Has ‘popcorn reading’ gone stale?

I’ve been doing a bit of reading up on something called ‘popcorn reading’ – a strategy used by many English teachers up and down the country. It’s seen as a way to ensure that every child reads. In its original format, the idea is that one student starts reading aloud, then when they’ve finished they say “popcorn” and nominate another student to continue with the reading. Seems pretty harmless and an easy way to make sure you get all your students to read, right?

Well, I adapted it slightly in my own teaching in terms of students don’t nominate, they simply say “popcorn” and it passes to the student sat next to them. I never liked the idea of students nominating each other as I was scared of it turning into students just nominating their friends, or more harshly, picking on weaker readers (maybe that’s just the cynical side of me?!) My way, I thought, gave each child a fair chance at reading. And for the less confident readers, they knew they only had to read the minimum of reading one line before being able to “popcorn”.

From experience, this way of whole class reading has always been an enjoyable experience. My classes – particularly Year 7 – come bounding through the door asking “are we popcorn reading today, miss?” followed by fist pumps in the air when I give a little nod. And I enjoy it too – there is no greater pleasure as an English teacher than enjoying reading a book aloud together.

However, having looked at it more deeply, and doing a bit of research, I’m inclined to think that as pleasurable as it may be – is it really helping my students to develop their reading skills? With my Literacy Co-ordinator hat on, I’m starting to think it’s a no.

So what are the alternatives? And do we have to get rid of the enjoyable element of whole class reading?

I’ve been looking at what Dr. Timothy Shanahan has to say on the matter and he quite rightly points out that during a ‘popcorn reading’ lesson, students only have a very small amount of reading and that quite often students will read ahead to make sure they are confident when reading their approaching line. This results in students actually losing the vital comprehension skills needed. Is it really acceptable to give students such a small amount of exposure to reading aloud? Instead, he suggests a paired reading approach. This allows each student more focussed time on reading to develop their skills, and also the valuable skill of re-reading a text, followed up by comprehension and discussion questions.

I can see how this would have a greater impact for students and allow much greater scope for improving reading confidence and ability. Also, in mixed ability classes it would be ideal for pairing up students based on ability. You could have 2 similar ability readers, or a pair where 1 student is stronger and therefore supports the weaker student. Also it’s perfect for EAL students as they can get more focused support rather than getting ‘lost’ in whole class reading.

The more I think about it, the more I’m liking the sound of it. I will be trialling this strategy in the new year, so please come back for an update!