RM Winter 2017

you can teach with a book in your hand is unlimited.

Reading Aloud for Enjoyment I can’t think of anything better than listening to a great story read aloud and hearing the reader slow down during a somber and serious conflict or speed up with a loud voice during the exciting climax. Readers have the power to create a performance through their read-aloud by adding voice and suspense. All students deserve the opportunity to hear stories read aloud by us for pure enjoyment. Whether it is after recess or at the end of the day, this is a fun time to gather your students close together on the carpet and share a favorite book, poem, or short story. You can put on your “acting” hat and play the part of India Opal in Because of Winn-Dixie or the part of Jeremy in Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher . Before I begin to read, I like to call my students to the rug and share a personal story, connection, or book talk. My students become engaged and are able to transition into a time to listen and enjoy. I want to give my students a preview of what is to come in the read aloud and to captivate their attention before the read aloud begins. I select my words carefully to give them something to look forward to in the book, and at the same time I try not to say too much. I want the book to speak for itself. One of my favorite times of the day is when I get to read our “just for fun” chapter book. As soon as my students see me pick up our current book and head towards the rocking chair they begin to move eagerly to the rug and start to chatter about what they think will happen with the main character or the conflict. I love to hear their excitement and eagerness to unlock the reading magic in our carefully chosen book. I have a few favorite authors that I typically read with hopes that students will rush to the library for other titles under the same name. Some of my “go to” authors include Bruce Coville, Peg Kehret, and Cynthia deFelice. They have the power to engage the reader and create a desire to read other titles. I feel successful when I have introduced students to new authors or hooked them in to a series. Picture books that are seasonal, relate to subject area content, and ones that may be new to the school and classroom library are also on my shelf of read-alouds for pure enjoyment. Books like Silver Packages and Jackalope are among my favorites. These books may be used again throughout the year to teach content, author’s craft, or for the rich language found in them (Ray, 1999). It is a good thing for students to hear books read aloud multiple times and to get to know them so when the text is used for instructional purposes, students have familiarity with them. Use your read aloud time to have fun with your students. Laugh with them when it’s funny and cry with them when it’s sad. Those are the moments they will remember. Reading Aloud for Teaching Reading aloud can meet many of the standards in English Language Arts if planning is intentional and purposeful. This one teaching tool can serve teachers well throughout reading and writing workshop. The list of what

Perhaps you want to teach students about strong characters, man versus man conflict, or build background for a genre (Miller, 2009). You can also use your read aloud books to teach about author’s craft and the use of punctuation. Read aloud books are the perfect tool for all of these skills and concepts. It is important for teachers to take read-alouds seriously and plan ahead. Lester Laminack also suggests practicing your read aloud in order to make the words sound just right (Laminack, 2006). If your purpose for reading aloud is for teaching a specific skill or strategy, you will want to pre-plan your think aloud, questions, and teaching points in advance. Take the time to pre-read and consider where you want to stop and think aloud. These moments should be planned and written down so your read-aloud provides the desired outcome. Keep your notes in front of you or stick them inside the book. Explain to your students that you jotted them down since you didn’t want to forget to share your thinking. As readers, we want our students to be able to make predictions, analyze character actions, and ask questions while they read. Normally, these do not come naturally to young readers. We must explicitly model for our students the silent conversation that happens in our minds as we read a text. This can include think alouds and written responses to a book. Our students need to hear us stop occasionally and consider or question why a character treated another character badly or what affect one character may have on another. Be careful not to overdo the teaching during one read-aloud. Choose one or two teaching points for a focus and use the text again at another time if there are multiple opportunities for teaching and learning. Read alouds are the most perfect way to teach students how to use writerly moves in their work and develop their own author’s craft. Great authors such as Lester Laminack, Cynthia Rylant, and Jane Yolen can teach us how to use repetition and circular endings in our stories intentionally (Ray, 1999). Students can begin to listen to read-alouds like writers. The read-alouds you choose to share with your writers during writing workshop will be very different than the read- alouds chosen for readers. Writers need to hear texts full of craft and words that come alive through description and sound. These texts should invite students to try some of the writerly moves in their own writing. Readers need to hear books full of rich character, conflict, and resolution. The strong plot will captivate readers and keep them coming back for more. Choose your read-alouds for your specific purpose and audience and use them to do powerful teaching. Resources for Read Aloud Making sure you are reading the right kinds of things to your students is just as important as your purpose. Carefully choose books, poems, and articles you will read aloud. Be picky about what you are sharing with students. If it isn’t full of rich language, theme, and plot, don’t read it. Look for books

Reading Matters Teaching Matters

Reading Matters | Volume 17 • Winter 2017 | scira.org | scira.org | 39 |

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