You may have heard the term “interactive read aloud” flung around on Facebook posts, on campus or TeachersPayTeachers.com. If you do not know what that means… don’t feel like you are the only one! I hear all kinds of textbook jargon and wonder what these people are talking about regularly.
I am going to let you in on a little secret. It is just a fancy phrase for a regular read aloud that is being done correctly! Ha! I bet you probably already guessed that. A read aloud is not where a teacher sits down and reads a book and then that’s it….. crickets. It is more than a bedtime story.
So what is an interactive read aloud? It is where students are engaged and you are using the text as a teaching tool. You model and talk throughout the story. Here is a fancy chart to go with our fancy phrase. Just kidding. 😉
If you’ve heard the term interactive read aloud thrown around lately and were confused, you are not alone. There are so many things in the teaching world that change, it’s no wonder that Googling things is our best friend. I hear a few “new” terms each year that make me go, “hmmm?” I will do my best to explain what an interactive read aloud is and how it compares to a traditional read aloud.
Interactive Read Aloud in Kindergarten and First
An interactive read aloud is defined as a read aloud where children actively engage in speaking about the text. Rather than just sit and listen, students are encouraged to ask questions and talk with partners about their reading. The teacher is also encouraged to model think alouds as they are reading. This differs from the idea of reading a book from cover to cover before you begin talking about the text. You can also read the same story more than one day. Each day may have also have a different purpose.
The Outline
You will typically see a section in the lesson plans that says, “before reading, during reading, and after reading.” Although, that is not always explicitly lined out.
Before Reading
- Make Predictions
- Make Connections
- Activate Prior Knowledge
During Reading
- Model with think-aloud
- Use turn and talks
- Ask questions that encourage discussions
- Use hand signal responses
After Reading
- Talk about the text
- Read another day to dive deeper
- Make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections
Interactive Read Aloud Versus Traditional
If you find yourself saying, “I already do all those things.” Then congratulations, you are doing interactive read alouds and you didn’t even know it. Go YOU! It’s essentially the new word for “good teaching” when it comes to read alouds. LOL. If you aren’t doing these things, I encourage you to try some. You will find student engagement and learning increases when you think and talk about the text in a structured way.
Looking for some Interactive Read Aloud Suggestions?
Done for you Interactive Read Alouds?
All of the books in my free list have accompanying done for your lesson plans. There is a connection before reading, opportunities to turn and talk about the story and follow-up comprehension pieces. This makes for a well-rounded lesson cycle during your reading block. Check out the yearly bundle here.
