Strategy 4: Paired Reading

Paired Reading is a strategy in which one student reads aloud a paragraph or section of material, while the second student listens. When the first student is finished reading, the second summarizes the material. As students become more fluent, the reading sections become longer.

I like this strategy for math for working with English Language Learners (ELLs) and word problems. The students could be divided into pairs based on their reading level. The students can take turns reading the word problems, but they can work as a team to solve the problem. This strategy accomplishes two things: First, it is good practice for following along while someone is reading, which mimics the modification available (Read Aloud) to ELLs. This gets the student accustomed to listening to a word problem, then systematically solving the problem. Second, by pairing students according to reading ability, some of the embarrassment that less-skilled readers may experience will be alleviated.