Chelsea Meyer 1

Chapter 5: Well Read: Promoting Comprehension

Through Read Alouds and Shared Readings
Heading/ Subheading

Main Points

Connections

Read Alouds

-linked back to town criers sharing local

news
-people like being read to
-being read to by an adult enhances
reading for children

Effectiveness of Read
Alouds for Older
Students

-read alouds can motivate older,

reluctant readers
-a favorite literacy activity for students
-level of text complexity can be raised
-can be used to clarify difficult texts

-We always read to the

children at the daycare
where I work. Even
though they are only 2
and cant read yet, they
still enjoy being read to.
-I like the idea of readalouds b/c they make an
even level for students.
When students are read a
common text, they can
participate in discussion
and activities.
-I think that being read to
is a great way for English
language learners to hear
correct enunciation and
pronunciation.

The Benefits for English -create opportunities for students to hear

Language Learners
different contexts
-show intonation, facial expressions,
and gestures
-support language acquisitions
-photos and illustrations can add to read
alouds
Planning for Read
-1) Select readings appropriate to
Alouds in Secondary
content, students emotion and social
Classrooms
development, and interests
-2) Practice the selection
-3) Model fluent oral reading
-4) Engage students and hook then into
listening to the text
-5) Stop periodically to ask questions
-6) Engage students in book discussion
-7) Make explicit connections to
students independent reading and
writing
Shared Reading
-reading collaboratively with students
-lesson specifically related to a
comprehension strategy, text feature, or
reading behavior
-teachers models in read alouds and
students apply strategies in independent
reading

-I once tried to read a

book aloud to students
before reading it. I almost
immediately
mispronounced a name in
the book and a student
immediately pointed it
out. Practice is important!

-All of the lessons (of the

ones that I used during
my developmental
practicum) that are
presented in the Reading
A-Z program use this
strategy.

Chelsea Meyer 2
Implementing Shared
Reading

-teachers must decide how students will

interact with the reading
-there are many ways that teachers can
share the text with their students
(projector, students textbooks, copies
etc.)

Most classrooms in this

area have an ELMO or
related device. This
would allow students to
see the exact text that the
teacher is using.

Selecting Texts for

Shared Reading

-Teachers focus on a comprehension

strategy (Inferencing, Summarizing,
Self-Questioning and Self-Monitoring,
Text StructuresCause/effect/sequence/problem/solution,
Text Features-heading and
subheadings/captions/directions, and
interpreting visual representationscharts/graphs/diagrams)
-text selected should be at students
independent or instructional level
-Guidelines for successfully
implementing a shared reading:
1)Choose text that is appropriate for the
purpose, 2) Make the purpose of the
reading explicit, 3)Decide how the text
will be accessible to all students
4)Scaffold, scaffold, scaffold, 5) Make
sure students are aware of what they are
supposed to do with the new knowledge
-can be used to strengthen critical
thinking skills
-best if used throughout a unit
-used to model comprehension
-DR-TA= directed Reading-Thinking
Activity, used for modeling reading
processes during shared reading using
either expository or narrative texts,
improves metacognitive skills, allows
students to develop ability to regulate,
evaluate, and monitor thoughts
-Accomplished through a cycle of
questioning that helps readers become
aware of strategies that can be used for
comprehension.
-The three basic steps to DR-TA are:
predicting, reading, and proving
-Students are instructed to ask: 1)What
do I think about this? 2)Why do I think

-I think that it is also

important to choose a
shared reading that
students will be interested
in. The students wont
want to follow along with
the text if they are bored
by it.

Read Alouds and

Shared Reading in
English

-I like the idea of DR-TA

b/c it would allow
students to better be able
to determine what
comprehension strategies
they need to use in the
future.

Chelsea Meyer 3
so? 3)How can I prove it?

Segmentation of Text

Shared Reading in
Mathematics

Rereading

Readers Theatre

Readers Theatre in
Mathematics

Shared Reading and

Think Alouds in Social
Studies

-critical part of teacher preparation for

DR-TA
- a typical sequence of DR-TA is as
follows: 1)Activate background
knowledge, 2)Develop vocabulary,
3)Identify significant patterns of text
organization, 4) Ask springboard
questions, 5) Read the selection, 6)
Review, Reinforce, and Evaluate
-Fluency=the ability to decode and
understand words
-closely related to prosody
-Rate is not the only indicator of a good
reader
-Readers can read in a choppy way and
lack comprehension
-effective instructional strategy for
building fluency (repeated readings)
-Reading something multiple times
allows you to read it more quickly
-Rereading is an important tool for
comprehending text.
-public performance of a scripted text
-not memorized, no props or movement
used (necessarily).
-Students read the texts with good
prosody
-presentation provides motivation for
students
-can be used to read math-related poems
-students can be divided in groups to
present
-students are allowed about 30 minutes
for rehearsal

-read alouds can be used with

newspaper articles
-as the article is read aloud, the teacher
would interject and point out sentences
that relate to the big ideas.
-this would allow students to understand

-Although Ive never seen

it referred to as the DRTA model, I have seen
this used in the
classroom. Many
textbooks may cater to
this model b/c of the
setup of the chapters.
-Ive heard students read
word-by-word before.
Even though they had a
good rate, they had
absolutely no idea what
they just read.
-I think that it would be
really hard to motivate
students to read
something over and over
again. I think that
students would get bored
by this approach.
-I really like this method
b/c it allows students to
collaborate and add some
excitement to texts.

-I like that the teacher in

this example used an
interdisciplinary approach
(L.A. and math) b/c it
probably increased
student engagement and
motivation.
- I would definitely use
read alouds with
newspaper articles b/c it
allows students to get
involved in current
events. It would also be a

Chelsea Meyer 4

Shared Reading in
Science

Read Alouds and

Shared Reading in
Electives

A Rationale for CrossAge Tutoring

Student-Conducted
Read Alouds and
Shared Readings

the big idea concepts

-the teacher uses questioning techniques
throughout the read aloud
-many content area textbooks contain a
great deal of technical information
(tables, photos, diagrams, graphs, etc.)
-Read alouds allow teachers to go over
this technical information along with the
students.

-Read alouds could be incorporated into

any subject, as long as the reading is
pertinent to the subject
-It could even be incorporated into a
community service class
-Involves older students tutoring
younger students
-provide individualized and personal
attention, high level so interaction, and
immediate feedback
-improves tutors reading scores
-allows tutors to expand opportunities to
review material
-peer tutoring is also efficient
-Tutors will most likely be more
effective to their tutees if they are close
in age (they are able to communicate
and relate better)
-Students need to understand the reading
process in order to be successful reading
tutors/ mentors
- Tutors need to be aware of different
reading strategies, principles of reading,
and child development levels in order to
successfully tutor their tutees.

great way to promote

classroom discussion.
-Read alouds would be
great ways to go over
technical text b/c I would
be able to clarify
words/descriptions that
students may not
understand if they read
the technical text
independently.
-Using read-alouds in
multiple subject would
definitely improve
students reading skills.
-Many elementary
teachers will have more
advanced students in the
class tutor other
students. This will work
as long as both parties are
receptive to the tutoring.

-This is essentially what

we are currently doing in
our reading class. In order
to be a successful tutor, I
have to be aware of the
different reading
strategies that I will want
my tutees to employ in
their own reading.