Today I’m sharing tips and tricks for doing interactive read alouds in your classroom.
I remember the day my entire class was engaged. We were sitting in our chairs, hanging on every word as our teacher read Letters from Rifka. What would happen in Ellis Island? After everything she’d endured, would Rifka finally join her family in America? Or would she be sent back to Poland?
There’s nothing like a riveting read aloud to keep your class’s attention.
Even if that class is made up of 20-year-olds.
It was my Children’s Literature class in college. My professor read to us every day to impress on us the importance of reading aloud to our future students.
He was right, of course. Reading aloud has countless benefits.
Read alouds …
- provide a model of good reading
- motivate our students to read on their own
- develop background knowledge
- improve reading comprehension
- boost vocabulary
- promote critical thinking skills
- develop oral language and listening skills through class discussions
- create a sense of community in the classroom
Isn’t reading aloud enough? Do they need to be interactive?
It’s clear that read alouds are important. Is it necessary to make them interactive? After all, we have enough things to think about during the teaching day. Can’t we just pull a great book of the shelf, enjoy it with our students, and call it good enough?
I’ll be the first to say that not every read aloud needs to be interactive. There are plenty of times, especially in K-2, when we grab a book because we need to fill a couple minutes. Maybe we’re waiting for our turn getting pictures taken. Or the bus is late for the field trip. Or we’ve got ten minutes left of the school day and we just. can’t. even.
What makes a read aloud interactive?
It’s clear that read alouds are valuable – even those where the teacher reads and the students passively listen. But it’s a shame to stop there. We plan the rest of our teaching. Why shouldn’t we think more about our read alouds?
An interactive read aloud is purposeful and planned for. You choose a book before you meet with your students, determine teaching points (such as skills and vocabulary), and (if you’d like) jot them down on sticky notes. Put those notes at the places in the book where you plan to stop and talk. Then read and enjoy!
In an interactive read aloud you might …
Do these things before you read
- talk about the author and illustrator
- take a sneak peek at the book before you read (read the back or inside summary)
- examine the table of contents
- invite students to discuss what they already know about the topic
- make predictions about what will be in the text
Do these things as you read
- stop to examine new vocabulary words
- think aloud as you read
- invite students to make connections to the text
- encourage students to interact with the book by having them talk to a partner, act out a sentence or short part of the book, make a quick sketch or note, or participate in a class discussion
Do these things after you read
- ask students to retell the story
- have students name things they learned
- check predictions
How long should an interactive read aloud take?
It’s easy to let a read aloud take thirty minutes. If you have that kind of room in your schedule, go for it! Most of us are short on time in our balanced literacy block. In that case, 10-15 minutes a day is a great goal.
When you’re just starting out – and aren’t sure how you’ll find time to plan for yet another thing – try just one interactive read aloud a week. Read aloud on the other four days, certainly, but focus your attention on an interactive read aloud on one special day. Eventually, add more days.
Many teachers read the same book over several days. They read the book in its entirety the first day, then revisit parts of the book on subsequent days for deeper teaching points.
What books should you read?
Not every book is a great fit for an interactive read aloud. Usually we want to read books that are above the level that most of our students can read on our own. We want books that are a good match for our students developmentally, emotionally and socially. We want books that easily lend themselves to teaching points.
And, always, we want to read books that we enjoy.
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We use Five in a Row for part of our homeschool curriculum. It’s all about interactive read alouds and we LOVE it! It’s amazing how much you can learn by reading the same story book for an entire week. And, as a mama of four, I love that the interactive activities are all laid out for me. It’s a grab and go that’s given me confidence as a home educator.
I haven’t used that program, but I’ve heard great things about it!
Is there a place to get a list for grades 3-5?
I’m sorry, I don’t have one here, but I think a lot of these books could also work for older students. Here’s a product on TPT. The product description may be what you’re looking for!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Interactive-Read-Aloud-A-Years-Worth-Great-Read-Alouds-2531185
How do I find info on Five in a Row program? I loved this post. I will educate myself using the resources and book list and plan on doing it as soon as possible. I read to my granddaughter for 30 to 40 minutes a night and look forward to this new activity.
Yvonne, you can find info about Five in a Row at http://fiveinarow.com/. They have three different series. Before Five in a Row is geared toward 2-4 year olds, Five in a Row for 4-8 year olds, and Beyond Five in a Row for 8-12 year olds. I hope you like it as much as we do!
I teach 3 year olds and am so grateful that you posted the article at the reading rockets website.
You can be sure I will up my game when I read. I already sometimes gasp when ‘the problem’ becomes obvious, and comment, “Oh, this is terrible.” and then describe the problem to the class, but I didn’t realize I should always do that and more besides!
Thanks for continuing to give us best practices to use with our little students!
Chris, a daycare center teacher
It sounds like you’re doing a great job, Chris! Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂