M10: Shared Reading

What is shared reading?

With interactive read alouds, you read TO students, and usually it is a text above their reading level(s).  Shared reading is an interactive reading experience in which all your learners can see and interact with the text. It is a whole group reading experience (whole class) and closer to their reading level.  You are reading WITH students in shared reading.

In early grades it may be with a big book, whereas in older grades you may all have the same text that you are reading from (like a book club or literature circles).  

This video from Scholastic shows how a teacher would plan for shared reading with young children and how it usually is done over multiple days. The first time you read the book, students may not be able to read along, but after reading it a few times (and especially if there is engaging, repetitive, and predictable language) your students will read along with you!  This is shared reading with young learners.  Notice how she changes what she discusses with the students each time she reads the book.

 

The next page is a comprehensive page on shared reading and visualization.  Read the content on the page and watch the embedded video.