Read Alouds assignment

Becky Whitters & Riley Patles

The Role of Read Alouds in the Elementary Classroom

Read alouds in the classroom are very important for a number of

reasons. A few reasons why they are important include: building
vocabulary, modeling fluency, motivating students to read and
supporting developing connections between print elements.

Beck and McKeown argue that read alouds are the most highly
recommended activities to do in the classroom for developing and
encouraging literacy and language. (10) Read alouds allow for children
to ask question during reading and receiving immediate answers. In
this article, the authors use the example of a real aloud in a real
classroom where the teacher read the story of Curious George Takes a
Job. During the reading, the teacher would ask questions like: what
do we know so far about George?(12) This gives the opportunity for
children to rethink about what theyve learned as well as think more
critically about the given text.

In another article, Lane and Wright argue that not all real alouds
can be effective but if they meet the criteria o being well written, have
engaging plots and characters, have the potential for expressive
reading and an assortment of genres, it will not be the best use of class
time. However, if the book meets these requirements, then the read
aloud is beneficial. (667)

Read-alouds are an important component to elementary

Language Arts classes. They keep the students engaged and excited
while giving an educational lesson. There are several benefits to read-
alouds including the enhancement of knowledge of the conventions of
print, vocabulary development and [the practicing of] listening
comprehension skills (Sipe 2000). Through research, it has been
found that given supportive environments, children respond to
literature in a great variety of ways, through talk, art, spontaneous
drama, and writing (Sipe 2000). Read-alouds allow young students to
feel encouraged to read in a positive setting while they develop an
understanding of story structures (Rog 2001). They are also useful as
during a read-aloud, teachers are demonstrating the ways the reading
process works(Burkins & Croft, 2010) while providing students with an
exciting way to read a book together with their peers.

Texts for Elementary Read Alouds

Ten appropriate texts for read aloud for an elementary classroom
include:
1. The Paper Bag Princess by: Robert Munsch
2. A, B, Cs by: Dr. Seuss
3. The Lorax by: Dr. Seuss
4. Oh the Places Youll Go! by: Dr. Seuss
5. The Cremation of Sam McGee by: Robert Service
6. Cinderella by: Brothers Grimm
7. Charlottes Web by: E.B White
8. Green eggs and ham by: Dr.Seuss
9.Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by: Roal Dahl
10.Sick by: Shel Silverstein.

A rationale for each selection:

1. The Paper Bag Princess is a good selection for a read aloud as it

is engaging, the vocabulary is not very challenging, and there is
a bigger idea involved in the story as it teaches young girls that
they deserve respect and shouldnt let boys treat them badly.
2. A, B, Cs meets the requirements for a successful read aloud as it
is engaging, the animation is colorful and captivating, it is
instructional, and it uses rhyming words to make associations
with letters of the alphabet. This text is very useful in a
classroom to introduce alphabet and rhymes.
3. The Lorax is an appropriate text for a read aloud because it was
compelling illustrations; it allows children to think deeper
because the theme of the book is all about the environment. It
teaches children the importance of caring for the environment at
a young age and if a better way than simply teaching them.
4. Oh the Places Youll Go! is a very good text for an in class read
aloud. It offers opportunity to think deeper as the topic of the
story is about being independent and how to overcome obstacles
while in the real world. Since the author is Dr. Seuss, the
illustrations are captivating and silly, so young children can
relate. The vocabulary is simple enough but offers a bit of
challenge, as there are many alliterations and rhymes. This text
would be useful to introduce those two literary concepts.
5. The Cremation of Sam McGee is a good source for a read aloud
because it is a poem. This poem would be useful in a higher-level
elementary class such as grade 5. It introduces concepts such as
death and dying which are important concepts to introduce
children to. There is no illustration associated with the text, as it
is a poem. The vocabulary is slightly challenging which is another
reason why it would be suitable for the fifth grade.
6. Cinderella is a classic Disney story that many children in grade
two will enjoy as it is a story that they most likely grew up with
and many of them will already know the main idea. This story
can be incorporated into a larger unit on fairy tales in a
classroom. In reading this story, children can be asked to talk
about character traits of characters in the story and relate those
traits to general traits about fairy tales (Learning to Give).
Cinderella has basic vocabulary that students in grade two
should be able to read on their own and understand during a
read-aloud with the class. The illustrations in the story are very
colorful and will be useful in engaging the student to listen by
paying close attention to the pictures. Cinderella is a good story
as it has several lessons to be learned, and has many themes
that children can relate to. Children who are from divorced
families and who are getting to know stepsiblings may enjoy this
story as it allows them to compare Cinderellas negative situation
to their own unique situation.
7. Charlottes Web is an appropriate book for a read aloud for an
elementary class. It is very engaging for young children as
animals and the friendships they create are the focus of the
book. The vocabulary in Charlottes Web is appropriate for
students in grade three as it is not very challenging and allows
students to follow along with the story. Furthermore, this book
can be taken in several directions as other teachers have used
this book to teach children about science, math, social studies,
spelling and vocabulary (Harry). Aside from all of the other
subjects this book can be incorporated into, students can explore
the theme of friendship as they watch Charlotte and Wilbur
grow as friends. It teaches children that people who are different
from each other can have growing, successful friendships.
8. Green Eggs and Ham is another great read aloud that would be
appropriate for a grade one class. The story has pictures that
help the children follow along with the story, and the vocabulary
is not challenging. This story can also be used as a lesson to
teach children not to give up. It shows children to be persistent
and to keep trying, as Sam-I-Am never gives up while trying to
convince the narrator to try green eggs and ham.
9. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is another great read aloud for
children in grade three that they will enjoy. Again, the vocabulary
is not too challenging for students of this age level. This book can
be useful to teach several lessons to children, including being
grateful for what you have in life, and being kind to one another.
Despite how poor Charlie and his family are, he is always giving
to others and looks out for everyone before himself.
10. Sick is a poem by Shel Silverstein that would be great for a
classroom of children in grade five. This poem would be a great
 way to start off a unit in poetry with your class, as it is comical
and light. You can ask students to find literary devices in the
poem that they would know at the fifth grade level. Students will
enjoy this poem because they can relate it back to a time that
they made excuses when they didnt want to do something. The
vocabulary is slightly more advanced in this poem but suitable
for a grade five class.

Accompanying Strategy Activities for Elementary LA:

1. Inter-textual connections: An inter-textual connection is when

you as a reader form links between your own life and a given
text. Another way is to draw connections between stories with
similar genres or authors. (Tompkins, Bright, Winsor)
2. Infer: inferring is when you use clues from the text and your own
prior knowledge to fill in gaps of the story. You can also use the
skill of inferring to draw conclusions. (Tompkins, Bright, Winsor)
3. Spell the word out loud. This is a good strategy for emergent
readers, as it will help them to better grasp new words within a
text.
4. Look at the pictures of the text for help. Sometimes there may be
gaps in your own knowledge as a reader. Take a closer look at the
pictures given because they might help you get what is going
on in the text.
5. Ask questions. This is a taken for granted strategy however read
alouds offer the perfect opportunity for this. If you are reading a
text out loud, if you are feeling unsure of something, ask and get
an immediate answer. (Beck and McKeown)
6. Summarizing: Giving students an opportunity to summarize what
they read in their own words will require them to determine
what is important in what they are reading (Adler). By doing
this, they will also identify main ideas, eliminate unnecessary
information [and] remember what they read (Adler).
7. Identifying: Our textbook states that this strategy is effective as
it allows students to make connections between a character and
themselves (Tomkins, Bright, Winsor). This is important, as the
student will most likely care more about the story that they are
reading if they feel that they can connect with one of the
characters.
8. Predicting: This is a great strategy as well as it allows students to
really think about the story and what will happen next. In turn,
the student will consider the impact of what they have read on
what they are reading (Tomkins, Bright, Winsor).
9. Graphic and Semantic Organizers: Students can create diagrams
while they are reading that will help them focus on text
 structure, provide [them] with tools they can use to show
relationships in a text, and help [them] write well organized
summaries of what they have read (Adler). This helps their
thinking to stay organized and allows them to see their thoughts
on paper. A few examples of organizers that students could use
are webs, graphs, charts (Adler) etc.
10. Evaluating: This allows students to make judgments about
why they liked a story or whether it was worth reading (Adler).
This is important for children as it gives them an opportunity to
express their interests and get them thinking about things they
thought were important about the story, and things that they
didnt think were very important. The teacher can also get the
student to explain their thoughts.

Works Cited

Adler, C.R. Seven Strategies to Teach Students Text Comprehension.

Reading Rockets.

Beck, I., & McKeown, M. (2001). Text Talk: Capturing the Benefits of
Read-Aloud Experiences for Young Children. The Reading Teacher,
55(1), 10-20. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20205005

Burkins, J.M., & Croft, M.M. (2010). Preventing misguided reading: New
strategies for guided reading teachers. Newark, DE: International
Reading Association.
Harry, Kim. Teacher uses Charlottes Web To teach Math, Social Studies,
And Spelling. Academic Search Premier.
Lane, H. B. and Wright, T. L. (2007), Maximizing the Effectiveness of
Reading Aloud. The Reading Teacher, 60: 668675.
doi:10.1598/RT.60.7.7

Rog, L.J. (2001). Early literacy instruction in kindergarten, Newark, DE:

International Reading Association.

Sipe, Lawrence R. (2000). The construction of literary understanding by

first and second graders in oral responses to picture storybook read-
alouds. International Literacy Association. University of Pennsylvania.

Language Arts Content and Teaching Strategies 6th Edition (Tompkins,

Bright, Winsor)

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1598/RRQ.35.2.4/epdfhttps://www.
learningtogive.org/units/cinderella-stories/cinderella