1. Using peer tutoring to improve reading
Paired Reading: Background, Organisation & Technique
Allen Thurston (Centre for Evidence & Social Innovation, Queen’s University Belfast)

2. What is it? Peer tutoring A better reader reads with another child
Structured technique
Errors are corrected
Praise is given
Talk about books to promote understanding

3. Why do it? To focus on reading development
To improve reading for all students
Roughly by 60% in primary school (129 school RCT in Fife)
In secondary school for bottom 10% of readers when acting as tutors (128 class RCT in North Tyneside)
It is cheap to implement

4. What to read High interest Books or magazines, newspapers, etc
From school, public library or home
Information as well as stories

5. Materials Readability Choosing Sources Who does and how freely?
Books should not be so easy that the tutee could read them successfully alone, but not so hard that the tutor struggles to read them!
Choosing
Who does and how freely?
Sources
Reading scheme
School or public library
Home

6. Time & place For each pair Why? Fife project Find a quiet place
Once a week
30 minutes per session
Why? Fife project
129 primary schools
Year 7
No benefit to greater intensity
Find a quiet place
Sit comfortably side by side

7. Matching of students Reading ability gap Background factors e.g. age
Relationships
Child preference
Spare tutors and tutees
Parental agreement

8. Matching of students
Cross age
Year 6
tutoring
Year 74

9. Matching of students 2nd top student younger class
Top student older class
Top student younger class
2nd top student older class
3rd top student older
class
3rd top student younger class
4th top student older class
4th top student younger class
2nd top student younger class

10. Training Tell them Demonstrate Practice Coach Give feedback
Session 1-3: Introduce
Session 4-16
Coach
Give feedback
Advice in manual

11. Check the book is at the right level!
Checking difficulty
5 Finger Test
Spread 5 fingers and put them on any page to touch any 5 words
Can you read all the words successfully?
Try another three pages  20 words
Of the 20, the tutor should be able to read almost all successfully
The tutee should be able to read fewer!
Check the book is at the right level!

12. Talk
Pause quite often to talk together about the book (words and pictures) - to make sure the tutee really understands it
How does the reading connect to their life?
Talk before, during and after reading
Ask questions and discuss the book
Advice follows……

13. Mistakes
If the tutee says a word wrong, the tutor waits for them to put it right (up to 4 seconds)
If they don’t put it right, the tutor says the word right, then the tutee repeats it correctly, then they carry on reading
Tutors remember - it's OK to say you don't know! Don't guess if you are not sure - try to find out

14. Praise Praise for good reading of hard words or longer sections
Praise for the tutee putting their own mistake right before the tutor has to help
Praise very often, in different words
Praise, smile and sound as if you mean it!
Praise in the paired reading diary

15. Reading together On hard books and hard bits, read together
The tutor matches their reading speed to that of the tutee
Point to words only if you really need to

16. Reading alone
Agree on the tutee’s signal to read alone (tap, knock, nudge)
At that signal, the tutor praises and stops reading together

17. Mistakes in reading alone
If tutee puts it right in 4 seconds, tutor praises and tutee goes on reading alone
If the tutee doesn’t put it right in 4 seconds, the tutor reads the word, tutee repeats correctly, and pair go back to reading together
Later the tutee signals again when ready to read alone, and so on

18. Tutoring cycle

19. Questioning 4 levels of questioning Help mats in manual
Photocopy/print and lie them out for students
Build them up slowly
Benefit to tutor and tutee
Both need to ask questions (mats for both)
Question time
Stop the class
Quiz time

20. Support and Monitoring
Observation
Teacher
students
Self-recording
Tutor
Tutees
Both

22. Evaluation How will we check if reading improves? Tests
Standardised GL
Socio-emotional
2 measures
Observations by research team
Checklists
Error counting
Observations by school team
Project Lead
Teachers
Tutors
Tutees

23. Feedback Feedback to students Feedback from students
Verbal
Written
Audio visual
Feedback from students
Group or individual
Feedback from staff
Feedback from parents

24. Notes to remember
Keep a reading record card – get the students to fill it in at the end of each session
Keep the tutors and tutees the same
As the students progress, work on expanding the talking, questioning and thinking about what they are reading

25. Further details and advice
Allen Thurston:

26. questions