After reading the prompt for the post this week and then looking back at the readings I kept coming back to read alouds. Perhaps this is because as of now read alouds have been the most prominent contribution that I’ve made in my classroom. When I was told that I was responsible for a daily read aloud I was excited to have an active role with the class but considered it a minute one. How much could students in 4th grade really get out of listening to me read? Yes, it’s a nice break for them but how does this really help them with their literacy or what do they take away from it other than hearing my voice. I knew that read alouds were a good tool to help students with comprehension and fluency but wasn't aware of the extent to which it could benefit students.
When used correctly a read aloud is an integral part of literacy, it incorporates different aspects and builds up on them. In the readings it discussed how to create a successful literacy program for students including read alouds. In my placement they use many of these key ideas such as guided reading groups, literacy blocks, and word study. While we have a read a loud, it’s not incorporated in any other parts of instruction. The readings gave examples of how teachers took the books they were reading a loud and created book clubs and units that focused or related to that same book. I know I’ve only been there for 3 days but so far I have yet to see this happen with my own read aloud book, it’s disconnected from everything else. With this being said, I’d like to learn more about how to make all the different parts of literacy instruction relate so that a student can combine them all into a solid understanding.. I feel confident that I know about which elements of literacy need to be included in lessons and how you can easily integrate them into other subject areas as well. I do think I could still learn about how to better help students who are struggling with literacy concepts and what can be done to better equip them and their learning. I am excited to see guided reading and work with reading groups. This is something I’ve learned about and have discussed in classes but have not yet been able to experience first hand
I found it interesting to read that one of your main contributions thus far in the classroom has been through read alouds. Unfortunately I am in the opposite situation; I have not had any chance to read aloud to my students. We do have a ready aloud each day for fifteen minutes during snack time but my mentor teacher really enjoys doing it and has read to the students each day of the school year so far. I also thought your comment about how you didn’t think fourth graders would benefit all that much from a read aloud each day. I felt the exact same way when I was planning with my teacher, I thought it was a little strange that nine and ten year olds were being read to each day and he made it seem like this was a block of time he had to keep consistent each day which at the time I thought was not necessary. Of course as you said read alouds are helpful in the way of comprehension and fluency, that is a given but I was very surprised to see the benefits of the read aloud in class each day thus far. My mentor has done a tremendous job of using the book he reads to the children during the read aloud in many different ways other than simply reading to the children. First off he frequently asks comprehension questions to the children throughout reading to the kids. Secondly he has the children make predictions, as well as questions the text during the reading time. Also as you were saying how using the read aloud can be used in all different aspects of building upon literacy, I did not realize that was happening with the read aloud in my classroom until I read your response. I realized last Friday we did a reading lesson that focused on finding “interesting words” in the texts we read. Later in the day when we did the read aloud he found specific “interesting words” in the read aloud text and it was a great review of what the kids had learned in the earlier reading lesson. Secondly during a writing workshop my mentor teacher was about to use a scenario that was happening in the read aloud book to help the students engage and understand the topic of writing for that workshop. I found the kids to really benefit from this strategy. I agree with you that the read aloud can be a great tool in teaching literacy to students. I look forward to the many different ways I will use read alouds to improve my students’ grasp on the many diverse parts of literacy.
ReplyDeleteI love read alouds with all of my heart! Yes, my fourth graders can read on their own (most of them), but I can share my enthusiasm and love of reading with them through a read aloud. Even fourth graders cannot take their ears and eyes away when you are showing them that you enjoy what you are reading to them. I have had the pleasure of leading a few read alouds since the school year began, and I would love to continue to do so. Watching the children respond to the text and form questions of their own about the reading is encouraging to me.
ReplyDeleteWhen discussing my involvement in literacy lessons this semester, my mentor teacher encouraged me to consider leading an entire read aloud on my own. We've talked about using The Invention of Hugo Cabret, since Martin Scorsese is releasing the Hollywood version of the graphic novel in November (http://www.hugomovie.com). She has used the book/movie combination in the past and noted that the students really loved making connections between print and screen versions of the same story. If you're interested in doing the same thing, I'd love to collaborate.
It is interesting to hear about your thought process regarding your understanding of read alouds in your classroom, because my thoughts have followed a similar progression. My teacher usually does the read alouds for my class, but offered to me the chance to do the read aloud on one or two days already. While I like doing this, I did not have the highest respect that the teaching technique, read aloud deserves. I also did not see it as a critical component to students development of fluency and comprehension. This Summer when I was teaching 8th graders in an urban setting, one thing that we were required to do was spend a portion of our literacy lessons reading aloud. I came to see more and more of the benefit for these children over the course of the Summer program. Many of them were reading at an much lower level than 8th grade and when they read their rhythm and cadence of their reading was very choppy. My reading aloud to them was a great modeling demonstration for them to hear and be reinforced with every day before they completed their own individual reading.
ReplyDeleteIt was really interesting for me to think about the importance of the read aloud and the benefit it has for students. Read aloud models how fluent reading is supposed to sound. It shows how punctuation affects how the sentence is read. It provides an example for the students of reading with expression. Another hugely important benefit of reading aloud is to allow the students who struggle with decoding a break from something that is exhausting for them. The students are able to listen and enjoy the story while also focusing on comprehending what is being read. I know that I will be extra eager at the next opportunity I have to do reading aloud for my class!