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You are here: Home / Reading / Shared Reading is for Upper Primary, too

January 5, 2020 by: topteaching

Shared Reading is for Upper Primary, too

Shared Reading is for Upper Primary, too.

Shared Reading Is For Upper Primary, Too. Often when people think of shared reading, they think of a teacher in the junior school sharing a big book with a class of 5-7-year-olds. However, I am here to tell you today that Shared Reading is for Upper Primary, too. I'll give you a quick rundown of what shared reading is, why it is important, and how you could use it in your upper primary classroom.

Often when people think of shared reading, they think of a teacher in the junior school sharing a big book with a class of 5-7-year-olds. However, I am here to tell you today that Shared Reading is for Upper Primary, too. I’ll give you a quick rundown of what shared reading is, why it is important, and how you could use it in your upper primary classroom.

What is Shared Reading?

In my earlier blog post, “How to Set up a Reading Programme” I explained that shared reading is an important part of a balanced reading programme (the four elements of reading to, shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading).

Shared reading is an instructional approach where the teacher explicitly models the strategies and skills of capable readers.

Brenda Parkes, author of Read it Again! Revisiting Shared Reading explains that the main purpose of shared reading is to introduce children to a variety of authors and text types to encourage them to become a reader. She goes on to say that an equally important purpose of shared reading is to teach children the reading process and explicitly model to children how they can be readers and writers themselves.

When taking part in shared reading, the teacher and students discuss as they go, and read along, or read certain parts individually. As Literacy Online explains. the teacher “will question, prompt, model, tell, explain, direct, and/or give feedback to the students.”

Why should I do Shared Reading in my Upper Primary Classroom?

While most upper primary students will have a general understanding of how to read a simple text, there are so many reading, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, sentence structure, and writing skills that can be explored, modelled and analysed during shared reading. Shared reading also gives students who are reading at a lower level the chance to be exposed to higher-level texts – it is the great equaliser.

Benefits of Shared Reading

Shared reading:

  • Builds a sense of community through a shared and collaborative experience.
  • Provides the opportunity to explore more challenging or rich texts.
  • Allows the teacher to model the behaviour of a fluent, accurate reader.
  • Helps students learn to process and understand new kinds of texts that they need to master, for example, a science experiment list of instructions, a social studies website, or a mathematics problem.
  • Gives the teacher an opportunity to explicitly model reading strategies e.g. using context clues, using prior knowledge.
  • Exposes students to a wider and more complex range of vocabulary than they would be able to read independently.
  • Helps novice readers learn about the relationship between oral language and printed language.
  • Assists students in making connections between background knowledge and new information.
  • Helps in teaching frequently used vocabulary.
  • Encourages prediction in reading.
  • Builds fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
  • Provides exposure to ideas and concepts that may be outside students’ direct experiences.
  • Gives students the opportunity to apply comprehension strategies to both fiction and non-fiction texts.

Shared reading in primary

What you could focus on during Shared Reading

As I explained earlier, during shared reading the teacher can focus on a variety of literacy skills. I have provided just a few examples below. This is in no way an exhaustive list!

  • Various reading strategies.
  • What to do when you come to a word you don’t know.
  • The use of figurative language in a story or poem.
  • Different sentence structures e.g. simple, compound, and complex.
  • Reading comprehension strategies, such as inferring, summarising, using prior knowledge.
  • The use and role of paragraphs.
  • Text features and their uses e.g. a graph, photo, map, table.
  • The different text structures and genres.
  • How an author has used quotation marks for direct speech.
  • The way an author has developed a character.
  • Spelling patterns and spelling rules.

The nuts and bolts of shared reading

Most experts suggest that a shared reading session should last for no longer than 20 minutes.

A shared reading session could involve the whole class or a small group of students.

The same text can be shared once, twice, or several times, depending on the reading goal and your students’ needs.

Shared reading could be followed by some form of follow-up activity. However, it is also perfectly fine for the shared reading session to be a stand-alone activity.

Shared reading texts are not limited to big books from your resource room. Any text that you can display for your students to see could be used e.g. a non-fiction article, a recipe, a fictional story, a website, or an instruction manual. I would often display texts on my classroom projector, and other options include using a class TV or photocopying enlarged sections of a text and sticking these to your whiteboard.

Our shared reading texts with follow-up activities

We have a range of reading comprehension texts with follow up activities that would work in a shared reading setting.

Our Reading Comprehension Passages and Questions are intentionally made to be read and re-read. They feature a range of fiction and non-fiction text features and would suit shared reading, especially introducing new concepts and vocabulary. This discounted bundle includes ten topic areas: Sports Stars, Kiwiana, Video Games, Natural Disasters, Myths and Legends From Around The World (Volume One and Two), Māori Myths and Legends (Volume One and Two), Ancient Egypt and Under the Sea.

Reading Comprehension activities and questions. Ramp up your reading comprehension program with this Reading Comprehension Passages and Questions Mega Bundle. It features differentiated Reading Comprehension passages and questions with Higher Order Thinking activities based on TEN topic areas: Sports Stars, Memorial Day, Video Games, Natural Disasters, Myths and Legends From Around The World 1 and 2, Ancient Egypt and Christmas. Your upper elementary students will enjoy these close reading activities.

Grab and Go Non-Fiction Reading Comprehension Passages and Questions
 
You can grab these reading comprehension activities and relax because we’ve done the hard work for you! This resource features 20 engaging non-fiction texts and a wealth of reading comprehension strategies – perfect as a shared reading text. Higher-order thinking questions challenge students to read deep and think critically about the passages. These activities meet many of the requirements for the New Zealand Literacy Reading Progressions: End of Year 4 and End of Year Six and would be suitable for gold level and above (or lower levels as part of shared reading). Click here to see our Grab and Go Reading Comprehension Activities. 
 

Non-Fiction Reading Comprehension Passages and Questions. This resource features 20 engaging non-fiction texts and a wealth of reading comprehension strategies - perfect as a shared reading text. Higher-order thinking questions challenge students to read deep and think critically about the passages. These activities meet many of the requirements for the New Zealand Literacy Reading Progressions: End of Year 4 and End of Year Six and would be suitable for gold level and above.

Click here to try a free sample of this resource (including an answer guide).

Another useful reading blog post

This is a blog post to help beginning teachers to set up a reading program. Learn how to set up a reading program that includes reading to, shared reading, guided reading and independent reading. Packed full of practical tips to get you started. #beginningteacher

Everybody likes a freebie

A collaborative reading activity, sure to engage your sports-mad students. Using the information sheet and their own independent research (QR codes and additional web links are included), students present their learning about Richie McCaw. Use as an A4 poster or use the large poster pieces that make an A2 poster… and yes, it's FREE.

A collaborative reading activity, sure to engage your sports-mad students. Using the information sheet and their own independent research (QR codes and additional web links are included), students present their learning about Richie McCaw. Use as an A4 poster or use the large poster pieces that make an A2 poster… and yes, it’s FREE. Click here to download this free resource today.

Have you signed up for our reading membership?

Click here to learn more about the Top Teaching Tasks Reading Membership.

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