The Power of the Read Aloud

    We have heard the research, reading to and with kids is a powerful method for reading success.  From the time our smallest students begin school, our primary teachers know that reading aloud is an essential part of the day.  But reading aloud in school is not simply an act of reading a story aloud.  This is the time when adults can model for children what reading looks like on the inside.  And reading aloud should continue up the grades as long as possible. 
   
     Reading is an invisible act.  The thinking that occurs, the predicting, the wondering, the questions and answers, all happen while reading, but no one can see it.  Often, as adult readers, we don't even realize we are doing it.  It has only been in the past few years that I have really tuned in to my invisible reading. 
Now, despite my best efforts, I notice it all the time! I can't read a good Dorothea Benton Frank book without thinking, "Ooooh, I know where this is going.  This is how books tend to go," and "What?! I did not see that coming.  That was totally out of character for that person.  I wonder what that means for the story."

     So the read aloud is where we make the invisible visible for our students.  It is critical to use that time to model our thinking.  For the smallest readers, our preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students, we model the emotions that a story evokes.  We share when we notice character traits and feelings in the pictures and words. 
Think about what we want students to notice and show them how we do that. 

     As our readers grow and their reading skills become more sophisticated, our modeling also becomes more sophisticated.  Our thinking deepens and we share our how we notice character changes and how the characters we are reading are complex.  We identify themes and can track those themes through the story.  For our older readers, this is when we model writing about reading.  Our thinking gets jotted down.  While as adult readers, we don't normally write our thoughts while reading, it's imperative that we teach our students to do this so that we can see what kind of thinking they are doing.  We can't sit and read with every student every day, so we need a way to check in on their thinking. 

    For many people, reading is both a way to learn more about the world and a relaxing act.  We want our students to become readers because we know that they will be more successful in life if they are readers.  We also want them to develop a joy for and love of reading.  But, it is critical that we leverage the read aloud time in school to show students the thinking that occurs when we read.  With time being our most valued commodity, each act during the school day must be purposeful and intentional.  As Lucy Calkins would say, "spy on yourself as a reader" and notice what you are doing.  Then model this for your students. 

Final thoughts... yes, please impart on your students what joy can be found in reading.  But our job as teachers is ultimately to teach, so take time to plan and be intentional with your read alouds.