Partner Reading in Kindergarten: Ask, Then Tell

One of my literacy hot-takes is that students need to spend more time reading actual texts during the school day. I can’t think of a single, popular foundational skills program that builds in sufficient time on text. Reading words or sentences in isolation is not enough. Those skills do not necessarily transfer to proficient and fluent reading of whole texts.

In the below videos, kindergarten teacher Anjanette McNeely shows us how she gets her students reading more through Partner Reading, an evidence-based instructional routine that builds fluency and comprehension. Here’s what it looks like in her classroom:

First, Anjanette reviews Partner Reading and “Ask, then Tell” with her students.

Note how Anjanette leaves nothing to chance. Even though these students have used this routine before, Anjanette still reminds them of how it works and checks their understanding constantly to ensure that they are following. Every error correction (Anita Archer’s “Ask, then Tell” routine) is scripted and practiced as well. At the same time, Anjanette does not belabor the review; she wants to get kids reading as quickly as possible.

Then, students partner read:

In Partner Reading, students are paired intentionally. Partner 1, who is the more fluent reader, reads first, while Partner 2 listens. Then, Partner 2 reads the same passage, while Partner 1 listens. This structure allows Partner 2 to hear fluent reading and prepare for any tricky words before they read aloud.

Finally, Anjanette shared this sample error correction video.

I like this error correction routine because it’s simple, efficient, and requires both partners to think. The error correction chart Anjanette uses comes from Lindsay Kemeny. You can download it for free here.