Teaching assistant interview - help

[Zeni01]

Hi there,
I have my first ever interview for a teaching assistant role coming up soon - and I am quite anxious as to how I can prepare myself for the day. For the second part of the interview I am required to prepare a 20 min reading activity of my choice to a group of 6 Year 4 pupils (mixed ability). I am thinking about some book choices but I don't know if it will be okay! Would be appreciated if someone could provide some help and advice or experience..
Thank you :)

Have a look at the literacy targets in the Year 4 curriculum and include one of those in the lesson.

I wouldn't worry too much about the choice of book. They'll be looking more about how you interact with the children, the task you do, behaviour management, questioning etc.
I'm Y5/6 rather than Y4 but feel free to message me about your book choice etc

You could do read a paragraph and identify punctuation, BOYS sentences, high frequency words, capital letter etc. So a short group read and then individual working.

I teach Year 4. I'd choose a Roald Dahl book to play it safe and just have some comprehension questions to discuss as you go along. They won't be worried about how suitable the learning is (that's the teacher's job) so don't stress about year 4 learning objectives. They will want to see your enthusiasm and how you engage with the pupils. Can you assert yourself and command the pupil's respect? Can you speak clearly, confidently and fairly loudly? Can you set clear expectations for behaviour e.g. put hands up to speak.

It could be that you read the extract (maybe 6 pages) discuss the questions together then they answer independently on a worksheet. Perhaps prepare 4 or 5 questions plus some 'extension questions' just in case you have speedy workers.

For the interview itself make sure you've read up on safeguarding and what to do if a child says something that raises questions

You could go to tes.com, go to the community section and find the Teaching Assistant thread - you should get some advice there. Good luck!

Don't give them a worksheet, SLT want to see how you interact. Small tip - take some small plain stickers and stick their names on them, put one on you so they know your name.

Thank you everyone, your responses have been very helpful! 😊

Dress smartly. Sounds obvious but we’ve had some shocking attire from recent applicants.
Agree that it will be more about how you interact with the children, behaviour management etc. Good luck.