Winston-Salem / Forsyth County Schools Interactive Read Alouds

Time Spent Reading Each Day < 1 minute Exposed to 8,000 words per year 4.6 minutes Exposed to 282,000 words per year 20 minutes Exposed to 1,800,000 words per year Statistics derived from Shaywitz, S. (2003)

Instructional Level Grade Level Grade Level Grade Level Grade Level Independent Level

What is a Read Aloud? 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. From: The Components of Effective Read Alouds Adapted by Laura Beltchenko

What is a Read Aloud? Today’s read-aloud is a vibrant, deliberate part of good teaching. It is an essential and effective strategy for delivering sophisticated literacy ideas to learners and consumers of language. Laminanck and B. Wadsoworth, Learning Under the Influence of Language and Literature.

The Importance of a Read Aloud We can enhance children’s language, vocabulary, comprehension, and cognitive development through the process of a teacher reading text aloud to students. As a result, this gives students exposure to rich vocabulary and concepts that they may not be able to read and comprehend independently. Some students come to school with vocabulary gaps – studies show the effects that the gaps have on later reading development. Read to learn- connect to content – listening comprehension develops first and is a precursor to independent reading comprehension. Even is a student can not read on their own, they need to learn it (knowledge) and are able to comprehend.

Why Read Aloud? Increases vocabulary Scaffolds comprehension Provides knowledge of the world (content) Develops speaking and listening skills Models reading fluency– Students can, “See it in action!” Encourages a love of reading! Levels the playing field – shows students that they can learn from reading-helps them make connections and build background knowledge for later. Answering/asking questions – listening to complex text See foundational skills in action Students follow along and read along in their head- models expression and accuracy Students of all ages love to be read to – instill that love and be a model of a reader – a positive reading experience

Why Are We Not Seeing Results With Traditional Read Alouds? Teacher reads just once Students sit and JUST listen Time filler at the end of the day No connection to classroom learning

Rich Read Alouds Are purposeful Are worth re-reading Connect and integrate across disciplines Maintain a balance between informational and literary text Actively involve students in the learning The texts were chosen and planned carefully and purposefully – not just chosen on a whim Complex texts that offer students more and more with every reading – its okay to read more than once – should be read more than once Build background knowledge around a concept/topic – can level the playing field of background knowledge for literacy and content areas Helps us meet the 50/50 requirement of the CCSS Sporadic, unrelated readings and activities do not help young students build knowledge. Coherent texts that are connected to other parts of their day will deepen their level of understanding and learning. Should be texts that they can not read on their own – most complex text can not be read by a student on their own – still offers learning, skills, and knowledge that all students need to be exposed to and learning. Students still listen to the story but are part of the learning by asking/answering questions, speaking/listening, writing tasks/activities.

Choosing a Text Meaning Structure Knowledge Language Layers of meaning Purpose Concept complexity Text features Genre Organization From Student Achievement Partners… A way to think about and organize the elements that need you take into consideration as you are choosing texts for your text set. Quantitative, qualitative (is it appropriate?), reader & task Vocabulary Sentence length and structure Figurative language Regional/historical usage (dialects) Background Experiences From Student Achievement Partners

I’ve Chosen My Text, Now What? Pre-read and re-read the text Anticipate where background knowledge needs to be built Identify the strategy and/or process at work in the text Identify vocabulary to pre-teach or teach within context to model vocabulary strategies Highlight places to refer back to for talking points Most vocabulary is learned indirectly through listening and reading. In the case of listening, it is hard wired. In K-2 most words are learned through listening and generally not what they read themselves. After grade 2, most vocabulary is gained through reading. To grow vocabulary, students must be able to read complex text. (Standard 10) The more words you know the more you learn (Biemiller 2010, Stanovich 1986) Reading or listening to a series of text on the same topic can yield as much as four times the vocabulary growth (Landauer and Dumais 1997) 100 years of research connects vocabulary and comprehension (Whipple, 1925, NAEP 2012)

My Teacher is a MONSTER! (No I am Not) by Peter Brown 2016 North Carolina Children’s Book Award Nominee

My Teacher is a MONSTER! (No I am Not) Meaning- moderately complex. Students have to understand that the teacher is not really a monster (her transformation occurs throughout the illustrations. Structure- Narrative. Level H-I Language- Language is not complex. Dialogue is within speech bubbles. Knowledge- school age students would have the necessary background knowledge.

Gravity by Jason Chin RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. RL.K.2 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details. RL.K.3 With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. RL.K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts). RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson. RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. RL.1.9 Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.

The Cart That Carried Martin by Eve Bunting

Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio