How to Choose an Appropriate Classroom Read-Aloud
Reading to children is beneficial. However, many school districts are requiring teachers to drill content standards more and more, so less time is available for reading aloud to students. In addition, the amount of books available can be overwhelming. An Amazon book search for 9- to 12-year-olds returned 157,000 results. In the stacks, you can find appropriate books for classroom read-alouds.
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Instructions
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Check out resources, starting at your local library. The staff can give you tips on which books are favorites with children. For many teachers, Jim Trelease's "The Read-Aloud Handbook" is a personal library necessity. You can also find recommendations at the California Department of Education's Recommended Literature Search for Reading and Language Arts (http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/rl/ll/ap/litsearch.asp). Just choose "Read Aloud" from the drop-down menu next to "Classification." Story Snoops (www.storysnoops.com) is a new comprehensive book list that offers multiple user-friendly options as well.
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Stopping on time can keep your students begging for more. Predetermine your preferred book length. Knowing your students well and realizing your personal preferences will help you to make this decision but anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes is standard for a classroom read-aloud period.
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Flaunt your inner actor. Pam Allyn, author and executive director of LitWorld, says, "The best read alouds have characters we fall in love with. From Olivia to Madeline to Harry Potter to Frances, the best literary characters put our students at the edge of their chairs. Practice reading in different voices. Books like "Frog and Toad" are amazingly great read alouds because it is so much fun to talk in those characters' voices."
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Follow a theme. Many schools use standards-based curriculum, which often makes finding a general theme or topic easy. Non-fiction read alouds are a favorite with children if they incorporate things such as animals or science. In addition, books that cross over into multiple subject matters and deal with social or character issues can greatly enhance your overall teaching experience.
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Engage students and encourage discussion by choosing stories the children can relate to and predict. Jaylene Garau, an elementary school teacher and author, notes: "Choose a book that tackles issues that pertain to that age group. I taught first graders and they loved stories about loose teeth."
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Match the book to the students' level. Books that are too juvenile or advanced will bore or frustrate children. Challenging your students by presenting them with a small attainable challenge, however, will accelerate their progress. Dr. Jan Miller Burkins, editor of Literacyhead, states, "When learning to read, there are really two pieces: understanding how the code works (letters and sounds) and understanding what the words mean (vocabulary)." She goes on to explain that the code only offers an approximation. Therefore, reading aloud builds a vocabulary bank to allow children to draw out unknown or mispronounced words encountered in print.
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Pass down a timeless book. Relive the past. Authors or books that you loved as a kid are another wonderful place to look for read alouds for your classroom. If you loved hearing "Make Way for Ducklings," your students will too. If "Polar Express" or "Island of the Blue Dolphins" topped your list of favorites as a child, then it is sure to be a hit in your classroom because your enthusiasm and passion for the story will shine through. Revisit your favorites ahead of time, however, to ensure that they are still relevant to kids today.
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Find books with quality artwork and eye-popping illustrations. "Great illustrations help to hold the interest of little ones," points out Dr. Jeanne Moore, who is director of Teacher Certification at the University of Pittsburgh. Young children love pictures that fill the page, seem bigger than life and have bright, contrasting colors. Older children tend to enjoy sketches of people and animals that look vivid and real and show emotion or facial expression.
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Tips & Warnings
Practice before you read to your students. Dr. Michelle Martin says, "It may feel silly to practice reading a picture book aloud but children are captivated by good reading because it feels more like storytelling than reading. Don't skip the practice especially when you need to show illustrations while you're reading (which requires another level of skill)."
Never use an unfamiliar book for a classroom read aloud. Dr. Kathy Roemer, executive director of Twin Parks Montessori Schools in Manhattan, states that once a book a chosen, the teacher should read the book ahead of time "to know the story, the setting and a little about the characters." As a teacher, you do not want to be surprised by inappropriate or irrelevant content as you read a book to your students for the first time.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit book image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com CLOCK image by SKYDIVECOP from Fotolia.com mother and daughter reading a book image by Allen Penton from Fotolia.com
