Utilizing a Dialogic Reading Strategy to Systematically Facilitate Discussion During Read Alouds: Yea or Nay?

Dialogic reading is an evidence-based strategy (e.g., Sim & Berthelsen, 2014; Whitehurst, Falco & Lonigan, 1988) that can be used across settings (e.g., home and school) and grades to foster literacy skills (Cohrssen, Niklas and Tayler, 2016).  According to Cohrssen, Niklas and Tayler (2016), dialogic reading is rooted in the principles of “encouraging children’s extended thinking and articulation of their thoughts, providing feedback to the child and tailoring questioning and feedback in order to meet and increase the child’s evolving abilities” (p.363). Dialogic reading involves systematically engaging and involving students in the typically teacher-directed practice of read-aloud by means of balancing the following 5 types of questioning prompts. 

1.      Completion Prompt: the reader pauses at the end of a particularly meaningful sentence to allow student(s) to fill in the blank.

2.      Recall Prompt: the reader asks questions to facilitate the recalling/retelling of events in the text.

3.      Open-ended Prompt: questions without defined answers are posed to encourage dialogue about the text.

4.      Wh Prompt: Who, what, when, where and why questions are generated to stretch textual understanding.

5.      Distancing/Connecting Prompt: the reader strives to connect text-based illustrations, events, vocabulary etc. to students’ interests and experiences.

In a recent study conducted by Cohrssen et al. (2016), researchers utilized a conversation-analytic approach to break down the ways in which two early childhood educators engaged young children in dialogue during reading alouds. A reported finding was that although small group instruction provided more opportunities for individualized interactions, the use of the systematic dialogic strategy also “increased the quality of the children’s engagement with the text and thus supported their emerging literacy competencies” (p.378). This finding suggests that a systematic approach to facilitating rich text-based discussions may be advantageous even when working with a large group (i.e., entire class) of young readers.  

How do you approach reading aloud to children? Have you found systematic approaches to better facilitate rich discussion? We would love to hear about your experiences.

Cohrssen, C., Niklas, F. & Tayler, C. (2016). ‘Is that what we do?’ Using a conversation analytic approach to highlight the contribution of dialogic reading strategies to educator–child interactions during storybook reading in two early childhood settings. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 16(3): 361-382.

Sim S. & Berthelsen D. (2014) Shared book reading by parents with young children:

Evidence-based practice. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood 39(1): 50–55.

United States Department of Education. (2006) Dialogic Reading. Institute of Education

Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, What

Works Clearinghouse.

Whitehurst GJ, Falco FL, Lonigan DJ, et al. (1988) Accelerating language development

through picture books reading. Developmental Psychology 24: 552–559.