Guided reading for Y5 - teachers/LSA's please help...

[halfapoundoftreacle]

I have an interview for a job as a LSA next week at a school I have never worked in before. I've volunteered with Y5 children before now but I am having a confidence crisis!

The start of the interview process will be me sitting with a small group of Y5 children of 'mixed ability'. I am to use a text of my choice but 'high visual and low text'.

I was thinking of reading some descriptive text to them (Roald Dahl's BFG is my first thought) and then asking them to write down questions about the characters or setting. Then using these questions in a free forum to discuss the answers.

It's just the 'high visual low text' thing that's thrown me and put me off this idea.

When I think if high visual books I think of Julia Donaldson and more young reading books. Would that be suitable still? Oh Man! I'm panicking...

It was the Paradise Garden, not secret garden - durr!

Injury occured in a play area following a trip and a collision with a slide. I absolutely know that it's all part of having DCs, especially 2 boys.

This was particularly dramatic. But I'm sure that his school is even considering printing personalised 'I've bumped my head today' notes for DS2 as he gets one practically every week .

...I've just read the Paradise Garden to him and although it was a bit over his 5 year old (and damaged) head, he did enjoy looking at the wonderful illustrations.

We wished we had kept the 'bumped head' notes ,particularly for DS3 -just to have a tally-I think he averaged one a week!

Didn't get job. Sniff.

Interview was very "clinical" 3 people firing essay type questions at me but not one question to ask how I demonstrated a skill or asked me to recount an experience in a classroom. This is my first interview for this kind of job, and my previous job interviews (in a completely different sector) were much more 'chatty' and conversational rather than a Q&A session.

Is this normal in anyone else's experience?

Here's to the next job application...