What sets Read Aloud different?
What sets Read Aloud © Program apart from the other reading program is Read Aloud © seamlessly integrates the assessment into reading processes, offering valuable feedbacks on students' progress and suggesting how students may improve their language and literacy skills. Read Aloud ©Program goes beyond improving language skills, helping young children develop comprehension skills and expand their listening and speaking vocabulary; but also helps to develop social and emotional skills by reading and reflecting age appropriate, purposely selected books, bearing clearly defined educational goals in mind.
Early childhood experts who have watched hundreds of teachers read aloud to young children have found that a high-quality story book needs to be read at least three times for children to understand the complex ideas and story problems presented by the author. Sophisticated illustrated storybooks are best suited for this type of reading aloud. These include stories where the listener or reader must infer characters’ feelings, thoughts, and motives, for examples, why they act as they do, or say certain things. High-quality books also use rich vocabularies, especially words that you don’t often hear in children’s everyday conversations. The mastery of an expanded vocabulary will improve the accuracy and efficiency in the use of language, a skill lacking among ESL learners while a skill essential to get them closer to authentic, standard English.
Read Aloud Approches
The repeated, interactive, inquiry-based read aloud approach has four components.
1. Book Introduction: Read the title and show the front cover of the book. Then introduce the main characters and talk about the problems they face.
2. Vocabulary: Select 5-7 words that you want to highlight and define for children. Choose words that are essential to understanding the story. As you read, define the words in one or more of the following ways:
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Point to an illustration or part of an illustration that shows the meaning of a word, e.g. point to the cradle as you read the word cradle.
- Demonstrate the meaning of words by suing facial expressions, movements, and another body language, e.g. taps your hand rhythmically on a hard surface as you read the phrase " tapped a rhythm on the side of the truck."
- Give a very brief definition of a word as you read the word in the text, e.g. "Shrink That means to get smaller and smaller."
3. Comments and Questions
Make analytical comments that show children how to think about the characters and events. Ask questions to help children understand the story in more depth. Do not make comments or ask questions about every page - just do so at important points during the story when you want children to infer to deduce a character's motives, thoughts and feelings or to make a prediction.
4. After Reading Questions
Ask a "why" question and model an answer with an "I am thinking..." statement. Ask additional questions that help children think about the character's problem and interpret the character's behavior.