Hi Penny, I didn't see anyone else address this topic, so thought I would jump in. My answer, however, is not based on research that addresses this specific question, but rather from my own experience as a Reading First reading teacher, and understanding of how children learn to read fluently and recognize new words.
I would say that a fourth grader (at fourth grade reading level) following along in a fifth grade text, could receive some benefit from what is essentially a scaffolded reading experience. That supposes that the speed of the read aloud is at their level, so they can keep up in terms of their eye scan speed. One year isn't that large a gap in this situation. They would know many - even most - of the words in the text. Some words will be unknown, but they don't have to decode them, they just have to make the connection between the letters they see and the sound they're hearing. It may be that some light bulbs will go off - "Oh, that's what that word looks like!" They will be hearing a fluent reader interact with a text that is just out of their reading reach, so it's a great model. I've seen it work with below-level readers in whole class reading settings, especially when multiple opportunities are given to re-read/listen. Audiobooks, or even a simple recording of the teacher's read-aloud, can be put to good use this way. If the students were more than a year lower in reading ability than the text being read, the benefit would decrease - and possible detriments would increase - depending on how big the gap is. At some point it would be useless - or even a distraction - to try to follow along. So I would say that it's a matter of degree, but that a one year gap would likely still allow children to benefit from following along. I will let you know if I find any research studies that address that specific question. Carol Reading/ESL Specialist NY >________________________________ >From: Penny Loetterle <penny.loette...@sanjuan.edu> >To: C McLoughlin <readingteacher...@yahoo.com>; Mosaic: A Reading >Comprehension Strategies Email Group <mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> >Cc: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group ><mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> >Sent: Saturday, October 15, 2011 11:17 PM >Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] {MOSAIC} Small Moments - Fiction or Nonfiction? > >Help me out! Is there a benefit for a class to "follow along" in their >own book to a read aloud that is significantly above their reading >level. Class of fourth graders hearing a level V book. Is there >research on this? >Thanks for any insights. >Penny > >Sent from my iPhone > > > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive