Partner Reading
To maximize time students read in school.
Richard Allington writes in Struggling Readers that for every story in the average basal, there are 270 minutes of lesson plans or "stuff." What if we turned that statistic on its head? For every story presented in class, students would read 270 minutes and respond for 30 minutes. That change alone would improve reading comprehension!
When partners read to one another, they get immediate feedback on the pronunciation of words and the meaning of text. Two brains work together to figure out confusing reading puzzles on the spot. I introduce many ways to read as partners in the beginning of the year. I ask everyone to try each procedure. Then, students are left on their own to decide which partner-reading method works best for them and their partners including reading silently side-by-side.
Here is a list of my favorite ways to read text compiled from many sources and conferences. The list is not presented in any order.
Notice that each reading suggestion pairs 2 students together and they are both actively engaged in reading most of the time.
The first gift teachers could give struggling readers is to stop making them read unrehearsed text aloud in front of one another. Linda Hoyt explains, "Tangled readers cannot help other tangled readers."
Whisper Reading - Each student in the group whispers the passages independently as the teacher moves to listen to and monitor each child.
Choral Reading - Read together, side by side, the book placed between the partners.
Echo Reading - One partner reads a line. The other partner repeats the line.
Expressive Reading - One partner reads a chunk. The other reads the chunk with expression.
Part Reading - One partner reads the characters' parts in voices. The other partner reads the narrator's parts.
Taking Turns - One partner reads a sentence, paragraph or page. The other reads the next sentence, paragraph or page.
Rehearsal Reading - The teacher assigns an individual page or part to each child. Each child in the group (of 4-6) takes time to practice that reading independently - suggested 3 times - while teacher works with other children. The student must try using known strategies first and then ask the teacher. The idea is to come back to group and read the part fluently - even names. When each person reads his/her part, the whole story or article is read aloud expressively and each reader feels successful.
Silent Reading - Partners read silently, sitting near one another so that they can ask each other for help when they need it.
 Stop and Think Reading or Say Something Reading - Partners divide the reading into sections. They both read the section silently or aloud and then take turns saying something. Students say what they are thinking to their partner: a personal connection, a question, something noticed, a connection to another book or movie... Say or ask something! Students can read this way in groups with a teacher, as well.
Coding - Nonfiction text copy available to each child. Students read paragraph by paragraph coding the text silently. Then, groups or partners share their codes. For example, W = wonder about, I = very important, * = know that, L = learned something new, C = connection. Students begin by coding every sentence. Eventually students code naturally in their heads and mark places to discuss with sticky notes.
Round robin reading is defined as "the outmoded practice of calling on students to read orally one after the other."
Harris and Hodges 1995
Clearly, although oral reading can be beneficial, round-robin reading is not. It often prohibits rather than fosters the ability to read.
Opitz and Razinski
Being forced to read orally, either in front of the class or in reading group, seemed to be the practice that had the most negative impact on students' self-esteem and attitude toward reading.
Janet Allen
Partner Journals
The partner responds in writing to a reading, an experience, or a brief lecture. At the same time the partner is writing also. The partners then switch journals, read each other's entries, and write back to their partner, responding to the questions, comments or concerns raised in the entry. Most often the entry is written in friendly letter style. Students reference the text in many ways:
- asking questions
- quoting passages of interest
- noting "golden language" - words or phrases we love to remember
- making personal connections to self, other readings or the world
- predicting what may happen next
- summarizing parts
- pointing out confusing parts
- referencing pages to consider
Example:
Dear Bridgett,
Hello! I read Peter Elbow's suggestions about a freewriting diary. "If you want to improve your writing," he says, "just freewrite 10 minutes a day." I was thinking I could handle that. It would be interesting to see what my mind comes up with.
I also read with interest his comments on page 27: "When you have dreams of glory and imagine how famous your writing will make you, it is just a sneakier trick to keep you from writing: anything you write will disappoint you." A-ha! Is he writing to me?
Not that I have dreams of glory but maybe I set very high standards of myself. Maybe I should scale down my expectations and take some risks.
Maybe kids are like that, too. It's hard to share your piece and open yourself for feedback when you feel everyone is better than you.
I like the words "stuckpoint" and "breakthrough he refers to on page 59. Those words seem graphic to me. Good words to use with kids.
What about "showing?" (p.90-91) I cannot imagine talking about someone's writing as if it were an article of clothing. He lost me there. Any ideas about this concept?
Karen
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