Shared Reading and the 'Reading to Learn' methodology

In the Foundation Phase (Grade R-3 in South Africa) you will often see teachers conducting Shared Reading in their classrooms. Shared Reading is a proven instructional strategy that can be used to teach many different reading skills such as comprehension, fluency, decoding, vocabulary, spelling, and various aspects of language).

What exactly is Shared Reading? 
The Reading Rockets website defines Shared Reading as 'an interactive reading experience that occurs when studdents join in or share the reading of a book or other text while guided and supported by a teacher. The teacher explicitly models the skills of proficient readers, including reading with fluency and expression. The shared reading model often uses oversized books (referred to as big books) with enlarged print and illustrations." http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/shared_reading
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Deb Avery demonstratig a Shared Readding lesson at Graeme College this week

What are the benefits of using Shared Reading?
There are endless reasons why teachers use Shared Reading as one of their main reading strategies in the Foundation Phase:

• Every child loves being read a story aloud.
• The learners can see the words, match them to the pictures and hear them being read aloud. 
• Struggling readers are well-supporte when a teacher uses Shared Reading.
• Shared reading builds up sight word knowledge, language knowedge and reading fluency. 
• The learners enjoy a full reading experience and cna read lovwely big books with the teacher.
• The teacher provides visual, syntax, and meaning clues so that the learners can decode words. 
• Learners' reading ability improves dramatically when Shared Reaing is applied well,
• Shared Reading introduces before reading, during reading, and after reading strategies that the learners can apply to their own reading

Joyce on the Reading to Learn course applying what she has learned with Grade R

How does Shared Reading fit into the Reading to Learn cycle?Shared Reading is explicitly taught in the Foundation Phase Learning to Read course. The Shared Reading cycle nearly always culminates in a Joint Writing and Independent Writing activity. The whole cycle could take up to three lessons.  Explicit instructions are given for each stage of the cycle. Visit the Reading to Learn South Africa website.