Read Aloud is a strategy in which a teacher sets aside time to read orally to students on a consistent basis from texts above their independent reading level but at their listening level.
Five steps for reading aloud in the classroom
I have found, however, that many
teachers are uncomfortable with reading aloud to children. They are afraid to
step out of the box and “become” the character in fear of looking silly or
doing it incorrectly. Reading aloud might feel unnatural. In an effort to help
teachers become more comfortable with reading aloud below are some tips to help
story time be a rich and meaningful experience for everyone.
Be mindful of your audienceand choose a story that
matches the intellectual and emotional level of your students. Predictable stories and stories with lots of repetition are perfect
for preschoolers. Fairy tales and chapter books are great for older children.
Choose stories you loved as a child and are excited to share with your
students. Your enthusiasm will be contagious!
Practice reading the story
aloud before sharing it with your students.
Practice will give you the confidence needed to read aloud with emphasis. As
you are practicing, think of examples and real-life situations to help build
the background knowledge of your students and ways to help them relate to the
story. Also, try to develop some open-ended questions to reinforce
comprehension.
Use your voice to paint the
picture. Your voice can be used as a prop. It can
be loud or soft, fast or slow, high or low, angry or kind. Your voice can
express rhythm and rhyme and can be music to the ears of your audience.
Facial expressions and body
language are crucial. Facial expressions and
gestures can help children understand new vocabulary. Encourage children to
interact by using the gestures to describe what they see in the pictures,
repeating phrases, or having them mimic your facial expressions. The more
involved the students the more they will learn and the more they will
comprehend of the story.
Lastly, make the book
available to students after you have finished reading it. This important
step allows children to look at and interact with the story on their terms and
at their pace. Children can reflect upon the story and relate it to their
world.
Creating the read aloud atmosphere
·
Allow time for students
to settle as you make yourself comfortable. Whether you are sitting in a low
chair or on the floor, be sure that each child can see the book. Remember, you
are creating a community of learners. If they have to elbow each other to see
it will defeat your efforts.
Interactions in Reading Aloud
-
Before reading a book about sharks, the teacher
asked the students to tell what they knew about the commonly feared creatures.
The teacher was momentarily surprised when one student said that her older
sister had swum with sharks. Fortunately, the teacher followed up with more
discussion.
|
Teacher:
|
Araceli, did your sister really swim with sharks?
Was she in the ocean with sharks?
|
|
Araceli:
|
Yeah, at Sea World, but in the big pool.
|
|
Teacher:
|
Oh, did your family visit Sea World and did your
sister swim in the pool with sharks? Or was it with dolphins?
|
|
Araceli:
|
Yeah, that's right, with some dolphins.
|
|
Teacher:
|
So, are dolphins and sharks the same? Or are they
different ocean animals?
|
|
Araceli:
|
Maybe they different?
|
|
Teacher:
|
OK, let's read this book and see if we can learn how
sharks and dolphins are the same or different. Thank you, Araceli, for
telling us something about your trip to Sea World.
|
-
During
a shared reading about reptiles with a small group of English language learners,
a boy named Jorge was very interested in the section on turtles. He excitedly
responded to the teacher's open-ended question, "What do you know about
turtles?"
|
Jorge:
|
Turtles can go.
|
|
Teacher:
|
Yes, turtles can go, but where and how?
|
|
Jorge:
|
Turtles go maybe fast over.
|
|
Teacher:
|
Jorge, tell me more about how turtles go?
|
|
Jorge:
|
A turtle go over the road to be safe. I know because
I saw it.
|
|
Teacher:
|
Yes, Jorge, turtles sometimes cross over the road. I
have also seen turtles cross a road, and I am glad when they make it all the
way across, aren't you?
|
|
Jorge:
|
Yeah, go, go turtles!
|
Tips
for Read-Alouds
1. The
teacher should consider how a read-aloud selection will support a particular
unit or enhance the students' independent reading. For example, if the class is
studying character, the teacher might choose a book in which strong characters
change significantly over the course of the book. The teacher might also choose
texts that are generally more difficult than those the students could read on
their own.
2. Teachers
should also choose texts that reflect the culture and/or language of students
or that facilitate a cross-cultural experience. When Alma Flor Ada, the author
of My Name Is María Isabel, visits the class, she speaks in both Spanish and
English, translating from one language to the other. Teachers might invite
family or community members to read literature from their cultures.
3. Teachers
should read aloud from various genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry,
informational text, and children's books. This shows the students how different
genres sound. The class might also enjoy fiction and nonfiction texts on the
same topic.
4. Teachers
can let the students choose read-aloud selections.
5. Read-aloud
sessions should be kept to 20 minutes or less.
Benefits of using read alouds
One of the most important things adults can do in
preparing children for success in school and in reading is to read aloud with
them.
• Listeners
build listening and comprehension skills through discussion before, during and
after reading.
• Listeners
increase their vocabulary foundation by hearing words in context.
• Listeners
improve their memory and language skills as they hear a variety of writing
styles and paraphrase their understanding.
• Listeners
gain information about the world around them.
• Listeners
develop individual interests in a broad variety of subjects and they develop
imagination and creativity: what better way to build skills which foster
inquiry?
• Other
suggestions and benefits are in the Education World article at: http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr213.shtml.
Benefits of Read-Alouds
Read-alouds enable teachers to offer texts with more
challenging concepts and/or language than students can read independently.
The read-aloud strategy helps English-language
learners develop new vocabulary and syntactic awareness.
Reading aloud builds good reading habits. It
stimulates imaginations and emotions; models good reading processes; exposes
students to a range of literature; enriches vocabularies and rhetorical
sensitivity; elucidates difficult texts; helps to distinguish different genres;
supports independent reading; and encourages a lifelong enjoyment of reading.
Read-alouds show students how to question, visualize,
and make predictions while they read.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar