Importance of Reading Aloud

Think back to your childhood, what was the book that you asked everyone to read to you? 

For Dr. Porath it was The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.  She checked it out from the public library for almost a year before her parents bought her a copy. Dr. Levin’s favorite book to listen to as a child was The Monster at the End of This Book. For Kerri Anderson, her current favorite is The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael Lopez. Sean MacKenzie, it was The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown.

Through personal experience, people feel the joy of reading aloud together – the intimacy of an important person telling a story just for us; the excitement of the story; and the comfort of a familiar text. But research shows that reading aloud offers a lot more for students of all ages.

Current research and practice re-affirms that “the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children” (Anderson, Hiebert, Scot, & Wilkinson, 1985, p. 23).  However, reading aloud is not only for young children. Studies have shown that reading aloud across grade levels and content area increases motivation, comprehension, background building, vocabulary, and enjoyment of text (Allen, 2000; Rasinski, 2003).

Reading to young children provide crucial knowledge of print, books, and story language:

• “Reading to children introduces them to the language of books, which is different from speech and conversation. Including reading aloud in a well-balanced reading program appears to build critical concepts about reading including book concepts, story structures, literary language, and specialized vocabulary and begin to anticipate that particular structures will occur within written language” (Dorn, French, & Jones, 1998, p. 30).

Phonemic awareness and word recognition can be developed through read alouds:

• “Reading aloud enables children to hear the rich language of stories and texts they cannot yet read on their own or might never have chosen to read” (Routman, 2003, p. 18).
• “Reading aloud to children can be a very powerful way to increase their vocabulary, listening comprehension, syntactic development, and word-recognition skills” (Lane & Wright, 2007, p. 674).

Children experience fluent readings with appropriate expression and phrasing:

• “Successful read-alouds are delivered using expressions, voices, and gestures in order to capture the children’s attention and engage them in the story. They provide the teacher with opportunities to model fluent reading and enhance students’ listening and oral language, as well” (Johnston, 2015, p. 35).

Through listening to a variety of texts at potentially higher reading levels, students can develop a more robust vocabulary:

•  “A 20-minute read-aloud can repeatedly expose children to academic words that will likely show up in content textbooks. For example, such words as somber, bespoke, probed, tolerance, substance, boring, searing, eliciting, surges, and anguish are considered academic vocabulary. And they all appear in this paragraph from Brandon Mull’s book, Beyonders: Seeds of Rebellion” (Himmele & Himmele, 2012, para. 5).

Teachers can model comprehension strategies through reading aloud:

• “In this age of digital and multiliteracies, there are increasing demands for interpretive critical thinking in interactions with texts (of all kinds). We can begin to foster these higher level literacy practices with children in instruction, and one authentic context is the classroom read-aloud” (Hoffman, 2011, p. 193).

As mentioned previously, not only is it important to teach children how to read, but teachers need to help children develop reasons why to read. Reading aloud together provides an aesthetic experience that motivates and engages children in books:

• “Reading aloud is motivating because it stimulates creativity and imagination within each individual listener, but it also leads to connections with others. Reading is relational – it allows you to build relationships with authors and characters…In addition, reading allows you to build relationships with others who have read the same books” (Morrison & Wilcox, 2012, pg. 245). 

Be Intentional about Read Alouds

Although it may seem like a simple task – pick a book and read it to children – there is a lot more thought that needs to go into planning a read aloud to make it effective, engaging, and supporting children’s learning.

In a comprehensive literacy program, reading aloud occurs throughout the day and for a variety of purposes. Lester Laminack and Reba Wadsworth (2006) describe six types of read alouds using books that:

• Address standards
• Build community
• Demonstrate the craft of writing
• Enrich vocabulary
• Entice children to read independently
• Model fluent reading

They continue with outlining recommended times to schedule read alouds during the day for different purposes.

• Beginning of the day to build community
• During the reading block to address standards and entice children to read independently
• During the writing block to demonstrate the craft of writing
• A scheduled time to specifically read poetry, a neglected genre that is rich in language and emotion
• Within content instruction to build background, teach content, and address content standards
• At the end of the day to continue to build community and send children home with images of stories in their heads

All of these opportunities to read aloud model fluent reading and expose children to rich language use and vocabulary. However, there may be times during the literacy block when fluency and vocabulary might be a particular focus.

Many teachers use read alouds after recess or lunch to help children settle down and refocus, plus it is an enjoyable experience to share a story together. Often teachers will read a chapter or two a day from a longer book with a higher reading level during this time and as a shared text that can later be used during mini-lessons.

The first part of planning a read aloud is intentionally scheduling a time for the reading and determining a specific purpose for the read aloud.  All the rest of your planning flows from this. 

Planning a Basic Read Aloud

Thoughtful planning for a read aloud will make it more effective and enjoyable.  After reviewing the practices of teachers who were considered experts in using read alouds, Fisher, Flood, Lapp, & Frey (2004) found seven components of effective read alouds:

1. Intentional text selection.  Teachers consider the interests and needs of the children in conjunction with the instructional goal.  High-quality, authentic literature provides the most robust read alouds.
2. Preview and practice the text. The most effective read alouds occur when teachers pre-read and practice the text. Many use sticky-notes to mark areas for discussion, vocabulary to address, or questions to ask. By practicing the text, teachers consider how they would model fluent reading with expression, voices, and pauses.
3. Establish a clear purpose (and let students know). As illustrated in Section 2, read alouds can have a variety of purposes – to be instructional, create community, or for enjoyment. When using a read aloud for instructional purposes, teachers might name the strategy or highlight the standard.  The teacher may provide a general purpose for listening such as, “Listen for how Rosa and her family work together to save for the chair. Why was the chair so important?” (A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams)
4. Model fluent reading. When teachers preview and practice the text, they can read with appropriate pacing, phrasing, and expression.  Pronunciation of unusual words is effortless.
5. Read with animation and expression. Beyond fluent reading, animated and expressive reading engages children in the story and makes it more memorable. Teachers create voices for characters and use facial expressions, gestures, and movements to illustrate the feelings and actions in the story.
6. Discuss the text. In most read alouds, children are not passive listeners, but active participants in making meaning of the text.  Teachers and students ask questions and discuss the text before, during, and after reading.  Teachers balance instructional questions with readers’ responses and connections to the story.
7. Connect the read aloud to independent reading/writing. A read aloud should not be a stand-alone event, but rather connected to the continuum of instruction. Depending on the time and purpose of the read aloud, teachers provide different ways to connect the read aloud to children’s independent reading. writing. At times, teachers might ask children to respond to a specific prompt in their reading journals, try out a writing technique, or complete a graphic organizer about the reading. Sometimes teachers might connect the story to previous read alouds, shared texts, or other classroom experiences.

Interactive Read Alouds

Using read alouds to address standards and develop vocabulary can be done through Interactive Read Alouds (IRA). Longer than a typical read aloud, IRAs model thinking and reading strategies and actively engage children in the reading.  According to Barrentine (1996):

During interactive read alouds, teachers pose questions through-out the reading that enhance meaning construction and also show how one makes sense of text. Students offer spontaneous comments as the story unfolds. They are also engaged with reading process information – how stories work, how to monitor one’s comprehension, what to think about as a story unfolds. Thus, interactions about process are elicited along with aesthetic, personal responses” (p. 36-37).

IRAs require advanced planning to be most effective.

Preparing for an Interactive Read Aloud

1. Select a comprehension strategy that your children need to focus on to be successful readers. Review the KCCRS and select the standard that addresses this strategy.
2. Choose a great mentor text that provides multiple opportunities to think about and practice the strategy. You can find book lists organized by strategy, but you’ll need to read through a few books to find the right mentor text. Also, consider what topics your children are studying in other subjects. Consider the interests and reading levels of your children. Read alouds are a great time to introduce more difficult vocabulary, but not too challenging. Plus, the content of the text needs to be accessible to the children.
3. Plan your read aloud. Your goal is to model how you use the strategy in your own reading.  The more authentic your modeling is the more effective it will be for the children.
   1. To prepare, read through the book with the strategy in mind and pay attention to your “inner reader” voice.
   2. Use sticky notes to mark places in the book where the strategy use is evident.  Think about where you could model the strategy and where the children could practice it.
   3. Also, look for vocabulary words you want to highlight – 3-5 words.

4. Make your read aloud interactive.  From the areas you marked in Step 3, select 5-7 places in the book to focus modeling and/or practicing the strategy or highlight of the vocabulary words.

1. 1. Think through how you will phrase your Think Alouds to model your thinking and the questions you will ask to engage children in authentic discussion.
   2. Create activities that have ALL children actively thinking about the strategy use and content of the book.  Some methods include: Turn and Talk; Stop and Jot; Stop and Act.
   3. You might consider color-coding your post-it notes – one for Think Alouds; one for Partner Talk; one for drawing; one for acting.

Most experienced teachers will just use the sticky notes within the books when they teach the lesson and leave the sticky note for the next time.

Digging Into Think Alouds – A Key Instructional Strategy

What is a Think Aloud?

A Think Aloud is an opportunity for a teacher to model to students how a learner THINKS about the task. Think Alouds are highly effective for teaching strategies of thinking in any discipline (Fisher & Frey, 2013; Ness, 2017).  Although Think Alouds can be used across disciplines, this focuses on Think Alouds in reading.

In a Think Aloud, teachers verbally report what they are thinking about their reading. According to Ness (2017, pg. 8) Think Alouds have the following components, they:

• Are transparent effects that show the deliberate reading actions by the teacher
• Are a language-based activity, where the teacher talks through the thought process used while reading
• Guide the sophisticated process of reading comprehension, making and extracting meaning from a text (Snow, 2002)
• Are meant to be a quick explanation of what is going through the mind of a proficient reader

Why are Think Alouds Important?

Reading is more than decoding and recalling basic facts of the text. Readers need to be able to compare, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information across texts. The CCSS demands close reading of texts, which requires students to be critical and active readers, not accepting and passive readers. Think Alouds model for students how to do this deep thinking of texts.

Think Alouds are part of the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model

            The instructional strategy of Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) by Pearson and Gallagher (1983) can be summarized by the phrase I do/We do/You do.  In this model, the teacher provides explicit instruction on a strategy and models the strategy. Then students participate together in guided instruction. Finally, students work independently with the strategy.

In GRR, Think Alouds are one way that teachers model the strategy explicitly for students. During explicit instruction, the teacher names the strategy and explains the reason AND the time for using the strategy. While the teacher models the strategy with an authentic text, the teacher opens up the thinking they use by orally reciting their thinking (Wilhelm, 2013).

Think Alouds in an Interactive Read Aloud

Think Alouds are an important component of an Interactive Read Aloud.  When a read aloud has the specific purpose of teaching a comprehension strategy, Think Alouds are how teachers model the strategy.

Comprehension strategies typically taught through a read aloud include:

• Activating and using background knowledge
• Asking and answering questions about the text
• Making inferences (understanding what IS happening based on clues in the text)
• Making predictions (hypothesizing what WILL happen based on clues in the text)
• Summarizing
• Monitoring comprehension and clarifying understanding
• Visualizing
• Making connections
• Identify the author’s purpose or the importance of the text

A teacher would not attempt to model ALL of these strategies in a single read aloud. But, while reading through the text and planning a read aloud, the teacher would keep these strategies in mind.

Planning for Think Alouds within an Interactive Read Aloud (Ness, 2017)

1. Read Once: Identify Juicy Stopping Points. The first time you read the text, search for opportunities to talk about comprehension strategies or a place where comprehension may falter. With illustrated books, don’t forget to use the images too! Place a sticky note on the page with your initial idea. You may have 10-15 sticky notes in a book or chapter.
2. Read Twice: Determine Where and When to Think Aloud. Re-examine the points you identified and consider the purpose of this particular read aloud. You will need to narrow your stopping points to 5-7 (otherwise the read aloud would be overwhelming). What comprehension strategy do students need? What comprehension strategies emerged from your first reading? Which stopping points provide the best illustrations for the strategy?
3. Read Three Times: Writing the Scripts on Sticky Notes. Write out, in first-person narrative (I noticed…), what you will say to the students on a sticky note. Use “I” statements, because you are explaining YOUR thinking. Keep this sticky note in the book. Writing out the statement will help you remember what you wanted to model and how you wanted to model it.  In the interactive read aloud lesson plan, we also ask you to write it out using the following framework:

Not All Stops in a Read Aloud are Think Alouds

During your first reading of the book, you may have identified some words, phrases, or images students might not know.  This is not the time for a Think Aloud, you can just provide the definition of the word or phrase or explain the image to help students understand the text.  You might consider taking a quick poll of students, “Thumbs up if you know this word. Thumbs down if you don’t.”  That will help you know how much time to devote to the definition.

Visual Cue

You may wish to use a visual cue to let students know you are “thinking aloud” and the words you say are not in the text. Some teachers use a cutout of a thought bubble. Others tap the side of their head to indicate they are thinking out loud.

The Difference Between a Model and a Think Aloud

            When teachers MODEL a skill or strategy, they show how to do something.  In a THINK ALOUD, a teacher goes beyond showing. They explain to students the THINKING behind the actions. This helps students go beyond imitating and they begin to adopt the THINKING of a proficient reader.

Go Beyond a Model: Reveal a Think Aloud – Kristina Smekens

Review & Questions to Ponder

Questions to Ponder

1. Too often teachers control the flow of conversation in a classroom. They determine what is discussed and who enters the conversation. As you observe classrooms (both at the elementary and college level), consider the various ways teachers encourage students to share their perspectives, interpretations, and opinions. How do teachers support students in initiating questions and conversations?
2. At the beginning of the chapter, you were asked to think about your favorite book. Now think about your favorite book experiences.  An experience would include the context and the people involved in the reading and sharing of the book.  The experience might have been in school, at home, or in the library.  What made these experiences so memorable?  What parts of these experiences can you reproduce in the classroom?

References

Anderson, R.C., Hiebert, E.H., Scott, J.A., & Wilkinson, I.A.G. (1985). Becoming a nation of readers: The report of the commission on reading. Washington, DC: National Institute of Education.

Dorn, L.J., French, C., & Jones, T. (1998). Apprenticeship in literacy: Transitions across reading and writing. York, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Fisher, D., Flood, J., Lapp, D., & Frey, N. (2004). Interactive read‐alouds: Is there a common set of implementation Practices?. The Reading Teacher, 58(1), 8-17.

Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2013). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. ASCD.

Himmele, W. & Himmele, P. (2012). Why read-alouds matter more in the age of the common core standards. ASCD Express, 8(5) Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol8/805-himmele.aspx

Johnston, V. (2015). The power of the read aloud in the age of the common core. The Open Communication Journal, 9(1) 34-38.

Lane, H. B., & Wright, T. L. (2007). Maximizing the effectiveness of reading aloud. The Reading Teacher, 60(7), 668–675.

Morrison, T. G., & Wilcox, B. G. (2012). Developing literacy: Reading and writing to, with, and by children. Pearson Higher Ed.

Ness, M. (2017). Think big with think alouds, grades K-5: A three-step planning process that develops strategic readers. Corwin Press.

Routman, R. (2003). Reading essentials: The specifics you need to teach reading well. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

Snow, C. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an R & D program in reading comprehension. Rand Corporation.

Wilhelm, J. D. (2013). Enriching comprehension with visualization strategies: Text elements and ideas to build comprehension, encourage reflective reading, and represent understanding. Scholastic.

Recommended for Further Reading:

McClure, E. L., & Fullerton, S. K. (2017). Instructional interactions: Supporting students’ reading development through interactive read‐alouds of informational texts. The Reading Teacher 71(1) pp. 51-59.