Lynn Flake -- Routman Emphasize Shared Reading Chapter 9

When I first previewed this chapter, I was hesitant because it looks a little tedious. But I’m really glad that I went back and read it. I got more little take aways from this chapter than I have any other. There are a lot of examples and ideas for how to implement a deeper experience with shared reading. Some of these things I was doing with my class without even realizing that it was a shared reading strategy. I love feeling validated as a teacher J But even more so, I like learning new and simple things that I can implement. I like that at the beginning she points out that a shared reading environment helps to make an enjoyable experience and creates classroom bonds. I’ve totally seen that myself! I feel like so often we get caught up in test scores, data, and etc. that the “enjoyment” gets put on the back burner – and that is the very last thing that we should want. It can be especially difficult for those reluctant readers, but I think shared reading can be just the answer! I try to read to my students EVERY DAY. Some days, it is a challenge. However, I think it is so important to model strategies for them, and some of the most valuable conversations we have in our class are about books that I’ve read aloud to them. I liked some of the activities and lessons that Routman included. This time in my classroom has pretty much always been the same, with little variation. So I liked that she gave me some ideas to change it up and keep it fresh. I’ve done shared reading activities on Big Universe, and after reading this I realized that I could use my ELMO as well – since we don’t use transparencies J  I never really called any of these times shared reading, but I’m happy to have a label to put on this time in our classroom.