The Peer Partner Learning Strategy

What is Peer Partner Learning? Peer partner learning is a collaborative experience in which students learn from and with each other for individual purposes. Currently, I have been able to implement this strategy in few different areas, but I've use it primarily for reading fluency and vocabulary development.  Each week, every student in my class has a fluency passage at their level that they work on to read as fluently as possible. Time is given for them to practice on their own, and on 1 day per week, the students get together with a partner and read their passage to each other.  One student becomes the "teacher," who listens and the other becomes the "student" who reads. They are timed for 1 minute. The "teacher" provides feedback and prompts the other to work on any errors that were heard during the reading. After 1 minute of discussion time, the roles reverse and the "teacher" becomes the "student." The reading continues for 1 minute. We complete this series of events 2 times.  Each week we usually have a focus to work toward during our readings, such as pausing for punctuation, using inflection, and so forth.  It has been beneficial, because the students collaborate well with each other and most strive for their best in the eyes of their peers.  One reminder I always give them is...fluency is not speed, it is decoding accuracy and comprehension. Read like you would want to be read to!