RM Winter 2017 FINAL

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Reading Matters
Teaching Matters
| 38| Reading Matters | Volume 17 • Winter 2017 |
ABSTRACT —Despite what professional educators know about best
practice and reading aloud, many teachers do not use the strategy
of reading aloud to the level at which they could. Reading aloud is a
tool that can serve many purposes beyond teaching standards. It can
be used to build community in classrooms, to provide enjoyment for
students, and to teach content area standards. Through professional
reading and experience, I have discovered that teachers, including
myself, need to bring reading aloud back alive in classrooms. This
article reminds teachers why reading aloud is such a powerful
teaching tool and strategy. Teachers can make a difference in their
classrooms and the lives of their learners through read-alouds.
What would your students think if you brought in a wrapped
gift each morning? What if you unwrapped a book every day
together to celebrate the greatness in stories, poetry, and words?
Imagine the excitement this would create in your classroom.
I vividly remember when one of my elementary school teachers
read Beverly Cleary’s The Mouse and the Motorcycle to our class
each day after lunch. I can still see Mrs. Moe sitting behind her
desk and turning the crisp yellow pages. I can still hear Mrs.
Moe’s voice as she read each character’s words. And I can still
feel the disappointment I had when Mrs. Moe slowly put the
bookmark in between the pages at the end of that day’s chapter.
Unfortunately, this is the only book that I clearly remember
a teacher reading aloud to me during my years of elementary
school. I can only wish that more teachers had read aloud the
words of E.B. White or Eric Carle. I often wonder if my life as a
reader and a writer would be different if I had been read to and
taught how to listen to the picture an author paints with words
using figurative language and vivid verbs. I can only dream
what kind of magic that could have created in me as a kid.
According to research in best practice, reading aloud
is one of the most important strategies we can use in the
classroom to affect a child’s attitude toward reading and
writing. “It is said that we make time for what we value, and if
we value reading, we must make time for it.” (Miller, 2009).
Reading aloud is a strategy that teachers can have in their
back pocket to meet the numerous needs of their students and
the demands of teaching. It can be used to build community
or to help students solve a problem (Laminack, 2006). It can
be used for pure enjoyment, for listening to language, or for
hearing a great story. Teachers can also use read-alouds to
get to know an author, teach about sentence structure, or to
experience how an author builds action before the climax (Ray,
1999). It is a teaching tool that proficient teachers have been
using for many years and for many invaluable purposes.
With the ever-changing demands of standardized tests and the
implementation of new initiatives, many teachers have casually
forgotten about the best practices that are foundational to the
teaching of language arts. Teachers are busy doing important
work preparing their students for the next level. However, is there
a way that teachers can work smarter instead of harder? Bringing
reading aloud back alive in our classrooms is a logical answer.
So, how can we bring reading aloud back alive? We
can do it by reading aloud multiple times a day and with
intentional purposes in mind (Laminack, 2006).
Reading Aloud to Build Community
Books are the perfect pathways to building community
in your classroom. The books you choose can begin your
day and be part of your morning meeting or settling in time.
This is the perfect way to set the tone and plan for a day of
great learning. I can’t think of a better way to help students
prepare their minds and hearts for the learning they will do.
Titles can be chosen with specific purposes in mind. Perhaps
you need picture books to read during the first weeks of school
to build relationships among your students (Laminack, 2006).
Or maybe after a few weeks, you are looking for a book to help
two students work through a conflict. You may want to celebrate
diversity by reading a book from a culture represented in your class.
Books can be read to jumpstart conversations about difficult topics.
I love to read aloud books like Don’t Need Friends by Carolyn
Crimi and The Brand New Kid by Katie Couric during the first
days of school to have discussions about the importance of
friendship. Most students can relate to Dog and Rat or Lazlo since
they have all been either the new kid or the kid that is looking
for a new friend. The first part of the day is also a great time to
read books like The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson and The
Honest-to-Goodness Truth by Patricia McKissack to think about
how we should treat others. These great titles offer so much to the
young readers, writers, leaders, and friends in our classrooms.
Many of the titles listed above bring characters to life and
create a place for the characters in our classroom. My students
often refer to the characters by first name as if they are people that
we know. Sometimes we even say things like, “Do you want to be
remembered like Libby?” or “Let’s be more like Rat and Dog at the
end of the book.” My class is even known to take on the language
from a read aloud and make it their own “inside” language.
Sometimes my students can be caught joking around with each
other by saying, “Don’t need friends, don’t need them at all!”
When I hear students referring to our read-alouds throughout
the day, I know they are truly living in our books and the books
are impacting their thoughts, decisions, and lives. That’s a gift!
Bringing Read-Alouds Back Alive
By Tricia M. Huff, Lake Murray Elementary School