What is the purpose of shared reading in early childhood education?

The purpose of shared reading in early childhood education is to promote collaboration and interaction among children and adults. During shared reading, an adult, such as a teacher or caregiver, reads a text aloud while engaging with the children. This interactive approach encourages children to participate in the reading process through discussions, answering questions, and predicting outcomes based on illustrations and textual cues.

This type of reading experience fosters a love for reading and develops various literacy skills, including vocabulary and comprehension. By working together with an adult, children become active participants in their learning. They gain exposure to language patterns, narrative structures, and different genres, which enriches their understanding of text and boosts confidence in their own reading abilities.

In contrast to promoting independent reading, which focuses on children reading alone, or assessing students' reading skills, which is more formal and evaluative in nature, shared reading is fundamentally about community and supportive learning. Additionally, while teaching grammar rules may be a component of literacy education, it is not the primary focus of shared reading; the concentration is on enjoying and understanding the story together.