Abstract of

Teaching Tips
Paired Reading—More Than an Evening of Entertainment

Helaine Donovan

Marilyn Ellis

The authors describe how teachers can help parents learn a reading program that improves children's comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary as the parents and children spend quality time reading together. To introduce the program, teachers create a relaxing atmosphere by taking the children and their parents out of the school environment and inviting them to the public library. This article outlines the theory, organization, and enrichment activities teachers can use to implement the program in their school communities.

Three factors influence the goals of the project:

• Validating the parents' roles as mentors for their children

• Instructing the parents and children in the simple yet effective reading technique

• Providing opportunities for parent and child to become committed to reading success

The authors describe how the program develops throughout the year. They also provide the components for an enjoyable and enriching reading experience for children and their parents.

Abstract from Donovan, H., & Ellis, M. (2005, October). Paired Reading—More Than an Evening of Entertainment. The Reading Teacher, 59(2), 174–182. doi: 10.1598/RT.59.2.6