Influence of Read Aloud

16 Pages·2007·0.08 MB·English

Influence of Read Aloud 1
Anne of Green Gables, The Wind in the Willows,
Robinson Crusoe, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Hobbit,
Uncle Remus; each of these are beloved classic children’s
books, but how many children that you know would recognize
any of these titles? Today, these books would be very
difficult for a third or fourth grader to read. Written in
the 19th and early 20th centuries, these books were born in
the blessed age of leisure. It was a time in which children
heard these stories read to them by their mothers, fathers,
or grandparents, or they were read by the children
themselves. The journals and stories written by children
from this time period reflect this literary culture. Fast
forward a century or a half-century and pick up a
children’s book. Thumb through its pages, and what do you
notice? The first thing you may notice is how little time
it takes to thumb through it. It consists of about 32-100
pages, contains several pictures (depending on what age
group the book is intended for), ten lines of words per
page, and small, simple words, written in not so small
print. The pace of life today is much faster, instead of a
child handing a book to an adult to read aloud, the adult
hands the child a book to read silently and alone. Again,
the journals and writings of the children of our day
reflect this. Compare the children and children’s books of
yesterday to those of today. The children of the last
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century and a half had the advantage of not only reading
such language rich stories themselves, but also being
important enough to be read to. If given the time and
attention, perhaps, the children of our day will grow into
the inventors, leaders, and scholars that the children of
years past turned out to be.
Teaching children to read must begin with reading to
them. Children learn best by read aloud because children
hear much better than they read. They are able to grasp
more difficult concepts and vocabulary through listening to
a skilled reader. But once children have mastered the
primary skills of reading, teachers and parents assume that
reading to the child is no longer necessary (Gibson, 1989).
The child is then given basal readers that contain simple
vocabulary, little if any plot, no character development,
and no narrative. These basal readers are designed as word
recognition or sight word booklets and have no literary
value (Gibson, 1989). With this, teachers and parents lower
expectations for children who are learning to read
(Trelease, 1989). Teachers give students basal readers and
expect that the vocabulary in those books are the only
words the child is capable of knowing and recognizing. What
teachers do not realize is that the opposite is true.
Through read aloud the child is able to grasp more complex
words and concepts easier than reading a basal or book on
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his own. Through basal readers the child’s vocabulary is
restricted to what others think he should know or is
capable of knowing and thus his literary learning is
stifled (Routman, 2003). This deprivation is reflected in
children’s own writing, reading, and speaking capabilities.
It is also reflected in their comprehension in other
subjects as well. If a child has only read basal books, how
can he or she be expected to read a history or science
textbook? Where critics believe that chapter books are too
complex to the point of being uninteresting to young
readers, their approach is to oversimplify literature
(Gibson, 1989). Without the background of good literature,
a child does not gain the vocabulary or comprehension to
succeed in all other classes (Harris, Sipay, 1975). It is a
proven fact that all of these areas are improved upon if
reading aloud is a regular part of any classroom schedule.
Both below average and average readers report that they
comprehend stories better if they are read to (Harris,
Sipay, 1975).
Most teachers are aware of the benefits of reading
aloud but are afraid of the fact that reading to children
is “entertaining” (Trelease, 1989). Reading time, whether
silent or oral, is usually not a regularly scheduled part
of daily classroom life. Reading aloud or silent reading is
seen as an add-on activity (Routman, 2003). It should be
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seen as “instructional time that meets a number of literacy
and learning goals (Allen, 2000).” Reading aloud should be
a scheduled activity that is integrated into the daily
routine of the classroom and used for enjoyment and
learning, yet not ruined as time for teachers to test
student understanding through numerous interruptions
(Allen, 2000). Reading aloud can be integrated into all
aspects of the curriculum and many teachers do not realize
that it is more than acceptable to introduce literature in
a history, math, or science class (Trelease, 1989). Reading
good books pertaining to certain subjects help students to
make important connections (Trelease, 1989).
Entertainment is the primary objective of reading good
literature aloud, but there are several other reasons as
well.
Read aloud is an ideal way to help
students build an awareness of critical
reading components: reading motivation,
word knowledge, syntax, story grammar,
genre knowledge, authors’ intentions,
readers’ choices, and understanding
(Allen,2000,p.47).
Read aloud should be a daily instructional practice because
it:
1) Exposes students to a wide variety
of literature in an enjoyable way
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2) Builds content area background
knowledge as well as general world
knowledge
3) Helps students develop interests for
later self-selection of reading material
4) Provides opportunities for assessing
story development and characterization
5) Facilitates students’ abilities to
compare and contrast by providing
opportunities to look at commonalities
among themes, texts, authors, characters,
and conflicts
6) Fine-tunes students’ observational/
listening skills
7) Creates an atmosphere for developing
good discussion skills
8) Develops higher level thinking skills
9) Offers opportunity to assess students’
growth as listeners and thinkers
10) Allows students to anticipate or
predict
11) Models effective reading behaviors
12) Offers time for students to practice
cloze in a risk free setting
13) Provides opportunities to assess
reading strategies students already possess
14) Creates a way to assess interest/
attention span and allows for increase
over time
15) Provides opportunities to share a
love of books with readers
16) Helps students develop a cohesive
school program by connecting books to
their academic and personal lives
17) Provides concrete models of writing
for students as apprentice writers
18) Helps create a community of learners
19) Provides an opportunity to model
respect for a range of reading and
response (Allen,2000,p.47-48).

A main motivation for reading aloud is that it expands
children’s knowledge of the world through books (Gibson,
1989). Reading aloud is a time when the class explores the
world through literature without the drudgery of sounding
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out words themselves. A wonderful work of literature is
turned into another reason a child dislikes school when the
child’s mind is not left free to explore what the text is
saying (Allen, 2000).
Reading aloud also builds fluency in speech and
reading. “If children do not have adequate and rich
language to scaffold their reading and writing, their
learning often stalls or regresses (Routman,2003, p.51).”
Language is learned by hearing first. The listening level
of children is always well above their reading level. The
fourth grade child is completely capable of hearing a book
written on a sixth grade level (Trelease, 1989). Children
often do not read stories themselves that are too difficult
for them, but they are more than capable of listening to
them and then later taking the book and reading it once
they have become familiar with it (Gibson, 1989). With
regular read aloud times scheduled as part of the classroom
curriculum, students begin to grasp the complexity of text
structure. During the years from age five to seven, they
begin to be able to identify common characteristics of
story forms (Gibson, 1989). Reading aloud helps children be
less intimidated by unfamiliar texts because they have
become familiar with ideas and concepts that shape the
meaning of a book (Harris, Sipay, 1975). These skills are
first mastered through listening to several examples of
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good literature read by skilled and fluent readers and lead
to the ability of mastering the written word for
themselves. Critics argue that texts above a child’s
reading capacity cannot be beneficial because they cannot
understand it. What is not understood is dull and too
difficult and therefore cannot be of interest or benefit to
the reader (Gibson, 1989). What the critics may not
consider is that a child’s listening capacity is much
greater than their reading ability. Both poor and average
readers comprehend best after listening and less after
silent reading (Harris, Sipay, 1975). It is during read
aloud that all students are equal. Each child has the same
listening ability as the next and all are able to enjoy
literature equally. Readers are allowed to create their own
mental pictures and experience language without struggling
to read it themselves (Allen, 2000). “For students who
struggle with word-for-word reading, experiencing the whole
story can finally give them a sense of the wonder and magic
of a book (Allen, 2000, p.45).”
Reading aloud is an important way to build students’
awareness of critical reading components such as reading
motivation, word knowledge, syntax, story grammar, genre
knowledge, author’s intentions, and understanding (Allen,
2000). Basal readers make little contribution to children’s
understanding of storybooks because they do not use
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phrasing, vocabulary, or narrative forms usual of
storytelling (Gibson, 1979). Students learn new vocabulary,
grammar, new information, and how stories and written
language work, especially when given the opportunity to
talk about and discuss the background of a piece of
literature (Routman, 2003). Students can make connections
to their own lives through read aloud and it serves as a
great tool for further development in discussion, writing,
and independent reading (Routman, 2003).
Critics also argue that read aloud programs offer no
way of assessing student progress. How does the teacher
know if the student is listening? How does the teacher know
the student is making connections between texts, to life,
or to the world? The students’ understanding can be judged
through read aloud by paying attention to the students’
responses during reading time and in the discussion that
follows. Children’s non-word responses such as body
language, intake of breath, and hands over eyes show that
they are paying close attention and applying the story to
their emotions. Comments that compare one work of
literature to another prove that they can apply text to
text. Questions about words they hear and requests to
explain them show that they learn new vocabulary. Children
may offer an alternative to plot or endings, or may share
their opinions about characters and their motivations. This
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shows that they are grasping authors’ styles and literary
elements such as characterization. Children begin to mimic
words they have heard in books. They ask important
questions about characters or authors’ meanings. Students
also suggest extending the book experience through
requesting a dramatization of the book (Allen, 2000).
Reading aloud invites the students to interact with the
book on a personal level (Allen, 2000).
Reading aloud offers students an enjoyable way to
learn new concepts and offers teachers an easy way to
assess student progress. Through listening to stories
students become familiar with literature and are more eager
to begin reading independently. Their ability in listening
to stories spills over into all other areas of the
curriculum. Student writing, reading, and comprehension
ability greatly increase when they are introduced to rich
language in their early years of school. Children learn to
speak through listening to their parents or caregivers
talk. They learn to read through listening as well. When an
adult takes the time to read to children, to let them be
free from all the forced struggle of reading on their own,
they can enjoy a good story while their imagination grows
and their appetite for reading becomes insatiable. This
love of reading and intelligence gained from reading will
be passed on to another generation. In her 1971 Caldecott
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Medal acceptance speech, Gail Haley wisely spoke these
words:
“Children who are not spoken to by live
and responsive adults will not learn to
speak properly. Children who are not an-
swered will stop asking questions. They
will become incurious. And children who
are not told stories and who are not
read to will have few reasons for wanting
to learn to read.(Trelease, 1989, p.19)”
What do teachers themselves have to say about the
influence of read aloud? And what are the ways read aloud
is used in their classrooms? Do teachers believe their
students learn new vocabulary through read aloud? Do they
believe students comprehend better when read to? In a
survey of two rural schools in West Central Georgia
teachers answered twenty-two questions regarding read aloud
and its effectiveness in the elementary classroom. The
survey found that the majority of teachers enjoyed using
read aloud in their classrooms and believed that their
students enjoyed it as well. But the survey did not
question only the entertainment aspect of read aloud, but
also the educational benefits of it. The survey found that
a majority of teachers witnessed their students using
vocabulary learned from read alouds. Teachers also answered