Description: Students pair up to read text. One reads a paragraph while the other listens, then summarizes what was read. A verbal summary and discussion may be enough, or partners may be required to discuss then write down the main ideas, depending on the difficulty of the text and the time available. Partners switch roles for each paragraph.
Rationale: This strategy helps students develop the habits and thinking skills to be better readers. An important component of literacy is the ability to make sense of text as it is read. Identifying main ideas and making connections are foundational to this fluency. In the listening role, students know they will need to summarize so they become more attuned to main ideas. As partners discuss each paragraph they have a better opportunity to make connections and make sense of text. This process takes more time than having students read individually, or even reading aloud as a class, but it helps students become more effective readers and they emerge with a better understanding of the content.