I never knew there were so many different ways that incorporated shared readings. When I was in elementary school I always sat on the carpet in front of the teacher with a “big book” in her hands and listened to her read each page as we “oohed and ahhed” about the pictures. I do believe this was beneficial but shared readings have come a long way.
Choral reading, echo reading, and cloze reading are a few of the shared readings that now can be implemented into the classroom. I think these techniques will improve students reading skills and proficiency because it goes hand in hand with their comprehension, vocabulary, and use of text structure.
If I am reading to my students, I love the idea of showing them the text while I am reading so that they can try to follow along. Using an elmo or smart board is a great way to do this in the classroom. Also students understanding vocabulary on their own before raising their hand to ask “what is this word”, “what does this mean?” Context clues are either before or after the word and if a student will read on, they just might find out what that vocabulary word actually means. Also text structure is important because students can realize that italicized words, bold words, headings, are key things to look for to help them understand their text.
In class discussions really bring the readings to home and help me as an up and coming teacher to know how to implement this into my classroom and what is and is not beneficial.
