Perspectives on Shared Reading : Planning and Practice

by Bobbi Fisher, Emily Fisher Medvic

Bobbi Fisher has long inspired early childhood professionals with her approach to student-centered, natural learning. Now, in a concise and highly focused volume, she zeroes in on the exciting area of shared reading. This time, we benefit not just from Bobbi's experience as a twenty-five year teaching veteran, but also from that of her daughter Emily, a first-year teacher whose perspective will resonate with anyone teaching today. Here in one practical resource, busy teachers will find an array of useful strategies for implementing shared reading techniques in pre-K through Grade 2 classrooms. Starting with an overview of shared reading theory, the authors draw largely from the models of Don Holdaway and illustrate the correlation between classroom reading and the bedtime story. While traditional aspects of shared reading are discussed-from big books to chanting to contextualized word study-the book goes beyond those parameters to explore shared reading applications in other areas of literacy instruction. Topics discussed include organizing for shared reading, developing teaching skills with varied texts, applying techniques in group and individual practice, and inspiring student and parent participation. Section Two chronicles Emily's discoveries as a first-year teacher confronting the challenges of today's standards-based, testing-focused educational environment. She shares many creative suggestions for integrating shared reading with the standardized curriculum demands, with detailed planning tips and lists of helpful materials. Perspectives on Shared Reading will be lauded for its "best of both worlds" approach-pairing the views of a seasoned pro and fresh newcomer, melding theory with practice. But what will stand out most is its reaffirmation of the power of books.

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2000

About the author

I’ve never considered myself a writer. Rather, I’m a person who once in a while has something to share. But isn’t that the purpose of writing? The writer’s thoughts move from her heart and mind to the printed page, to the reader’s heart and mind.
My first published writing was for elementary classroom teachers. One day at a workshop I was giving, a teacher asked me if what I was sharing was written down anywhere. It wasn’t, but her question got me writing. It seemed that I had something to say that people wanted to know more about.
I wrote Joyful Learning, followed by Thinking and Learning Together and Inside the Classroom. I taught during the day and wrote about it early the next morning. After retiring from the classroom, as part of my course work at divinity school, I wrote The Teacher Book: Finding Personal and Professional Balance. Soon after that my daughter and I co-authored Perspectives on Shared Reading and For Reading Out-Loud. We had something to say that teachers and parents wanted to know.
My divinity school days required writing papers—I would say close to fifty. In crafting each paper, I was learning and sharing what I knew with my professors, all the while earning a Master of Divinity degree, which would prepare me for a job as spiritual care counselor for a local hospice.
When I retired six years later from my hospice job, my life, and thus my writing, became more private. During the winter months I rented a cottage by the sea an hour and a half from home where I would go to be by myself during the week. I created a blog, A Cottage By the Sea: A blog for those who are looking for silence, solitude and simplicity, and who sometimes like to be alone. A year later I started another blog: A Prayer Diary. Both are still active. www.acottagebythesea.net; www.prayerdiary.net.
At this time my mom was well into her nineties. She needed my attention, and without doubt, I needed hers. I visited her often and poured my thoughts and feelings into my journal. I had something to say to myself.
When Mom died at the age one hundred and one I started writing with the idea of sharing what it was like for Mom and me during her last years. I had something to say about aging and dying gracefully, living a meaningful life, mothers and daughters, faith and gratitude that I knew people wanted to hear about. The result was Very Grateful: The Story of My Hundred Year Old Mother and Me.
At the moment I have no plans to write another book. For now, sharing through my blogs and emails to friends, old and new, is enough.