How Important Can a Read-Aloud Be?
THE WHY
I used to always stick a read-aloud into my classroom schedule as a means to an end (to keep my students’ attention and pass time until the next appropriate transition). But, when I reflect on how important read-alouds are to my students, I realize that read-alouds 1) allow students to explore various genres (I mean how often have you had the opportunity to dive into magical realism? I recommend reading The Tiger Rising By Kate DiCamillo!), 2) challenge students to exceed their independent reading levels while still meeting their listening levels, and 3) help students make connections to their personal lives and/or explore new worlds.
THE NITTY-GRITTY
Beyond simply hooking students into a lesson, read-alouds build foundational skills, from establishing vocabulary to scaffolding language instruction and developing comprehension. Read-alouds are usually done in a comfortable affective setting that allows all students to enjoy a text in a risk-free/low-stakes learning environment. Students are invited to question, wonder, and present alternative perspectives/opinions before, during, and after the reading processes. Read-alouds are an important part of literacy instruction because they are an act of power and freedom; they offer readers opportunities for critique and transformation.
PUTTING THE PLAN INTO ACTION/A REFLECTIVE EXAMPLE
I taught several lessons using read-alouds of Jacqueline Woodson’s The Other Side and Each Kindness. I asked my fourth graders to compare and contrast themes, and one student noted that in Each Kindness there seemed to be a missed opportunity of friendship because one character made a deliberate choice to not be friends. However, in The Other Side, the two main characters were never given the choice, as discrimination, racism, and segregation deterred a blossoming friendship. My students came to the conclusion that if one is given an opportunity to show kindness and make a friend (despite differences), one should do it because he or she might not get the opportunity later on and regret it. Applying these lessons to real life, my students stated that although showing kindness can be difficult, it is integral to forming a positive community because kindness is free and resonates. (My personal thought is that kindness is best learned by feeling it and doing it; it is important that students know so that they can reproduce it inside and outside of the classroom.)
CONCLUSION
In teaching, you often receive feedback from your students, whether you asked for it or not. On a Wednesday afternoon in October, one of my kindergarteners turned towards me and stated, “Miss Hsiung, I know you’re a good teacher because you read to us a lot.” I was left speechless. It has taken me a long time to reflect on the joyous wonder of being encapsulated by something as childlike and safe as being in a story. Whether it be speaking directly back to Gerald & Piggie in a classic Mo Willems picture book or journeying through a character’s hardships and hopes in Esperanza Rising, a read-aloud has the power to transform any child’s spirit, wonder, and life.
TIPS & TRICKS
1. Create a special space in your classroom for read-alouds (think soft couches/mats and students lying on rugs).
2. Ask students to recommend books they want to explore in your year together. All readers need “sheer joy” read-alouds in the classroom.
3. Keep track of the books that inspire the deepest conversations. Bring those books back at the end of the year for students to reflect on what they have learned throughout the year about themselves and whether their thoughts and opinions have changed.
4. Critical literacy in the form of read-alouds can inspire students to think about/act on social justice issues and equity. Your selected read-aloud texts need to have windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors for your students to thrive.
TAGS
Read-alouds, critical literacy, content area literacy, big ideas