Dialogic Reading Technique

Dialogic reading is a systematic way to engage children in conversation about a storybook to build children’s language and vocabulary. Because the goal is to maximize oral language practice, each child should have the opportunity to talk. The adult selects a book rich in varied and detailed pictures. The book will be revisited many times in the dialogic reading process.

With each “reading” of the book, children do more of the talking. On first “reading,” children label objects and later progress to describe what’s happening in the pictures. Eventually after many readings, children retell parts of the story and describe the plot. Prompts are used in a specific sequence -- PEER:

• Prompts the child to say something about the book,
• Evaluates the child's response,
• Expands the child's response by rephrasing and adding information to it, and
• Repeats the prompt to make sure the child has learned from the expansion.

Except for the very first reading of the book, PEER sequences should be used on almost every page. Ideally, you are doing less and less reading on each subsequent reading of the book, and the child is taking the lead.

Five Types of Prompts - “CROWD”

1. Completion prompts (e.g. I think I’d be a glossy cat. A little plump but not too _____”)
2. Recall Prompts (for plot/sequencing - e.g. Can you tell me what happened to Maggie in this story?)
3. Open-Ended Prompts (focus on detail - e.g. “Tell me what is happening in this picture?”)
4. Wh- Prompts (focus on vocabulary - e.g., “What is this over in the corner here?”)
5. Distancing Prompts (focus on links to outside world - e.g. “Remember when we learned about bats last month, and that they slept during the day and were active at night. How do you think a bat would fit into this story?”)


Provided by; Robin Mcconnell