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I really believe one of the biggest things that reading aloud does is help grow kids’. Vocabulary books are full of those rich, juicy words that they just don’t hear in everyday life. For example, the other day I was reading a story to my 4-year-old granddaughter, and it was all about medieval times. It had these little animals.

That we’re going on a quest to find a treasure. And I asked her if she knew what the word quest meant. And of course she [00:02:00] didn’t. So I told her that it was like going on a big journey to look for something. And so as we read throughout that book, there were even more words. There were words like moat and catapult.

And now because of that one story, she knows those words. She’s four years old and she understands them and she can use them, and they’re tucked into her brain for good. If I hadn’t read her that book, she probably wouldn’t have heard those words for years to come, but now she knows them and her vocabulary grew just a little bit more that day.

And when she hears those words again, she’s going to understand them. And so building vocabulary is so important. And what’s really amazing is that when kids hear new words in context, in a story, they don’t just memorize a definition, they actually see how it fits, how it’s used, and how it connects to other ideas.

They get to hear it in a real meaningful way. And the more they hear these big interesting words, the more likely they are to actually [00:03:00] use them in their own speaking and even writing down the road. Another huge thing about reading aloud to kids is that it really helps build up their listening comprehension, which is so important.

Comprehension and understanding is the basic foundation for all reading, and honestly, for pretty much everything kids do at school if they can’t listen and follow along and understand when you’re reading a story out loud. They’re gonna struggle when they sit down to read one by themselves, and it’s not just about stories.

Being able to sit still and listen and follow along when you’re giving directions or explaining something is a huge part of school success. Sitting and listening to a read aloud helps build that stamina. It teaches kids how to tune in for a longer stretch, how to remember details from start to finish and connect ideas as they go along.

Those same listening skills can help them when you’re teaching a math lesson or explaining a science experiment. [00:04:00] When we grow strong listeners, we’re helping kids succeed in every other part of the day too. Something else that I absolutely love is how read alouds model oral language for kids. When you read to them, you are showing what good reading sounds like.

How we phrase things, how our voices change when we’re excited or surprised how we pause or stretch out Words for effect. Think about it. Kids learn how to talk by listening to how we talk, right? Read alouds are the best way to show kids how reading should sound.

Reading shouldn’t be all choppy and broken up. It should sound smooth and with expression. So when you read to kids, you show them that beautiful expressive reading that you hope that they’re going to use themselves. And it’s not just about sounding good. They pick up the flow and the rhythm of language, how we stress certain words or how we show emotion with our voice over time. They start to [00:05:00] copy that in their own reading. You can think of it as fluency practice that’s built right into story time. And of course we can’t forget how awesome read alouds are for teaching reading comprehension skills. When you choose a really good picture book through the story, you’re naturally gonna be able to teach kids to predict what’s gonna happen next, to think about the characters or to make inferences.

You can ask them questions like, why did she say that? Or, how do you think he feels right now? You don’t need a worksheet or a quiz for this. It all happens naturally when you pause and talk about a story that you’re reading aloud, and when you do that, you are helping kids learn how to really think about what they’re hearing.

They start picking up clues from the text. They connect the dots, and that’s what true comprehension is all about. And it can all start with a book and a simple conversation.

Read alouds also really help with teaching writing, which might surprise some people. The books that you pick can [00:06:00] act like little writing lessons all by themselves. Maybe you choose a book that’s written in a how to format or a nonfiction text that shows informational writing and boom, there’s the perfect example for your kids to use when they write their own how to or informational writing.

And it doesn’t stop there. Stories can inspire all kinds of writing. Let’s say you read a nonfiction book about pumpkins. Well, then you can have your kids research how pumpkins grow and do their own, how to grow a pumpkin writing. Or they could practice informational writing and write a little report with facts they learned about pumpkins.

Maybe you read a fun animal story. Well, that could spark a creative writing piece where they invent their own adventure for that animal. Read-alouds, give kids real examples, rich language and tons of ideas to build on.

So you can sneak a writing lesson into your day through your readouts. And of course, one of my favorite things that you can use readouts for is social [00:07:00] emotional learning. The right story can let kids see themselves in the characters. They can learn empathy, kindness, problem solving, and how to handle hard situations that they might find themselves in one day.

Books give kids a safe space to tackle those big feelings and tricky topics. Maybe you read a story about a character who feels left out. Well, that’s a chance to talk about how we include others or maybe the character makes a mistake and suddenly you’re talking about owning up and making things right when you do something wrong.

Stories can help kids find the words for feelings that they might not really know how to say yet, and they remind kids that they’re not alone. Everyone feels nervous, left out excited or worried sometimes. And so a good story really does more than entertain.

It can actually help kids learn how to be good humans. So you can see read alouds do so much more than just fill a little bit of time in your day. [00:08:00] When kids are read to regularly, they build bigger vocabularies, stronger comprehension, and better listening skills.

They can learn how language works, practice thinking deeper, grow as writers, and learn how to be kinder, more thoughtful people. And that’s all from just sharing a story. It’s pretty amazing, right? So here’s my little challenge for you this week. Grab a picture book and read it to your students.

If you’re already doing that, keep doing it and yay for you. And if you don’t, try making it a new daily habit. Those few minutes of reading aloud to your kids every day can stick with them long after they leave your classroom. I. Thanks so much for joining me today. If this episode got you inspired, I’d love to hear from you.

Send me a message, tell me what you’re reading, and let’s celebrate the magic of read alouds together.

And until next time, keep reading, keep sharing stories, and remember to make learning feel like play. See you next time.

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