This strategy can be used in most grade levels and in all content areas. It comes from Nancy Lee Cecil's book
The Art of Inquiry. Here is the description and the steps to making this happen in your classroom.
Dyad Reading is a form of reciprocal oral reading that has the added dimension of increasing important critical thinking skills through summarizing and questioning. You can teach the strategy using the following format:
1. Select two students to work together (students who read at generally the same level would be best)
and have one read a paragraph or selected section of text out loud.
2. As that child reads, have the other child listen and then summarize (oral or written) what was read.
3. Have the reader ask the listener critical thinking questions
4. Encourage the children to discuss the answers and, where there is disagreement, have them refer to the text.
5. Repeat the process, alternating roles
Obviously, this technique would need to be modeled and taught in order for students to generate quality questions and internalize the routine and expectations. But once mastered, this strategy could be a great pre-reading or re-reading activity to deepen students understanding of a text. Once agin, regardless of if the text is from a textbook, novel, article or other source, students reading, listening, summarizing and questioning causes them to be intentional and in tune with their own comprehension. Go ahead and give it a try!
