Shayna Miller Post #4: Routman Chapter 9 (Shared Reading)

While in college, we learned the various methods of reading with students such as choral reading, partner reading, etc. Routman shares the idea of shared reading which ties them all together in what seems to be an effective manner. I often use choral reading and oral cloze with my students as I have seen how it helps them with fluency and comprehension. Many times I use these strategies the first time my student read an unfamiliar text before they reread it independently or with a partner. However, I like how shared reading wraps it all together into one lesson to address many strategies and focuses while monitoring student progress/participation. I have not combined choral reading with partner/individual reading before within one text, but I would love to try it since it seems to hold students accountable. While students read along with me, it can be easy for them to become lost or think they can get by with not focusing. When students are surprised with the expectation of having to read some sections individually to answer a question, they are now held accountable for their learning as well. My only concern with shared reading is how much time it takes. Since I only have 50 minutes with each group of students, time management is always difficult since there is so much more I would like to fit into 50 minutes of instruction. My hope is that with practice, switching between different ways of reading will become more fluid for my students and shared reading will become the norm.