Activities for Shared Reading

Shared reading activities should occur every day in every preschool classroom. They provide opportunities for children to enjoy, tell, and retell stories and to expand their language. They also provide opportunities for children to connect the spoken word with the written word, to learn the conventions of print, to develop listening comprehension skills, and to see themselves as part of a community of readers and writers.

Here are some shared reading activities that preschoolers enjoy:

Storytime Discussions

As you read with children, encourage their involvement in the story and their attention to details by asking questions about the following:

• To recall what happened before
• To look at the pictures and predict what will happen next
• What they think a character wants or will do
• To explain or guess the meaning of a word that may be unfamiliar
• How they think the characters feel, what they can do to solve the characters' problems, or why the characters are acting in particular ways
• If they have had experiences like those of the characters in the story
• To repeat or retell their favorite parts

Experience Stories

Plan a field trip or nature walk for the children in your class. Take pictures of places or events along the way. Back in class, let the children help you create a picture book by placing the photos in the correct order. Ask the children to talk about each picture so that you can write their words underneath it or on the facing page. Read the experience story with the children.

Choral Reading

Print the words to a favorite chant or finger play on a large piece of chartpaper. Point to the words as the children say them with you.

Dictation

Let a child dictate a sentence or two, and write down his or her words exactly. Then read them back together.