Posts Tagged ‘Read aloud’
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!
Increasing a child’s vocabulary has a direct impact on reading and comprehension. But how does one go about teaching and reinforcing vocabulary?
Teaching isolated words and definitions don’t make an impact on students if the words are not used and forgotten quickly. We learn to read better by reading. We learn to talk better by talking. We can build our vocabulary by learning and using new words both in reading and talking.
Vocabulary is crucial for success in both reading and writing. I want to assist students in gaining new words, but I am not really sure how to accomplish this goal. My school experiences with vocabulary consisted mainly of the teacher handing students lists of words, then the students were instructed to use dictionaries to find definitions. Definitions were memorized only to pass the vocabulary test at the end of the week. After the weekly test, those vocabulary words were rarely referred to again. The lack of usage of vocabulary words did not encourage the memory of the words, so they were quickly forgotten. That is not how I want vocabulary instruction to be in my class. I want students to have repeated exposure to and experience with the words.
Knowing and understanding vocabulary is critical to reading comprehension. Books (like ones you can find on Big Universe) that are read aloud to students can be excellent sources of sophisticated vocabulary words. That makes the Reading Aloud component of a Balanced Literacy Program one of the most highly recommended ways for encouraging language and literacy. The teacher read-aloud is a major opportunity for children to learn the meanings of new words. As children listen to the teacher read, and as they read, they have many opportunities to add words to their vocabulary. Those words that are added can later be used in talking and writing opportunities.
Here are some other resources on the Read Aloud Component:
The best gifts come from the heart – far removed from Rodeo Drive glitz or the cloying clichés repeated over and over in holiday ads.
Forget the tinsel. Give me the belly laugh of a baby, the crushed flower proffered by a toddler, the unexpected hug from a teenager, a chance meeting with an old friend, or a “love ya” note stuck in the bathroom mirror beside the inevitable toothpaste spatters.
Last week, I was volunteering in the nursery on the kindergarten wing at school, when a first-grade teacher peaked through the nursery window. She caught my eye and backtracked to the door.
“I haven’t seen you for ages! How are your girls?” she cried. “I remember when you came in to my class to read ‘The Rainbow Fish’ and did that craft. Then, you came back to read ‘The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey’ to the kids and the Easter lily story. I still have those crafts in my classroom.”
Her enthusiasm was heartwarming. The funny thing is that I didn’t read those stories last year …or even five years ago. No, it was 13 years ago! I invested a little time over a decade ago in my daughter’s first grade classroom, and that teacher still remembered it!
I think her memory is quite impressive, but her heart-felt appreciation after all these years really hit home. So, let me suggest a few alternatives to the teacher mugs, candles and boxes of chocolate that we so often give as tokens of appreciation to our hard-working teachers.
Giving Back
- An excellent book for the classroom library.
- A hand-written note of encouragement. Include a positive quote or anecdote.
- A coupon offering to read books aloud to the class.
- A sincere offer to help with parties, field trips or room decorations.
- Good attendance at PTA meetings, back-to-school nights and parent-teacher conferences.
- Gift certificates to book stores, school supply shops AND the coffee shop most convenient to your teacher’s route to and from school.
- A commitment to send well-fed and rested children to school – on time.
- And, of course, consider a year’s subscription to Big Universe, which has almost 3,000 nonfiction and fiction picture books for children at all levels in all subject areas.
Teachers, what should I add to this list? I’d love your suggestions, so comment below.
Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever is another **must have** 
resource for parents. Mem Fox, a renowned Australian author, begins the book with an anecdote about her own daughter. When her daughter begins kindergarten, she learns from her teacher that she can in fact already read. “How?” asks Fox. The answer: from the time she was born until she set foot in kindergarten, Fox read aloud to her. That was all it took. This is a powerful anecdote to say the least; but one that I hold personally true, because my son began kindergarten the same way. Of course, this is not to say that if you read aloud to your child every day from the time they are born until they step foot in kindergarten that they will be reading by kindergarten. All children learn differently and learning to read is developmental. Reading aloud to your child provides an amazing advantage for your child and certainly prepares him/her to become a reader. Don’t be discouraged if your child begins kindergarten and is not a reader yet. It will come in time.
In Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever, Fox explains that babies are born learners. She discusses the importance of books in the home and stresses the value of a read-aloud ritual – all topics you’ve likely seen in posts here!
While Fox does include a chapter on how to read aloud, which may be helpful to some parents, she does not include age-appropriate reading lists for parents. For this reason alone, I would likely pair Reading Magic with Jim Trelease’s, The Read Aloud Handbook.
Still, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever is another great resource that will serve parents well as they work to raise readers in their home.
Dawn Little (aka Links to Literacy) also blogs at www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com where she provides educators with picture book lessons based on comprehension strategies and the Six Traits of Writing. In addition, she blogs at www.literacytoolbox.wordpress.com where she provides educators and parents with tips and tools to enhance the literacy lives of children. She is the founder and owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
“What did you do in class today, sweetheart?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Oh, we just sat around rereading our stories and fixing them up.”
“That, Chili Bean, is not ‘nothing!’ It’s the SOME in something!” I answered.
Always the editor, I launched into a short exhortation extolling the value of revision. “It’s the spit and polish that give pizazz to a ho-hum pile of words,” I explained. “Instead of an article which resembles a pair of old scuffed shoes with untied laces, your writing can rock like a pair of red-soled Louboutins.” (It helps to use a teen’s vocabulary.)
I stopped short of a full harangue, since my younger daughter has heard this editing advice before. She just needed a refresher course.
However, for those who have not been privy to my writing revision checklist, here are a few tips. Whether 8 years old or 80, following these pointers will make your words pirouette instead of slog along. (Of course, you must have a solid idea or plot outline in place before you get to this point.)
7 Revision Reminders
1. Read your text aloud. Do your thoughts flow with rhythm? Hearing your own voice will help you ferret out missing words and homonyms. It helps those wrestling with punctuation, too.
2. Transitions can make or break an essay. If thoughts jump around on paper, it’s hard for the reader to follow. Make a list of transition words and use them. They are like the clutch, when shifting gears manually in a car. Grinding gears make people cringe, as do abrupt changes in thought.
3. Double check each proper name, as well as facts and numbers. Do they make sense? Is the spelling of the name consistent throughout the piece?
4. Let your writing sit for 12-24 hours. Fresh eyes can locate redundancies. Use a highlighter to note repeated words. Then go back and substitute synonyms, but only if they seem natural. Never force it. Underline action verbs and consider whether a stronger verb would convey your thoughts better.
5. Check your work for spelling errors. Use your computer or trusty Webster’s. When writing, learn to trust the little voice in your head. If you hesitate over a word’s spelling for even a moment, look it up. The key to being a good speller is not necessarily having a great memory. Knowing when you don’t know something is equally important.
6. Have a friend or family member read your writing. Ask them if anything is confusing. Where would they like more details? Do you go on and on about an unimportant point? Flesh out your ideas where needed and learn to use your eraser or delete button.
7. Three is the magic number. If you are making a point, three examples are much stronger than a single example. …Cue the Three Dog Night lyrics:
“One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do.
Two can be as bad as one.
It’s the loneliest number since the number one.”
Revision is perhaps the most underrated SECRET to good writing. Add frequent exposure to good books and essays, and your writing is bound to improve. …Now, please let the cat out of the bag!
Big Universe is the perfect place for young ones to hone their writing skills. Not only can they read more than a 1,000 quality books, but they can create stories, too. The website’s graphics library stimulates ideas, and young authors can use the author tool to write their own tales. Each version of a book can be saved, allowing revision the next day or the following week.
