read & write

Strategies suggested in

Prescott-Griffin, Mary Lee and Nancy L. Witherell.  Fluency in Focus: Comprehension Strategies for All Young Readers. Portsmouth: Heinemann. 2004

Page 49 and following

Collaborative Reading
Basically it involves two students sitting next to each other and reading orally to and with each other.

Step 1. From assessment data pair students by equal reading ability.

Step 2. Partners choose book and find a place to sit side by side.

Step 3. Partners read together or alternately

Step 4. Share in larger group strategies or things learned.

Step 5. (optional) draw or write to extend meaning.

Variation 1: mixed-ability pairs

Step 1: the person with the lower reading ability selects text

Step 2: The pair read in unison.

Follow above with changes in

Step 3: The lower reading level person determines a signal for when they do not want to read independently.  The other partner can then read for a while.

Step 4: The higher reading level person offers praise when the partner miscues and self corrects.  The higher reading level person can supply a correct word after 5 seconds for a miscue or struggle.

Step 5. Discuss how the reading went.  ( I think a guide of main points for this discussion would be needed to meet the needs of the pair)

Step 6: A written response in log format may be used.  Some examples were given in text.  However I sense it could be less structured if a general format were used such as difficult words, stumbling blocks, high points of success, things to think about.

I think Collaborative Reading could be used at any grade level 2-12 and in any content area.  In fact I think it would be a great one to use in Science or Social Studies.  It fosters discussion about what they have read and that is the learning tool.  Perhaps even a good reader would miss a nuance or detail that could be crucial for understanding, but through discussion both of the students find meaning and importance to the detail.

Other strategies suggested in book if you are interested…

            Shared Reading

            Choral Reading

            Purposeful Oral Reading

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