"When read-alouds are understood as powerful tools for teaching literary elements, building analytical ability, and addressing the standards, they can bring both joy and accelerated learning into the lives of our students." Linda Hoyt
In my continued research, I will explore the interactive read-aloud. Any read aloud can become interactive if you consider how and what you are thinking while you read and stop to share that. Being intentional can help with engaging students in a read aloud that is interactive. That means that you cannot just pick up a book from the shelf that you have never read before (well, you can but you can get more bang for your buck if you take the time to read the book first to decide what you intend to do and how you will make it interactive.) Incorporate opportunities for student to 'interact with the text and with other classmate while listening helps them become readers that think themselves. You are modeling how you stop to think about words that are unfamiliar, how you make predictions as you turn the page, how you see a characters develop from the beginning of the story to the end of the story and so much more. The inflection and intonation in your voice keeps the students engaged while allowing them to hear fluent reading. Your stopping to ask about vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to them lets them know they can do the same when they read to themselves; plus, showing them that using context clues helps determine the meaning of those words. give them some autonomy when silent reading. Seeing you make inferences and thinking aloud about how you did that helps them make inferences (a concept that is difficult for many of our students). A good read aloud lets students think as they enjoy the text being read to them. here is an article from reading rockets that speaks to the idea of the think aloud.
Thanks for reading,,,
Pearl Garden, Ed.D has completed her dissertation research involving understanding the vocabulary instruction practices of early grade teachers. She has a passion for the new and novice educator, and it is her goal to help educators tackle the achievement gap with her research findings. She will use this blog to share what she has learned in “pearls of literacy”. The ideas come from her dissertation titled “A Content Analysis of the Vocabulary Instruction Habits by Early Grade Teachers”.