What is Choral Reading? Find the Answer

Choral reading is reading aloud in unison with a whole class or group of students. Fluency, self-assurance, and motivation are all improved by choral reading in students. Due to the fact that students are reading aloud in groups, those who might typically experience anxiety or self-consciousness when reading aloud have access to built-in support.

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What is Choral Reading?

A literacy strategy called choral reading aids in students’ fluency, self-assurance, and reading motivation. A student or group of students reads aloud a passage during choral reading, either with or without a teacher present. Individual, small-group, and class participation are all options for choral reading. Reading Rockets (n.d.), there are three main reasons why choral reading is beneficial, and they include:

• It provides a model of fluency
• It improves sight word recognition
• It allows practice and support

Teachers should make sure that the passage they select for choral reading is appropriate for the students’ reading level, according to Reading Rockets. As a result, the students understand everything they are reading. Most of the time, when teachers select passages for choral reading, they do so because they have rhyme or rhythm. There are many different ways to do choral reading in a classroom, and here are some examples:

• Groups of students take turns reading different pages
• Everyone in the class reads the whole passage together
• Boys read lines 1-3, and girls read lines 4-6
• Teacher models how to read a sentence, then the students read that sentence together

According to Jennings, Caldwell, and Lerner (2014), “because students find choral reading enjoyable, they willingly practice the word recognition that helps them to give a polished performance” (p.213). Students who enjoy choral reading may be more motivated to read, which is crucial for struggling readers and really all readers. Also, Jennings et al. mentions that “low-achieving readers enjoy this activity [choral reading] because it gives them the satisfaction of delivering a well-rehearsed, expressive rendition” (p. 213). Because it gives them a model to follow and practice, choral reading is especially beneficial for students who struggle with fluency.

Why Use Choral Reading?

• It can give less experienced readers the chance to practice before being forced to read independently.
• It offers students an example of fluent reading while they are listening.
• It enhances the capacity to read sight words.

How Does Choral Reading Work?

Small groups of students may participate in choral reading, as well as the entire class. When working with younger groups of students, teachers may instruct them to follow the text with a finger or a marker while also speaking the words.

A choral reading session begins with the teacher reading a selected short passage out loud while students listen and follow along with the text. Following this initial reading, the teacher asks the class to read aloud as a group. Students practice word recognition, accurate pronunciation, inflection, and speed as the teacher reads the passage aloud to them a number of more times. Repeated readings enable them to improve at the crucial reading fluency skill and produce high-caliber oral reading.

Eventually, the teacher pulls back from joining the children as they become more familiar and confident with the reading materials. The following week, they might speak more softly or perhaps begin speaking aloud to the class before cutting off just as a sentence or passage was about to end. Over time, the teacher shifts from being a participant to more of a facilitator. In a supportive manner, this allows students to read fluently with steadily increasing independence.

How to Use Choral Reading?

1. Choose a book or passage that works well for reading aloud as a group:
   1. Patterned or predictable (for beginning readers)
   2. Not too long
   3. At the independent reading level of most students
2. A copy of the text should be distributed to each student so they can follow along. (Note: You may wish to use an overhead projector or place students at a computer monitor with the text on the screen)
3. Fluent reading is demonstrated for the students by reading the passage or story aloud.
4. As they read, instruct the students to annotate the text with a marker or their finger.
5. Read the passage again, then have the group read the passage together as a group.

How to Implement Choral Reading?

Students in elementary, middle, and high schools may find enjoyment and benefit from choral reading sessions. It may be challenging for teachers to determine whether all students are participating in reading activities even though a class can engage in them. In these circumstances, breaking a class up into smaller groups might be preferable.

Here are some basic steps that teachers and reading group leaders can follow to maximize success in choral reading:

1. Choose a short passage of text from any written content, such as a poem, song lyric, storybook, or textbook.
2. The text should be distributed to all students (or projected onto a screen).
3. Students silently listen and trace their fingers or markers along the page as you read the passage.
4. To ensure that everyone can hear one another, instruct students to recite the passage aloud.
5. Mark the beginning of the group reading with a signal, like “..2…1…READ.”
6. Collectively, recite the text passage.
7. Repeat the process, reducing active participation a little at a time with each iteration. You could, for instance, begin speaking more quietly or end speaking before the content recitation is finished.
8. Provide individual coaching for those who are reluctant to participate.

Summary: What is Choral Reading?

Students should work on improving their oral reading fluency. However, encouraging it in the classroom can be challenging. Choral reading is a strategy that can help build fluency by having students read texts aloud together in unison.

One student can read aloud while the rest of the class echoes, the entire class can participate in choral reading, or students can read aloud in small groups. The research suggests it has a number of advantages in addition to being low-prep and simple to implement.