Shared Readings: Modeling Comprehension, Vocabulary, Text Structures, and Text Features for Older Readers

I think that this is a GREAT article with GREAT information for teachers and pre-service teachers. One of the first things it talks about is Shared Reading and Big Books. When teachers use Big Books for shared reading, it allows to students to follow along and watch. I think this gets the students attention more than if the teacher was just reading to them out of a normal size book. Along with this, choral and echo reading also needs to take place. The article tells ways that you can do shared reading with your classroom other than just Big Books. Also, the ways in which the students participate in the readings are great, and things that I do not think I have ever personally thought about. The Five Finger and partner sharing are excellent ideas for students to share what they are reading about (or, what the teacher is reading about TO them.) The article makes a good point about modeling different comprehension strategies at one time, and not just focusing on one. When it came to vocabulary, they used context clues, word parts, and resources. This way they did not give the students the definition of a word without having them think about themselves. Using other students to  help define a word is an example of resources, and is a very good idea. When looking at text structures, the article mentions that authors use signal words. It is important to realize and remember that text structures are important in comprehension of a story. There are also text features which include captions, illustrations, graphs, diagrams, and much more.  These things allow readers to determine the meaning of the text. After the shared reading is finished, you cannot stop there. You must provide a discussion with the students so that you know they understand the story.

Advertisement