Shake Up Shared Reading: Expanding on Read Alouds to Encourage Student Independence

The joyful path from rich read-aloud experiences toward supporting young readers’ independence.

When young readers join their voices together in shared reading, their literacy skills and confidence soar. Shared reading surrounds students with the language of stories and the delight of learning in community.

In Shake Up Shared Reading, veteran teacher Maria Walther offers teachers a simple but robust scaffolding for moving from teacher-led demonstration of read aloud to student-led discovery of literacy skills—across the bridge of shared reading. This easily adaptable structure features short, targeted bursts of shared reading that are connected to and planned as a follow-up to a read-aloud experience. The resource includes:

• Read-aloud experiences drawn from 50 recently published works of children’s literature from varied voices, that provide the foundation for the short, intensive shared reading interactions that follow.
• 100 short, laser-focused bursts of shared reading, two for each title, that invite students to dig deeper, with a precise aim in mind—perfect for a variety of learning contexts including virtual settings.  
• Key vocabulary, kid-friendly definitions, along with a Nudge Toward Independence section for each shared reading interaction help teachers connect shared reading to guided reading lessons and students’ independent literacy learning.
• A companion website offering reproducibles and a Learning Target Chart that gives an at-a-glance view of every read aloud learning target and shared reading focus, along related titles and additional links.

Let the power of a read aloud and shared reading lead your students to read, talk, ponder, and react on the way to becoming joyful, independent readers.

The joyful path from rich read-aloud experiences toward supporting young readers’ independence.

When young readers join their voices together in shared reading, their literacy skills and confidence soar. Shared reading surrounds students with the language of stories and the delight of learning in community.

In Shake Up Shared Reading, veteran teacher Maria Walther offers teachers a simple but robust scaffolding for moving from teacher-led demonstration of read aloud to student-led discovery of literacy skills—across the bridge of shared reading. This easily adaptable structure features short, targeted bursts of shared reading that are connected to and planned as a follow-up to a read-aloud experience. The resource includes:

• Read-aloud experiences drawn from 50 recently published works of children’s literature from varied voices, that provide the foundation for the short, intensive shared reading interactions that follow.
• 100 short, laser-focused bursts of shared reading, two for each title, that invite students to dig deeper, with a precise aim in mind—perfect for a variety of learning contexts including virtual settings.  
• Key vocabulary, kid-friendly definitions, along with a Nudge Toward Independence section for each shared reading interaction help teachers connect shared reading to guided reading lessons and students’ independent literacy learning.
• A companion website offering reproducibles and a Learning Target Chart that gives an at-a-glance view of every read aloud learning target and shared reading focus, along related titles and additional links.

Let the power of a read aloud and shared reading lead your students to read, talk, ponder, and react on the way to becoming joyful, independent readers.