One of my favourite things to do as a teacher is read aloud to my classes. We are currently enjoying the 'Little House' series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. There is enough interest and action for both girls and boys in these books. Particularly the second story 'Little House on the Prairie'. My class this year seems to have a particular interest in the historical aspects and we often look up pictures of the real people (photos on the internet) and places on a map.
Reading aloud to children helps in a number of ways:
1. The teacher models expressive reading (many students need to hear your voice to understand fully how to move from a robotic reading style to a more conversational and expressive fluidity of thought and speech patterns). Yes, I model different voices, accents and affect when I'm reading...much more entertaining :) Developing fluid and expressive reading is especially important if you have second language learners in your classroom that may not be hearing English spoken regularly in their home.
2. Understanding the link between speech and print. Have you ever heard a word spoken and then realized that when you have been reading it, you were pronouncing it wrong? I have some funny ones I recall hearing for the first time; the proper pronunciations of such word like the name Seamus, or gazebo or the singer's name Sade. You do not even want to know how I thought they were pronounced!
3. To help children develop stronger vocabularies and more sophisticated language structures. A great example happened to us recently. In the 'Little House' book there is a chapter called 'Fever and Ague'. Since I wasn't entirely familiar with that term, I modeled how to look up the word and make sense of it in context (turns out it is malaria). As well we had a very interesting class discussion about pioneer misconceptions about illness (comparing what we know now to what they thought then).
4. To increase attention span
Consider the amount of visual changes that occur when watching television or working with apps on an Ipad. Listening to a story allows for that 'slow, deep learning' that enables students to incubate ideas, discuss, ask questions and focus for longer duration. In my class, I also allow a kinesthetic activity such as knitting or corking to happen while I am reading aloud a book for enjoyment. (Not to be confused for when I am reading a 'mentor text' to be followed by a lesson...If this type of book is being read I usually set a context or purpose why we are listening so they know what to listen for).
5. To introduce different genres and writing styles
Many of the books and series that we have read this year provide students with an overview of what is available at our own Florence Meares library. I know our librarian Mr. Cann has often said that my students know what interests them, are highly interested in certain authors and make requests about subjects/authors/genres with great sophistication. I love to hear that :) I especially like watching students who like similar books read together...like a mini Oprah book club!
If this topic interests you, consider reading more on this subject here: http://www.education.com/reference/article/reasons-read-aloud-children/
Some of the subject headings are from this article but I personalized the explanations to help you understand what that looks like in our classroom.
If we want to help children learn to use cognition, imagination, and all six cues when they read, we need to get them excited about reading through energetic guidance and proactive practice. One of the most effective ways to guide children into becoming stronger readers and to give them the necessary mental practice for doing so is to read aloud to them every day. There is no substitute for regularly reading aloud to children; when we do so, we are helping them create meaning the way they do naturally—via the ear (Sanders 1995)
Class News:
Stay tuned for information about our last class trip to the Burlington Art Centre in June.
May 14th - Class butterflies (larvae) arrive
Time is flying by. Report card information soon!
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