Guided Listening: A Framework for Using Read-Aloud and Other Oral language Experiences to Build Comprehension Skills and Help Students Record, Share, Value, and Interpret Ideas.

In this resource aimed at elementary school teachers, Donohue explains guided listening strategies and their implications for usage. In addition, listening and reading strategies are outlined for use in classroom and independent tasks. Assessment tools are provided for teachers who choose to take advantage of guided listening practices in their class. The book illustrates the value of guided listening tools while offering template examples suitable for teachers.

Guided listening is an “instructional tool that effectively links elements of oral language with independent reading through the use of metacognitive strategies.” Donohue proposes that giving students a purpose for listening leads to a more focused search of answers during reading and listening tasks. Guided listening enhances students’ uses of metacognitive listening and reading strategies while developing their competence as readers.

Donohue suggests seven listening and reading strategies to consider when utilizing guided practice. The seven strategies that serve as the basis for guided listening are: making inferences and predictions, determining important ideas, making connections, visualizing, asking questions, synthesizing, and integrated metacognition. Each strategy can enhance reader understanding and aid in the development of metacognitive skills. By introducing the strategies and providing corresponding work templates, teachers can give students a greater focus prior to and during both reading and listening tasks.

When using this resource, teachers should adapt their strategies to their specific texts and constantly monitor the progress of the students. A handy list is provided by the author, recommending that certain texts be matched with certain tasks. This allows students the best chance to develop their reading strategies.

Teachers using this guide learn how to introduce the listening or reading strategies to their students and how to apply them during lessons using the included templates. The author succeeds in connecting strategy to classroom practice, and classroom practice to independent learning. Teachers can easily adapt the guided listening tools to their lesson plans for the benefit of students.