Caroline Smith - Blog Post #4: "Emphasize Shared Reading"

As Routman said, shared reading is powerful because it helps students and teachers bond; becoming partners in a fun process. With 4 year olds, shared reading is practically expected! I LOVE doing read-alouds with my students because they get so excited. Now that they are starting to develop their comprehension skills it is easier to engage them in the story. I can ask those questions about key details to keep them interested while monitoring their comprehension at the same time. I read The Three Little Pigs aloud this week and had my students say “Little Pig, Little Pig, let me come in” and “Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin” and they loved it! I also kept them active during the story by having them huff and puff when we got that part in the book. I think shared reading has a huge impact on students, especially this young. They cannot read the words to gain comprehension at this age but they love books. Shared reading is a wonderful way to combine those two! Melissa Wells recently came to my room and did a read aloud with the class. She introduced me to a resource called wegivebooks.com. I had never heard of this before but I am so grateful I know now. The pages take up the full computer screen, allowing the teacher and students to see the words and pictures easier. This is also a great way to track the words as you read them and get children familiar with print concepts (reading from left to right). I like the framework that Routman laid out in the chapter. Even though some of these concepts are over our babies’ heads, the checklist is a nice way to see what areas we are covering!