Reading
Interactive read alouds
Yesterday Literacy coordinator at BISS Kristi Koziol gave the Elementary Staff a great PD opportunity. She introduced us to the concept "Interactive read-alouds". This technique is aimed at teacher who want students to become not only engaged in the story but also help their language acquisition and their thinking skills.
Kristi explained that the strategy is fairly simple yet successful: the teacher models his/her thinking while reading the story and also incorporates visual aids such as gestures and graphic organizers and oral aids such as expression and different voices. This may not sound too special but there are some very important parts to it:
For more detailed information, you can read the article Using Interactive Read Alouds by Jennifer Barrett-Mynes
Kristi explained that the strategy is fairly simple yet successful: the teacher models his/her thinking while reading the story and also incorporates visual aids such as gestures and graphic organizers and oral aids such as expression and different voices. This may not sound too special but there are some very important parts to it:
- Get the timing right: a 10-15 minute interval is right for younger students, any more and they'll get restless! If the book takes longer to read, you can wait until the next day.
- Choose the appropriate book: great attention needs to be paid to the level of the independent reading level of the children. The chosen book should be slightly above it. It's a fine balance!
- Pre-read and plan interactions: Kristi knew the book she was reading really well and made notes using sticky notes to remind herself as to where to stop and what to ask.
- Stop for interactions: Get the children talking, but not too much, or the story flow will be interrupted. Kristi suggested three "stops" per 10 minute interval. A good way to encourage the children to talk and reflect is pairing them with "Thinking partners". In every stop these pairs share their ideas with each other.
- Assess students understanding: you can use graphic organizers or have the students retell the events on the book.
For more detailed information, you can read the article Using Interactive Read Alouds by Jennifer Barrett-Mynes