Reading Aloud with a Purpose: Tips for Taking Read Aloud Time to the Next Level

Are you looking to make your read aloud time with children more purposeful and engaging? Look no further! In this article, we will provide you with valuable tips on how to take your read aloud time to the next level. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or caregiver, these strategies will help you create a memorable and impactful reading experience where students enjoy what is being read, but also learn valuable reading comprehension skills.

The Importance of Reading Aloud

“The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children”- US Department of Education Becoming a Nation of Readers

Reading aloud is one of the most beneficial parts of your academic day. Students can learn so much during a read aloud session if you are focused and intentional about the time you spend reading aloud. Making sure you are reading aloud at least once a day, if not more, is essential to thrive in a literacy classroom.

Preparing for a Purposeful Read Aloud Session

When you want the read aloud you are doing to truly be purposeful, you have to prepare first. You don’t have to read the entire selection and have notes throughout, but you need to have an idea of what you are reading. 

Before reading aloud plan…

• 1-2 spots in the book where you will stop and do a think aloud on the skill you are working on (this could be a comprehension skill, a phonics skill, or even a vocabulary skill)
• Find a few vocabulary words that you can focus on throughout the selection. Choose words that you can either look at the meaning behind, show students how to phonetically figure out the spelling, or just words that you can discuss.
• Create 1-2 stopping points where you can ask a question that students can discuss with partners and then answer aloud

Engaging Children During Read Alouds

How do you make sure students understand what you are reading? Well the first part is making sure they are paying attention. If students are bored with the read aloud, you are probably not going to get as much out of them as you intended for. Here are a few ways to keep them engaged during the read aloud.

• Pick books that they are interested in. If you notice your most reluctant readers are interested in a specific topic, then find books on that topic! Want some ideas for my favorite read alouds? Check out this blog post. 
• Move around, change your voice, and use your body language to make the read aloud more interesting! The more you can be active during your read aloud, the better off you will be. 
• Add moments of shock and awe. I love to randomly get really loud during a part of a book, hide a picture from them and reveal it after I am done reading, or even sit down and stand up during specific parts. The more I can shock them, the more they want to listen to be prepared.
• Always make sure they know that they can be called on to talk about the book at any time. I don’t really always have my kids raise their hands during a read aloud. If they don’t know the answer they can always phone a friend, so there is no stress, but I want them to always be prepared to talk.

 

Incorporating Discussion and Comprehension Strategies

A purposeful read aloud is going to teach kids how to comprehend the text that is being read, that is the point. But how can you do that? The best way is through a “think aloud”.

What is a think aloud? A think aloud is where the teacher specifically shows how to think through the comprehension strategy. So it could look like this..

“After reading that page, I got a little confused. So, now I am going to check and see if I understood what I read by rereading the selection.” Then, you reread and state,  “now that I reread, I understand and I can summarize what I read by….”  

You can do think-alouds with so many different skills. For vocabulary it might look like this…

“I just came across a word that I do not know.” Put the word on the board. “First, I am going to use my syllable rules to break it down and figure out how it is pronounced. Then, I am going to use context clues to figure out its meaning.”

The more you think aloud and example the more the kids will be able to do that as well. Then, you can have a student come up and think out loud how to figure out a word or solve a discussion question. 

I would make it a goal to do 2 think-alouds per read aloud session and 2 times where you ask the students a question to answer on their own or with a partner. 

Making Connections Between the Story and Real-life Situations

The best way to really bring a read-aloud to life is by making connections to what is happening in the read world around them. Find books that relate to the situations they are seeing on a daily basis, find books with topics that interest them, and find books that can relate to what is going on in the classroom. Then, talk about how it relates.

For example, reading Third Grade Angles by Jerry Spinelli at the start of third grade relates to what they are actually going through. You can easily discuss how the main character relates and differs from the situation they are in.

If you have a student who has a baby sibling in the classroom, a Cam Jansen story is great because Cam has a baby sibling who they talk about often in the story.

If your students are super into animals, reading Who Would Win books is a great way to engage them in nonfiction content.

You get the gist! Go into picking read alouds while thinking about your students and not just the skill. You can teach almost every skill with any book, but you can’t make connections and engage with every book, so start with your students.

Taking your Read Aloud Time to the Next Level

Now that you have picked literature that engages and relates to your students, created meaningful think-alouds and discussions, and had fun with your students it is time to take it to the next level.

Some ways to do this are…

• Focus your writing around a mentor text. Read alouds make great starting points for a writing prompt and masterpiece. You can read here how to do that!
• Add novel studies and book clubs into your yearly routine to allow students to practice those read aloud skills on their own. Here is all the information about those!
• Allow students/parents/community members to come in and read aloud to your class to add engagement to read aloud.