CARS & STARS Online is built on the core belief that no student learns exactly the same way or at exactly the same pace, and this knowledge informs the whole program – making it one built on differentiation as its central concept, rather than something added later to complement existing, more rigid instruction.
According to Ash (2002) and Flood & Lapp (1990), modelled instruction and guided reading are effective teaching strategies for struggling students. Guided reading is “small-group reading instruction designed to provide differentiated teaching that supports students in developing reading proficiency”. This group model allows individual students of differing skill levels and experiences to be taught in a way intended to be more focused on their specific needs, accelerating progress and informing their growing understanding. This process could not be more aligned with CARS & STARS Online.
The benefits of guided reading have long been apparent. Primarily, it allows for differentiated instruction. The teacher groups children by reading level and then meets that level with appropriately levelled texts. The smaller groups allow the teacher to identify weaknesses in readers and to better target them. Guided reading also helps build reading comprehension and fluency, with teachers listening closely when students read and responding accordingly. Finally, guided reading teaches children to be able to talk about texts – a vital part of reading comprehension.
Now, in conjunction with CARS & STARS Online, it’s never been easier and more beneficial to utilise guided reading with your classes, because you can do so in the certainty that the student groups you are engaging with it are all at the same developmental level. The CARS module of CARS & STARS Online is ideal for using guided reading with your students, allowing small, medium or even whole-class groups to experience stories together with the teacher and each other.
Guided reading is also a central plank of the STARS module of CARS & STARS Online, which is designed on the principle of scaffolded instruction. Here students are introduced to concepts first in a modelled way, then guided through deploying them themselves and finally able to engage them independently. In this sense, guided reading is baked into the introduction of every strategy section, whether you choose to do it with small groups or whole classes.
CARS & STARS Online is a fitting complement to any guided reading instruction in the classroom, providing benefits to any teacher who wants to use it with their students.
If you are interested in learning more about the CARS & STARS Online subscriptions and how they can help children to achieve better results, then sign up for a free trial to be an integral part of your child’s reading success.
