Transform Picture Books Into Powerful Shared Reading Tools

In Part One of my S5E21 @schoolutionspodcast conversation, Maria Walther breaks down the critical difference between read aloud and shared reading, and shares why those short, focused bursts of instruction are the bridge your students need between teacher-led learning and independence. We discuss how to make this work alongside published curriculum, effective teaching, instructional strategies, and lesson planning that honors what kids need.

Key Topics Discussed in Part One: 
✅ The difference between read aloud and shared reading 
✅ Why brevity matters for student engagement, active learning, and attention in class 
✅ How to connect phonics instruction to authentic reading experiences 
✅ Planning short burst shared reading sessions that boost student participation 
✅ Using picture books you already have for innovative teaching and inclusive teaching 
✅ Supporting student motivation and inspiring students through focused literacy instruction

Some resources mentioned:

• 📚 Shake Up Shared Reading by Maria Walther 
• 📚 Choice Words by Peter Johnston

Other Books by Maria: 

• 📚 The Ramped-Up Read Aloud
• 📚 More Ramped-Up Read Alouds
• 📚 A Year for the Books 
• 📚 The Literacy Workshop 

Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction to Maria Walther
01:00 - The Problem: Shared Reading is Disappearing
02:00 - Episode Structure & What's Coming
03:00 - Meet Maria Walther: Literacy Expert
04:00 - Essential Research: Peter Johnston's "Choice Words"
05:00 - Why Shake Up Shared Reading?
06:30 - Read Aloud vs. Shared Reading: Key Differences
08:00 - Connecting Phonics to Shared Reading
09:00 - The Power of Short Bursts
10:00 - Planning a Shared Reading Session
12:00 - Text Accessibility & Student Support
13:00 - Lightning Round Begins
13:30 - Advice for First-Year Teachers
14:00 - Biggest Misconception About Shared Reading
14:15 - Most Important Literacy Skill: Inferring
14:45 - What Surprises About First Graders
15:00 - Go-To Questions During Read Aloud
16:00 - This Week's Challenge
17:00 - Wrap-Up & Preview of Part 2

📧 Connect: schoolutionspodcast@gmail.com
🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl

🔗 Part Two drops this week - 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more teaching tips, and
💬SHARE with fellow educators! 

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.

Transcript

Olivia: [00:00:00] Hey there friends. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Olivia Wahl, and today I'm absolutely pinching myself because I get to share a conversation with someone whose books line my shelves, Maria Walther. Now, if you've been around literacy circles for any amount of time, you know Maria. She is a seasoned educator with over three decades of first grade teaching experience and she's authored multiple books that have become go-to resources for teachers everywhere. Here's the thing, so many of us were taught that shared reading requires big books and pocket charts, and as those materials started disappearing from classrooms, shared reading itself started slipping away. But what if I told you that the picture books already on your shelf, the ones that you use for read aloud, could become powerful shared reading tools?

That's exactly what Maria is here to talk about today. [00:01:00] In part one of our conversation, we're diving deep into what shared reading actually is, how it's different from read aloud, and why those short, focused bursts of instruction can be the bridge your students need between your teaching and their independence. We're also going to talk about how to make this work even when you're required to use a published curriculum, because let's be real, most of you are. And you're trying to figure out how to honor what you know kids need while also doing what you're being asked to do. 

Maria has this incredible ability to make complex instructional practices feel accessible and joyful. And after listening to this conversation, you're going to walk away with a clear plan for how to bring shared reading back into your classroom this week. Before we jump in, a quick reminder. I'm trying something new this month and moving forward, I'm breaking these longer conversations into two parts. So [00:02:00] this is part one where we focus on shared reading. Part two, which drops later this week on Friday, I will go deeper with Maria into read aloud. Alright, let's get into it. Here's my conversation with the incredible Maria Walther.

This is Schoolutions Teaching Strategies, the podcast that extends education beyond the classroom. A show that isn't just theory, but practical try-it-tomorrow approaches for educators and caregivers to ensure every student finds their spark and receives the support they need to thrive. I am Olivia Wahl, and I'm so happy to be in conversation with Maria Walther today. It is a conversation that has been long in the making. Let me tell you a little bit about Maria. Maria Walter is a seasoned educator, author and literacy consultant with over three decades of experience teaching first grade. Maria is [00:03:00] a strong advocate for reading aloud and has been honored with many awards for her dedication to fostering a love of reading with children.

Our conversation today will focus on Maria's book. I have it right here. Here we go. Shake Up Shared Reading, expanding on read alouds to encourage student independence. Maria, I am pinching myself that I get to talk to you today because you are my go-to resource. Your books line my shelf. I have studied your work around read alouds. I have studied your work around shared reading, and every time I am at a conference and I see your name on the docket, I am sure to be in your session. So thank you for taking the time to talk today. 

Maria: Well thank you and thank you for being in my sessions and like you said, it's finally happening. 

Olivia: I know, it's, it's, um, so I've shared with you, and I'm going to remind listeners for each [00:04:00] of the episodes this January in particular, I'm trying out a new structure. We are breaking our conversations for impact for listeners into two parts. So this is part one. We're going to record first. We'll also record part two today that we'll release later in the week. And part one, we'll focus heavily on shared reading, shaking it up. And then part two, we're going to move more into read aloud. Um, before we launch into part one, though, I would love for you to share a piece of research or a researcher that we can lean on as we're studying listening. 

Maria: Okay. Well, I brought my favorite book, and you've probably heard this when you've been in my session.So, uh, the researcher that I really lean on when we're talking about any book experience is Peter Johnston, his book Choice Words, because the book experiences are only as rich as the conversation that surrounds them, and he, his work has taught me so much about the power of conversation, which is what you're doing here on your podcast, having [00:05:00] conversations and letting people listen in. So, uh, you have not read Choice Words, I would highly recommend it as a professional read and something to talk about with your colleagues.

Olivia: Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. And you know, let's start off with talking about shared reading. Why does shared reading need to be shaken up in the first place, Maria? 

Maria: Well, I think we need to sh shake up shared reading, not the practices or the essential components of shared reading, but what I see happening in classrooms, as I'm sure you do too, is that many classrooms are not supplied with the original shared reading materials, which were big books and pocket charts. And so as those started to disappear, I saw shared reading slipping away, And what I realized was that we have wonderful picture books that line our shelves. Why couldn't we use the same picture books we use for read aloud to [00:06:00] go back into for those short bursts of shared reading? So it's not so much the components of shared reading that we're shaking up, it's the materials that we're shaking up.

Olivia: I'm also wondering if you could give a brief, uh, differentiated instruction between read aloud and shared reading when it comes to that bridge concept of the teacher-led versus that student independent experience. 

Maria: Well in, in a read aloud, you know, the teacher is doing most of the work. So the responsibility is on the teacher. Um, the teacher is reading to the students from a picture book or a novel and inviting students into conversation. And that conversation, not always, but typically, is more of a comprehension conversation. So we're really focused on higher level thinking and, you know, that type of conversation. When we bridge to shared reading, then we're inviting students into the conversation and into the actual reading. [00:07:00] So they are able to see the text and read that text alongside their peers and with us. And then we're being very strategic in digging into one skill, one strategy, something that they can then apply in their own reading along the way.

Olivia: Yeah, I would say too, you do such a beautiful job connecting dots, especially now with so many school districts being mandated to use curriculum options. With that said, how can people also tie their phonics or phonemic awareness work to the shared reading that they're doing with their kids? 

Maria: Well, I think that that's the power of shared reading. It's a time to now, it, it does not replace, as you said, that structured phonemic awareness and phonics instruction. That's happening at a different time during the day. But what shared reading does is it gives students a chance to apply in the company of their peers and with the support [00:08:00] of their teachers. The different concepts and skills that they're learning. So if they're learning how to chunk a word during phonemic awareness and phonics instruction, do that in a real text and see how that works and how that serves them as readers. 

Olivia: Yeah. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And so you've written (The) Ramped-Up Read Aloud, and then you've also written Shake Up Shared Reading. And so what's the difference between ramped up read alouds and shake up shared reading? 

Maria: The two books? The difference is in (The) Ramped-Up Read Aloud. It has a hundred read aloud experiences in Shake Up Shared Reading, there are 50 read aloud experiences, but then using the same picture book, two short bursts of shared reading, so teachers can go back into that picture book and do a short mini lesson or a, you know, a short experience with that same text that is very focused. And those focuses, the [00:09:00] focuses are on foundational skills. And what what's nice about that, as you just mentioned, is if you are trying to fit book experiences in with a published curriculum, those short bursts are another opportunity to do that alongside that published curriculum.

Olivia: So when you're saying short bursts, why is brevity so important for our children? 

Maria: Well, anyone that works with young children probably can answer that question, but you know, brevity helps to hold students' attention. But what's also important about brevity is it helps us as educators and helping students to focus. One targeted skill or strategy because we both know that when you open a picture book, there are endless possibilities of things that you could talk about, but in a short burst of shared reading, it is short and it is focused on one skill or strategy, and [00:10:00] I think that helps students to internalize and apply that skill and strategy and then go off and practice that when they're doing their supported independent reading.

Olivia: Absolutely. Can you take us through planning for a shared reading session with kids. And does it happen over a week or is it just in one session and then you they transfer it to independence? 

Maria: Well, when I'm planning for a short burst of shared reading, I'm always starting with the read a lot experience. So giving them that broad context of the book and that, you know, could happen in one sitting or in a number of sittings. But then when I'm looking for the short burst of shared reading, of course I have my curriculum by my side or my standards, whatever is guiding the teaching and learning in your classroom.

And then I'm picking something from there that appears in that book that's kind of brought to life in that book. And then we may focus on a lot of times during my short burst of shared reading, we [00:11:00] might not reread the whole book. We might just go back to key parts or pages where I can also then use that gradual release. I'll show them how to do it on the first few pages, on the next few parts or pages. We'll try it out together. And then on the last few parts or pages, we'll try that on their own. So that's how they're structured, that's how I structure that. And again, the nice thing about that is it, it doesn't take a lot, a lot of time. So you can do that in some of your small moments of classroom life. 

Olivia: Yeah. I'm thinking too, in my practice with read aloud and shared reading, often the text itself is the readability may be beyond a 6, 7, 8 year old’s, um, reading skill level at that point. So in, in your practice, because you are tried and true as a first grade teacher, how have you seen children, uh, with their ability to access this text? Like why does it work as a shared reading leading to [00:12:00] independence? 

Maria: Well, it works one, 'cause you've read it aloud already. I mean, the, the whole idea of shared reading is that you're repeatedly reading and it, it also works when you select texts carefully. So you're selecting texts that have a, a repetitive pattern or perhaps rhyme, you know, depending on what your standard is. So it works because you are supporting children in that work and inviting them to do that you know, in the company of their peers. So it is a very supportive context for learning.

Olivia: Yeah. I would say too, you have done so much of the heavy lifting for us because, as you've mentioned, your books are a plethora of beautifully curated read alouds for us that are selected. You've also honed in on these skills, so listeners - I cannot recommend Shake Up Shared Reading enough because you have done a lot of that work for us [00:13:00] as readers, um, and as teachers. So it's just very appreciated and you're so thoughtful in your choices because you always have the student at the heart of every decision you make. And so let's wrap part one with a lightning round. I, I have some questions for you. After 34 years of being a classroom teacher, what would be your advice to yourself on year one when it comes to read aloud?

Maria: Yeah, well what my advice would be, and something I probably learned mid-career is you do not have to read a picture book in one sitting. So I, you know, when we learned about picture books in grad class in, you know, our undergrad, we learned to read it all at once and you can read it in short verse again over the course of a day or a week, and that again allows more time for picture book reading, and more importantly, allows more time for conversation.

Olivia: Alright, next question. [00:14:00] What is the biggest misconception about shared reading? 

Maria: That it's the same as read aloud. People get them confused and they use those terms interchangeably. And as we just talked about, read aloud, is teacher doing the reading to students. Shared reading is teacher and students reading it together.

Olivia: Alright. If you had to pick one, (this is a hard question) one, literacy strategy or skill, what would you pick? 

Maria: Well, I would pick inferring because inferring is not only a literacy skill, but it's a life skill. So children need to know how to infer in a book, infer the character's feelings to understand the book. But in life, children need to infer how someone else is feeling to have empathy and understanding. 

Olivia: What would surprise people most about first graders’ capabilities? 

Maria: I think if you give first graders a steady diet of book experiences, they can think at a very high level. And what's always surprising to me is who shines [00:15:00] in those conversations.

Olivia: Yeah. Yeah. All right, last lightning round question to wrap part one. What are some of your go-to questions during a read aloud? 

Maria: So those I learned from Peter Johnston. Uh, what do you notice? Every child can notice something. What are you thinking and What are you wondering? 

Olivia: Hmm. A perfect segue into part two, where we're going to focus heavily on read aloud. Maria, thank you for shaking up shared reading and helping us differentiate and see the purpose and value of both of those practices as educators for our children. I can't wait to talk to you about part two. Here we go. Thank you. 

Maria: You're welcome. 

Olivia: Okay. How good was that? Maria just gave us permission to rethink everything we thought we knew about shared reading and what a relief. I hope you heard this clearly: You don't need fancy materials. You don't need a [00:16:00] complete overhaul of your schedule. You just need to look at the picture books that you already have with fresh eyes and ask yourself, where's the one skill I could teach in five minutes using this text? 

Here's your challenge for this week. Pick one picture book you've recently read aloud to your students. Go back into that book and plan one short burst of shared reading. Maybe it's working on chunking words. Maybe it's noticing rhyme patterns. Maybe it's practicing fluent reading. Whatever it is, keep it short, keep it focused, and watch what happens.

And if you want more support with this work, please go grab Maria's book, Shake Up Shared Reading. She's done all the heavy lifting for you - 50 read aloud experiences with two targeted shared reading lessons for each one. It's like having Maria right there in your classroom with you. 

So that's part one of our conversation. Make sure to come back later this week on Friday for part two where Maria and I go [00:17:00] in depth with read aloud: How to plan for it, how to fit it into your day, and why it absolutely cannot be replaced by pressing play on a video. 

Don't forget to tune in Monday and Fridays for part one and part two of my guest conversations with the best research-backed coaching and teaching strategies that you can apply right away to better the lives of the children in your care. And look for your 60 second bite-sized piece of learning on Wednesdays from our conversation that you can share with a colleague. Take care and thank you for forever getting better with me. See you on Friday.