Read-alouds
In Becoming a Nation of Readers, the report of the National Commission on Reading states that the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success is reading aloud to children.
Anderson, R.C., Hiebert, E.H., Scott, J.A., & Wilkinson, I.A.G. (1985). Becoming a
nation of readers: The report of the Commission on Reading. Washington, DC:
National Academy of Education, Commission on Education and Public Policy.�
Reading aloud is proven to improve students’ literacy skills in all areas–reading, writing, listening and speaking. Though sometimes people think of read-alouds as an activity for younger children, I have seen the benefits of reading aloud with my high school students as well. For starters, students who struggle with reading independently can relax and focus only on the content when someone else is reading, which helps them increase their comprehension. It is good for students of any age to hear fluent, expressive reading. During read-alouds, reading strategies such as questioning, predicting, summarizing and inferring are modeled and reinforced. As students become more comfortable with the process, classroom discussion grows past the basic recitation of facts and moves in the direction of true understanding. Another benefit of read-alouds is that students who may not be capable of independently reading a grade level novel are exposed to more developed plot lines and characters.
Anderson, R.C., Hiebert, E.H., Scott, J.A., & Wilkinson, I.A.G. (1985). Becoming a
nation of readers: The report of the Commission on Reading. Washington, DC:
National Academy of Education, Commission on Education and Public Policy.�
Reading aloud is proven to improve students’ literacy skills in all areas–reading, writing, listening and speaking. Though sometimes people think of read-alouds as an activity for younger children, I have seen the benefits of reading aloud with my high school students as well. For starters, students who struggle with reading independently can relax and focus only on the content when someone else is reading, which helps them increase their comprehension. It is good for students of any age to hear fluent, expressive reading. During read-alouds, reading strategies such as questioning, predicting, summarizing and inferring are modeled and reinforced. As students become more comfortable with the process, classroom discussion grows past the basic recitation of facts and moves in the direction of true understanding. Another benefit of read-alouds is that students who may not be capable of independently reading a grade level novel are exposed to more developed plot lines and characters.