Shared reading is a technique that I normally think of as a strategy to use with younger students, as this article indicates I am not the only one who thinks this. In reading this article I have discovered that it can be used successfully with older children, as well. As the article states, “it should not be limited to use with emergent readers.”
As elementary educators we know the importance of modeling, I think that this is an important tool – no matter the subject or grade level. It seems obvious that we would want to help children see how they should think about the text as they read. Older students may need to be reminded that this is something that they should never quit doing. I make inferences about what I am reading all of the time. Children should see the importance of this, no matter the type of book they are reading. This is about metacognition, as one teacher asserts.
I realized when reading this article that teachers should read over textbooks or any source before sharing it with the class, so that they can introduce new words properly. The teacher who details the word vaporize to her class does not simply tell them that this is new vocabulary word and give them the definition – she introduces her personal method of remembering what the word means. I think that this is a well thought out process for her. The teacher probably read her text previous to the lesson and thought about new vocabulary and found an interesting way to introduce it.
I also think that the teacher whose attention to text structure developed AFTER her frustration with graphic organizers was helpful for me to read about. I do not get anything out of graphic organizers that the teachers put on the board and fill out themselves. I have to have a graphic organizer that I create and fill in myself to learn anything from it.
I agree that it is difficult to model thinking for students, but it is very important for them to see how to think about and process what they are reading. Some students have an easier time with figuring out HOW to think about what they are reading, but it is important that we model for all students the way that we would like for them to think about what they are reading.
