Reciprocal Teaching

Overview
What is Reciprocal Teaching?

Why use this strategy?

Strategies (Predict, Clarify, Question, Summarize).

How to to implement Reciprocal Teaching

effectively.

How do I get started?

What is Reciprocal Teaching?
• RT is a framework for teaching the skills necessary for
good comprehension.

• It is conversation based.

• The teacher acts as the facilitator - modeling the use of 4

key strategies to the pupils.

• Gradually, with teacher support, pupils’ confidence and

competency will increase and adult input will decrease.
 Reciprocal Teaching – a
Research-based Instructional Practice
     ‘The original reciprocal teaching model was developed by
Palinscar and Brown (1984)*.

 They found that when reciprocal teaching was used with a group
of students for just fifteen to twenty days, the students’ reading on
a comprehension assessment increased from 30 percent to 80
percent.
 The students were also able to function more independently in
the classroom, were able to summarise verbally, write
contextually accurate summaries, predict questions and detect
incongruities in texts.
 Not only did the students show these improvements in English
and literature, they also improved their test scores in science and
social studies on an average from 20 percent to 50 to 60 percent.’
 Reciprocal Reading OR
Reciprocal Teaching?

 Reciprocal Teaching is the preferred term

 Reciprocal implies that the responsibility for reading a

challenging text is “mutual” or “shared”

 Teaching refers to the fact that the students take turns

to “be the teacher” leading their peers in making
sense of a challenging text
 Reciprocal Teaching?

Reciprocal Teaching uses four comprehension

strategies, which are:
 Predicting
 Questioning
 Clarifying: and
 Summarizing

The four steps can be done in any order, but the

summarising step could be done by an individual
student on their own after the group has completed its
discussion.
Reciprocal Teaching: The Strategies

Predict
 Predicting allows students to connect what they already know,
to help anticipate what they will read

 Predicting happens during reading as well as prior to reading

 The language that students may use with predicting includes

the following phrases
I think… I’ll bet…I wonder if...
I imagine…I suppose…I predict...
Reciprocal Teaching: The Strategies

Clarify
 Clarifying helps students monitor their comprehension.

 Leader helps students identify:

-unfamiliar or difficult words
-unclear IDEAS

 The language of clarification includes:

I can’t figure out…This is a tricky word because…
I didn’t understand the part where...
Reciprocal Teaching: The Strategies

Question
 Students create questions to ask one another that
are based on important points in the reading.

 Questioning increases students’ awareness of the

important ideas in the text.

 The language of questioning may include the

question words: who, what, where, when, why, how,
and what if.
Reciprocal Teaching: The Strategies

Summarize
 Summarizing requires students to recognise
the important ideas in a text.

Students determine the important points of

non- fiction recall and arrange them in
logical order.
Reciprocal Teaching – a video
Reciprocal Teaching
Where does it fit?
Text Considerations
RT is used primarily for Factual Texts

Choose texts at students instructional level

Use a variety of texts – books, magazines,

webpages, newspaper articles etc
Reciprocal Teaching: Building Blocks

The building blocks to successful reciprocal teaching instruction are

 scaffolded instruction,
 think-alouds performed by the teacher and students,
 metacognition, and
 cooperative learning

 Shared Reading is particularly useful for introducing students to

the individual skills of predicting, questioning, clarifying, and
summarising
Reciprocal Teaching: Getting Started

Before Reading
 Determine stopping points in the text for applying comprehension
strategies and discussing the text.

 Activate students’ background knowledge about topic or theme.

 Preview the title, illustrations, headings, tables, etc.

 Teacher models predicting and invites students to predict.

Record predictions on a graphic organizer.

 Remind students of the four strategies and have prompt cards for
the students
Reciprocal Teaching: During Reading

 Leader identifies stopping point.

 Asks for predictions

 All read the text. Vary this to include : individual

oral , choral reading, whisper reading with buddy, or
silent reading.

 Students develop questions and identify words and

passages for clarifying.

 Students collaboratively identify main points and

summarise before moving on to the next text “chunk”
 Reciprocal Teaching: After Reading

 Return to predictions. Teacher models how to check

predictions. Teacher and students check the other
predictions.

 Teacher models clarifying and invites students to share

words and passages that need clarifying.

 Teacher models question asking and invites students to ask

and discuss their questions.

 Teacher models summarizing or guides the students in

creating a summary.

 Reflect on the usefulness of the strategies.

Reciprocal Teaching _ further considerations

 Teacher models process during Shared Reading .

 Every student practices each role and contributes to

discussion

 When students are ready to assume full responsibility for

reciprocal teaching, small groups are formed.

 The teacher remains with the group to ensure high level

discussion and to monitor and assess student progress
Reciprocal Teaching: Assessment

Look for each student’s ability to:

 define each strategy and explain how it helps reading

comprehension

 use each strategy

 orchestrate all four strategies

Resources for Reciprocal Teaching
 Reciprocal Teaching Prompt Cards

 Reciprocal Teaching Strategies that Work by Lori Ozcus –

Chapter 1

 MLMT Ning http://national-partnership.ning.com/

 Education Victoria _ Guided Reading: Reciprocal Teaching

Video Clips
 http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingre
sources/english/literacy/strategies/guidereadvideos.htm