Foundation for Literacy
Click on the slides to learn about the importance of alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness.
Shared reading is an instructional approach that is evidence-based. It focuses on the interaction between an adult and student as they enjoy a book together.
Follow the CAR and Put the CROWD in the CAR are both structured shared reading approaches used to help students increase their engagement and interactions.
Follow the CAR helps students learn to lead shared reading interactions. CAR stands for:
Comment.
- Wait 15+ seconds
Ask for participation.
- Wait 15+ seconds
Respond by repeating and adding more.
Follow the CAR Flowchart.pdfClick on START to go through the steps for Follow the CAR.
Put the CROWD in the CAR is used during the Ask step of CAR when students start to lead and respond to the shared reading interactions.
Using the CROWD prompts help to enhance students' language development. CROWD stands for:
Completion prompts
Have student provide a word/phrase to complete a sentence.
Recall prompts
Have student talk about what happened.
Open-ended prompts
Ask student questions that have open-ended answers (e.g., “Tell me what do you see in this picture?").
Wh-prompts
Ask student wh- questions: who, what, when, where, why, or how.
Distancing prompts
Make connections between the book and student's personal life experiences (e.g., “The boy in the book likes to eat bubble gum ice cream. What is your favourite kind of ice cream?”).
Independent reading and exploration of print are important to comprehensive emergent literacy intervention. When emergent readers are given opportunities to choose their own books, read materials that are at their level, and apply what they have learned, they show increased progress.
Ideas for supporting independent reading for students who cannot read words yet:
Look at picture books.
Access online picture books. (Choose online versions that have the read aloud and word-by-word highlighting options to help students to focus on the print. Avoid the ones that have animation and music.)
Follow along as their partner reads.
Follow along on the computer as the text is read aloud (use of screen reading tools).
Read the closed captions on movies and videos.
"Due to physical, sensory, or communication impairments, many students with significant disabilities require accommodations or electronic reading materials to engage in independent reading. New and emerging technologies make independent exploration of reading increasingly possible" (p. 61).
