[00:00:00] Hey friends. Welcome back to the Firstieland podcast. Today we’re talking about reading aloud to kids. I think as teachers or parents, we all know that it’s important to read to kids, right? I mean, it opens new worlds to them and teaches them new vocabulary, and it helps them hear what good reading sounds like, all those sorts of things.
But is it really as simple as just sitting down and reading the book? I mean, it certainly isn’t a complicated process, but there are a few things to consider before your next read aloud. So in today’s episode, I’m going to give you six strategies to remember when you’re reading aloud to kids. So here we go.
So you want to read a story to your class. It’s a great time to demonstrate fluent reading or give your kids some background knowledge about a topic they’re going to be learning. It’s a [00:01:00] good way to build classroom community. There are so many great reasons to read a story to your class, but I do think there’s more to it than just grabbing a book off the shelf and reading.
So today I’m going to give you six different tips to help you have a really successful read aloud.
Alright, so the first thing you need to think about before choosing a book is how much time you actually have. You know, read alouds can serve different purposes in your classroom. Sometimes you’re just going to have an extra five minutes before you leave for lunch or recess.
And that’s a great time to read maybe a quick chapter from a chapter book that you’re reading to your class each day.
And then sometimes you’re going to want to do an interactive read aloud with your class. An interactive read aloud is when you’re reading a story and then you pause at different places to introduce new vocabulary or maybe ask some questions about the story.
Sometimes those questions can lead to a class discussion. So you’re going to need more time for that style of a read aloud. Usually [00:02:00] you’re going to need maybe 15 minutes in your schedule for an interactive read aloud. But I think that no matter what type of read aloud you’re doing, give yourself enough time for you and the kids to actually enjoy the story.
Some teachers like to start their day with a read aloud. Other teachers like to read after they come in from recess or maybe at the end of the day. So think about a time that you have in your schedule and then actually write your read aloud time into your lesson plans so you always have time for it.
Alright, the next thing you want to think about is how to choose a good read aloud. There are lots of books on the market today, but they definitely don’t all equal quality read alouds. If I take my granddaughter to the book fair, I 100% know she’s going to pick out some princess book or something about a TV cartoon like Bluey or Peppa Pig.
But those types of books aren’t what you want for your read aloud time. You really want to choose books that have a great storyline and beautiful pictures. In kindergarten and first [00:03:00] grade, kids like books that have funny characters and a plot they can relate to.
So find books that have interesting characters and really rich vocabulary because reading aloud is a great time to help kids develop their vocabulary skills. You’re going to want to choose books with a few unfamiliar words so you can introduce them to your kids and help them build their vocabulary.
Kids also love books that are funny or have predictable text.
And if you’re not really sure where to begin, choose books that are written by favorite authors or award-winning books. You can’t go wrong with a book that’s earned the Caldecott Medal or a Newbery Award.
Another great idea is to keep a basket of your favorite books with a seasonal or monthly theme right beside your chair on the carpet. That’s also where you can keep a basket with a few of your favorite chapter books like Charlotte’s Web or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Even though there aren’t usually a lot of pictures in those kinds of books, kids really look forward to [00:04:00] listening to a chapter every day.
Alright, next on your list is preparing for your read aloud. Can you just grab a book off the shelf and read it to your class? Yes. But if you really want to get the most out of your read aloud time, you need to do a little preparation.
Think about the comprehension skills that you’re teaching. Maybe you want to teach your kids about character traits, or maybe you’re learning about setting or plot. Or maybe you’re dealing with some kind of behavior issues in class, like talking too much or bullying.
Taking some time to prepare ahead of time and choosing books with a purpose can help you teach those skills during your read aloud.
Always make sure that you preview the story before reading it, too. Think about where you want to pause to ask questions, or maybe there’s a certain picture that you want the kids to look at and notice the details. Maybe there’s a hint about what’s going to come next in the story, and you want kids to notice that.
Make a mental note of where you’re going to pause to ask questions. Even better, put a sticky note inside the book to remind yourself where you want to [00:05:00] stop.
When you’re very intentional with your read alouds like this, you can use them as a time to really help kids become better readers. This is where they’re going to see the things they should be looking for and thinking about when they’re doing their own independent reading.
Alright, number four is beginning your read aloud. Instead of just diving into the book, take a minute to show the cover and the title. Show kids where to find the title and point it out to them. Explain how the words are usually bigger because it’s the most important part of the cover.
Show them how they can look at the cover to discover a little bit about the story and see if it looks interesting to them. If your kids are in kindergarten or preschool, this is when you’re going to show them the difference between the front and the back of the book, how to hold the book, and how to turn the pages.
These are all skills that kids have to be taught before they can begin to read on their own.
I think it’s a good idea before you begin reading to give your kids a little explanation of what the book is about and maybe tell them some things to keep an eye [00:06:00] out for as you’re reading. Basically, you’re just preparing your class for the story.
Alright, so tip number five is about what you should be doing during the read aloud itself.
The number one thing is to show the pictures. There’s nothing worse than having a guest reader come into your class, sit down, read the book, and never show the kids the pictures. Have you ever had that happen? That is a surefire way to lose your class during a read aloud, and it’s so frustrating for kids.
So make sure you hold the book up high enough for the kids in the back to see and give them enough time to really look at the pictures. That’s when they’re really taking it all in and imagining what’s happening in the story.
Kids love it when you use expression in your voice and change it for different characters. Kids of all ages love to hear a squeaky little mouse voice or a grumpy old man voice in stories. And kids don’t judge, so have fun with it. They’re going to love the story even more. Honestly, it’s one of the best ways to really make a story come to life.
Also [00:07:00] remember not to read too fast. You want to read fluently but slowly enough so kids have time to think about what’s happening in the story and really enjoy it.
Finally, you should ask questions during your read alouds, but not too many.
I remember one time I was reading to my class and asking questions along the way. One little boy sighed really loudly and said, “Why do you always have to ask so many questions? Just read the story.” Apparently I was ruining the story with all my questions.
So learn from my mistake and don’t ruin the story by continuously starting and stopping with too many questions.
As you’re ending your read aloud, wrap it up by pointing out a particular part of the story or an important concept that you really liked, and ask the kids what part they liked best. Ask some open-ended questions that don’t have any right or wrong answer.
Or maybe go back and revisit a certain part of the story. Show them a particular page in the book and ask things like, “Why do you think this character’s face looked like that?” or “How do you think this character felt when this happened?” These are the kinds of questions that can get kids thinking and help them comprehend the story just a little bit better.
And finally, [00:08:00] tip number six. I thought I’d give you a few different ways you can encourage reading comprehension, and these ideas will work with basically any story.
With most picture books, you can discuss character, setting, and plot. You can talk about the point of view, who’s telling the story. You can compare different characters in the story. You can find different words in the story that tell how a character is feeling.
You can make photocopies of some of the pages in the story and have the kids use them to retell the story.
Another idea is to make a T-chart and compare two different versions of the same story. For instance, there are lots of versions of The Gingerbread Man, so you could read a couple of different versions and then compare them.
You can also connect your read alouds to writing. You can have kids write about the adventures of the main character in the story. You could have kids [00:09:00] continue the story by writing what they think might happen next if the story were to keep going. You could have them write their opinions about a character in the story.
There are just so many ways to connect your read alouds to writing.
So even though teachers often say they don’t have time to read aloud picture books, you can see that it might actually be one of the most important things you can do during the day. Kids really look forward to it, and they can learn so many new skills.
If you’re ready to do more reading with your class but aren’t sure which books to begin with, I have a free monthly read aloud planner with books listed for every month of the school year, along with activities you can do with each book. You can grab that at firstieland.com/planner, or I’ll put the link in the show notes.
Okay, friends, that’s it for today. I hope you’ll take some time to read to your class this week and let me know how it goes. Send me a message over on Instagram and tell me what books your class is loving right now.
Until next time, [00:10:00] remember to make learning feel like play. I’ll talk to you next week.