Duolog Reading Project
Name of Mentor:
Name of Student:
ZPD Score:
(This is a score that helps you chose books that are right for you. It translates into a colour, so you can
find books on the shelves easily that will help you make progress.)
Session 1:
Getting to know your reading buddy
There are two problems that students come across when reading: difficulty with the actual act of reading aloud and
difficulty with understanding what they have read. The next two pages will help you identify what problem your
reading buddy is facing.
Ask and record the answers to the following questions:
1. What was the last book you read?
2. What is your ZPD score? Is your book the right level for you?
3. Do you like the books that are within your ZPD?
4. What types of books do you like?
5. Where do you find these books?
6. Where do you tend to read?
7. Why do you read? For school? For fun?
8. How do you feel when you are asked to read to yourself?
9. How do you feel when you are asked to read out loud?
10. What things do you like to read? Magazines, comic books,
newspapers, webpages, etc…
11. Is your book fiction or non-fiction?
12. Do you know what genre your book is?
How would you describe this student’s attitude towards reading?
(Likes to read/hates reading/only reads when necessary/reads all the time/etc)
Session 2:
Identifying targets
Have the student read aloud to you and tick any boxes which are relevant.

Reads without expression
Put emphasis on key words.
Reads through punctuation
Pay attention to punctuation, pausing where
appropriate.
Ignores errors to finish the sentence
Incorrectly pronounce a word the student is
having trouble with. Then show how to go back
and correct that word and reread the corrected
sentence.
Is unable to sound out new words
correctly. Does not seem to know a letter
sounds
Exaggerate sounding out new and problem words
Makes guesses based on the first letter or
part of the word
Break down longer words into chunks to show
student how to sound them out.
Substitutes a word that looks similar to
the word on the page when faced with an
unknown word
Read the full sentence and point out the
unfamiliar word. Then go back to the problem
word and try to use the rest of the sentence to
help understand it.
Has no strategy for reading and
understanding words not known
Re-read the sentence to demonstrate one strategy
to tackle new words.
Cannot tell you the main ideas of the text
Make a mind map as you go along, charting the
main characters and events.
Finds it difficult to answer question about
what they’ve read
Suggest choosing a book towards the lower end of
the students ZPD score.
Section of the booklet we will use:
Use Part 2 of
the booklet
How to demonstrate this to help them
Use Part 1 of
the booklet
Target:
What the student is doing
Duolog Reading Project
Part 1:
There are two problems that students come across
when reading: difficulty with the actual act of reading
aloud and difficulty with understanding what they have
read. The next two pages will help you identify what
problem your reading buddy is facing.
Session 1:
This session is all about Duolog Reading. And you will need a reading book within the
student’s ZPD!
This is an exercise you will complete together to help meet the target you set last session.
What was that target again? Write it down here:
You might be wondering: what exactly is Duolog reading?
This is when you read out loud at the same time. You should both start together.
Mentor, you should be setting a good example. Be sure to take your time, so the younger student can follow.
Here are some tips:
1. Student and mentor begin by reading aloud together.
2. If the student makes a mistake, the mentor reads the word correctly. The student repeats the word.
The student and mentor then continue to read aloud together.
3. When the student feels ready, he or she signals to read aloud independently.
4. If the student hesitates over a word while reading independently, the mentor waits four seconds.
If the student doesn’t read the word correctly during that time, the mentor reads the word correctly
and the student repeats it.
5. If the student makes a mistake and does not notice it, the mentor corrects it sooner. The student
repeats the word correctly.
6. The student and the mentor talk about the book together.
7. The mentor praises the student for signalling to read independently, for reading difficult words, and
for correcting mistakes.
8. The student updates the Student Reading Log
9. The student takes the Accelerated Reader quiz on the book
Tutor follows
text, praises
and discusses
Student reads alone
Pupil signals to
read alone
Discussion
Correct reading
Praise
Correct reading
Pupil and tutor
read together
Self-correction
Tutor allows 4 seconds
for self-correction
Any error
Self-correction
Tutor allows 4 seconds
for self-correction
Correct Reading
No self-correction
Pupil repeats
word correctly
Tutor says
word correctly
No self-correction
Duolog Reading Process
Session
Date:
Focus/Target:
Duolog Reading Process
Quiz #
Title
Author
BL
Start
Page
End
Page
Quiz
Result
Notes for teacher
Duolog Reading Project
Part 2:
This next section focuses on providing students, who
struggle with understanding what they read, the skills
needed to become a more confident reader. It may also
be used as further intervention with students who have
already completed Part 1.
Session 1:
Ask them the following questions.
Highlight the questions they can answer in green.
Highlight the questions they show some understanding of in yellow.
Highlight the questions they do not know or answer incorrectly in red.
This will help you decide which activity you should complete first.
Character:
• What does the main character in your story want?
• What does your main character do/say to get what he or
she wants?
• Do you think that the character will get what he or she
wants in the end?
Parts of a book:
• Does the book you are reading have a table of contents
or an index?
• Have you ever used the table of contents or index of a book?
What were you looking for?
• If you were wondering if a sports book had a chapter on
netball, in what part of the book would you look?
Plot
• Have you reached the climax/most important bit in the
book you are currently reading? How do you know?
• Think about the last book you read- tell me what happened
at the beginning/middle/end.
• What was the last story book you read? What was the main
problem in the book? What happened at the climax/
most exciting bit of the book?
Imagery:
• Can you find an example of your senses in the book you
are reading?
• What words does the author use to create that feeling?
• Which of the five senses does the author want you to use?
• How does the description make you feel?
Prefixes:
• Have you found any words that contain prefixes that
mean ‘not’?
• How does knowing the meaning of the root word and the
prefix help you figure out the word’s meaning?
• What is the meaning of the root word?
Problems and solutions:
• What is the main problem in the story (or part of story)
you are reading?
• How do you think the problem will be solved?
Which section will you focus on first?
Session 2:
Before you can do this, you must read a short fiction book out loud together!
Objective: To help students understand a character’s motive and how that affects the outcome of the story.
Materials: Any novel you have recently read with the student.
Lesson: 1. Tell students that in many stories, the main character wants something (friendship, a home, to be liked) and it is this
wanting that causes the character to make certain choices and take certain actions, all the way to the end.
2. Help students to identify the wants (or motives) of the main character in the story that you are currently reading
aloud. For example, ask, “In The Hunger Games, what does Katniss want?” (to stay alive).
3. Point out that the character rarely gets what he or she wants right away. Explain that authors often purposefully
place obstacles in the way of the main character. Say, “In trying to get what he or she wants, the character might end
up with even bigger and more serious problems. Then again, he or she might end up with greater rewards as well.”
4. Fill in the diagram below. Have your student provide you with the information to complete the diagram: Eg:
Your turn:
5. Ask, “Does the main character get what he or she wants in the end?” The answer may surprise students. In many
stories, such as The Hunger Games, the character does get what she wants by the story’s finish. In others however,
the character does not get what she wanted from the beginning. Ask your student if the main character in their book
got what he or she wanted.
6. Explain that in most stories the main character changes. Ask, “How does the main character in our story change?”
7. Tell students that thinking about what a character really wants and whether or not the character will get it will help
them know more about the story and will keep them turning the pages!
Notes/Question
for their teacher:
Teacher’s
response:
Session 3:
Parts of a Book
Objective: To help students identify the table of contents and index and their uses.
Materials: Any non-fiction book they have read that contains a table of contents and an index, such as Coral Reefs by
Katy Pike and Garda Turner (4.6).
Lesson:
1. Hold up the book you have chosen and ask students to imagine that they are looking for a book that is about a
particular topic. For example, if you are using Coral Reefs, you might say, “Imagine that you are looking for a book
about coral reefs. You want to know about the fish that live off of a coral reef, what coral is and the different types of
coral reefs. How could you tell if this book is for you?”
Possible student responses might be:
• You could begin reading
• You could look at all of the pages
• You could check the table of contents.
Help students understand that the table of contents is a great tool to get a quick glance at what the book covers.
2. Open to the table of contents, showing students that it is in the front after the title page. Point out that the table of
contents lists chapters and the page on which each of the chapters begins. Read the chapter titles aloud. Ask,
“Would this book likely have the information that you would need?” (yes).
3. Say, “What if I wanted to know if this book had very specific information about a certain topic? For example, what if I
wanted to know if this book on coral reefs had information about the Great Barrier Reef? Where would I look then?”
(The index).
4. Open the book to show them the index. Tell students that the index lists all of the topics in alphabetical order and
can be a good help in locating specific information. Point out that the numbers next to the topics show on what
page or pages the information can be found. Ask, “Can I find the information I was looking for in this book?” (Yes).
5. Tell students that using both the table of contents and the index can help them select books and find the
information they are searching for.
Now give them 5 things to find in either the table of contents or the index of their book.
How did it go?
Notes/Question
for their teacher:
Teacher’s
response:
Session 4:
Plot
Objective: To help students recognise the climax of a story.
Materials: Any novel you have recently read with the student
Lesson:
1. Help students recall the plot of the book you have chosen. Remind them that the plot is what happens in the story
and that plots are often organised around a problem and a solution. Ask, “What is the biggest problem in this story?”
2. Fill in the graph like the one shown on the next page. Have students list the major events that take place in the story
and write these down.
3. Point to the first event listed on the graph and ask, “Where on the tension/excitement (if they don’t understand what
tension is) scale would you place this event?” and place a dot on the graph at the appropriate level. Follow the same
process for the other events listed. If students decide that the action starts at a very high level, you may have to add
additional levels to the chart. After you have plotted dots for each of the events, draw a line connecting the dots on
the graph.
4. Have students look at the shape that the line makes on the graph. Tell students. “In many stories, the plot follows a
certain shape. Usually a problem or conflict is presented at the beginning of the story. Then, as the character tries to
solve the problem, the action of the story rises to a climax, the most exciting part of the story.” Point out the line that
shows the conflict and rising action as you follow the events listed underneath the graph. Point to the dot at the
highest mark on the graph and ask, “Which event was the climax of this story?”
5. Discuss the story’s ending. Tell students that the ending of a story usually relieves the tension by tying up the other
bits of the story.
6. Ask students to identify the climax in books they have recently read.
How did it go?
Notes/Question
for their teacher:
Teacher’s
response:
Session 5:
Imagery
Objective:To help students focus on imagery when reading
Materials:Any book you have recently read with your student
Lesson:
1. Have students pretend that you are a person who has never visited the school library before. Tell them you want to
know everything there is to know about the library. Ask them to describe the setting using details that help you
understand what the library looks, sounds, feels and smells like.
2. Chose words from their descriptions that are specific and vivid. Record the words on the table below. Help students
recognise that a phrase like “stinks likes floor polish mixed with pencil shavings” gives you a much clearer picture of
the library than just the word ‘smells’.
3. Tell students that authors carefully choose details that appeal to the five senses to help readers imagine a setting or
what is happening in the story. The use of words is called imagery. Choose a passage from the book that you are
reading aloud that demonstrates the use of imagery. For example, you might read this passage from Charlotte’s
Web, when Wilbur gets a buttermilk bath:
Wilbur stood still and closed his eyes. He could feel buttermilk trickling down his sides. He opened his mouth and some
buttermilk ran into it. It was delicious. He felt radiant and happy. When Mrs Zuckerman got through and rubbed him
dry, he was the cleanest, prettiest pig you ever saw.
4. Point out that authors choose words not only to give readers a picture of what is happening, but also to create a
feeling. Ask, “Is having a buttermilk bath a pleasant or unpleasant experience?’ (pleasant). “What words does the
author use to make you think that?” (delicious, radiant, cleanest, prettiest).
5. Read another passage with contrasting imagery and ask, “How do you feel when you hear this passage?” In the
following description, E.B. White still talks of food, but uses different imagery:
In the hard-packed dirt of the field, after the glaring lights are out and the people have gone to bed, you will find a
actual treasure of popcorn fragments, frozen custard dribblings, candied apples abandoned by tired children,
sugar fluff crystals, salted almonds, popsicles, partially chewed ice cream cones and wooden sticks of lollipops.
Ask, “What kind of feeling has the author created in this passage?” (They may say: disgusting, sticky, messy). “What
words make you think of that?” (dribblings, partially chewed, abandoned).
6. Go back to the description of the library that the student provided. Ask, “Does your description create a feeling as
well as a picture of the library? Have you used specific words that appeal to the five senses?” Point out their
effective uses of imagery.
7. Ask the student to find an example of imagery in the book he or she is reading.
Taste
Notes/Question
for their teacher:
Teacher’s
response:
Touch
Smell
See
Hear
Session 6:
Prefixes and Root Words
Objective:To help students break down new words by recognising prefixes.
Materials:A school tie (or a shoe with the shoelaces untied).
Lesson:
1. Take off your tie and untie it. Hold up the untied tie and ask, “What can I do with this tie?” As students answer, tie
the tie and write the word tie in the circle below.
2. Remind students that a root word is a word to which other word parts can be added to make new words. Point to
the word tie and say, “Tie can be a root word.”
3. Ask, “Suppose I want to take this tie off. Now what must I do?” Untie your tie and write untie in the circle below.
Circle the prefix un-. Explain that un- is a prefix, a word part added to the beginning of a root word to make a new
word. Ask, “If un- means ‘not’, then what does the word untie mean?”
4. Ask students to suggest other words that begin with the prefix un-. Record students’ suggestions around the circle.
5.
Tell students that there are other prefixes that also
mean “not”. Point to the following diagram and have
them read out the following prefixes in the outside
boxes: de-, dis-, ir-, il-, im-, in-, non-, un-. Ask students
to help you think of words that contain each prefix.
List the words in the appropriate squares.
6.
Ask students to see if they can find two words that
contain prefixes that mean ‘not’ in their books. Tell
them that knowing how to break words into prefixes
and root words will help them figure out the meaning
of unfamiliar words.
Notes/Question
for their teacher:
Teacher’s
response:
Session 7:
Problems and Solutions
Objective:To help students identify problems and solutions as plot elements.
Materials:Any story or novel you have recently read to students that has a clear problem and solution in the plot, such
as Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg.
Lesson:
1. Present the following problem to students:
You and a friend are walking home from school. Suddenly, from behind some bushes, a huge dog lunges at you,
barking and growling. What do you do?
Encourage students to suggest possible solutions to the problem.
2. Remind students that what happens in a story is called the plot of the story. Explain that the plots of many storie
are organised around a problem and a solution. On the chart below, write down the solutions suggested by your
student.
3. Read aloud the book you have chosen. Stop reading just before the story’s problem is solved. In Jumanji for
example, stop reading just before Judy reaches Jumanji. Adding to the T-chart above and ask, “What is the problem
in this story?” Discuss student’s response and complete the “Problem” side of the chart.
4. Tell the student that one of the reasons people keep reading a book is to find out how a problem is solved. Ask,
“How do you think ______________ (the character in their story) will solve this problem? Discuss the student’s
response but do not record it on the chart.
5. Finish reading the book. Ask, “How was the problem solved?” Now add the solution.
6. Tell students that identifying the main problem, thinking of possible solutions, and discovering the actual solutions
in stories will help them better understand and enjoy what they read.
Notes/Question
for their teacher:
Teacher’s
response:
Final session
Revisit the questions asked at the beginning to identify the student’s needs to identify areas
they need further help with.
Highlight the questions they can answer in green.
Highlight the questions they show some understanding of in yellow.
Highlight the questions they do not know or answer incorrectly in red.
Character:
• What does the main character in your story want?
• What does your main character do/say to get what he or
she wants?
• Do you think that the character will get what he or she
wants in the end?
Parts of a book:
• Does the book you are reading have a table of contents
or an index?
• Have you ever used the table of contents or index of a book?
What were you looking for?
• If you were wondering if a sports book had a chapter on
netball, in what part of the book would you look?
Plot
• Have you reached the climax/most important bit in the
book you are currently reading? How do you know?
• Think about the last book you read- tell me what happened
at the beginning/middle/end.
• What was the last story book you read? What was the main
problem in the book? What happened at the climax/
most exciting bit of the book?
Imagery:
• Can you find an example of your senses in the book you
are reading?
• What words does the author use to create that feeling?
• Which of the five senses does the author want you to use?
• How does the description make you feel?
Prefixes:
• Have you found any words that contain prefixes that
mean ‘not’?
• How does knowing the meaning of the root word and the
prefix help you figure out the word’s meaning?
• What is the meaning of the root word?
Problems and solutions:
• What is the main problem in the story (or part of story)
you are reading?
Notes/Question
for their teacher:
Teacher’s
response:
• How do you think the problem will be solved?