Shared Reading as a Literacy Strategy Report (Assessment)

Reading strategies

Reading strategy involves determining mental actions that learners take when they are reading to assist them to build and maintain the meaning of what they would be reading. It is beyond glibness and word identification and relies strongly upon knowledge of a text. A shared reading approach would be used in teaching fluency. It involves learners reading together a text while they are guided by an instructor.

The instructors clearly form the skills of gifted readers, including reading with confidence and expression. In a comprehension, a concept sort strategy would be used. It is applied in a new topic, where the teacher provides learners with new words from material to be read, and they categorize them according to their meaning. In vocabulary development, the semantic quality study is the best. Grids are used to show how sets of words relate to one another. In phonological and phonemic awareness, the application of syllable games is the best. Students are taught how to write different types of syllables and what happens when they are joined in a word.

In writing the RAFT approach would be applied. This is a strategy that assists students to understand their position as writers, the addressees they will deal with, diverse styles for writing, and the subject they would be writing about. In summarization, the 5-3-1 approach would be vital.

Students create their views and join other members of the group to form a single idea. 4 minutes’ comprehension would be used in content analysis, where students would read for 4 minutes as an instructor tell them to stop to test what they can remember. Exclusion brainstorming strategy is crucial in activating prior knowledge. It involves asking students questions before they are taught to initiate their reasoning.

Source that provide the most useful information about reading strategies

Most information about these strategies can be retrieved from Reading Rockets website. The information can also be found in a book, which was written by McNamara, D. S. in 2012, in his book, ‘Reading comprehension strategies: Theories, interventions, and technologies,’ which was published by Psychology Press in London, United Kingdom.

Shared reading strategy

A shared reading strategy is a vital approach in literacy strategy. This entails learners reading together under the guidance of an instructor. It can be employed at all times, i.e. before reading, during reading, and after reading. The approach can be used individually, in a small group, and by a whole class. This approach was investigated by Buehl, D. In 2013, in his book, ‘Classroom strategies for interactive learning,’ which was published by International Reading Assoc. in Newark, Delaware.

This method is critical in literacy. First, it helps learners with difficulties with the required support. Second, it builds sight word knowledge and improves fluency. Then, it makes students enjoy reading what they cannot read on their own. In addition, they develop confidence in speaking among students. Finally, it makes students feel that they have achieved by assisting fellow students.

How the strategy meets the Herrel and Jordan (2008) strategies and objectives

The shared reading approach congregates Herrel and Jordan’s strategies and objectives. First, it gives each student an opportunity to read a text, making him or her improve his or her understanding. Second, students interact by discussing the topic they could have been given. In addition, learners develop communication skills as they read together. Students’ anxiety is minimal when they become used to reading together. Finally, the approach encourages all learners to participate in comprehension, making them active all the time.

The literacy area and the appropriate use for the strategy

The shared reading strategy is important in the improvement of fluency. It is used to develop and improve fluency among learners. It is interactive and is usually employed for learners with difficulties in reading.

Suggested applications and examples

The shared reading strategy is recommended before, during, and after reading, where learners are experiencing difficulties in reading. For example, a teacher may choose one book and instruct students to concentrate on it for a week. After a week, the teacher may decide to examine learners to find out whether they have understood and improved their comprehension skills.

How to implement the strategy in the classroom

Fluent reading is key to the understanding of a text or a subject in a classroom. It means reading without any cognitive or mental effort. It is held that shared reading yields positive results in improving fluency. It would be critical for a teacher to understand the ability of his or her learners before choosing a teaching method he or she would apply. Otherwise, a strategy could be useless if learners are not investigated to discover their strong and weak areas. Significant considerations were put in place during the selection of the shared reading strategy.

The number of students who had problems in reading confidently was the first consideration. Students who were struggling to comprehend were more than the ones’ who could read effortlessly. The availability of reading materials was another key point that drove the choice. Materials to improve fluency were fewer, rendering shared reading the only option because students would share materials. Time available was another factor that motivated for the selection of this approach.

It was limited, and the number of learner with reading problem was high. Although time was limited, an instructor would allocate some time every fifth day for oral presentation. Therefore, it would be the best approach to be use because learners would help each other to understand, making it easier and saving time. Another key point that was considered was finding out whether students had problems with fluency or accent.

This would be important in understanding the exact problem and trying to solve it before the condition worsens. Moreover, class environment, i.e. space available in class was carefully assessed. This would dictate how many groups would be formed and the location of each group as they read. Finally, effects of poor reading were evaluated, and it was discovered that it had affected learners’ performance.

The strategy would be implemented in the classroom to improve fluency because it impacts greatly students’ performance outcomes. Learners would be given some work, which they would read in groups and then present in classroom every fifth day as individuals. Work would include poems, songs, and riddles, both traditional and modern. Texts would be chosen carefully, and the teacher would read to them loudly, and tell one of the students’ to stand and read to other students.

This would improve their confidence because all of them would be engaged during shared reading. It is critical to indicate that by encouraging learners to do a shared reading, all of them would be expected to present in the classroom after they do in groups. As a result, this would ensure that they are active in group work because they would be aware that they would redo the task individually. Each student would be expected to address others to improve their communication skills and fluency. Students would be expected to listen to poems from television and recite them loudly in the classroom.

Various materials would be used in the classroom using this strategy. Learners would be given handouts with guidelines on shared reading, textbooks with poems and songs, and journals that would be guiding students about shared reading and its importance. Audio-visual materials such as a CD with poems would be used in a classroom where students would be expected to listen to poems and recite them individually.