July 12, 2025 • 18 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jocelyn (00:00):
Hi there, it's Jocelyn here with this week's episode of
the Structured Literacy Podcast, recorded here in Tasmania, the
beautiful lands of the Palawapeople.
Today I want to talk aboutsomething that I think we may
well have lost sight of in manyclassrooms, particularly in the
Upper Primary.
It's something that used to bea daily staple but has quietly
(00:22):
disappeared from many timetablesas we've become increasingly
focused on explicit, systematicinstruction.
I'm talking about the simpleact of reading aloud to our
students.
Now, before you think I'm aboutto suggest we abandon
everything we know abouteffective literacy instruction,
let's be clear.
(00:42):
I'm not.
What I'm suggesting is thatwe've perhaps thrown the baby
out with the bathwater on thisone.
In the rightful focus onsystematic phonics, explicit
vocabulary and evidence-basedpractices, we may have
inadvertently eliminated one ofthe most powerful tools we have
for building oral language and,by extension, for reading
(01:04):
fluency and comprehension.
So the question I want toexplore today is should we bring
back the read aloud as aregular feature of our
classrooms and, if so, how do wedo it?
Well, if I were to walk intomany upper primary classrooms
today, I'd be hard pressed, Ithink, to find regular
(01:26):
read-aloud time, scheduledpurposefully into the day.
Teachers are always telling methe pressure they feel to cover
curriculum content, to ensurestudents are getting their
explicit instruction, theirshared reading time, their
writing practice.
There's simply no time for justreading to students, and I
totally get this pressure.
(01:47):
Truly I do.
We know that explicitinstruction is critical,
particularly for our strugglingstudents.
We know that systematicapproaches to reading
instruction yield better resultsthan what we used to do.
But here's what I think we'remissing Reading aloud to
students isn't just a nicereading time.
It's actually a powerful formof oral language instruction
(02:09):
that directly supports readingdevelopment.
And here's something else we'velost in our focus on intensive,
teacher-directed lessons, andI'm going to say it, it's the
balance Both teachers andstudents need a little downtime
that maintains our energy levels.
Holding space for reading toour students ensures that we
(02:29):
keep that crucial balancebetween intensive instruction
and the moments that sustain usall through this demanding work
of teaching and learning.
And let's talk about joy.
There's something magical thathappens when you choose a great
text and read it to yourstudents.
You get to hear them laugh, youwatch them lean forward in
anticipation as they read, yousee their faces when you stop
(02:52):
reading on a cliffhanger and youget that wonderful groan of
frustration mixed withexcitement.
These moments aren't just niceadditions to your day.
They're actually incrediblyrewarding for us as teachers and
vital for building students'love of story and literature.
For our struggling students, Ipersonally think this is
(03:13):
particularly crucial because,while they're developing all of
the foundational skills and it'sfor some of them it takes them
so long reader lads help fostertheir relationship with books
and stories.
They get to experience the joyand the meaning of literature
while they're building thosecritical decoding skills.
This connection can be thedifference between a student who
(03:36):
sees reading as a chore and onewho sees it as a pathway to
wonderful experiences.
If we don't keep the joy in it,it's highly unlikely that
students are going to read forpleasure on their own.
And there does come a pointwhen the independent reading we
do is a much bigger builder ofvocabulary than any explicit
(03:57):
instruction.
So we need to get them to thejoyful bit, and read alouds can
be a part of that.
Now I need to be honest with youabout the research here.
I haven't been able to see adirect line of studies that say
read-alouds improve oral readingfluency.
What we do have is strongevidence that read-alouds
(04:19):
improve oral language, or theycan and separate strong evidence
that oral language is a keypredictor of reading fluency and
comprehension.
So while I can't today make adirect causal claim, the
connection is certainly areasonable one to make.
I look forward to someone doingthat research and filling that
(04:40):
little gap in.
What the research does tell usquite clearly is that
interactive and dialogicread-alouds produce consistent,
moderate to large, immediategains in children's vocabulary
knowledge.
Meta-analyses show that when weread to students and engage
them in discussion about whatwe're reading, their vocabulary
(05:01):
grows significantly.
And we know from decades ofreading research that vocabulary
knowledge is one of thestronger predictors of reading
comprehension.
But here's where it gets reallyinteresting from a fluency
perspective, Our brains arepattern-finding machines.
So when students hear richlanguage through read-alouds,
(05:22):
they're not just learning newwords.
They're learning how languageflows, how sentences are
structured, how ideas connect toeach other.
They're building what we canthink of as the language
prediction engine.
And remember that the languageof books is different from the
language of everyday speech, sothis is not experience that
(05:43):
they're likely to get justthrough speaking alone.
The book provides a bridge,both if this is fiction or
non-fiction.
So let's talk more about thisprediction business.
When fluent readers read, theirbrains are constantly predicting
what word comes next.
This isn't a conscious process.
(06:04):
It's happening automatically,based on knowledge of vocabulary
, syntax and how language works.
The stronger a student's orallanguage foundation, the better
their brain becomes at makingthese predictions.
Think about it this way Ifyou're reading the sentence the
enormous elephant your brainimmediately starts predicting
(06:26):
what might come next.
Words like trumpeted orlumbered feel much more likely
than meowed or chirped.
Because of our knowledge, thispredictive ability is what
allows fluent readers to readmore smoothly and efficiently.
Students who haven't had richoral language experiences often
(06:46):
read word by word because theycan't predict what's coming next
.
And, of course, there's adecoding factor here as well.
But we're talking about ourlanguage knowledge, and if they
are decoding word by word,they're working so hard to
decode individual words thatthey can't access what their
brain knows about the flow andrhythm of language.
That makes reading fluent andmeaningful.
(07:08):
So how do we do this?
How do we provide this readaloud experience in a way that's
effective and not just a funuse of time?
If we accept that read aloudscan be a valuable part of our
literacy instruction, how do wedo them?
Well, well, the research givesus some clear guidance here, and
the key word is interactive.
(07:32):
There's a significant differencebetween passive and interactive
read-alouds.
Simply reading a book frombeginning to end while students
listen passively does not yieldthe same benefits as
intentionally engaging studentswith the text.
Recent research shows thatstudents who have heard
interactive read-alouds withvocabulary elaborations used
(07:56):
significantly more target wordsin their story retellings
compared to students who heardsimple read-alouds without
interaction.
And that elaboration is aboutcoming across a piece of tier
two vocabulary and brieflyexplaining the word to the
students.
So here are three key tips formaking our read-alouds provide
(08:18):
maximum bang for the buck in thelearning, as well as being
enjoyable for all of us.
So, firstly, choose textsstrategically, because we all
know that the text that wechoose matters enormously.
So research shows us thatchildren listening to picture
books are roughly three timesmore likely to encounter new
(08:41):
vocabulary that isn't amongstthe most frequent words in their
everyday language, and this isvocabulary we're unlikely to
encounter in daily conversation.
But we will need for academicsuccess, and so, of course,
we're talking about books thatare rich in tier two vocabulary,
those sophisticated words thatappear across different contexts
(09:02):
and will serve students well intheir academic reading.
But we want to find theGoldilocks spot.
Here we want to find the spot.
That's not too easy, not toohard, that will stretch the
students slightly withoutoverwhelming them, because if
there's too much unknownvocabulary they're not going to
get any meaning out of the textor any enjoyment.
Second, make the processinteractive, not passive, and
(09:27):
this doesn't mean stopping everysentence to discuss it.
That would kill the enjoymentof the read aloud.
But we can strategically pauseto think aloud, to make
predictions, to model thethinking processes that we want
students to learn, or we couldjust explore interesting words
that can amplify the benefits ofthe reading significantly.
(09:51):
So research shows that whenteachers pause to elaborate on
vocabulary as we've discussed,providing a definition, examples
or connections that studentsare more likely to use those
words in their story retelling.
The magic isn't just in thereading, it's in the interaction
around the text.
So you could ask a simplequestion and have the students
(10:13):
briefly answer.
You could say oh, I wonderwhat's going to happen next.
Quickly tell your partner andthen come back to me.
Thirdly, let's build knowledge,not just vocabulary.
When we choose texts that buildknowledge about topics students
are studying in science orhistory, well, the text's doing
double duty.
They're building both languageand conceptual knowledge that
(10:35):
will support comprehensionacross the curriculum.
So a good text that thestudents will enjoy is first
port of call.
Then think about the vocabulary, aiming for that tier two, and
then if there's an option therethat helps us build knowledge,
then tickety-boo, away we go.
(10:55):
Now let's talk a bit more aboutthat fluency connection, because
here's where the read aloudconnects most directly to
fluency development.
When students hear fluentexpressive reading day after day
, they're internalizing therhythm and flow of language.
They're hearing how punctuationshould be used, how dialogue
(11:18):
should be voiced, how emphasiscan change meaning, and when
they're able to connect from acomprehension perspective.
Seeing this coming out in theirown reading is an example and
an indicator that they'reactually understanding what
they're reading.
And I can't say it more clearlythat the language of books is
different from the language ofeveryday speech.
(11:40):
So we need to learn thesethings in the context of written
texts.
Let's talk about the practicalconsiderations.
Everyone.
Now I know what some of you arethinking, jocelyn, this all
sounds lovely, but where do Ifind the time?
And I get it, our days arepacked.
But what if the read aloud timedidn't have to be an add-on?
(12:02):
What if it could be used withinexisting time structures for
strategic integration.
So in a science lesson you canread the text aloud as part of
your reading process for thatlesson.
So unpack the tricky vocabularyor the new vocabulary, have the
(12:23):
students have a go.
Then you can read it aloud forthe fluency part and then they
have another go.
Or you just read it aloud tothem and then have them
strategically deep readparticular paragraphs.
You can choose picture booksthat connect with the history
unit and read them within yourhistory lesson.
We can select texts thatshowcase the type of writing we
(12:46):
want students to produce, and wedo this in the text-based unit.
But we can do it in other waysas well.
We can also use read aloud timeas a quick brain break between
intensive lessons.
Taking students out to the ovalfor a 15 minute run is actually
more likely to get them hypedup than to get them calm and
(13:06):
ready for the next learning time.
So reading half a page or apage of a class novel as a
transition is a great way tosignal to the brain that hey,
we're about to switch tasks here.
It also gives students thatlittle bit of downtime that can
help them gather their energyfor the next part of the lesson
and, honestly, sometimes it'sokay to read aloud simply for
(13:29):
the joy of it.
Our students will pick up on ourenjoyment of literature.
Feelings are contagious andwhen we are finding pleasure in
the reading experience well,they're more likely to finding
pleasure in the readingexperience well, they're more
likely to.
There's something else theresearch tells us that I think
(13:49):
is quite compelling.
Students who have strong orallanguage foundations enter what
is sometimes called the virtuouscycle.
So because they can predicttext better, they read more
fluently.
Because they read more fluently, they comprehend better.
Because they comprehend better,they want to read more.
(14:11):
And because they read more,their oral language gets even
stronger.
Students without the orallanguage foundations often get
stuck in the opposite cycle.
Poor prediction leads to choppyreading, which leads to poor
comprehension, which leads toreading avoidance, which leads
to even weaker languagedevelopment.
(14:32):
So read alouds are one way wecan break students of this
negative cycle and put them onthe path to the positive one.
But let me be very clear aboutwhat I'm not suggesting.
I'm not saying we shouldreplace explicit instruction
with read-alouds.
I'm not saying that studentsshouldn't have eyes on the text
(14:53):
and engage in deep reading whenthat becomes appropriate.
I'm not suggesting thatread-alouds alone will solve
reading difficulties.
Students who are strugglingwith decoding need systematic,
explicit instruction in phonicsand word recognition.
What I am suggesting is thatoral language development
through read-alouds can workhand-in-hand with explicit
(15:15):
instruction to create morepowerful learning experiences.
When students have rich orallanguage foundations, they're
better positioned to benefitfrom the phonics instruction
that we're providing and theinstruction in all of the other
reading elements as well.
When they can predict textbased on their language
knowledge, the words they'redecoding just make more sense.
(15:37):
So should we bring back the readaloud?
Well, I think from this episodeit's pretty clear that I
believe the answer is yes, butwe need to do it with intention
and purpose.
So choose text strategically,interact meaningfully, connect
to your curriculum goals and yes, sometimes read simply for the
(15:58):
pure joy of sharing a greatstory.
Remember that every time youread aloud with expression and
engagement, every time you pauseto discuss an interesting word
or idea not for too long, justfor a moment every time you make
your thinking visible as younavigate a text, you're building
your students' languageprediction system.
(16:19):
You're literally helping thembecome more fluent readers.
The beautiful thing about thisresearch is that it shows us
that all students, regardless oftheir background, can develop
stronger oral language throughrich read aloud experiences.
Your daily read alouds aren'tjust a nice break from serious
instruction.
They're serious instructionthemselves, building the
(16:41):
foundation that will support allof your other literacy efforts.
In our next Research to theClassroom series, I'm going to
dive deeper into this issue andthe specific techniques that can
make read-alouds the mosteffective, but for now, I
encourage you just to find spacein your day for this practice.
Your students, developingreading fluency and their love
(17:05):
of reading will thank you for it.
Until next time, happy teachingeveryone.
Bye.
Hi there, it's Jocelyn here with this week's episode of
the Structured Literacy Podcast, recorded here in Tasmania, the
beautiful lands of the Palawapeople.
Today I want to talk aboutsomething that I think we may
well have lost sight of in manyclassrooms, particularly in the
Upper Primary.
It's something that used to bea daily staple but has quietly
(00:22):
disappeared from many timetablesas we've become increasingly
focused on explicit, systematicinstruction.
I'm talking about the simpleact of reading aloud to our
students.
Now, before you think I'm aboutto suggest we abandon
everything we know abouteffective literacy instruction,
let's be clear.
(00:42):
I'm not.
What I'm suggesting is thatwe've perhaps thrown the baby
out with the bathwater on thisone.
In the rightful focus onsystematic phonics, explicit
vocabulary and evidence-basedpractices, we may have
inadvertently eliminated one ofthe most powerful tools we have
for building oral language and,by extension, for reading
(01:04):
fluency and comprehension.
So the question I want toexplore today is should we bring
back the read aloud as aregular feature of our
classrooms and, if so, how do wedo it?
Well, if I were to walk intomany upper primary classrooms
today, I'd be hard pressed, Ithink, to find regular
(01:26):
read-aloud time, scheduledpurposefully into the day.
Teachers are always telling methe pressure they feel to cover
curriculum content, to ensurestudents are getting their
explicit instruction, theirshared reading time, their
writing practice.
There's simply no time for justreading to students, and I
totally get this pressure.
(01:47):
Truly I do.
We know that explicitinstruction is critical,
particularly for our strugglingstudents.
We know that systematicapproaches to reading
instruction yield better resultsthan what we used to do.
But here's what I think we'remissing Reading aloud to
students isn't just a nicereading time.
It's actually a powerful formof oral language instruction
(02:09):
that directly supports readingdevelopment.
And here's something else we'velost in our focus on intensive,
teacher-directed lessons, andI'm going to say it, it's the
balance Both teachers andstudents need a little downtime
that maintains our energy levels.
Holding space for reading toour students ensures that we
(02:29):
keep that crucial balancebetween intensive instruction
and the moments that sustain usall through this demanding work
of teaching and learning.
And let's talk about joy.
There's something magical thathappens when you choose a great
text and read it to yourstudents.
You get to hear them laugh, youwatch them lean forward in
anticipation as they read, yousee their faces when you stop
(02:52):
reading on a cliffhanger and youget that wonderful groan of
frustration mixed withexcitement.
These moments aren't just niceadditions to your day.
They're actually incrediblyrewarding for us as teachers and
vital for building students'love of story and literature.
For our struggling students, Ipersonally think this is
(03:13):
particularly crucial because,while they're developing all of
the foundational skills and it'sfor some of them it takes them
so long reader lads help fostertheir relationship with books
and stories.
They get to experience the joyand the meaning of literature
while they're building thosecritical decoding skills.
This connection can be thedifference between a student who
(03:36):
sees reading as a chore and onewho sees it as a pathway to
wonderful experiences.
If we don't keep the joy in it,it's highly unlikely that
students are going to read forpleasure on their own.
And there does come a pointwhen the independent reading we
do is a much bigger builder ofvocabulary than any explicit
(03:57):
instruction.
So we need to get them to thejoyful bit, and read alouds can
be a part of that.
Now I need to be honest with youabout the research here.
I haven't been able to see adirect line of studies that say
read-alouds improve oral readingfluency.
What we do have is strongevidence that read-alouds
(04:19):
improve oral language, or theycan and separate strong evidence
that oral language is a keypredictor of reading fluency and
comprehension.
So while I can't today make adirect causal claim, the
connection is certainly areasonable one to make.
I look forward to someone doingthat research and filling that
(04:40):
little gap in.
What the research does tell usquite clearly is that
interactive and dialogicread-alouds produce consistent,
moderate to large, immediategains in children's vocabulary
knowledge.
Meta-analyses show that when weread to students and engage
them in discussion about whatwe're reading, their vocabulary
(05:01):
grows significantly.
And we know from decades ofreading research that vocabulary
knowledge is one of thestronger predictors of reading
comprehension.
But here's where it gets reallyinteresting from a fluency
perspective, Our brains arepattern-finding machines.
So when students hear richlanguage through read-alouds,
(05:22):
they're not just learning newwords.
They're learning how languageflows, how sentences are
structured, how ideas connect toeach other.
They're building what we canthink of as the language
prediction engine.
And remember that the languageof books is different from the
language of everyday speech, sothis is not experience that
(05:43):
they're likely to get justthrough speaking alone.
The book provides a bridge,both if this is fiction or
non-fiction.
So let's talk more about thisprediction business.
When fluent readers read, theirbrains are constantly predicting
what word comes next.
This isn't a conscious process.
(06:04):
It's happening automatically,based on knowledge of vocabulary
, syntax and how language works.
The stronger a student's orallanguage foundation, the better
their brain becomes at makingthese predictions.
Think about it this way Ifyou're reading the sentence the
enormous elephant your brainimmediately starts predicting
(06:26):
what might come next.
Words like trumpeted orlumbered feel much more likely
than meowed or chirped.
Because of our knowledge, thispredictive ability is what
allows fluent readers to readmore smoothly and efficiently.
Students who haven't had richoral language experiences often
(06:46):
read word by word because theycan't predict what's coming next
.
And, of course, there's adecoding factor here as well.
But we're talking about ourlanguage knowledge, and if they
are decoding word by word,they're working so hard to
decode individual words thatthey can't access what their
brain knows about the flow andrhythm of language.
That makes reading fluent andmeaningful.
(07:08):
So how do we do this?
How do we provide this readaloud experience in a way that's
effective and not just a funuse of time?
If we accept that read aloudscan be a valuable part of our
literacy instruction, how do wedo them?
Well, well, the research givesus some clear guidance here, and
the key word is interactive.
(07:32):
There's a significant differencebetween passive and interactive
read-alouds.
Simply reading a book frombeginning to end while students
listen passively does not yieldthe same benefits as
intentionally engaging studentswith the text.
Recent research shows thatstudents who have heard
interactive read-alouds withvocabulary elaborations used
(07:56):
significantly more target wordsin their story retellings
compared to students who heardsimple read-alouds without
interaction.
And that elaboration is aboutcoming across a piece of tier
two vocabulary and brieflyexplaining the word to the
students.
So here are three key tips formaking our read-alouds provide
(08:18):
maximum bang for the buck in thelearning, as well as being
enjoyable for all of us.
So, firstly, choose textsstrategically, because we all
know that the text that wechoose matters enormously.
So research shows us thatchildren listening to picture
books are roughly three timesmore likely to encounter new
(08:41):
vocabulary that isn't amongstthe most frequent words in their
everyday language, and this isvocabulary we're unlikely to
encounter in daily conversation.
But we will need for academicsuccess, and so, of course,
we're talking about books thatare rich in tier two vocabulary,
those sophisticated words thatappear across different contexts
(09:02):
and will serve students well intheir academic reading.
But we want to find theGoldilocks spot.
Here we want to find the spot.
That's not too easy, not toohard, that will stretch the
students slightly withoutoverwhelming them, because if
there's too much unknownvocabulary they're not going to
get any meaning out of the textor any enjoyment.
Second, make the processinteractive, not passive, and
(09:27):
this doesn't mean stopping everysentence to discuss it.
That would kill the enjoymentof the read aloud.
But we can strategically pauseto think aloud, to make
predictions, to model thethinking processes that we want
students to learn, or we couldjust explore interesting words
that can amplify the benefits ofthe reading significantly.
(09:51):
So research shows that whenteachers pause to elaborate on
vocabulary as we've discussed,providing a definition, examples
or connections that studentsare more likely to use those
words in their story retelling.
The magic isn't just in thereading, it's in the interaction
around the text.
So you could ask a simplequestion and have the students
(10:13):
briefly answer.
You could say oh, I wonderwhat's going to happen next.
Quickly tell your partner andthen come back to me.
Thirdly, let's build knowledge,not just vocabulary.
When we choose texts that buildknowledge about topics students
are studying in science orhistory, well, the text's doing
double duty.
They're building both languageand conceptual knowledge that
(10:35):
will support comprehensionacross the curriculum.
So a good text that thestudents will enjoy is first
port of call.
Then think about the vocabulary, aiming for that tier two, and
then if there's an option therethat helps us build knowledge,
then tickety-boo, away we go.
(10:55):
Now let's talk a bit more aboutthat fluency connection, because
here's where the read aloudconnects most directly to
fluency development.
When students hear fluentexpressive reading day after day
, they're internalizing therhythm and flow of language.
They're hearing how punctuationshould be used, how dialogue
(11:18):
should be voiced, how emphasiscan change meaning, and when
they're able to connect from acomprehension perspective.
Seeing this coming out in theirown reading is an example and
an indicator that they'reactually understanding what
they're reading.
And I can't say it more clearlythat the language of books is
different from the language ofeveryday speech.
(11:40):
So we need to learn thesethings in the context of written
texts.
Let's talk about the practicalconsiderations.
Everyone.
Now I know what some of you arethinking, jocelyn, this all
sounds lovely, but where do Ifind the time?
And I get it, our days arepacked.
But what if the read aloud timedidn't have to be an add-on?
(12:02):
What if it could be used withinexisting time structures for
strategic integration.
So in a science lesson you canread the text aloud as part of
your reading process for thatlesson.
So unpack the tricky vocabularyor the new vocabulary, have the
(12:23):
students have a go.
Then you can read it aloud forthe fluency part and then they
have another go.
Or you just read it aloud tothem and then have them
strategically deep readparticular paragraphs.
You can choose picture booksthat connect with the history
unit and read them within yourhistory lesson.
We can select texts thatshowcase the type of writing we
(12:46):
want students to produce, and wedo this in the text-based unit.
But we can do it in other waysas well.
We can also use read aloud timeas a quick brain break between
intensive lessons.
Taking students out to the ovalfor a 15 minute run is actually
more likely to get them hypedup than to get them calm and
(13:06):
ready for the next learning time.
So reading half a page or apage of a class novel as a
transition is a great way tosignal to the brain that hey,
we're about to switch tasks here.
It also gives students thatlittle bit of downtime that can
help them gather their energyfor the next part of the lesson
and, honestly, sometimes it'sokay to read aloud simply for
(13:29):
the joy of it.
Our students will pick up on ourenjoyment of literature.
Feelings are contagious andwhen we are finding pleasure in
the reading experience well,they're more likely to finding
pleasure in the readingexperience well, they're more
likely to.
There's something else theresearch tells us that I think
(13:49):
is quite compelling.
Students who have strong orallanguage foundations enter what
is sometimes called the virtuouscycle.
So because they can predicttext better, they read more
fluently.
Because they read more fluently, they comprehend better.
Because they comprehend better,they want to read more.
(14:11):
And because they read more,their oral language gets even
stronger.
Students without the orallanguage foundations often get
stuck in the opposite cycle.
Poor prediction leads to choppyreading, which leads to poor
comprehension, which leads toreading avoidance, which leads
to even weaker languagedevelopment.
(14:32):
So read alouds are one way wecan break students of this
negative cycle and put them onthe path to the positive one.
But let me be very clear aboutwhat I'm not suggesting.
I'm not saying we shouldreplace explicit instruction
with read-alouds.
I'm not saying that studentsshouldn't have eyes on the text
(14:53):
and engage in deep reading whenthat becomes appropriate.
I'm not suggesting thatread-alouds alone will solve
reading difficulties.
Students who are strugglingwith decoding need systematic,
explicit instruction in phonicsand word recognition.
What I am suggesting is thatoral language development
through read-alouds can workhand-in-hand with explicit
(15:15):
instruction to create morepowerful learning experiences.
When students have rich orallanguage foundations, they're
better positioned to benefitfrom the phonics instruction
that we're providing and theinstruction in all of the other
reading elements as well.
When they can predict textbased on their language
knowledge, the words they'redecoding just make more sense.
(15:37):
So should we bring back the readaloud?
Well, I think from this episodeit's pretty clear that I
believe the answer is yes, butwe need to do it with intention
and purpose.
So choose text strategically,interact meaningfully, connect
to your curriculum goals and yes, sometimes read simply for the
(15:58):
pure joy of sharing a greatstory.
Remember that every time youread aloud with expression and
engagement, every time you pauseto discuss an interesting word
or idea not for too long, justfor a moment every time you make
your thinking visible as younavigate a text, you're building
your students' languageprediction system.
(16:19):
You're literally helping thembecome more fluent readers.
The beautiful thing about thisresearch is that it shows us
that all students, regardless oftheir background, can develop
stronger oral language throughrich read aloud experiences.
Your daily read alouds aren'tjust a nice break from serious
instruction.
They're serious instructionthemselves, building the
(16:41):
foundation that will support allof your other literacy efforts.
In our next Research to theClassroom series, I'm going to
dive deeper into this issue andthe specific techniques that can
make read-alouds the mosteffective, but for now, I
encourage you just to find spacein your day for this practice.
Your students, developingreading fluency and their love
(17:05):
of reading will thank you for it.
Until next time, happy teachingeveryone.
Bye.
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