What Is a Read-Aloud?

What is a Read-Aloud? 

 A read-aloud is an oral reading of a book, and in the classroom may be related to a theme. The theme may be a series of books (e.g., the Froggy series), a specific author (e.g., Dr. Seuss), or a certain topic (e.g., dinosaurs or emotions). The read-aloud can be used to engage the child while developing their background knowledge, increasing their listening comprehension skills, and sharpening their critical thinking skills.

Read-alouds allow adults to model the skills necessary for book handling and reading - turning pages from left to right, following text with finger while reading, holding books upright, proper voice inflection, etc.

The Benefits of Read-Alouds

Read-alouds are instrumental in paving the way for a child's educational success.

• Listeners build listening and comprehension skills through discussions during and after reading.
• Listeners increase their vocabulary by hearing words in context.
• Listeners improve their memory and language skills as they hear a variety of writing styles and paraphrase their understanding.
• Listeners gain information about the world around them.
• Listeners develop individual interests in a broad variety of subjects and they develop imagination and creativity: what better way to build skills which foster inquiry?