Using ‘I Do, We Do, You Do’ to Teach Reading With Expression 

Learning how to read fluently goes well beyond sounding out words correctly. Young readers need to hear what reading with expression sounds like, get plenty of practice reading aloud with scaffolding, and gradually build confidence to become expressive independent readers. At Clinton Valley Elementary School in Mount Clemens, Michigan, first-grade teacher Rebecca Piotrowski uses the tried-and-true gradual release of responsibility model commonly known as “I Do, We Do, You Do” to help students build the fluency they need to become confident readers.

Before reading begins, Piotrowski gathers her students around the carpet so everyone can see the text and she can easily support them. Together, they preview phonics patterns they’ll find in the story. This quick review helps reinforce important sound-spelling relationships before students apply them while reading.

In the “I Do” stage, Piotrowski starts with direct instruction, reading the decodable text aloud while students follow along with their tracking fingers. She models accurate word pronunciation, pacing, and expression, giving students a clear example. During the “We Do” stage, students join her to read the same passage aloud together. This guided practice allows students to build confidence while reinforcing the skills they just observed. In the third stage, “You Do,” students read the same passage out loud on their own, applying their phonics skills and strengthening fluency through supported repeated reading. Because the text is already familiar, students can focus on reading more smoothly and with greater prosody. “Hopefully they can pick up their fluency and read a little bit faster because they’re familiar with the story already,” Piotrowski says.

Piotrowski knows every child develops as a reader at a different pace. “I don’t expect all of them to be able to read at the same pace as me, but that’s the goal for the future,” she says. By gradually releasing responsibility from teacher modeling to guided practice to independent reading, “I Do, We Do, You Do” provides the support that students need to strengthen their fluency—and devote more cognitive resources to understanding what they read.

Special thanks to Jenn Magner and Pati Montgomery for their input. To learn more about the neuroscience underpinning this strategy, read Autumn Mosby and Samantha Hamilton’s article for Edutopia, “The Role of Cognition in the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model.” The model was popularized by educators Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher, who later expanded it by adding a fourth stage for collaborative student work.