Develop Literacy Skills Through Shared Reading
Develop Literacy Skills Through Shared Reading
Few activities offer the language-learning potential of shared reading.
At the level of a casual glance, it may seem like little more than an adult and child enjoying a picture storybook together. Yet decades of research have shown that shared reading is a highly effective means supporting children's oral language development.
Within the page of a meaningful and language rich story, children are strategically introduced to new vocabulary, get to experience more sophisticated sentence structures in print, and are provided with multiple opportunities to discuss ideas about the wider world that extend beyond their everyday experiences.
The benefits of shared reading extend beyond the benefits of improved oral language skills
Strong oral language skills form the bais for improved reading comprehension skills in the middle years and beyond into secondary school.
It makes sense that before children can be expected to understand and comprehend complex text, they must first understand the language that the author has used to express those ideas.
This is why rich vocabulary knowledge, solid listening comprehension skills, and the ability to engage in inferential thinking are essential components of successful reading comprehension.
For this reason alone, shared reading is far more than a simple reading and literacy activity; It is a strategic oral language intervention that engages children in thinking and meaning making that are vital for future academic success.
Develop Literacy Skills Through
Shared Reading - Builds Future
Communication Skills
Shared reading rarely looks remarkable.
A parent curled up on a couch with a child. A teacher reading a book to a group of students gathered around. A speech pathologist sharing a favourite picture book with a student during an oral language intervention session. To an observer, shared reading can appear to be little more than a pleasant moment spent between an adult and child simply enjoying a story together.
Yet some of childhood's most important oral communication and learning takes place during these ordinary, repeated interactions.
Consider a young student responding to a teacher question to explain why a particular character feels upset, or connecting an event in the story to something that happened in their own life.
On the surface, the child may be simply talking about a book. Underneath though the child is learning to understand vocabulary, organise ideas, explain his thinking, interpret emotions, and participate in meaningful teacher led conversations.
Parents, educators, and speech pathologists often view the same child from different angles, but shared reading is one of the rare activities that supports the goals of each of them. It strengthens oral language, builds knowledge, develops thinking, and lays foundations for later reading comprehension.
What looks like simple book sharing often helps shape a child's future ability to understand, express, and participate in the world around them.
Develop Literacy Skills Through
Shared Reading - Beneath the Surface Learning
When a child and adult share a book, far more is happening than reading.
A child might point to an illustration and ask a question. They might predict what a character will do next, explain why someone feels upset, retell an event from the story, or connect the text to their own experiences. These moments can seem small, but they reveal something important: shared reading is not simply exposing children to books. It is actively building communication.
In a single book-sharing interaction, a child may be strengthening several areas of oral language at once. They are learning to understand new vocabulary and ideas. They are practising how to express thoughts, explain opinions, and organise language into meaningful sentences. They are also learning how conversations workâlistening, taking turns, responding to questions, and building on the ideas of others.
Consider a child looking at a picture of a nervous character standing alone on a playground. When an adult asks, "How do you think she feels?" the child must interpret visual information, select appropriate vocabulary, explain their reasoning, and communicate their idea clearly.
What appears to be a simple discussion about a picture is actually supporting understanding, expression, and participation simultaneously.
The sections below explore these hidden communication processes and explain why shared reading is such a powerful oral language intervention.
Develop Literacy Skills Through Shared Reading - How Shared Reading Makes Stories More Language Rich
When reading a picture storybook adults will pause to discuss a character's emotions, explain unfamiliar vocabulary words, and invite children to share their ideas via responsive statements.
The core idea is to transform a simple reading experience into a meaningful language-learning opportunity. These moments help children to build vocabulary knowledge and strengthen their oral comprehension.
Adults at home do not need specialist training to make shared reading more language-rich. A handful of evidence-based strategies can increase their children's thinking and meaning making that occur during shared reading.
Develop Literacy Skills Through Shared Reading - Choose Books that Support Communication Growth
Not all books offer the same opportunities for rich and languge rich communication.
Some books are enjoyable to read but don't always have the necessary structure for teacher led language rich discussions.
Other children's books have so much language built into the subtext that the potential for conversation is almost endless.
In the best picture storybooks, characters have complex emotions. that are just hinted at in the text and illustrations. The author invites us to raise questions, spark predictions, and encourage thinking.
These books generate the richest language learning.experience that teachers can share with their students.
While reading together is a valuable expereicne, the choice of book influences the quality and depth of discussion that can be explored.
A book with repetitive text and straightforward events may lead to simple recall questions. In contrast, a book with emotional depth, enhanced with evocative illustrations is primed for the right teacher to build inferential thinking through meaningful conversation.
A useful lesson for educators is that the best shared reading books are not always the most popular or visually impressive. Often, the best book choices are those that leave gaps for children to fill with their own ideas via inferential thinking
Such books feel like they are designed for and invite discussion..
The sections below explore shared book reading themes and techniques in more detail.
Click on the links to the following pages if you would really like to deep dive on the complexity and depth that shared reading offers as an oral language intervention.
Why Shared Reading Matters More than You Think
Using Picture Book to Teach Inferential Comprehension
Teaching Oral Comprehension Through Better Questions
References
Paul, R., Courtney Frazier Norbury, & Carol Gosse. (2018). Language disorders from infancy through adolescence: Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and communicating (5th ed.). Elsevier
Wallach, G. P. (2008). Language intervention for school-age students: Setting goals for academic success. Mosby Elsevier
Updated 06/2026
