What Is Choral Reading? Strategies, Examples, and Activities
For students who struggle with reading fluency, one instructional method that has proven particularly effective is choral reading. Choral reading exercises help create fluent readers through modeling and repetition. In this blog post, educators can learn more about the benefits of this strategy and ways to implement it in the classroom.
Choral Reading Defined
Choral reading is a technique used by literacy educators where a teacher leads a group of students to read a text aloud in unison. After reading, the group pauses for teacher feedback and then repeats until the group can read the text fluently. This effective strategy emphasizes repetition and partner reading to build skills in reading fluency. An engaging reading routine like this is particularly effective for struggling readers and English language learners because it allows students the opportunity to practice reading fluency without the pressure of reading aloud alone. Students can follow along as they see and hear reading fluency modeled by both their teacher and peers.
How Does Choral Reading Help Fluency?
Oral reading fluency instruction is an important component of early literacy skills. In developing their reading fluency, students work to strengthen their reading abilities with word recognition, reading speed and accuracy, and expression. A choral reading session offers students the chance to hone these skills through modeling and guided practice. As students read aloud together, they can hear and mimic correct pronunciation, pacing, and expression. By rereading the text together until fluency is achieved, students begin to develop automaticity through oral reading fluency practice in a structured, rhythmic pattern.
When students choral read, it develops their reading fluency and boosts their confidence. Struggling readers often experience anxiety when asked to read aloud alone. Practices like round-robin reading remove this barrier and provide struggling readers the opportunity to participate without the fear of making a mistake.
Choral reading studies have shown efficacy for students with learning problems after years of research. One study, from Western Michigan University, of a sixth grade language arts classroom found whole-class choral reading was simple to implement and produced measurable improvements in students’ oral reading skills. Another study conducted in a third grade classroom found marked improvements in reading comprehension following structured choral reading and repeated fluency practice using poetry.
Key Strategies for Implementing Choral Reading
Choral reading strategies are easy to incorporate into any existing reading curriculum in elementary school or middle school. Planning for a choral reading activity is straightforward, and lessons can be tailored to fit any particular timing or subject matter needs.
- Choose a Text: Prepare for your choral reading lesson by choosing a text from the classroom libraries that provides a slight challenge while remaining close to grade-level reading. The passages should be between 200–250 words, so consider using a poem, short story, or another rhythmic or repetitive text. Choose a text that engages students through relevant subject matter or accompanying illustrations.
- Model Reading: Provide students with direct instruction of fluent reading by reading the passage aloud as students listen along. Demonstrate proper pacing, pronunciation, and expression as you read.
- Read as a Group: For group reading time, read the text aloud in unison. Continue to model proper fluency in reading and encourage all students to join in.
- Pause for Feedback: Take a moment to address any mispronunciations. Provide feedback to the group as a whole rather than to individual students.
- Repeat for More Practice: Read the passage aloud as a group again. Continue to read and pause for feedback until the group is able to read the passage fluently.
- Discuss and Reflect: After students have successfully read the text with fluency, take a few moments to discuss the text. Engage students in conversation about the meaning of the passage, discuss making inferences, address new vocabulary terms, and share observations about the group’s progress.
One additional step that can further improve students’ gains through choral reading routines is to differentiate the strategy for various skill levels. Consider grouping students according to their reading levels and choosing different texts for each group. Advanced students can be given more challenging texts to develop their expression skills, while low-achieving readers can be given simpler texts that help them focus on content comprehension and accurate pronunciation.
Examples of Choral Reading
Not all texts are suitable for use in choral reading activities. When selecting passages, opt for short or familiar texts with rhythm or repetition.
Examples of ideal choral reading passages include:
- Nursery rhymes and songs
- Decodable books
- Rhythmic poems
- Familiar seasonal stories
Consider choosing from this list of picture books and passages that are known for their rhythmic, repetitive, and engaging nature:
- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
- We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
- Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
- Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka
- No, David! by David Shannon
- Very Short Stories to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman
Common Challenges and How To Overcome Them
Like with any instructional strategy, the implementation of choral reading does come with its own set of challenges. Two primary challenges teachers may face are maintaining student engagement and managing group dynamics.
Overcoming engagement and group dynamic challenges:
- Engagement: To ensure students remain engaged, teachers should frequently rotate the type of text used and encourage students to use different voices and expressions as they read.
- Dynamics: To maintain an effective group dynamic, educators should encourage participation from all students and prompt reluctant readers without singling them out.
- Praise: It is also important for teachers to continually praise progress and effort, helping to foster a comfortable and inclusive learning environment.
Voyager Sopris Learning Can Help With Reading Fluency
Voyager Sopris Learning® is the reading, writing and math intervention specialist. Their reading intervention solution Voyager Passport® uses choral reading and other evidence-based strategies to assist educators in building reading fluency. Voyager Passport features a research-backed curriculum with structured interventions to help K–5 struggling students become on-level readers.
FAQs About Choral Reading
When learning to teach a new strategy, questions are likely to arise. While choral reading is a fairly straightforward strategy to teach, it can still bring about uncertainty. Here are some of the answers to the most common questions about choral reading.
What is the difference between choral reading and echo reading?
Echo reading is a strategy where the teacher first models fluent reading of a portion of a text and students repeat the text back without the teacher’s help. Unlike during echo reading, teachers read aloud along with students during choral reading.
What are the rules for choral reading?
Rules for choral reading include choosing a text that is accessible to all students, modeling proper fluency, encouraging participation, providing feedback, and praising progress.
Why is choral reading effective?
Choral reading is effective because it allows students to practice their fluency skills in a low-pressure environment. It encourages the participation of all students and allows students to see fluency skills modeled by both their teacher and their peers.
