Dialogic reading, a specific type of shared interactive reading, has a strong research and practical foundation in increasing the expressive vocabulary and oral language skills for children who are typically developing and those who are considered at-risk. In recent years, research has proved Dialogic Reading is an effective method for up to 12 year old children, provided that the main activity shifts from naming objects and analyzing images to analyzing the content and relating it back to the child’s own experiences.

Dialogic Reading has strong implications in the child’s growth process and reaches far. It helps build a vocabulary and text comprehension skills, it develops abilities in oral and written languages and, Being Dialogic Reading based on the adult-child and child-child interaction around a common object which is the book and a common content which is there story narrated in the book, it influences the child’s intelligence, creativity and ability to relate to others, ultimately empowering the child and impacting the individual’s success in society.

Dialogic Reading requires adequate books for children that are not repetitive, that are reasonably profound and that develop a far-reaching story, such as classics or well written books for children. With smaller children, when picture books prevail, good quality drawings and well thought stories are required.

Dialogic reading shifts the roles of the adult and child during shared interactive reading. Unlike typical shared interactive reading, where the adult is the reader and the child the listener, in dialogic reading, the goal is for the child to become the storyteller and the adult an active listener. Dialogic reading incorporates five types of prompts implemented by adults while reading picture books with children. These have been referred to by the acronym CROWD, which represents the prompt types of Completion, Recall, Open-ended questions, Wh-questions, and Distancing. The prompting system implemented in dialogic reading is symbolized by the acronym PEER, referring to the adult Prompting the child to say something related to the book, Evaluating what the child said, Expanding on that response, and then asking the child to Repeat the expansion. The PEER process allows the child to become more familiar with the shared book, as the adult facilitates the child’s understanding. In turn, the adult role in reading the book decreases while the child’s role increases. Dialogic reading aims to move the child beyond naming objects in the book to analyzing the content and relating it back to the child’s own experiences.

As the novelist Davide Amante explains, “Dialogical Reading is in my opinion the most modern and effective method of reading with children and has very solid roots. The ancient Greek rhapsodes, and above all Homer, had perfected a dialogic reading ante litteram. In the ancient context, the reading of the texts did not represent an individual event at all, on the contrary it was a participatory and shared moment in which the reader, who at the time was pre-eminently a listener, actively contributed to the purpose of the story and involved the youngest as well as the adults in a continuous discussion around the story” .

Numerous researches have been carried out since the 1980s, which have shown how Dialogic Reading substantially contributes to the mental development of the child, to a correct approach to the child’s social interaction and often contributes significantly to the resolution of common pathologies such as dyslexia. , autism.

Schools and teachers are increasingly practicing Dialogic Reading and this site can be a useful tool for approaching the topic of Dialogic Reading.