Think Aloud
Using a think-aloud strategy in all content areas, for all ages, is one step towards recovering an apprenticeship style of learning, something that has a legacy of great success and efficacy.
Source: Article by Elena Aguilar, 2013
Thinking Strategies - Activate -Think Aloud.pdfthink_aloud_phrases.pdf
Yes, it's great for English teachers modeling how to analyze narrative texts, but what about for other forms of text?
Online post - Thinking aloud in Mathematics; this post links to a Strategy guide which features a Gr 6 Think Aloud Lesson on Fractions
EduGains Adolescent Literacy (Ontario) - Site provides some videos showing specific subject examples of Think Alouds in the Classroom
n a small research study undertaken by a Masters student at Portland University in 2013, the study provided evidence that a think aloud protocol improved students’ ability to read and understand high school level science texts.
'Reading online texts requires specific metacognitive strategies that allow readers to stay engaged in self directed paths of text processing' (Coiro and Dobler 2007). The authors of this Italian journal article from 2016 believe that the think-aloud process is a vital reading strategy for modeling how to process online texts. They have developed a Think-Aloud Teacher's Guide for modeling how to Access info (find the right answers) and how to Analyze (compare sites with differing information).
Well-executed think-alouds do not emerge extemporaneously. They require thoughtful preparation, knowledge of the chosen text, and a meaningful connection between the text and the appropriate comprehension strategies.
Source: Article by Molly Ness, 2018
Students Becoming Proficient With Think Alouds
Typically, the teachers models a think aloud. However, in this blog, the author describes how to shift gears and have students learn to think aloud. Here is another post with step-by-step instructions for helping students Think Aloud, Think Along or Think Together.
Below, you'll find two variations of a Think-Aloud Checklist that students can use to monitor the types of thinking they are doing.
