All Together Now!

            Fluency instruction requires multiple opportunities to practice text.  Choral reading is one efficient intervention that allows multiple students and even the whole class to practice together. 

            Paige (2011) describes one teacher’s use of whole-class choral reading (WCCR) as a strategy to support her struggling readers.  WCCR is a technique whereby a group or all students read aloud together from the same passage along with the teacher who models how to say words, the reasonable speed, and proper expression.  There are studies that show it works to increase oral reading fluency. (Raskinski, 2003; Samuels, 2006, as cited in Paige, 2011, p. 435).

            Paige described the flexibility of WCCR.  Many types of text can be used including short stories, poems, historical speeches, and content books. (Paige, 2011, p. 435).  Teachers can support comprehension and vocabulary as well by introducing the text and going over challenging words beforehand.  All students should have a copy of the text or be able to see it on an overhead or smart board.  The teacher sets the pace and instructs the students to follow her lead. Corrective feedback is directed to the whole group so that no student is singled out.  This encourages even reluctant readers to participate in reading. (Paige, 2011, p. 436-37).

            Teachers can maintain interest with variations like echo reading of sentences and volley reading back and forth between split groups.  Choral reading can even be used to practice fluency with assignment instructions or other short readings that would usually be read aloud by a single student. (Paige, 2011, p. 437). With its versatility, WCCR is a simple strategy that subtly incorporates needed fluency practice into the daily classroom routine.

APA Citation to the article:

Paige, D. D. (2011). "That Sounded good!": using whole-class choral reading to            improve fluency. The Reading Teacher, 64(6), 435-438.

Link to the article:

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