Comparing the Effectiveness of Two Oral Reading Practices: Round-Robin Reading and the Shared Book Experience

Abstract

This study compared the effectiveness of two oral reading practices on second graders' reading growth: shared book reading and round-robin reading. The results indicated that the Shared Book Experience was superior to round-robin reading in reducing young children's oral reading errors, improving their reading fluency, increasing their vocabulary acquisition, and improving their reading comprehension. An analysis of the primary-grade basal readers submitted for adoption in 1993 revealed that most had incorporated “shared reading” into their instructional designs. Before “shared reading,” the common practice was “individual reading,” and although the authors of basals did not recommend it, round-robin oral reading was widely used. Although the Shared Book Experience had been widely used in schools prior to its inclusion in basal designs, there were no experimental studies supporting it. The findings of this study are discussed and related to these classroom practices and trends.