What is Reading Aloud?

Reading aloud forms a foundation for the early literacy framework. By having stories read to them children learn to love stories and reading. Reading aloud involves children in reading for enjoyment and provides an adult demonstration of fluent reading. Children can respond to pictures and text, but the teacher provides full support for children to access the meaning of the story. Reading aloud to children widens their horizon and understanding about books and the written language. Children develop a sense of story, increase vocabulary, and learn how texts are put together. Children do not have to take responsibility for the mechanics of gaining meaning; instead, they are simply able to experience the satisfaction of obtaining meaning from reading. This will help establish a desire to become readers.

Teaching Methods

1. Strategies for K-2 teachers to keep in mind:
   
   • Read to children everyday for at least 20 minutes throughout the day. (It's easy to eliminate reading aloud from your schedule, but remember... Reading Aloud is critical to children's reading and writing development.)
   • Read several books a day so children get used to hearing rich language, various text structures, and a variety of genre.
   • Know the book well! You should have read the book before reading to the children and have a personal connection with the book.
   • Choose books that are interesting and engaging.
   • Involve the children when reading aloud.
   • Establish parameters for reading aloud time. Help children understand what you expect them to do or not to do during reading time.
   • Invite the principal and other people to read to the children.
   • Use technologies that allow a child to listen to a text read.
   • After reading, be sure to allow students the opportunity to discuss and ask questions.
   • Give children frequent opportunities to hear texts written by others and relate those writings to their own.
   • The text used in Reading Aloud experiences can be used as a base for other activities. As children relate their experiences and thoughts to those expressed by authors, they begin to form their own narratives in their heads and thus become motivated to be readers and writers.
   
   
   
2. Read Aloud Do's and Don'ts

   DO

   1. Set aside time each day for a story.
   2. Vary the length and subject matter of your reading.
   3. Occasionally read above children's intellectual levels and challenge their minds.
   4. Build background knowledge when needed. It is an important factor in listening.
   5. Reading aloud comes naturally to very few people. You may want to practice. Do not read too fast. Let the kids have time to build mental pictures.
   6. Preview the book ahead of time.

   DO NOT

   1. Don't read stories that you don't enjoy.
   2. Don't feel you have to tie every book to class work.
   3. Don't select a book that many of the children already have heard or seen on television.
   4. Just because a book has won an award does not guarantee that it will make a good read-aloud. (See number 6 from above.)
   
   
   
3. Suggested Books Grades 3-6

   TITLE	AUTHOR
   How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!	Stephen Manes
   The Hundred Dresses	Eleanor Estes
   Old Yeller	Fred Gibson
   Because of Winn-Dixie	Kate Dicamillo
   A Family Apart	Joan Lowery Nixon
   Jason's Gold	Will Hobbs
   The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe	C.S. Lewis

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