3 Lesson Types that Support Grade-Level Reading
November 4, 2024
Most classes include a mix of students reading below, at, above grade level. Of course, our goal as teachers is to have all students reading at (least) at grade level by the end of the year. Daily experience with grade level (or above) texts is key. Research shows that when students grapple with grade-level texts, they not only improve their reading skills, but they also build knowledge, enhance language and communication skills, establish a firm foundation for academic success, and boost self-confidence.
So how do we best expose all students daily to grade-level texts. I rely on three lesson types—read-aloud, close-reading, and shared reading—since they all provide plenty of opportunities for to scaffold and support through challenge—during the English-language arts block and across the day during social studies and science classes as well. All these lessons can also be taught as either whole class or small group settings depending upon your purpose and students’ needs.
**An important note for those of you using core reading programs: Many of the texts in these programs are written at grade level, but the recommended lesson type may not offer enough support for students not yet reading at grade level or even those reading at grade level. Based on the text, the lesson objectives, and the needs of your students, consider substituting a read-aloud, shared-reading, or close-reading lesson that allows you to provide the level of support you know your students need.
READ-ALOUD LESSONS
When I talk about read-aloud lessons, I’m referring to an interactive read-aloud with a particular instructional purpose(s). This type of read-aloud starts with selecting a text that best matches your instructional purpose. I tend to use a read-aloud lesson when teaching comprehension skills and strategies, such as summarizing, understanding character, visualizing, or inferring for a narrative text and determining importance, integrating text features, or identifying the main idea for expository texts.
When planning a read-aloud lesson, you will purposefully think about:
· when to model your thinking for students,
· how to demonstrate (and have students practice) a particular strategy,
· where in the text to stop and engage students in strategic thinking, and
· how best to explain important content or define essential vocabulary.
And remember, you are the only person who has the text, so when you share visuals, make sure that all students can easily see the images.
How often and how long?
I recommend teaching at least one read-aloud lesson every day, and maybe several if you are an elementary teacher who provides instruction for all subjects. Read-aloud lessons can be particularly effective for grade-level social studies and science texts. And don’t forget about math, where reading a picture book about a famous mathematician or the comparative size of animals can help kids better understand math concepts and how math impacts their world.
At least once or twice a week, I’ll follow-up a read-aloud lesson with a conversation lesson, particularly for especially meaty texts where students could benefit from thoughtful discussion.
I typically choose a text that will take 15 to 20 minutes to read, allowing time for five to six pauses so that students can actively engage with the text. For a picture book or chapter book that might mean I pause every other page depending upon the text density. For an expository text, I might stop every paragraph or two.
SHARED-READING LESSONS
Shared-reading lessons are highly interactive and include repeated, choral, and echo reading; intentional strategy instruction; and responsive feedback. I typically use shared reading when I want to work on fluency or foundational skills, such as decoding words, exploring print concepts, or applying recent phonics lessons to a text passage.
When planning a shared-reading lesson, you will purposefully alternate between
· Demonstration— modeling fluent reading, thinking aloud about meaning, articulating steps to determine word meaning, etc.
· Guiding Practice—providing feedback as students read aloud, prompting discussion, pausing when students stumble, etc.
In a shared reading lesson, all students’ eyes will be on the same text— a poem or song on a piece of chart paper, a big book, a text on a smart board or display camera—as you direct attention to a particular line with a laser, pointer, or finger. Students will read the text together several times working toward greater fluency and accuracy with each repetition.
How often and how long?
Shared-reading lessons are frequently taught during the ELA block with younger students, perhaps once a day. However, shared reading can and should be used with older students when learning how to read a poem, how varying emphasis or pace affects meaning, or how to integrate text features in content area studies.
The pace of shared-reading is typically slower than a read-aloud lesson since students are tracking with both their eyes and voices, so you’ll want to select a short text that allows for a slower reading pace and aim for the entire lesson to last about 10-15 minutes. You’ll also plan to provide opportunities to model expressive reading, offer strategy suggestions, and provide timely feedback, as well as for students to engage in choral or echo reading.
CLOSE-READING LESSONS
During a close-reading lesson, you are going to help kids dive deeply into a relatively short text. I often choose a close-reading lesson when I want students to probe for multiple textual meanings; study author craft; explore symbolism, mood or tone; learn strategies that promote deep analysis; etc.
When planning a close-reading lesson, you will want to think about:
· how to demonstrate (and have students practice) a particular strategy,
· where in the text to stop so students can analyze that portion of the text deeply,
· how to read each section—independently, partner reading, read aloud
In a close-reading lesson, each student will have their own text or will all be able to easily read a display copy. Make sure kids have their own copy of the text if you want them to make notes, highlight or underline, identify key vocabulary, etc.
How often and how long?
Close-reading lessons are great for all subjects. In the lower grades, where students are still building stamina, you might limit this lesson type to a couple of times a week. In the upper elementary and particularly in the middle grades, you might teach a close-reading lesson once or more each day as students need to delve more deeply into texts.
A close-reading lesson requires sustained, deep thinking and should ideally last only 10 to 15 minutes. The text needs to be short so that you can pause five to six times to think aloud, model a strategy, prompt discussion, ask students to reread, answer questions, and in general support the type of deep thinking this lesson type demands. Be sure to monitor engagement levels and provide additional support if needed or if students appear fatigued, pause and finish the lesson another day.
For more information about these three lesson type (and six more), seeTeaching Reading Across the Day.To learn more about the types of strategies you might teach during these lessons, seeThe Reading Strategies Book 2.0