Paired Reading - What are the Advantages?

• Children are encouraged to pursue their own interests in reading material. They have more enthusiasm from reading about their own favorite things, and so try harder. Paired Reading gives them as much support as they need to read whatever book they choose.
• Children are more in control of what's going on - instead of having reading crammed into them, they make decisions themselves in the light of their own purposes (e.g. about choice of books, going on longer than 10 minutes, and going onto Reading Alone.)
• There is no failure - it is impossible not to get a word right within 5 seconds or so.
• Paired Reading is very flexible - the child decides how much support is necessary according to the current level of interest, mood, degree of tiredness, amount of confidence, difficulty of the books, and so on.
• The child gets lots of praise - its much nicer to be told when you're doing well , instead of just being moaned at when you go wrong.
• There's lots of emphasis of understanding - getting the meaning out of the words - and that's what reading is all about. Its no use being able to read the words out loud mechanically without following the meaning.
• Paired Reading gives continuity - it eliminates stopping and starting to "break up" hard words. Doing that often leaves children having forgotten the beginning of the sentence by the time they get to the end. With Paired Reading it is easier for children to make sensible guesses at new words, based on the meaning of the surrounding words.
• During Reading Together, a child can learn (by example) to read with expression and the right pacing - e.g. by copying how the adult pauses at punctuation, or gives emphasis to certain words.
• Children are given a perfect example of how to pronounce difficult words, instead of being left to work it out themselves and then perhaps thinking their own half-right efforts are actually 100% correct.
• When doing Paired Reading, children get a bit of their own their own peaceful, private attention from their parents, which they might not otherwise have had. There is some evidence that just giving children more attention can actually improve their reading.
• Paired Reading increases the amount of sheer practice at reading children get. Because children are supported through books, they get through them faster. The number of books read in a week goes up, the number of words children look at in a week goes up, and more words stick in the child's memory.
  
  
• Paired Reading gives parents a clear, straightforward and enjoyable way of helping their children - so no-one gets confused, worried or bad-tempered about reading.
  
  
• SO CHILDREN HAVE MORE INTEREST, CONFIDENCE AND UNDERSTANDING