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Guest Readers

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Activity Type: Build Mastery
Activity Form: Peer
Grade: 1, 2, 3
Group Size: Small Group, Large Group, Whole Class
Length: 20 minutes
Materials: Trade books, poems
Goal: Given a text, the student will practice it and then present it to a group of peers; given the student's reading, his or her peers will provide feedback on the presentation.
Items: Practiced selections from children's literature or poetry

What to do

  1. Decide who will participate in the activity. Plan a day or days for presentations. Remember to coordinate these times with any other teachers you would like to be involved in the activity.
  2. Have students participating as readers select short pieces of literature or poetry to present to their peers. You may wish to meet with students individually about their selections.
  3. Students presenting should have enough time to get to know their selections. After you have scheduled presentation times, remind them to practice on their own.
  4. During the presentation, student reads the selection aloud to the audience, showing illustrations and allowing discussion where appropriate.
  5. The reader gets feedback from the audience. Questions may be used to prompt discussion: How did the story make you feel? Could someone briefly retell the story? How did the reader express the feeling of the poem?
  6. After thanking the presenter and the audience, you may wish to add a few comments of your own. Reflect on student's progress in an Activity Log.


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About this activity

We originally wanted parents and grandparents to come in to be the guest readers, but soon we discovered that our own students would provide good models for younger kids. The kids began the process and have continued to enjoy reading in their old classrooms in front of their old teachers. The positive feedback is wonderful for self-esteem and lots of authentic practice occurs during the preparation phase. Kids are motivated to reread for fluency and expression. Akin Grade School, Akin, IL

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