Same Books … Different Strategies

I participated in a Celebrity Read Aloud at an elementary school yesterday (not that I am a celebrity but I enjoying reading aloud). I read to a 1st grade classes and one 4th grade class. I misread the email and thought I would be reading to two 1st grade classes, so I picked books appealing to that age group to bring with me to read.

At the beginning of the day, two students holding a poster with my name on it came to accompany me to their first grade classroom. The poster was decorated and signed by all the students. I sat in a rocking chair with children at my feet and started reading the stories. We made faces. We talked ab0ut what we noticed in the pictures. Students made connections. We also brainstormed what we thought would happen next if the story continued. At the end, I got a thank you note and was accompanied back to the waiting area. I was feeling really good about the experience.

A few minutes later, I saw two more students approaching with my name on a sign. Those students looked bigger than the first pair of students.  After we had our picture made, I followed them to their class. As soon as I stepped in the classroom, I knew it was not a 1st grade class. Looking around the room, I saw lists of latin root word, math terms like probability, and novels … not a first grade class. I knew I was now in a 4th grade class without even asking (I taught 4th grade for years).  So I thought that I might have a problem since I had books that I picked out to read to first grade classes. I reminded myself that children of all ages enjoy read alouds.

As I was reading the first story, I noticed which parts of the story the students in this class noticed (it was not the same parts as the first grade class). So I also responded to the story in different ways. I thought back to my “4th grade teacher” days and focused on some of 4th grade skills.  We talked about what we noticed about the words (how certain words sounds and some rhymed). We still discussed what we noticed in the pictures but also made mention of how the pictures added to the story events. One of the stories was very repetitive in certain parts, so the 4th graders read along with me some.

I think the children in this class enjoyed these books just like the children in the first grade classes.  I used the same stories but focused on different skills to involve and engage the students in the read aloud time.  I had a good time and I hope they did too!