Routman (2003): Chapter 9- Emphasize Shared Reading
April 11th, 2016
Shared reading is a great way to demonstrate good reading to young learners. They get the chance to watch the teacher model, and work on skills that are essential to successful reading and fluency. Then they get the chance to read with their peers and work together. It is a fun way to learn reading.
When doing shared reading in the classroom, there are different roles. The teacher gathers the materials, models to the students, asks questions, and provides demonstrations to the students. The role of the student is to listen, talk with others, respond to the teacher, and think about what is happening. The text that the teacher chooses is a text that is very engaging, and is worth the students' time, a book that they will enjoy and remember. (In our classroom, that would be the "Jack and Annie" books, Magic Treehouse . There are many purposes of shared reading, but one that I find to be extremely important is the give all students a chance to be successful. If students feel successful, they will work harder to achieve more goals. There are also many advantages to shared reading. All voices are encouraged to be heard, there is a lot of teaching and practice in not a lot of time, it is effective, it builds confidence in struggling readers, and it goes beyond just listening to a text.
When doing shared reading in the classroom, there should be a lot of turn and talk. Many questions are to be asked, questions that help build comprehension in students, really getting them to think. It is important for teachers to "show" students what they are thinking, so that they get an idea of what to be thinking when they are reading a text on their own, or with a partner. Most importantly, students should get the chance to see what should be done, and have the opportunity to practice what they have learned. In the end, it will help students become more successful readers.
I most definitely want to do this more in the classroom. I think it would help if I saw it modeled myself, but I know this is something I eventually want to incorporate in my classroom on a regular basis.
Hi Kristin,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that Routman's suggestions in this chapter that focuses on shared reading were helpful to you as you implement this with your third graders through the Magic Treehouse series. Like you, I appreciated the ways Routman integrates meaningful lessons in shared reading through questioning and discussion.