I remember back to my elementary days. I hated to read. It wasn't that I was a bad reader. It was because I thought it was so boring. My classroom was a shared classroom. We usually had about 20 students in the classroom and the teacher would have us take turns reading a paragraph or a page per person. Some students stumbled while others read fast or monotone. I would find myself drifting off. I always prayed I would be one of the first to read because if I was the 10th on the list I knew I'd have to ask what page we were on by the time the teacher came to me.
As I was learning about how to teach reading at Grand Canyon University, I learned about the benefits of Choral Reading. What is Choral Reading? Readingrockets.com explains that choral reading is reading aloud in unison with a whole class or group of students. By having the class read in unison, a student's practice time increases reading 7 pages at 30-40 minutes a day, versus 1 paragraph at 5 minutes a day. Choral reading helps build a student's fluency. Fluency is reading a text accurately, quickly and with expression. Using choral reading also helps build self-confidence and overall motivation. When students read together, the student who may ordinarily feel self conscious about how he or she reads has a built-in support system. When a teacher hears a few students stumble over a word, they can also address this as a class, instead of pointing out one student in front of the whole class. Let's say a few students stumbled over the word depreciation. A teacher can address this by saying, "I heard a few of us stumble over the word depreciation." The teacher may then put the word up on the smart board with an image for visualization, or hand out blank flashcards to the whole class and have them write on one side the word. The teacher then may have the class come up with a definition that makes sense to them. The teacher can also model how to pronounce a word. If further help is needed for a student, the teacher can make a note and address that at a time that doesn't call attention to that student in front of the class. Choral reading offers so many opportunities to build a student up through a support system. That support system includes other classmates, the teacher and the teacher's aide. It is also not just limited to a reading class, it can be used in math, science and social studies. Per ReadingRockets.com Choral Reading provides the following benefits:
Choral reading is also beneficial at home. I hope you try it this week!
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AuthorMrs. Heimes is a middle school teacher at Wynot Public Schools. She has a dual Bachelor of Science degree in K-8 Elementary Education and K-12 Special Education and a dual Master of Arts degree in Reading and Administrative Leadership. ArchivesCategories |