Interactive Read Aloud

What is an Interactive Read-Aloud?

An interactive read-aloud is a whole-group instructional context in which you read aloud 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. (Fountas & Pinnell)

What are the research based benefits of an interactive read aloud?

• Gives experiences with language that requires students to make sense of ideas.

• Enhances imagination, creativity, memory, and curiosity.

• Grows background knowledge and understanding of universal concepts.

• Helps students make connections across cultures to real life situations.

• Increases students' listening skills and attention spans.

• Supports learning about conventions of texts.

• Permits students to hear what proficient reading sounds like.

• Introduces students to the pleasures of reading and texts of all kinds.

• Builds classroom community.

• Promotes discussions about topics in critical and significant ways.

• Improves independent reading proficiency.

• Encourages children to focus on important text ideas and reflect on them.

• Increases students' interest in independent reading.