Implementing cross-age peer tutoring in the teaching of reading in Kenya

Frank Hardman & Justus Inyega

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

What is cross-age peer tutoring?

• Cross-age peer tutoring consists of student partnerships in which an upper primary pupil is trained to work with a younger child to conduct reading sessions

• Teachers train students in how to support younger students to apply four comprehension strategies – generating questions, summarising, clarifying and predicting

• During the early stages of the programme, the teachers assumes primary responsibility for modelling how to use the teaching strategies

• Gradually, as the students become familiar with the strategies, older tutors are trained to work with younger tutees on structured reading sessions

How is it structured?

• The programme matches ‘tutor pupils’ in Standard 6 will ‘tutee pupils’ in Standard 4 and tutor pupils in Standard 5 with tutee pupils in Standard 3

• Tutoring takes place two times each week for 35 minutes each

• Half the younger class go to their tutor’s class and half of the older class go to their tutee’s class

• The teachers circulate among the tutoring pairs and help children choose appropriate books, monitor children’s reading, ask comprehension questions, and help children who are struggling

Main features of cross-age peer tutoring

• Choosing the right book• Supported reading• Error correction• Questioning• Positive feedback

Choosing the right book* Inbetween tutor and tutee

reading ability* Right level of challenge for tutee

Supported reading* Reading together

* Reading alone

Error correction* Whole word approach* Phonetically sounding

out words

Questioning*Understand the plot

* Summarise what has happened*Predict what will happen

* Level of enjoyment/interest

Feedback* Promote confidence

* Build esteem*Make clear what has been achieved

* Praise achievement

Selecting reading material at right level

• Reading material selected for use in the cross-age peer tutoring is above the independent reading ability of the tutee, but below that of the tutor

• The tutee decides what to read. This encourages them to be interested in what they are reading

• Students trained to use the ‘five finger test’ and to ask the teacher for help if you’re not sure

Choosing ‘Just Right’ booksUse the Five Finger Test

1) Tutor or tutee: put 5 fingers on the page2) Tutee: read the words under each finger

3) Repeat the process over four page4) Add up the total number of mistakes:

• 1 or less = book is too easy• 2 – 3 = book is ‘Just Right’

• 4 or more = book is too hard

Supported reading

• Sessions run twice a week for 35 minutes• Students sit side by side - so both can see the

book easily• Students read together until the tutee feels

comfortable and signals they want to read alone• Tutee reads alone until they make a mistake that

they don’t self-correct• After the tutor corrects a mistake, students read

together again

The paired reading cycle• Cycle alternates between the tutor and tutee reading

together and the tutee reading alone• Tutor helps the tutee gain confidence by modulating the

speed of their reading to be just behind the reading of the tutee

• Tutor trained to provide a good model by reading with expression or intonation

• Tutor reads with the tutee until they signal they want to read alone

• Tutor reads with tutee after a mistake has been made to re-establish the flow of the reading

Error correction

• Tutor and tutee start by reading together• Tutee signals to read alone when they feel confident enough

to tackle the text reading independently.• When an error occurs the tutor waits 4-5 seconds and if the

tutee does not self-correct, the tutor corrects the tutee by: Repeating the error word correctly Or Helping tutee sound out the word by connecting the sounds

of spoken English with letters or groups of letter together to produce approximate pronunciations

• Once the word has been corrected the tutee repeats the error word correctly, the tutor praises the tutee and they read on together until the tutee signals to read alone again

Reading together and alone

Read together

Tutee signals to read alone

Tutor:1.Monitors for errors2. Gives feedback3. Asks questions

Tutor changes reading speed to follow the tutee

Tutee reads alone

Questioning

• One of the keys to getting the most benefit from cross-age peer tutoring is to get effective questioning and probing of answers going on during the tutoring session.

• Tutors and tutees ask each other questions at different stages during the reading of the book

Different stages of questioning

1. Before reading questions about: the book/text the author reasons for choosing the text2. During reading questions to:make sure the tutee understands what they are readinghelp the tutee understandsummarise what has been readpredict what will happen next look back at the whole text3. After reading questions to:gauge their understanding of the textabout what they thought of the endingabout what they enjoyed or found interesting

Probing tutees’ answers

• In addition to asking questions, tutors trained to probe tutees’ answers

• In following up an answer to a question tutors trained to: prompt tutees to expand upon their ideas (e.g. ‘Can you

say more about that?’ ‘So are you saying?’) help tutees to provide evidence to support their claims

(e.g.’ Why do you say that? What’s your evidence?’). Others help students read deeper as they provide evidence to support their claims (e.g.’ Why do you say that? What’s your evidence?’)

Question mats

• ‘Question Mat’ have been developed to help the questioning process

• These include a mat for general use and easier/harder versions of the mat

• Pupils have copies of mats as they read to act as an aid memoire to help prompt and frame effective questioning

• Students encouraged to design their own question mats (but based on those contained in the pack)

Before reading questions

During reading questions

After reading questions

Why did you choose this book?What do you think the book is about? Why do you think this?What do you think will happen in the book?What do you think you’ll like about this book?

Who are the main characters?Who is your favourite character? Why?What do you think will happen next?What is the book about?What have you found most interesting so far?

Did you enjoy the book? Why?If you did not enjoy the book, why not?Where you surprised by the ending?Would you recommend the book to someone else?

Question mat for tutor & tutee (1)Remember: both tutors and tutees should ask questions!

Question mat for tutor & tutee (2)Before reading questions During reading questions After reading questionsWhat information can we find out about the book?What is the title? Who is the author?What does the cover tell us about the book?When was it published?Is there an author biography?What do you know about the topic?What type of book is it?Is it a fiction or non-fiction book?What topic is it on? Does it include various forms of writing? How hard do you think the book is?Have you tested the book?Does the tutee need more challenge?What do you think you will get from reading this book?

What is the book about?Where and when is the book set? Is it set in a real place? Is it in the past, present or future?Who are the main characters?What does the book mean?Do we understand all words/sentences?Have we missed anything?What do you think will happen next?Describe what might happen. Can you give reasons why you think this? What might make it happen? Can you imagine characters and places in your head? Describe them.Does the book remind you of something?Does it remind you of another book?Does it remind you of an event in your life or feelings you have had?

What is the main point of the book?Give me a summary of the main points.Can you summarise the book to another pair?How does the book make you feel and think?Did it end in the way you thought it would? Were there any bits that puzzled you? Would you recommend it to someone else? Who and why?What is most memorable?Which bits did you like/dislike? What was most memorable? What was most exciting?Does it make you want to read another book like this?Will you change the type of book?

Tutor: Tutee:

Session & date Book read Comment

Tutee comment:How is your reading improving?

Tutor comment: How has the tutee improved?

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PAIRED READING LOG