Reading books is just what teachers do, but why? Are you wondering what a teacher read aloud is all about? In this post, I’m going to share with you exactly what it is, and why it’s so important in your classroom. Read on or press play for more info!
What is a teacher read-aloud?
Reading a book to a group of engaged readers was always how I pictured what teaching was all about, but I learned the hard way that it’s definitely harder than it looks! Read alouds bring students together in order to listen to, think about, talk about and share books, poems and charts.
Students get to not only hear but WATCH a fluent reader in action. Listening to stories is one way for students to enjoy books at many different levels across many different genres. If students have previous literacy experiences from home, it builds on that. If they do not have previous literacy experiences, then it lays an awesome foundation for them!
What’s the purpose of a read-aloud?
So what’s the purpose? I want to clarify……..
Yes, a lot of times we have to read books to touch on our literacy standards, but it goes even deeper than that. Even if you never ask about characters, the setting of the story, and what the author’s purpose was (meaning, you’re reading the book just for fun), there are many things that come about as a result of doing read-alouds in your classroom.
One thing is thatthat students are surrounded by quality literature. This means that sometimes that means we need to bypass books just because they’re popular or it’s what everyone reads during this time.
You are modeling print awareness, which helps to develop their concepts of books and print. You are also improving their listening skills, because many times students aren’t used to listening carefully!
Depending on the texts that you choose, students begin to develop an understanding of the language in books and also the structure of stories, nonfiction texts, and poetry.
What are the benefits of a read-aloud?
By conducting daily read-alouds, it promotes reading – when your students see you are excited, then it’s definitely contagious! How many times have we seen students who weren’t fans of listening to stories, come to love read aloud time? Then they start asking if you can read books about specific things!
It also brings your class together. Nothing says community like a bunch of kids sitting together on the carpet. It is a safe space in our classroom where all children are welcome. It creates a space for shared experiences that your students will talk about all year. Another benefit of read-alouds is that it will most certainly increase their vocabulary and spark conversations.
I’ve been an avid reader all of my life, and I love to share how wonderful books can be with my students. Reading opened up a world of possibilities for me and I want that for my students as well.
So what are some next steps when it comes to read-alouds? If you’re looking to get started or consistently incorporate more read-alouds into your day, I have the perfect thing for you!
The Literacy Diner was created to include 4 read-alouds for each month, and has everything that you need! From questions to student-response pages, anchor charts, and crafts! If you want to take a peek at what it looks like, you can head over and read more about it and see it in action here and here. You can check it out all of the resources over in Keri’s shop right here.
