IRA K-5

What is Interactive Read-Aloud?

During interactive read-aloud, you read a selected text to the whole class, occasionally and selectively pausing for conversation. Students think about, talk about, and respond to the text as a whole group or in pairs, triads, or quads. Both reader and listeners actively process the language, ideas, and meaning of the text.

What Interactive Read-Aloud Looks Like

Be sure that all students are comfortably seated in the whole-group area and can easily see and hear the text being read aloud. Sit at the front while students are clustered facing you. Alternatively, have students sit on chairs in a horseshoe shape. Allow space for students to turn and talk to each other.

Why Interactive Read-Aloud is Important

As an instructional context, interactive read-aloud:

▸Allows readers to experience rich, interesting texts that are age- and grade-appropriate, regardless of their independent or instructional reading level

▸Provides a context for learning how to talk about texts with others

▸Builds a community of learners with shared literary knowledge

▸Expands knowledge, language, and vocabulary

▸Builds a foundation of mentor texts for reading and writing minilessons

Planning for Interactive Read-Aloud

▸Find times in your schedule when you will read aloud regularly to your class

▸Create a planned sequence of several related texts over a few days or weeks

▸Read the text and think about what makes it engaging and worthwhile

▸Use The Literacy Continuum to think about and determine a few learning goals that will lead students forward in their ability to think and talk about texts

▸Use sticky notes to mark places to ask questions or make brief comments

Structure of an Interactive Read-Aloud Lesson

▸Introduce the text – Engage student interest and activate thinking.

▸Read the text – Stop a few times to invite thinking and a brief conversation. Students may turn and talk in pairs or threes, etc.

▸Discuss the text –Invite students to talk about the book. As students reflect on the meaning of the whole text, guide them toward some of the key understandings and main messages of the text.

▸Revisit the text (optional) – You may want to revisit the book (on the same day or on subsequent days) to reread it, or parts of it, so that students can notice more about how it is crafted and build a deeper meaning.

▸Respond to the text (optional) – Engage students in additional experiences to enhance their appreciation and interpretation of the text, e.g., writing about reading, art, drama, and inquiry-based projects.

Assessment and Record Keeping

As students participate in interactive read-aloud lessons, observe and keep records of student's behaviors and understandings, such as their ability to:

▸Turn and talk about a specific part of the book

▸Use language from the book during discussions

▸Summarize important information

▸Ask genuine questions about the topic or story

▸Respond to reading through writing to demonstrate their thinking within, beyond, and about the book.