Read Aloud Lessons that Get Results
Planning for a daily interactive read aloud is a research-based way to model fluent reading for your students. Reading aloud also promotes critical thinking, improve comprehension, and create a sense of community in your classroom.Reading to students is an essential element of any elementary reading program. Hearing text read aloud is one of the keys to a student becoming a successful reader. But, not all read alouds achieve the same level of effectiveness. During an interactive read aloud students are actively involved in asking questions and discussing the text. Research has shown that this higher level of engagement increases a student’s ability to use the various comprehension strategies effectively.Reading a story to a group of children can be a mindless task for most teachers. However, an interactive read aloud is much more than picking up a book and reading a chapter after lunch. Carefully planning will allow your students to get the maximum benefit from the read-aloud experience.
Traditional vs. Interactive Read Aloud
During a traditional read aloud, the teacher reads the text aloud. The students are listening to the text primarily for the enjoyment of the story. As a result, traditional read alouds give students exposure to a wider variety of literature. Additionally, during read aloud time, students can have access to texts that are beyond what they could read on their own.On the other hand, during an interactive read aloud, teachers purposefully stop every few pages to discuss key ideas and text features. This is the perfect time for the teacher to model for students how skilled readers construct meaning from a text. This strategy is often referred to as a think-aloud. Teachers verbalize the things they are doing as they read to monitor their understanding of the text. As a result, students will begin to monitor their own thinking more closely as they read. When students monitor their own level of comprehension, it slows down the reading process allowing for a deeper understanding of the text.Interactive read alouds allow students to actively engage in listening to, thinking about, and discussing the text. Similarly, the interactive nature of the read-aloud encourages meaningful conversation between the students and their teacher. Through these discussions, students learn valuable comprehension strategies that they can use in their independent reading.
Why Should Interactive Read Aloud Be a Part of Your Reading Block?
Although there are countless more, three of the most persuasive reasons that interactive read alouds need to take place frequently in your class are:1 - Interactive read alouds make it easy for teachers to model with intent and teach specific reading skills.2 - Interactive read alouds encourage guided conversations and reflective thinking about the chosen text.3 - Students learn to strategically listen to, discuss, interpret, and respond to text in a non-threatening way.
Add More Value to Your Read Aloud Time with Interactive Read Aloud
You will find teachers reading and students listening in many elementary classrooms. Indeed, any time spent reading aloud to students will help to develop their love of reading.Are you looking to add value to your read-aloud time? Read alouds naturally provide teachers with the opportunity to model comprehension strategies, and they are the perfect catalyst for meaningful classroom discussions.Are you ready to take a break from those boring comprehension passages that your students dread? Do you want to increase student engagement? Would your students benefit from additional modeling of comprehension skills, teach literary concepts, and build vocabulary?So what's the solution?Interactive read alouds can solve all of these problems and more!Bonus...Interactive read alouds improve the overall class climate by building a sense of camaraderie, teamwork, and interdependence.I know what you are thinking...your plate is full and you just don't have time to add in one more thing!The thought of adding in a new teaching method can feel like a daunting task! And the best part of interactive read alouds is that they will indeed make your life easier while making reading comprehension more accessible for your students.
Ready to Give Interactive Read Aloud a Try?
Want to give interactive read alouds a try in your classroom? Grab this free resource that has everything you need to get started with interactive read alouds in your class.Looking for more interactive read-aloud lessons to keep the learning going throughout the year? Check this out!
