Dialogic Reading for All Learners

What is Dialogic Reading?

Dialogic reading is the time when parents or teachers talk about the book with the children while they are reading. If you’ve ever read a book aloud to your home children or your school children during which you’ve asked and answered questions, you’ve participated in dialogic reading. Consider the word dialogic, which contains the word dialogue: that tells you everything you need to know!

Is it a proven strategy?

Dialogic reading has been proven to increase students’ expressive language, and is recommended by the Institute of Education Sciences’ What Works Clearinghouse.

Isn’t a read-aloud just for kids?

It may seem easy to dismiss a dialogic read as something that is only fitting for the youngest learners, but the truth is, it is beneficial for all learners. The goal of dialogic reading is to talk about the content, so with the wealth of books that cover social studies or science themed content, dialogic reading can become a part of any classroom.

How do I choose a book?

One of the tenets of dialogic reading is that one book spans multiple days, offering students the chance to really engage with and become comfortable with the language of the content. With that in mind, choose a book that is high-interest, one that you and your students will look forward to revisiting. Dialogic reading books should also contain rich illustrations and a variety of words in order to spark opportunities for discussion. Dialogic books can be informative or narrative.

What do I do while reading?

Prior to starting the book, you may choose to do a picture walk or give some brief background knowledge. This is a good time to go over some of the vocabulary students will hear throughout the book. On the first day, read the book in full, only stopping to elaborate on your chosen vocabulary words. On the subsequent days, you can stop throughout the book to ask some of the Wh- or completion questions (image below).

What do I do when I finish the book?

This is where the DIALOGUE in dialogic really comes into play! Use the question stems (image below) to engage students in discussion.

Some of my favorite titles for Dialogic reading are below. Which one will you choose?