Effective Literacy Practice - Part 2

Shared Reading

ELP pages 93 to 96 or on the TKI website

I completely agree with the ELP beginning the section on Shared reading by saying that it's an essential component of the daily literacy program.

I realised that I agreed with this when I was teaching New Entrants and my first lot of students turned 6 and had their 6 year check. I had been doing shared reading, but hadn't really realised the importance behind it. When I had the teacher doing the 6 year check told me that nearly none of my students could show a word or letter, and many didn't realise when a sentence was mixed up, I knew it was completely reflected back on me, I hadn't taught it... but I didn't know that was what I had to teach!

I soon after got my hands on a 6 year check form, and added into my Long Term Plan for shared reading all the different aspects that were checked for... 

In covering all of this, what I must never let go of is making sure i'm always modeling the love of reading.

For my shared book times with the class I choose a book that we use for the whole week, reading it daily and doing different tasks and activities with it throughout the week. That book always goes in the student library corner, so that they can read it during free choice reading time (and they love reading from the big books!).

Shared reading is always a fun time, I enjoy all the laughs when I flip the book around the wrong way, and the loud 'NOOO', when I start reading from the wrong page or muddle the words up.

It's great reading through the ELP. It re-focusses me on what good practice is, but it also gives me a 'pat on the back' reading through and seeing strategies I implement in my program that are listed as effective.