Balanced LiteracyInteractive Read-aloud

Reading is about mind journeysand teaching reading is about outfitting the traveler: modeling how to use the map, demonstrating the key and the legend, supporting the travelers as they lose their way and take circuitous routes until they are off on their own.

(Ellin O.Keene and Susan Zimmerman in “Mosaic of Thought”)

Read-Alouds are a tool teachers use to show

students the way.

Research has demonstrated that the most effective read-alouds are those  in which children are actively involved asking and answering questions and making predictions rather than  passively listening...

Effective read-alouds include  four components:

• book introduction• vocabulary support techniques • analytical comments & questions• and an after reading “why” questions

Lea M. McGee & Judith A. Schickendanz in 5/2007 The Reading Teacher

Choose a focus for each read-aloud. Share it with your students.

Don’t try to do it all in one lesson.

Model correct reading behaviors.

Read with Fluency and Expression!

Activate Prior KnowledgeBook Introduction ……..Before Reading

Examine the book- its cover, pictures, pages together and ask students

what they already know. Have children question: Ask them

what they want to know. Turn the title into a question to  encourage reflection. 

Discussion question: why is prior knowledge important? Building or Scaffolding are keys. Learning making connections. It’s opening the correct file.

Use picture clues, root words, read on, reread, make notes. Use think-aloud comments.

Vocabulary Support Techniques

Does part of this word sound

familiar?

That’s a tricky word. Let me read that part again to

see if there are any clues to help us

understand.

This word is important to

the topic. Let’s add it to our word wall.We should make

a note of that new word.

Analytical Comments and Questions When I finish a

chapter, I always think about what

just happened and ask myself, “what

will happen when…”

This part tells about the

setting: where the story takes

place.

So our prediction

didn’t work out. Do we need to make a new prediction?

Wow. That was a good topic sentence. It gives me the big

picture. Now I’ll look for the details.

I need to compare what the author is

telling with what I know about ____.

Maybe she’s upset. I need to think about

that. How is she feeling?

Let’s look at the table of contents. It will tell us how the book is

organized.

After ReadingAsk questions to confirm understanding. Ask open-ended questions to generate discussion like: "What did you think of that book?" "How did the author ...?" “What did the book remind you of? Why?" “What is the main conflict in the story and how was it resolved?”“How did the book make you feel?“Do you share the authors opinion about __?”“What is the main idea or theme? Why?”

Is the student able to make connections between the style of this story and that of other stories they’ve read or viewed?

Can the student comment on the author’s technique? Can the student relate real-life experiences to experiences portrayed

in the text? Is the student able to recognize their position of shared knowledge

with the main character? Does the demonstrate empathy with the character?

Can the student identify the mood of the story? Is the student able to identify character traits? Is the student able to identify problems and solutions in the story? Can the organize information using a structure such as the 5Ws? Can the student infer what will happen next? Can the student scan the text to find specific information? Is the student able to explore an idea presented in the text? Does the student ask questions to facilitate understanding? Is the student able to explain clearly their idea to others? Can the student rewrite a narrative using the structure of a factual

recount?

Comprehension Assessment

Grading:

With ease and while extending: Excellence _____With good accuracy after practice and with some support: Proficient ____With extensive support and can only answer lower level questions: Basic __With limited success even with adaptations: Progressing Towards Grade Level

OPEN FOR DISCUSSION!

Intensive

Targeted

Universal

Discussion Question:

Can we meet the needs of all students in a read-aloud? How?

How do we create independent readers?

3 Tiers of Intervention

Children's writer Madeline L'Engle says,

"Readers sometimes grossly underestimate their own importance." This is particularly true of less experienced readers. As developing readers realize their inner conversation and begin to focus on their own thoughts and questions, reading takes on new importance. When readers interact with the text by thinking about their questions, writing them down, and pondering answers, they comprehend at a much deeper level. Classrooms change when readers begin to believe their thinking matters.”

A Final Thought