will teach students to effectively identify the 100 most frequent used words in Indonesian. The teacher will provide opportunities for students to memorize the words and help students recognize them in written form.
As the name suggests, BALIMA activities are carried out in 5 minutes to get to know 5 words every day. To support this activity, YLAI has developed teaching support materials in the form of a lesson plan for grades 1-3 and workbooks for students.
Program’s Milestones
Implementation of Balanced Reading Program in 16 pilot schools in Bali