I found popcorn reading not to be the best approach. The first problem is that this kind of approach can make students feel intimated or bad if they are called upon and are not strong readers. Student self-esteem is important and forcing them to read in front of the classroom might not be very easy for all the students. The second thing is that students read at different levels and having the students read along with another student may cause students to lose interest and read ahead which defeats the whole purpose. Students may not be prepared to read and help guide one another “students are usually reading the text cold—which means they have not had time to preview the text or make connections before they read it aloud” (McLaughlin, 2013). I can see this technique being a burden more than helping because the teacher must evaluate the reader while ensuring all the students are actively engaged. Classroom management may become an issue during this time. Choral reading allows the students to read at the same time with the teacher. Reading together helps them feel more comfortable and gain instant feedback if they do not understand a word in the text. The teacher reads the text first pointing out important parts of the story and focusing on punctuation and then the students all read together this technique allows the students to have an understanding about the text before they have to read on their own. I think choral reading is a better approach. I have not taught or worked in the field but I practice reading with my son. I normally read a story to him or have him read a story to me.  I plan on implementing the choral reading technique next time we read together. I would use choral reading, think aloud, and shared book experience in my classroom.

References

McLaughlin, M. (2013). Read-alouds and recreational reading always! Round-robin reading never!. Reading Today, (1), 2.

Opitz, M., & Guccione, L. (2009). Five reasons not to use round robin reading with ell’s. Retrieved from http://www.adlit.org/article/50955/

Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Choral reading. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/choral_reading/