R e a d i n g M o n o g r a p h S e r i e s

Partner Reading

ElementaryVersion 5

ISBN # 1-931954-02-X

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© 2007 by America’s Choice

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Partner Reading

R e a d i n g M o n o g r a p h S e r i e s

Introduction 1Addressing Students’ Critical Instructional Needs 4Learning Opportunities 5Teaching Opportunities 6Rituals, Routines and Artifacts 7Structuring the Time and SpaceProcedures for Partnering

Teacher-Assigned PartnershipsStudent-Selected Partnerships

Meeting the PartnerWhen to Switch Partners:

Forming New Partnerships

Demonstrating Partner Reading and Partner Discussions 12Supporting Partner Reading 16Teach the Behaviors Surrounding

Partner ReadingOffer Topics and StrategiesCreate a Coherent Workshop Structure

for Partner ReadingMonitor ProgressGuide Text Selection

Partner Reading

Table of Contents

Supporting All Readers Through Partnerships 19Developmental Levels

Partnerships to Support Reading Informational Text 21Technology and Partner Reading 22Supplementing Partnerships: In and Out of School 23Mentor Reading

Parents as Mentors

A Final Note 25References 27

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Partner Reading

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In my quest to have children involved in real reading in as many ways as possible, I decided to structure a time for children to read together and also engage in good book talk. I had several thoughts in mind when I began experimenting with partner reading. I wanted the children to:

● have more reading practice.● hear each other as readers.● help each other as readers. ● see what other children were reading.● have the opportunity to talk informally about the

books they were reading.● begin recommending books to each other.

(Carr 1999, 91)

Partner ReadingIntroduction Educational researchers regularly pose the following question: given that lifelong reading habits are such strong predictors of verbal cognitive growth, what is it that forms these productive habits? Some research studies indicate that “2nd- through 5th-grade students who are better at reading read significantly more than their ‘non-reading’ counterpart [sic], and

therefore become even better readers, in an upward spiral of achievement and proficiency” (Taberski 2000, 5). This spiral is commonly known as the Matthew Effect; it means that students who get off to a fast start in reading are more likely to read more over the years, which can continue to build vocabulary and general knowledge. Students who do learn to read quickly are not as likely to be frustrated by

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challenges; they are able to regularly experience joy, excitement and achievement in their reading, all of which propels them.

Partner reading� can assist in getting students off to that crucial fast start. Because they offer similar levels of independence, support and social interaction, partner reading shares many of the social and academic benefits of peer tutoring and paired reading: “Besides the improved use of instructional time, some positive outcomes are increased learning, social growth and friendships among students” (Butler �999, 4�6). Students who work with partners at similar reading levels gain increased reading confidence, because part of the time they are in the position of instructing or helping a peer (Butler �999, 423).

Partner reading may take more than one form. For emergent and beginning readers, it means having one partner read aloud while the other partner listens and sometimes helps, followed by some basic talk about the text. As students become early transitional to fluent readers, the partnership works more to provide a constant forum for discussion of a shared text. Partner-reading activities thus function as a transition between the group settings of whole-class read-aloud and shared reading and the solitary nature of

Students who do learn to read

quickly are not as likely to

be frustrated by challenges;

they are able to regularly

experience joy, excitement and

achievement in their reading,

all of which propels them on.

� Partner reading is similar to paired reading, cross-age tutoring, and classwide peer tutoring, but each strategy has its own nuances. Partner reading, as it is discussed here, is the partnering of students at similar reading levels to read and discuss books (see also Carr �999, Chapter 5). Each reader takes a turn reading, listening and helping. Paired reading is typically understood as the pairing of a fluent reader (usually a parent or other adult) with a reader at an earlier stage of fluency (see, for instance, Murad and Topping 2000). The paired reading relationship is more strictly one of modeling and guidance than the partner reading relationship. Cross-age tutoring is a strategy often used for readers who struggle (see, for instance, Samway, Whang, and Pippitt �995). The older reader finds an opportunity for reading success and confidence in helping a younger reader. Finally, classwide peer tutoring is an instructional strategy that structures peer work around “practic[ing] basic skills” (Butler �999, 4�5). Most, but not all, classwide peer tutoring puts students of differing abilities together to develop and practice reading strategies to improve reading skill.

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independent reading. These activities also support independent reading well after students are capable of comprehending text largely on their own. The latter function allows students to move beyond simple comprehension to more complex interaction with texts. Partner reading becomes partner discussion.

It makes sense, therefore, that partnering students for reading might help less proficient students to become more excited about reading, both because they are not stopped by reading obstacles and because they can really share what they read with another student. The more proficient reader in the partnership will feel the same motivation as well as being able to reinforce reading strategies for themselves as they assist their partners. Both students will learn from the other’s strengths.

Reading partnerships support all readers but are particularly useful for readers who may need, more than anything else, time. Three points of partner reading particularly assist a less-proficient reader:

● Time to work on print with a partner

● Time to work on print alone

● Time to talk about text with a partner (ECLAS �999, 43)

In fact, for some students, partner reading may be supplemental to the first step they take toward establishing independence in reading.

A student’s partner reading experience, coupled with any or all of the following, can be beneficial:

● Hearing the text on tape

● Listening to a peer read the text

● Having the support of a peer when needed in reading the text

● Following the voice of the teacher or reader

(Adapted from Routman �994, 396; see also Allen �995, 60)

It is often the case that some students, no matter what their developmental level may be, who may “have difficulty reading[,] do quite well understanding text and contributing to oral discussion if they can hear the text and follow along with a tape” (Routman �994, 396).

However, it is important to recognize that if one child is a much stronger reader than another, the stronger reader tends to do most of the work and get most of the practice (ECLAS �999, 39). This is especially true for emergent and beginning readers who are learning to process print. To maximize the effectiveness of this type of reading relationship, strike a balance and emphasize partnering on the basis of interest whenever

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possible. Also, periodically pair students with others at similar or equal developmental levels where both need to work on particular strategies. This kind of regular partner exchange will keep the discussion fresh and everyone interested and will help address each student’s needs. Through the Readers Workshop, including partner reading, you can begin to address the central need for students to talk about texts, to create interest in reading by talking about what is being read and to apply knowledge to independent reading through dialogue about texts. (see the Talking About Books monograph for more details about helping students practice talking about texts in productive ways).

Addressing Students’ Critical Instructional NeedsPartner reading, along with the other instructional approaches in Readers Workshop, provides you with a vehicle to address all of the following instructional needs:

● More reading instruction for all students

● More difficult texts, especially for average and better readers

● More critical analysis and synthesis of information from multiple texts

● More emphasis on meaningful vocabulary throughout the grades

(Routman �996, 5)

By adding more diverse reading experiences to the curriculum, you will be able to provide

“more reading instruction for all students” while still managing to keep them interested. When not working with the whole class and not meeting with you in a conference, partnered students still have active support for their reading and will actively apply your instruction together.

1.

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Students who have partners (who will assist and support their reading) will be able to

handle slightly more challenging texts. While one of the partners might not be able to understand a word or words even in context, the other partner may have a sense of it or will know how to find out. Being able to discuss how a complicated textual structure is working to develop narrative also supports learning where it might otherwise be frustrated.

Partner reading provides students with opportunities for “more critical analysis and

synthesis of information from multiple texts.” The partners’ discussions are based not only on reactions to texts but also on analyzing them and synthesizing what they know about one text with what they know about another or other texts.

Since vocabulary acquisition depends so heavily on reading quantity, encouraging reading

and facilitating getting beyond reading challenges will inevitably help to increase students’ vocabularies. Partnered activities structured by you allow students to actively pursue vocabulary questions together as they read (see the Vocabulary monograph for related activities and instructional strategies).

Learning OpportunitiesPartner reading allows students to sharpen their reading skills and practice strategies with support from peers as a supplement to independent reading. All students can benefit from this sort of instructional tool. The extent to which students benefit from partner reading depend on three primary factors: how well you establish and help to sustain the behaviors and goals of the activity (see Demonstrating Partner Reading and Partner Discussions and Supporting Partner Reading sections), whether the partnering is done appropriately (see Rituals, Routines and Artifacts section), and how invested the students are in the process.

Partner reading provides opportunities for students to:

● Make plans with a partner

● Read a couple of pages and retell — have a partner retell what was read to him or her

● Use Accountable TalkSM or think-aloud strategies

2.

3.

4.

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● Offer reactions and thoughts regarding reading

● Engage in social interaction

● Use strategies to assist themselves and their partners

● Practice reading aloud with accuracy and expression

● Re-energize for more reading after having read independently for some time

Teaching OpportunitiesThere is no question in the educational community that the smaller the student/teacher ratio, the better the teaching situation. Often that your class is filled to capacity at 20–35 students. Teaching one-to-one, or even one-to-four, seems an insurmountable task. As you set up the Readers Workshop in your classroom, you may ask, “What am I supposed to do with the rest of the students while I am working with individual students or small groups of students?” Partner reading helps to address that issue. This strategy allows you time to confer with individuals and work with small groups — and it allows students to participate in regular, one-to-one discussions that connect their work with you, the whole class and their individual readings.

Partner reading provides opportunities for you to:

● Model ways of working with a partner

● Model Accountable Talk (Resnick �999, 40) or think-aloud strategies (see Demonstrating Partner Reading and Partner Discussions section)

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● Set clear expectations for purposes of reading

● Give clear instructions for the task(s) for which students will be accountable

● Guide students toward being responsible for completing their reading

● Monitor students reading aloud;

● Foster social interaction and successful partnerships

● Facilitate an effective functioning classroom while conducting one-to-one or small group conferences

Most of the opportunities listed above will take the form of lessons at the beginning of the Readers Workshop. Your role in partner reading is largely that of facilitator and trainer. Once you have taught the students what partner reading looks and feels like and you and the students have determined what appropriate partnering behaviors are, they will take on much of the responsibility of the partnered activities.

Rituals, Routines and ArtifactsFor classroom activities to function efficiently, productively and in an orderly fashion, it is up to you to establish regular, predictable and appropriate behaviors and schedules for the students — what are referred to as rituals and routines for the classroom — and it is up to you to make sure the students have the materials they need (see also the Rituals, Routines and Artifacts monograph).

Routines are defined as “what is done” in the Readers Workshop on a regular basis, while rituals are “how things are done.” Thus, routines structure the workshop, and rituals offer procedures for functioning within the set structures. Finally, the artifacts of the Readers Workshop and of activities such as partner reading are the objects needed to do the work.

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Structuring the Time and Space

For partner reading to be successful, you must set aside a time and some appropriately constructed space for partner reading. Partner reading happens during the work period of the Readers Workshop, which is preceded by an opening meeting in which you introduce strategies, rituals or concepts in lessons (see Sample Readers Workshop Structure table). The opening meeting takes approximately �0–�5 minutes of the workshop time (in a 60-minute period). The work period is significantly longer, usually about 40 minutes. Partner reading will take about �0–20 minutes of the work period, followed or preceded by independent reading. You may find, over time, that partner and independent reading seamlessly interweave, particularly in grade 4 and up. Students reading

independently are eager to share their thoughts and ideas with a partner.

The space for partner reading should be the bulk of the classroom because most of the students will participate in partnerships. Two desks may be placed side by side for each pair, two chairs may be placed at a table where the student partners have room to read and write responses to the reading, and/or places may be designated on a rug. It is important for the desks in your classroom to be mobile, because students will need to face you for the opening meeting lesson, face or sit close to their partners when they are doing partner reading, sit comfortably distant from each other when independently reading, and face you or other students during closing meeting presentations and discussions. At times, the student partners may even sit on the floor or just outside the door in the hall so they can be as comfortable as possible while reading and talking. If you have room for students to gather in a whole-group meeting area for the opening and closing meetings, this is best. Then students can move to desks or tables for independent or partner reading.

Sample Readers Workshop Structure

Opening Meeting Demonstrating Partner Reading Lesson

Work Period Initial Meeting of Partners with Introductions; Sharing Sections of Favorite Texts; Beginning the Text-Selection Process

Closing Meeting Student Partners Report on Texts They are Considering

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Procedures for Partnering

Teacher-Assigned PartnershipsWithin the framework of time and space, you must also set clear expectations for who will work together and how. When initiating partner reading, you will assign partners so that you can be sure they are at approximately the same developmental levels. Let students know that the partners will change periodically and each student will work with several partners over the course of the year. Continue to do the partnering through the first few partner rotations.

Student-Selected PartnershipsAfter the students have been coached in the rituals and routines and have worked with assigned partners for some time, consider allowing them to find a short-term partner of their choice. This selection process should be based on the criteria for a successful reading partnership that the class develops together in the activity that follows.

Prior to the time students are allowed to choose their own partners, you may wish to give a lesson on how to best choose a partner who will help the student achieve his or her

goals. Begin the lesson by preparing a chart or overhead that looks like the following:

Next, post this chart in a visible place in the front of the room, where students are used to seeing the opening meeting lessons take place. Before filling in the blank spaces with the students, remind them what the goals of reading partnership are: setting reading goals together, pacing each other’s reading, asking each other questions to really understand the reading as they go along, discussing reactions and responses to the reading, and comparing the reading to other things they have read. This reminder will help them to understand what they need in a reading partner.

After talking about what the goals of partner reading should be, lead a discussion with the students to elicit the characteristics they would expect of a good reading partner. Be ready to guide them if they are unable to

What to Look for in a Reading Partner:•

•

•

•

•

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provide the necessary criteria. Also, remind them that few potential partners will possess all of these qualities, but most partners will have at least one or two. Changing partners periodically will allow them to work with people with differing strengths. Some possible criteria are listed in the chart below.

To guide students when they first choose partners and after you have created a list of criteria with the students, it is a good idea to have them list their top three choices for partners on note cards. This allows you to eliminate any conflicts and direct students toward partners who are in similar developmental places. Try to pair students with their top choices, if possible, since this will help to

assure the best possible teamwork results from the pairing.

Another consideration when allowing students to choose their own partners is to make it clear that if there is a student without a partner, the pairs already in place must invite the individual to join them and may not deny the individual if he or she asks to join them. Students should choose a different partner every time they switch. This, too, will reduce problems with selections based on popularity.

Meeting the Partner

Although it is likely that the students in your class know each other already, invariably a new student or two will have been added, and even the ones who know each other can benefit from a meeting that serves as a “warm up” to the work of the partnership. Also, in the case of mentor-student partnerships (see the Mentor Reading section), introductions are critical to the effective long-term functioning of the partnership. Develop and teach a basic ritual for the first meeting for any partnership that may include any of the following elements.

● Have the partners write their names on folded cards that can sit out in front of them for their first meeting.

● Have them tell each other any nickname they go by on a regular basis, if that is what they would like the partner to call them.

What to Look for in a Reading Partner:

• Someone who is patient

• Someone will stay on task

• Someone who likes the books I do

• Someone who does not fight about what book to read

• Someone who reads about as quickly as I do

• Someone who listens to my ideas and who will share his or her ideas with me

• Someone I can talk to easily

• Someone who asks good questions

• Someone who will adjust the speed of their reading to match mine so I can keep up

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When to Switch Partners: Forming New Partnerships

While partnerships may sometimes last several weeks, it is a good rule of thumb to switch partners at least every six weeks. Primary-grade partners may change more often. Use your best judgment when deciding how long each partnership period should last, basing the decision on the goals of the partnering. Partners should be alternated regularly throughout the year as each student will benefit from interacting with multiple reading partners. Multiple partners mean more varied discussions. More varied discussions mean more deep thought about text.

The other time partners should be changed is when a partnership falls apart or does not work at all. If a partnership is not working, then before it is disbanded, have the students go back to the rules for good partnering they established in the beginning, and see whether each partner is living up to those rules. Have them ask themselves questions such as the following: Do my partner and I try to adjust our reading paces so we both understand what we are reading and stay close enough together to talk about the text? Do my partner and I both talk and listen when we are discussing our reading? If the students

● Allow them to do a little social talk about their reading interests: one or two minutes will be enough. You may want to have a couple of prompting questions to get them started.

● Have them bring a book they like with a marked passage they can read to their partners. This is a great way to begin the discussion of reading interests, and it gets them started reading together.

● Give the students a list of books they might choose from for their partnerships and have them begin to discuss which ones sound interesting just from the titles and authors.

(Pinnell and Fountas �99�, 3)

You may want to wander among the reading partners for this first time, helping to prompt discussion if and when it stalls. The real purpose of this first session is not so much to get reading done or to learn any reading strategies. It is rather to get students comfortable with their partners and with the routine so that, when they do begin working, it is fun and productive and not intimidating.

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are unable to determine where the problem lies and resolve it, consider having a negotiator — another student, you or another adult in your classroom — step in to determine exactly what the problem is. Only after the problems have been discussed and the students resolve to do better in their next partnership should partners be switched. Students need to understand partnership commitments and responsibilities because if a problem is not worked out or at least discussed between two partners, no one else is going to want these students as partners either. Students need to hold each other accountable. By openly and honestly discussing what difficulties partners may have, students learn to listen and articulate their thoughts — and keep one another accountable for adhering to the established rituals and routines of partnership and the Readers Workshop.

Demonstrating Partner Reading and Partner DiscussionsOnce partners have been selected or assigned (and sometimes even before, so that students are truly able to understand the importance of an appropriate partner), it is important to model partner reading. This demonstration should occur before the students have their first partner meetings and will serve as a lesson during the opening meeting of the Readers Workshop.

Whether students partner together in a demonstration or you partner with a student, “partner reading works best when it is modeled” (Routman 2000, �0). Consider beginning with a teacher/student partnership, demonstrating for the whole class to help clarify the nuances of the relationship. Move on to having two students demonstrate how a partnership works. This progression mirrors the move from dependence on you for direction to increased independence. In a reading partnership, the readers will depend on one another to support and perpetuate the reading. Additionally, the goal is to create an environment that supports productive, reciprocal dependence, not situations in which one student cannot read without his or her partner.

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The following strategy may be particularly useful in modeling for younger students (particularly grades �–3) how to read with a partner:

Sitting alongside a child at the beginning of the year. . . demonstrate partner reading to the whole class: The partners sit side by side, not facing one another, and each takes a turn reading the entire text. (When children alternate their reading, page by page, they lose the wholeness of the text and the support it gives.) As one child reads, the other follows along, ready to assist the reader if he has trouble with a word. The partner understands, however, that he should only suggest a strategy or offer the word after he’s given the reader time to work out the problem on his own (Taberski 2000, 159).

Partners in the primary- and upper-elementary grades may read together for �0 minutes or so at the beginning of the work period in Readers Workshop. As the year goes on and as students advance through the grades “fewer and fewer” students will need to participate in this type of side-by-side partner reading, because they have learned to read well on their own (Taberski 2000, �59). Fluent readers may still benefit from partner reading but the purpose for partnering may change.

You should begin encouraging Book Talk between partners by adding

the dimension of discussion to the process, encouraging students to “stop after a few pages and summarize the story, or talk about the main points covered so far. Or do alternate retelling, in which one person starts to tell the story and the other person describes what comes next” (Routman 2000, �0). More complex discussions can begin as students become more fluent in their reading.

The following steps will help the modeling of these more complex and topic-based partner discussions go smoothly.

● Model with a book or story that all students have read.

● Select a topic to discuss with your partner from two to three topics on the chalkboard or overhead (see Supporting Partner Reading for potential topics and themes).

Whether students partner

together in a demonstration

or you partner with a student,

“partner reading works best

when it is modeled.”

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and expand on others’ thoughts (see the Talking About Books monograph for more on Accountable Talk).

A think-aloud is an instructional method used by you and your students to model how you are thinking as you read passages. The think-aloud is the use of an abstract process of thinking about your thinking — metacognition (see the Reading Aloud monograph for more about thinking aloud). Consider reading a short passage aloud during the demonstration as though you are bringing the passage to your partner’s attention. Stop at certain points to raise questions, make comments or respond to the text. In terms of accountability, your partner should listen carefully to your thoughts and respond to them in the discussion that follows.

Demonstrations for early to emergent readers should place emphasis on the reading itself. Very little discussion of the text is necessary at this stage, though it should exist in some form so that students remember what they are reading and have the time to enjoy what they just read. The lessons necessary for more experienced readers should focus on discussion.

Sample topics and strategies for partners to focus upon appear in the chart to the right.

● Show how you record notes. Include your name, the book title, the topic you have selected and examples from the book you plan to discuss.

● Discuss your book, using the notes and the topic you have chosen to guide your comments.

● Encourage students to raise questions about your discussions and about the process.

● Tell whom you would recommend the book to and offer reasons why.

● Make plans with your partner for how much reading to complete before the next meeting.

(Adapted from Robb �99�, 9�)

Two of the most important behaviors you can convey through these demonstrations are Accountable Talk and thinking aloud. According to Lauren Resnick of the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, Accountable Talk, central to productive classroom discussion of all kinds, requires both you and students to press for clarification and explanation, require justifications of proposals and challenges, recognize and challenge misconceptions, demand evidence for claims and arguments, and interpret and use each others’ statements (�999, 40). Each member of the classroom is responsible or accountable to listen to, understand

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Partner Reading Topics and StrategiesThe following are some potential partner reading topics and strategies for you and your students to consider:

• Before reading, consider what the title, cover and illustrations indicate about the book or story

• Retell a chapter, favorite part, confusing part or part that reminds you of something in your own lives

• Discuss changes in the main character from the beginning to the end of the story

• State a major problem a character faces and how it is resolved. Consider other ways the problem might have been resolved

• Focus on one key conflict in the story and the outcome

• Discuss the character and/or situation you personally connect to and why

• Identify the genre, and give three to four examples from the story that illustrate the genre’s structure

• After reading several books from different genres, discuss similarities and differences of the genres

• Discuss the structures of informational texts

• Discuss new information you learned

• Select a favorite illustration or passage from the story, and explain why you chose it

• Describe two settings, and explain how each affected the plot or action or a character’s decisions

• Discuss the author’s purpose or the theme of the book

• After reading some of the book, revisit the title and explain how it connects to the story

• Discuss two events that greatly influenced the main character

• Select and read a short passage in the book that really means something to you. Connect the passage to your experiences

• Predict and Support/Confirm or Adjust: Prediction allows students to use clues from the text (cover, notes, illustrations, first paragraphs or sentences) to suggest what might happen next. To ensure that students use this strategy effectively, get them to make predictions before they read their books, and write those predictions down. Use two sticky-notes per student. Have them write “Predict and Support” at the top and “Confirm or Adjust” near the bottom of each note. Have them place the notes at the end of the second or third chapter (or at the end of the first few pages if it is a short, picture book) and another just before the last chapter (or last few pages). Students can jot down notes on these and use them in discussions with their partners — even in conferences with you (Adapted from Robb 1998, 95)

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Supporting Partner Reading

Teach the Behaviors Surrounding Partner Reading

Demonstrating what the partner reading itself looks like is only a small part of the preparation students need to work together in the classroom. You will also need to develop behaviors for transitioning from activity to activity and for getting focused on the partner reading. Ask students, after the lesson, to simply walk up to their partners, rather than calling their names. The quieter environment will allow them to move more quickly into the reading and discussion. Also, if you are guiding the topic choice, consider putting the topic or topics for the day up on a transparency right before the work period. This will circumvent multiple questions about what the students should be doing with their partners that day.

Offer Topics and Strategies

Partners will need topics and strategies to think about while they are reading and to discuss after they read. This is an important area in which you can support their progress. Partner topics and strategies should be chosen based on need. In the beginning, you usually determine need (or students will generally choose what is easy for them). As students become more fluent

in their reading, they will be better able to make appropriate decisions about the purposes for their partner reading.

Thus, begin by asking students to consider only one topic or strategy per day. When the partners have worked together for a while and you believe they are ready to begin selecting a focus for their session together, you might offer them a few topics or strategies to choose from. Allow the students to work through them at their own pace. The benefit of allowing some choice is that the students may feel more invested in the process. The benefit of the more directive approach is that the students feel their partner-reading sessions are well-structured, leaving them more time and energy to practice reading instead of debating which approach to take that day. Furthermore, because all of the partners would be trying out the same topic or approach, powerful opportunities for whole-class sharing during the closing session will arise.

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Create a Coherent Workshop Structure for Partner Reading

Tying elements of the Readers Workshop together helps to support each individual part. A coherent Readers Workshop begins with a lesson that addresses a topic or strategy based on student needs. The work session that follows can focus on having students think about the content of the lesson and practice applying it to their own reading. Have those who are reading with a partner focus on applying the lesson during this time. Finally, in Reader’s Chair (during the closing meeting), have a pair or two talk about how they used the lesson to support their reading.

For instance, you may have identified that students need to learn more about characterization. After a lesson on character, students might discuss character changes and development, how they connect with the characters personally, and so on. Then, in Reader’s Chair, one or two pairs could share with the rest of the class how they used their new knowledge about character to read their present text. Providing such a structured and cohesive environment for the partnerships should allow students to really focus on responding more substantially to the reading. Still allow some days or times for the partners to simply talk about whatever is on their minds regarding the reading.

Monitor Progress

Another way you can support partner reading is by occasionally stopping to chat with partners about what they are doing or by having periodic conferences to discuss their progress and productivity. The first approach is very casual: it is important that you use that time to just be interested in what is going on. This might be a moment for you to observe how fluently the students are reading. If they are having serious trouble reading the words of the text, you may want to guide them to slightly less-challenging reading materials in the future. Remember, however, that some students stumble when reading aloud because of shyness, not because of reading or comprehension problems (Routman 2000, �2�). To determine whether this is the case, ask the students questions: What is this book about? What do you like best about it? If they comprehend what they have read, chances are the struggle is based on performing before others rather than struggling with the text.

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The more formal conference setting allows you to help guide students in establishing or re-establishing goals. They should primarily be responsible for this process, particularly in the upper-elementary grades. However, at those times when the students lose momentum, you can re-energize them to read more, comprehend better and discuss the texts in more sophisticated ways. Do this by looking back through your conference notes and confirming how much progress the students have already made together. Discuss with them what they would still like to learn or achieve. Is there a book they would really like to read that has been out of reach because it is too difficult? What would they need to do to get to the point where the book is just right for them?

It is also important in conferences to allow students to self-assess. Ask them how they think things are going, whether they feel like the topics they are discussing are helping them to understand their reading better, and so on.

Guide Text Selection

Finally, you can also offer support in the selection of texts. Many upper-elementary readers — 4th- and 5th-graders — still read without giving close attention to the text. Similar to the younger students who call out the words without any of the text seeming to register, these readers often cannot recall the text in any detail. Since readers are in older-grade classrooms, however, they are often adept at disguising the fact that they do not recall details from a story. An early goal for you may be to ensure that all students in your classroom are reading books they can process easily enough that, with support, they can learn to do a point-by-point chronological retelling of the story. In lessons, you can work with the entire class, getting them to retell short, shared texts.

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Conferences are great times to reassess what types of books the student pairs should be reading to keep them interested but not frustrated. Ask them whether they think they need to be reading longer books and/or books with slightly more difficult structure and language. One way to get at this information is to ask them to read segments of texts at varying levels aloud to you. You will be able to observe quickly whether the text gives them problems or is too easy. The intention is that, as students work over time with partners and alone, they will develop the interest and skills to read increasingly more difficult texts well. See the Independent Reading monograph for details about the developmental stages of readers K–5. That monograph will help you understand more about developmental levels for individual students which may help you when you initially guide students in partner reading. See the Guided Reading monograph for more information on reading assessment to determine individual student reading levels and matching students with appropriate texts.

Supporting All Readers Through Partnerships

Developmental Levels

Reading partnerships vary with age, proficiency and purpose. Not all upper-grade readers are proficient readers, nor are all �st-graders emergent or beginning readers. In some 4th- and 5th-grade classrooms, there may be some students who are emergent readers; their partnerships may be very much like the ones common in primary grades. Because students in a single class may be at different developmental reading levels, reading partnerships can offer support for all students without overtly separating strong readers from

Because students in a single class

may be at different developmental

reading levels, reading partnerships

can offer support for all students

without overtly separating strong

readers from less proficient ones.

Pairing similarly-leveled readers

helps them to set ambitious, yet

realistic goals.

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less proficient ones. Pairing similarly-leveled readers helps them to set ambitious, yet realistic goals.

When students are in partnerships of matching ability and are reading the same book, you can ask that they move through the book together, reading a few chapters each evening and a few chapters each day in school, and then retelling what they have read. One student can retell the text, while the other listens for anything left out, or for differences in their recollections. Establishing this sort of routine for a portion of the year

encourages students to choose books that are truly appropriate, that they can read and comprehend in richer and more meaningful ways. Choosing texts can also be facilitated by having leveled books in the classroom library. Regardless of method — color coding by level or creating book bags or bins of leveled books — leveling the books will support partners selecting books they feel are just right for them. See the Independent Reading monograph and the Guided Reading monograph for more details about leveled texts.

Students who are reading chapter books will probably not need help with print work as much as with comprehension and higher levels of thinking and questioning. The reading partnerships conducted with students at the upper-elementary level may consist largely of silent reading with frequent stops along the way to make notations on sticky-notes or on split-page notes — both of which will keep the partners working together.

An easy way to employ the sticky-notes strategy is to mark passages which are confusing with a question mark on the note, passages that are interesting with a star or an exclamation point on the note, and passages that parallel other texts with an equal sign on the note. These markings allow students to return to the sections they have marked for further thought, discussion and even additional note-taking.

Split-Page Notes to Guide Partner Reading Discussions

Quote from the text: What I saw in my mind:

Character: Traits and supporting evidence for traits:

Setting: Details that let me see the setting more clearly:

My Favorite Part: Why I like this part:

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Split-page notes can be a useful way for you to show students how to interact with the text and how to share with their partners. See the chart on page 20 for a guide to constructing split-page notes.

On a given day, you might ask students to focus a bit more on one of these categories. Also, you and the students may want to brainstorm more categories. For instance, proficient readers might have a category for which they take notes on the mood of the scene and its meaning for the story: “the dark and stormy night at the beginning of our mystery novel forecasts that something bad will happen.” The fun comes when students compare their responses and notes. The productive disagreement that can come out of this process can lead readers to learn new ways of looking at a text.

Partnerships to Support Reading Informational TextAs you probably recognize from your own students’ reactions to reading, understanding and enjoying informational text is often more difficult for them to do independently. In some cases, the vocabulary is so specialized that readers have to slow down to process it. At other times, the vocabulary may not be any harder than in fiction books, but the concepts represented may be more difficult to comprehend or the syntax used may be more sophisticated. Partnerships provide the additional resources, knowledge and energy of another reader. When one reader’s understanding falters, often the other’s will sustain the reading process.

Plus when exciting discoveries are made, the readers can share with each other. For instance, students who bond over a discovery may be motivated to continue searching informational texts for additional information or create a new quest for different information once they have experienced success. For instance, in The Art of Teaching Reading (200�), Lucy Calkins describes a pair of primary students’

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reactions to informational text about dolphins. The students were able to share observations that compared baby dolphins’ size to their own, the dolphins’ growth to their own growth, and so on (450–5�) — an exciting adventure that could lead even the most reluctant reader to seek additional reading in pursuit of more discoveries. A reading partnership also offers to readers of informational text the natural insertion of pauses in which the partners may think about and respond to the text, rather than simply plowing through the words without stopping to consider what relevance they have. As students pause to contemplate what they are reading, they should be encouraged to practice Accountable Talk as they discuss the meaning of the text, what to do with that information, or what to read next based on what they have just been reading.

Technology and Partner ReadingTechnology has become an almost irreplaceable aid to education, and the use of technology has also been shown to have a positive impact when combined with partner reading. Many companies now provide software with access to rich literature on CD-ROM. If you have computers in your classroom, you may be able to use technology to help all students improve their reading skills. There are possible answers to all varying scenarios.

● If your classroom has a computer, you may be able to schedule times for partners to work in the non-judgmental environment of the computer (using reading software, reading electronic texts, responding to things they have read, etc.).

● If you have a small group of computers, you may be able to form book discussion groups from two or more partnerships that take advantage of the opportunity to use the reading software or to write and perhaps print out responses about what they are reading near one another (for more about book discussion groups, see the Talking About Books monograph).

● If you have only one computer at your desk but you also have a television, you may be able to use your television as a screen connected to your computer so that more students can see the demonstration of the reading software on the larger screen.

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Supplementing Partnerships: In and Out of School

Mentor Reading

Increasingly, schools are able to utilize the time and energy of community volunteers (usually adult or older student community members) who are willing and able to help support literacy efforts. These volunteers can make excellent reading partners. Clearly their relationship is more one of mentoring than is typical in the student-student partner relationships; however, they can also sit near their partners, listen to them read, help when they need it, share favorite passages with their partners, and discuss the reading.

The particular benefit of mentor reading is the presence of another proficient, responsible reader in the classroom. Calkins calls this type of partnering “proficient partner conferences,” and she claims that “the power of the proficient partner conference comes from our enacting, in a partnership with the child, the kind of work she could be doing” (200�, ��5-�6). This reader may be able to guide his or her partner more substantially than a peer would. Simultaneously, however, the mentor may be more intimidating than a peer. Work with the students in your class to understand how the two relationships differ and how they can benefit from both.

You will need to be very clear with the mentors, just as you are with the students, about how the time should be used. Though they may not be present when you give instructions during a lesson, you should be prepared to instruct the mentors, as well. Consider typing up an instruction sheet for the mentors that clearly describes what you would like them to do, that welcomes them to your classroom, that identifies where the relevant materials are, and so on. The first few times the mentor and student meet, consider offering them a rough outline or plan for their work during the session. This will give them some sense of how to divide the time.

Then, encourage the mentors to keep a record, just as you and the students do, of the work done each session. They can note their

The particular benefit

of mentor reading is the

presence of another proficient,

responsible reader in the

classroom.

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personal responses to texts, things they notice about their partners’ reading, things they know they need to work on the next time, reflections on the effectiveness of the mentoring relationship, and any questions they have.

A resource you may want to acquire for your classroom library (for volunteers to check out) is Help America Read: A Handbook for Volunteers (�99�), by Gay Su Pinnell and Irene C. Fountas. This resource offers guidance for the mentors that you may not have time to completely convey on your own.

In Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6: Teaching Comprehension, Genre and Content Literacy, the same authors, Fountas and Pinnell, offer a definition of paired reading — a partnership between an adult and student reader — also commonly called mentor reading as it is named here (200�, 3��). This paired reading experience is a clear distinction from the partner reading that is the main focus of this monograph and should be an integral part of the Readers Workshop.

Parents as Mentors

Perhaps the best community volunteers and the best adult mentors are parents. Parents are often already modeling the mentor reading activities at home. One school in Manhattan has tried to encourage this relationship, extending the reading experiences beyond the classroom, by making the first Friday of each month “Parents as Reading Partners Day” (Calkins 200�, 30). Even if your school does not already have such a program in place or is not able to adopt such a substantial relationship with parents, you can suggest to parents in a letter that you would like to have one or two days in the course of the year on which they may visit to act as mentors for student readers.

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A Final NotePartner reading can be a fruitful way to help students transition from whole-class read-alouds, shared reading and guided reading to independent reading. It is a way to form social reading habits that might foster the desire to read more and a way for students to enter into discussions about reading that leave them with internalized knowledge about the book and about the reading process. Partner reading serves fluent readers and emergent readers alike, leaving open the possibility for each student to become lifelong readers and lovers of literature. Your role is to make sure students have the time and space to read and talk together about what they have read. Every student who experiences a quality partnership should share the feeling that “the books that matter in our lives are the books we have discussed” (Calkins 200�, �4).

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ReferencesAllen, J. �995. It’s Never Too Late:

Leading Adolescents to Lifelong Literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Butler, F. M. �999. Reading partners: Students can help each other learn to read. Education and Treatment of Children 22 (4): 4�5–26.

Calkins, L. 200�. The Art of Teaching Reading. New York: Addison Wesley Longman.

Carr, J. C. �999. A Child Went Forth: Reflective Teaching with Young Readers and Writers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Early Childhood Literacy Assessment System (ECLAS). �st Ed. Fall �999. New York City Public Schools.

Fountas, I. C., and G. S. Pinnell. 200�. Guiding Readers and Writers, Grades 3-6: Teaching Comprehension, Genre and Content Literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Murad, C. R., and K. J. Topping. 2000. Parents as reading tutors for first graders in Brazil. School Psychology Journal. 2�(2): �52–��.

Pinnell, G. S., and I. C. Fountas. �99�. Help America Read: A Handbook for Volunteers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Resnick, L. �999, June �6. Making America Smarter: A century’s assumptions about innate ability give way to a belief in the power of effort. Education Week: 3�–40.

Robb, L. �99�. Easy-to-Manage Reading & Writing Conferences: Practical Ideas for Making Conferences Work. New York: Scholastic.

Routman, R. �994. Invitations: Changing as Teachers and Learners, K–12. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

———. �996. Literacy at the Crossroads: Crucial Talk about Reading, Writing and Other Teaching Dilemmas. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

———. 2000. Conversations: Strategies for Teaching, Learning and Evaluating. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Samway, K. D., G. Whang, and M. Pippitt. �995. Buddy Reading: Cross-Age Tutoring in a Multicultural School. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Taberski, S. 2000. On Solid Ground: Strategies for Teaching Reading K–3. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

In This Series

Fluency and Comprehension

Guided Reading

Independent Reading

Partner Reading

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

Reading Aloud

Reading Conferences

Rituals, Routines and Artifacts

Shared Reading

Talking About Books

Vocabulary

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