Chapter 4 and Read-Alouds/Shared Readings

Reading for this week:

1. Handout: "Tapping the potential of teacher read-alouds in middle schools"
2. Book: Chapter 4: Well Read: Promoting Comprehension Through Read Alouds and Shared Readings

            This week's article outlines a good basis for further study on read-alouds in the middle schools.  I find the study to be very limited, not only by the lack of participants, but also by the structure of the questions.  The researchers admit they left the questions vague in order to elicit a range of responses.  This was wise in my opinion, because they could use the wide-ranging information for more specific questioning in the future.  I believe this vague questioning led to more teachers answering that they performed read-alouds when they were actually only reading directions or other like material.

            With that said, I think read-alouds are great for any grade.  I believe that if the teacher picks the right book and has the right approach for a read-aloud, a student of any age will be engaged.  Read-alouds show students how to question, visualize, and make predictions while they read. Reading aloud demonstrates good reading habits. This is something that I plan to incorporate in my teaching, no matter the grade.   

            Chapter 4 in our book also discusses shared readings.  I like this approach, especially for younger students because the children are able to visualize the words as they are read.  They can follow along in the story and look for vocabulary words as they go along.  I still prefer read-alouds because the teacher can add so much to the story without the student being distracted by looking down at the words. 

            I feel that both read-alouds and shared readings are an important part of instruction.  The benefits far outweigh any negatives.  Teachers tend to use these techniques with younger students but I feel that older students would certainly benefit as much. 

Questions:

1.  Is there a rule-of-thumb for choosing a book given that classes have such a variation of reading levels/abilities/interests? (Number of pages, reading level, etc.)  I assume the size of the book would have a lot to do with the amount of time given for the class period.

2.  How often should read-alouds be incorporated into the school week?  Would one read-aloud per day be too much for the student and/or teacher?