Dialogic Reading is a powerful, evidence-based strategy that actively engages children in shared reading experiences. It involves the adult and child having a dialogue around the text they are reading together. The primary goal is to enhance the child’s language and comprehension strategies, so they become confident readers.
Dialogic Reading and Australian Curriculum
Dialogic Reading aligns well with several aspects of the Australian Curriculum (AC), particularly in the Early Years (Foundation Year and beyond). Here’s how Dialogic Reading supports specific content descriptions:
1. Promotes Oral Language Development
ACELY1650 (Foundation): “Deliver short oral presentations to peers.”
Dialogic Reading invites children to participate in conversations about the book through prompting and questioning. This encourages them to express ideas, recount events, and describe characters or settings, supporting their confidence in speaking and presenting thoughts orally.
2. Builds Vocabulary and Language Structure
ACELA1437 (Foundation): “Understand that language can be used to explore ways of expressing needs, likes and dislikes.”
Through repeated, scaffolded interaction with texts, children are exposed to rich vocabulary and meaningful language patterns. Teachers model and extend children’s responses, helping them to use more precise and expressive language.
3. Develops Comprehension and Predictive Skills
ACELY1647 (Foundation): “Use comprehension strategies to understand and discuss texts listened to, viewed or read independently.”
Dialogic Reading includes asking children to predict what might happen next, make connections, and explain their reasoning. These are all core comprehension strategies outlined in the curriculum.
4. Encourages Personal and Social Understanding
ACELY1646 (Foundation): “Listen to and respond orally to texts and to the communication of others in informal and structured classroom situations.”
The turn-taking and open-ended nature of Dialogic Reading help children learn respectful listening and speaking skills. It also creates a space where diverse perspectives can be shared and valued.
5. Supports Personal and Social Capability (General Capability)
By engaging in meaningful discussions around stories, children explore emotions, relationships, and social behaviours, enhancing empathy and social understanding—an essential part of the Personal and Social Capability.
How It Works
- Prompting: The adult asks open-ended questions about the story and illustrations to engage the child. This could be as simple as “What do you see on this page?” or “What do you think will happen next?”
- Expanding: When the child responds, the adult expands on their answer to add more detail or context. For example, if the child says, “The dog is running,” the adult might say, “Yes, the brown dog is running very fast in the park.”
- Reinforcing: The adult reinforces the child’s attempts to answer by providing praise and encouragement, helping to build confidence.
- Repeating: The adult repeats the process, gradually increasing the complexity of the questions as the child becomes more comfortable with the story.
- Turn-taking: The child and adult take turns in discussing the book, with the child being encouraged to ask their own questions as well.
Overall, Dialogic Reading transforms the traditional reading experience into a dynamic and participatory activity, fostering a deeper love for reading and learning in children.
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