A+Project+Reading+Aloud

English 486 Timothy P. Shea, Ph.D    The A Project: Inquiry Reading Aloud Kristy Bugg December 13, 2011

The A Project: Inquiry Other than a shared experience as a classroom community and helping struggling readers, what other benefits does reading aloud provide for students?

It has been proven over and over again through research and evaluation that reading aloud to young children builds the foundation for their future success as learners. It is for them an unknowing start in their quest for knowledge. Through being read to children develop listening skills and increased attention spans. They learn to master language development skills such as increased vocabulary and recognizing patterns. It gives children the ability to vocalize ideas and speak clearly while expressing themselves. Reading aloud to children entertains them while developing their creativity, their imagination, and their curiosity. It teaches them lessons about life that will stick with them as they mature and grow. Finally, and most importantly, it increases their potential academically as lifelong learners.

The idea of reading aloud is not a new concept. It’s been around for hundreds of years. It is something that has been passed down from generation to generation. We see the importance portrayed in news reports that show First Ladies or celebrities reading to classrooms of children as promotion for literacy in America. As future teaches it is our responsibility to instill in our students the value of both being read to and reading aloud; we need to treat reading aloud as a dying art and stress to our students the importance it plays in their future of education. We also need to inspire them to the point where hopefully, upon recognizing the significance, they will become advocates for reading aloud and implement it in their role as parents of future students.

When a teacher reads aloud in the classroom to older students they are reinforcing the basic developmental skills as in that of a young child, but at a higher level. Jim Trelease in __The Read-Aloud Handbook__ refers to the __Commission on Reading’s Report, Becoming a Nation of Readers__ that states, “the single most important activity for building knowledge required for eventual success is reading aloud to children … reading aloud in the classroom is a practice that should continue throughout the grades.” He also expresses his view that it is a powerful teaching tool that is the “cheapest, simplest, and oldest teaching tool” to incorporate the pleasure of reading with acquiring knowledge. Amazingly, students listen at levels that surpass their reading levels. Some students who struggle with more complex ideas in other learning situations are actually interpreting information at a higher level. According to an article on reading aloud on TeacherVision, “When students listen to a text that is far above their reading level they comprehend more difficult and interesting material and broaden their vocabulary.” This provides modeling for older students. It can motivate them through increased confidence and understanding gained through the classroom practice of reading aloud. The result is also similar when students are encouraged themselves to read aloud. This I found in my own personal experience as an adult with reading Shakespeare. At times the text seemed overwhelming, not making sense. When I followed the advice of the professor to read the text aloud it gave me more clarity, bringing together meaning. Once I learned to follow the flow of the dialogue, and even change my pitch when mimicking the voices of different characters it become a pleasurable, yet powerful experience. Thus proving that by reading above my level, and through the guidance of my college professor, I was able to take on a new reading challenge that has inspired me to pursue new genres of literature.

Story time is a common element in elementary school. Through my research I have discovered that many high school teachers are working into their curriculum a set reading aloud time. This goes beyond teachers of English. It also encompasses teachers of Science, Math, and Social Studies. These teachers share the conclusion that combining previous knowledge with careful introduction of new knowledge through verbal expression yields excellent results, while helping to ease student anxiety about approaching unfamiliar and more complicated levels of information. One teacher stated, in a television interview by Mimi Jung about reading aloud to high school and college students, that “read alouds and the discussion that go along with the read alouds engage the students more in the learning.” Some of the students in the interview spoke of how they tend to lose track when reading to themselves material that introduces them to new and more complicated levels of information. Through being read to by their teacher they become more involved and relate better to the new material, making it a more enhanced learning experience.

It has been found that reading aloud on a daily basis to high school students also results in less student absences in classrooms when a teacher is reading aloud a story from a text, be it fiction or non-fiction. The students become so involved in the story and so entangled in the plot that they do not want to miss class. To some this may seem like an unprofessional means to motivate students to come to school, but in my opinion I think it is brilliant. Not only are students attending classes, but they are also increasing their knowledge and reading skills through an experience they find pleasurable. For some students of high school age this is a tremendous break through that will have a profound effect on the rest of their education. In addition, not all students have not been read to throughout their childhood, so this gives them a chance to finally have the experience of sharing in a read aloud moment.

Some high school teachers find reading aloud in the beginning of class or at the end of class helps with the transition times. It is a way to ease students into attentiveness for the learning process as well as a useful, relaxing way to wind down the class, leaving the students with a pleasurable experience as they go out the door. An instructor at the John Hopkins School of Professional Studies uses read aloud time during class transition claiming that it does indeed improve the classroom climate, “I read to my graduate students at the beginning of class because it gives them time to get settled and to clear their minds of the day’s activities.” This seems so common sense considering that many people read at night or read to their children at night before bedtime to help them unwind.

Reading aloud to children at a young age is crucial in that it promotes and develops a relationship with the parent. Hence the same result occurs in the classroom with older students as they come together as a community of learners for the shared experience of listening to the words of the text. In addition to enhancing literacy skills and increasing knowledge, it establishes common connections among the students in the class that additionally support the relationship between the students and the teacher. During a read aloud it is the opportune time to keep instilling in our young people the importance of reading, particularly the importance and benefits of shared reading experiences. This, being essential now at a time in which television, internet, and videos games seem to have taken precedence over the simple pleasure of sitting and reading a book. After all, the faces in the classroom belong to the bodies of future parents who we hope, through our encouraging and their shared reading experiences in the classroom, will keep in mind what we have instilled in them and make reading aloud to their children an important part of their daily life as a parent.

__ Works Cited __ “High School, College Teachers Reading Aloud to Students.” Mimi Jung. KING 5 News. KING5.com. Seattle. 22 Mar. 2010.

“Reading Aloud.” __TeacherVision.__ 2000-2011. Pearson Education, Inc.[]

“Shared Reading: Listening Leads to Fluency And Understanding.” __Education World.__ [|http://www.educationworld.com]

Trealease, Jim. __The Read-Aloud Handbook.__ Chpt. 1. 