--- title: "Step 2: Shared reading" --- # Step 2: Shared reading Fiction ## Step 2: Shared reading of fictional text  It is important that you always read the text yourself before reading it to the students. You read the text together throughout the exercise. This is a student-active exercise. Feel free to use EPA so that the students have the opportunity to first think on their own, share with a friend and then discuss/share their thoughts with the rest of the class.   **Before reading: Activate Prior knowledge** Look at the cover of the book. Start by showing the students the cover of the book or the text. Ask questions that help students start thinking about what they think the book is about. "*What do we see in the picture? What do you think it means?"* *"What is the title of the book? What do you think the book will be about?"* *"What do you think the author wants us to learn from this book?"* These questions help students activate their Prior knowledge and give them a sense of being part of the reading process before the text is even read. You give them a chance to Predict and become curious. **Predict what the book will be about.** Let students make their own Predictions about the text based on the pictures and title. *"What do you think will happen in the story? Will it be an adventure story or maybe a book about friendship?"*   **While reading: Interactive reading** Read the text aloud and engage the students. Read the text slowly and clearly, but ask the students to join in as you read. Encourage them to raise their hands if they come across a word they don't understand or if they have a question about the content. *Stop when you see a word that is new or difficult."What does this word mean? Can we figure it out together?"*   **Reading stops** Take reading stops where you pause to look up new words and discuss the text. During these stops, you can ask: *"Is there a word here that we don't understand? What does it mean?"* *"Do you have any questions about what's going on here? What do you think will happen next?"* **Images** Tell students about how you use your imagination and senses when you read. *"When I read about the big forest, I can almost hear the wind in the trees. Can you hear anything when we read about the forest?"* Encourage students to share their own inner images and sensations from the text.   **Predictions** After each reading stop, ask a question that makes students Predict what might happen next. *"What do you think will happen to the main character after this? Will he succeed in his goal?"*   **After reading: Summarize and reflect** When you have finished the text, have students discuss what happened in the story. Ask open-ended questions that help them summarize. *"What happened first? What happened in the middle of the story? And what happened at the end?"* *"What do you think of the ending? Was it what you thought?"* **Story outline** To help with the summary, students can use a Story outline. Go through the outline together: **Introduction:** Who is in the story? **Environment:** Where does the story take place? **Plot:** What happens? **Termination:** What happens at the end? This helps students to concretize the structure of the text and organize their thoughts around what they have read.   **Reflection** Let students reflect on what they learned from the story. *"What do you think the author wanted to say with this book?"* *"Does this book remind you of anything else you've read or experienced?"*   ### **In-depth tasks** **Create Your Own Stories** Have students use the Story outline to create their own short stories. They can work in small groups and fill in each section of the outline before writing or telling their own story. **Illustrate the plot of the book** Have students draw pictures that represent different parts of the story. They can illustrate the beginning, middle, and end, and then explain why they chose to draw these scenes. **Questions about the text** After working on the reading, students can create their questions about the text to discuss with their classmates. These questions can be based on their Reflections and help them process the text more deeply.   ![a class in key stage 1 listen to a male teacher reading alound-3](https://teaching.lexplore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/a%20class%20in%20key%20stage%201%20listen%20to%20a%20male%20teacher%20reading%20alound-3.jpeg?width=250&height=250&name=a%20class%20in%20key%20stage%201%20listen%20to%20a%20male%20teacher%20reading%20alound-3.jpeg)   --- Back to Lesson plans and exercises