As I prepare for my presentation on actions that can be done with the read-aloud, I am reading the book "Who's Doing The Work? How to Say Less so Readers Can Do More" by Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris. The ideas that are discussed in the book are basically that, the person doing the work is the person who is learning and we want the students doing the learning. The authors have written a section in the book titled: What Makes Read-Aloud Special? I want to summarize this section because I will be using some of this content to help form my presentation in February. The authors list several reasons read-alouds are special.
Teachers have to provide models for how to notice and talk about aspects of text. (Rosenblatt, 2004) The read-aloud is at the beginning of the gradual release of responsibility which makes it easy to assume that the teacher is the one doing all the work. The teacher is responsible for bring the text to the students but you share the responsibility of making meaning from that text with your students. So, how do you implement a read-aloud? It doesn't really matter if you are reading a picture book to your students or if you are reading a chapter book the implementation is the same. We start like we would any lesson, with a plan. For a read-aloud to be successful you need to prepare. You need to select a text. Read the text and consider the points the authors noted.
It's also important for you to select some stopping points, questions (open ended), and look at some vocabulary words to teach and key ideas that might need some discussion as you read to the students. Look for places that may give you the opportunty to model a comprehension strategy, teaching a certain standard, and or lead to discussion of an idea. In order to do this preparation, you must read this book ahead of time. Also in your planning identify places where you think students might need additional support. When you are ready to begin, presentation is everything. Establish a routine of how and where you conduct a read-aloud, It could be on the carpet where students can sit comfortably and close enough to see the illustrations in the text. Read the text with fluency (you are modeling how you would like students to read) and with expression. Be sure to pause at your pre-planned stopping points and listen when you give them opportunities to discuss portions and if they have questions about the text (this means they are thinking as you read and may be correct or may be forming misconceptions) Remember to keep the read-aloud engaging and gauge whether or not the students are still focused on what you are reading. I have been exploring the idea of creating a checklist to use when planning your read-aloud. This checklist would help you effectivly plan for all the possibilites available for the text you have choosen to read that day. As I have been doing research, I have seen several different checklists and rubrics that can help with this intentional planning. You are making memories of enjoyment when you make a read-aloud enjoyable for your students, plus the benefits are widely supported by research; therefore, the more you read-aloud to students, the more these benefits increase. Thank you for reading; I would love your feedback... Burkins, J., Yaris, K. and Moser, J. (n.d.). Who's doing the work?. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/ (Picture Credit)
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Thank you for reading... Painting by Pawel Kuczynski Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2012). Close Reading In Elementary Schools. The Reading Teacher, 66(3), 179-188. doi:10.1002/trtr.01117 Shared reading -- a concept conceived by Don Holdaway in 1979 as a way to re-create what happens when parents read aloud to their babies at home -- has evolved for classroom use through the years. Shared reading involves enlarged text whether through the use of big books, poster, or projected onto an interactive whiteboard or SMART board so that all students can see, follow along and eventually read along with the lead reader (usually the teacher). Sharon Gill (2006) states: "Shared reading provides repeated readings of predictable texts and poems, building student’s sight-word vocabularies, fluency, and phonics knowledge during enjoyable and successful reading experiences." One benefit of shared reading is that a teacher can focus on targeted skills in a guided way. National Reading Panel results show that teaching phonics in the context of shared reading has the benefit of showing students how phonics knowledge is used in real reading. Since shared reading is usually used with poems and/or short predictive text, it lends it's self very well with teaching onset and rime with our younger readers. Shared reading has also been recomend for use with english language learners and readers who struggle because of the guided aspect and because of the benefit of repeated readings of the text used. Children have the opportunity to interact with and behave like successful reader and teachers can demonstrate strategies usued by successful readers Sharon Gill says. (Gill & Isam, 2011) Five Steps For Shared Reading
Thank you for reading... Gill, S. R. (2006). Teaching Rimes With Shared Reading. The Reading Teacher, 60(2), 191-193. doi:10.1598/rt.60.2.9 Gill, S. R., & Islam, C. (2011). Shared Reading Goes High-Tech. The Reading Teacher, 65(3), 224-227. doi:10.1002/trtr.01028 "If we want our students to be excited about literacy, they need to have teachers who love coming to work, who are literacy learners themselves, who find ways to make curriculum relevant to children's lives, and who can put high-stakes testing in perspective." -Regie Routman -The Essential Reading Life I read a chapter in the book "Reading Essentials" by Regie Routman. The chapter reading gave me some incite into shared reading. The chapter noted that shared reading is a part of the literacy block that-for some educators-is missing or non-existent. Routman defines shared reading by saying: "In shared reading, a learner- or group of learner- sees the text, observes an expert (usually the teacher) reading it with fluency and expression, and is invited to read along." (Essentials of Reading, Routman 2003) Shared reading is a way to show children how to read text, how they can think through text, and see, in a safe way what good readers do. It can be the scaffolding students need to feel successful. The chapter also mentions the Optimal learning Model, in the model (pictured) we see that teachers make reading "visible" and "explicit" during a shared reading and gradually release that responsibility (scaffolding) with exposure to the text. When students are in kindergarten the shared reading looks like the teacher rereading a familiar book with catchy repeated text that the students remember seeing and repeat as the teacher touches and says the words with them. By the time students are in second grade, shared readings are good ways to practice various aspects of reading in a way that students can feel safe to participate with the teacher. The chapter mentions a few reasons why shared reading is important:
Check out this video of a shared reading using a read-aloud. Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave feedback and look out for my next post.
"Ideal conversation must be an exchange of thought, and not, as many of those who worry most about their shortcomings believe, an eloquent exhibition of wit or oratory." Emily Post Many teachers read to children, some daily; as they should. Reading aloud is one good way to begin a conversation about literature. What are we talking about when we read to them? Are we having conversations about what is read? How often do we have conversations with them at all? In today's times I am seeing more and more children who are not good thinkers., because they are not allow to. Students are being taught to sit still and be quiet. Which says to children; "What you think does not matter.'" I see children who are not good at expressing themselves. We still have quiet classrooms with straight rows of children. No student autonomy at all. Children don't know how to have conversations because they are not allowed to talk to each other. Conversations are not happening at school or at home. We need to change that and one way to do it is to have conversations about what we are reading to them and what they are reading to each other. Completing those think aloud and allowing those "turn and talks" about literature is one way to cultivate that need. Children should be given the chance to express what they think about what they hear and read in good literature. The classroom needs to be a safe place for students to express themselves and what better way than to have conversations about reading. Thank you for reading... Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand . . . what he learns and the way he understands it. Soren Kierkegaard What is good instruction? It is more than just walking into your classroom and looking through your TE (teacher's edition) and following along. We are supposed to be imparting knowledge right? What is your goal for instruction? Who is your target audience? What do you want them to learn? And how are you going to deliver it to them? The answer to these questions will lead to good instruction. As educators, we should still be willing to learn and grow, so it is important to learn the answers to these questions. It is crucial! Our state and every other state, with the exception of Oklahoma; who has withdrawn from working with Common Core to develop their own, has state standards. This is the (what) you want your students to learn. The standards are your road map to good instruction. Every school district takes their state standards and makes a curriculum for their teacher to follow. CCSS Adoption Map Planning is key. The curriculum is where you start. You will need to know where your students are academically to plan lessons to meet the needs of your target audience. Here is the (who). In your planning, you will need to take into account the fact that your students don't all learn the same and are not all on the same level academically. Differentiation and learning styles should also be dealt with and don't forget any language differences. Teaching to address all of these should be done Whole Group (if most of your students need it) and/or Small Group (if only a few need it). (Insert the urban dictionary's 6 P's) Proper Planning/Preparations Prevents Pretty Poor Performance. It is a good idea to research some best practices in the content to teach to stay on top of what you goal is. The ultimate goal should be to see your students succeed. Good instruction is the difference between where they are when you get them and where they need to be to be ready for the next level. It is your job as an educator to ensure they get there. This is my charge as an instructional specialist. Helping to grow the teachers that are helping to grow their students. In the book “Classroom Instruction That Works” by Ceri B. Dean, Elizabeth Ross Hubbell, Howard Pitler and Bj Stone the authors list these nine goals for teachers to include in their preparation.
"When read-alouds are understood as powerful tools for teaching literary elements, building analytical ability, and addressing the standards, they can bring both joy and accelerated learning into the lives of our students." Linda Hoyt In my continued research, I will explore the interactive read-aloud. Any read aloud can become interactive if you consider how and what you are thinking while you read and stop to share that. Being intentional can help with engaging students in a read aloud that is interactive. That means that you cannot just pick up a book from the shelf that you have never read before (well, you can but you can get more bang for your buck if you take the time to read the book first to decide what you intend to do and how you will make it interactive.) Incorporate opportunities for student to 'interact with the text and with other classmate while listening helps them become readers that think themselves. You are modeling how you stop to think about words that are unfamiliar, how you make predictions as you turn the page, how you see a characters develop from the beginning of the story to the end of the story and so much more. The inflection and intonation in your voice keeps the students engaged while allowing them to hear fluent reading. Your stopping to ask about vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to them lets them know they can do the same when they read to themselves; plus, showing them that using context clues helps determine the meaning of those words. give them some autonomy when silent reading. Seeing you make inferences and thinking aloud about how you did that helps them make inferences (a concept that is difficult for many of our students). A good read aloud lets students think as they enjoy the text being read to them. here is an article from reading rockets that speaks to the idea of the think aloud. http://www.readingrockets.org/article/using-think-alouds-improve-reading-comprehension Thanks for reading,,, My continued research on read-alouds has me focusing on the informational text; more specifically- the informational picturebook. Unfortunately, there is still an imbalance in the about of this type of read aloud. Diane M. Barone and Andrea Morency give some reasons for this. They state:
We have to get past these reasons not to do informational picturebook read-alouds and introduce our students to informational text and a very good way to do this is by using the read aloud as a tool. So, how do we go about doing a read aloud of an informational picturebook and what are the benefits? Sunday Cummins and Cate Stallmeyer-Gerard, state in the article: "Teaching for Synthesis of Informational Texts With Read-Alouds" that: "Based on our understanding of the research, a core component of our instruction with informational texts was reading aloud in a interactive way." (Cummins & Gerard, 2011) The interactive read aloud is a good way for teachers to introduce the informational text. Some of the benefits are:
With an interactive informational text read aloud you (as educator) could stop and make text to text connections-which is a good way to model for your students how they can read the text for themselves. You can make connections to other concepts learned while in other content areas which is a good way to help with the transfer of information. You can also model how you would handle self-monitoring when coming in contact with unfamiliar vocabulary and/or concepts and yes you can also show your students how to analyze any pictures and text features that you come across. Give students the opportunity to respond to what their are hearing both in conversation and in writing. Doing these things while doing an interactive read aloud will contribute to students being able to not only recall facts and details, but to also be able to synthesize the information that they hear. Barone, D. & Mallette, M. Best practices in early literacy instruction. Cummins, S. & Stallmeyer-Gerard, C. (2011). Teaching for Synthesis of Informational Texts With Read-Alouds. The Reading Teacher, 64(6), 394-405. http://dx.doi.org/10.1598 /t.64.6.1 As I was beginning to prepare for my presentation on read alouds I found this book by Lester Laminack titled: "Unwrapping the Read Aloud: Making Every Read Aloud Intentional and Instructional". Laminack states that we should re-envision the read aloud as a means of instruction. (page 18) I take that even further and say, lets make the read aloud a good means to break away from out dependence on the Basel text we use in our classrooms. The read aloud can be a reliable means of supplementing the use of the Basel and keep the classroom a text rich place for students to learn a love for literature. To do this we must be intentional about how we choose, how we plan and prepare, and how we target specific skills when we conduct a read aloud. In his book Laminack mentions 11 read aloud experiences. He says that read alouds:
To make the read aloud intentional, we must plan, prep, read the book ahead of time, and consider the skills and concepts we want to teach when we choose a book. The author states that "we can make the read aloud intentional when we purposely select texts and times with the intent to inspire, invest, and instruct." (Laminack, 19) The right book can create a love of literature in children. It can lend itself to the perfect opportunity to develop key concepts in language, science, social studies, and math. It can even be used for instruction. If you plan effectively, students can learn exactly what you are expecting them to learn- being intentional is key- knowing our students and planning lessons that include read alouds that match targeted skills is just another way to optimize your instruction. Other than being expressive and full of energy when reading aloud you really don't need any special skills to do a read aloud. Start out with your favorite authors and illustrators and then move on to explore other authors and illustrators. It is also a good idea to explore other genres- for example postmodern picturebooks- and bring in the informational texts as read alouds. Just remember to read aloud often and well. Here is a list of good read alouds to get your started:
Some good ways to get started include, a picture walk, book talk, talking about the author, talking about the theme, or just start reading. According to Laminack,: "The tangible rewards of reading aloud and discussing books with children are both extensive and well grounded in research. Indeed, in 1985, the federally funded Commission on Reading released a report entitled Becoming a Nation of Readers and stated: the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success is reading aloud to children." (1985, p. 23) (page 94) Just keep reading, Experts tell us that students need to hear thousands of stories read aloud before they begin to read for themselves, some of that can happen at home-but may not- so, it is up to us to do in our classrooms as often as possible. Laminack, L. (2009). Unwrapping the read aloud. New York: Scholastic. Thank you for reading.. Today I am updating my blog from the Backwoods cabin in Broken Bow, Oklahoma -check out their website http://bluebeavercabins.com/ - I promise you will not be disappointed. This is a wonderful place to slow down and think. If you ever want to get away from the everyday stresses of life. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Here is what I know, so far about professional writing:
I have learned a little about what it takes to be accepted into the professional world called "academia". I have learned that it is more than being well read, it is more than being smart, and it is more than just saying I went to this college and/or studied under that well-known person. It's a lot about how you get the information out about who you are, by speaking with and to professionals in the field you are in and about getting your ideas published in the right publications. The book I am reading now is titled: Writing for Peer Reviewed Journals: Strategies for Getting Published. In the book I have learned a little about how to choose with journals to even attempt to submit your writing to, It speaks of what is called your "Writer's Identify and of the discourse community to which you might belong. As a beginning writer I am finding tips that go deeper than the process of writing-which I find I still need- to the tips on what I need to do to not only get my name out there but to also get my words out their. I have made a step in establishing my identity as a part of "academia" by submitting a proposal to speak on an idea I have, now as I prepare that proposal I will write that up and use the ideas I have learned about in these books I am reading to get this idea published to share with a broader audience. This blog was my way to start that writing. I ideally just wanted to write and see how my writing progressed over time. I have noticed over time that I am becoming more confident and it is my hope that the audience that sees this writing becomes more defined as I grow and move into the "discourse community" -the group of like minded people who are experts in the same or relating fields of study-that I will become a part of. Thank you for reading... Feel free to leave me a comment. |
AuthorPearl Garden, Ed.D has completed her dissertation research involving understanding the vocabulary instruction practices of early grade teachers. She has a passion for the new and novice educator, and it is her goal to help educators tackle the achievement gap with her research findings. She will use this blog to share what she has learned in “pearls of literacy”. The ideas come from her dissertation titled “A Content Analysis of the Vocabulary Instruction Habits by Early Grade Teachers”. Archives
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