Do Teachers and Students Need Bells and Whistles in Classrooms?

An Achievement Solution Costing Less Than $20.

The caveat:

Teachers Must Make Read Aloud Interactive, Interesting and Connect the Learner to Background Knowledge, Vocabulary and Content Area Concepts!

Mary McCool Berry, M.Ed. Reading K-12, Certified Dyslexia Practitioner and Advocate, Founder of Read Keys, past Public School Educator- 32 years, Dyslexia Educator (current)

May 12, 2022

The old musty classroom housed a motley crew of preteens growing up in the mid-70s who were not particularly concerned with learning. Yet, my fifth-grade teacher, Miss McGinty, held our rapt attention whenever she pulled a novel from the shelf and began reading aloud. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare and Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell are two classics that live in me more than 45 years later.

Questions:

• Are teachers reading aloud to students of all ages?
• Are teachers reading aloud books that stimulate, provoke, and dare students to think critically?
• I am not referring to books that take culture one step too far in elementary classrooms. (See my previous article)

Unfortunately, reading aloud to students is an uncommon practice today in schools. There are so many other issues at the fore. Testing, social and emotional wellness, and battles over reading and math instruction are distractions.

The power of reading aloud to students is indisputable. According to many highly-regarded studies, they make gains in comprehension, vocabulary, and language acquisition.

For example, an excellent article: The Effects of Read Alouds on Student Comprehension by Kelly Hazzard offers several golden nuggets. https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1360&context=education_ETD_masters#:~:text=When%20given%20questions%20after%20three,for%20the%20above%20average%20readers.

• One implication of this study is that interactive read alouds can be used as a comprehension strategy even in the intermediate grades.
• Traditionally, read alouds are done more with younger students and decrease as students’ progress through the grade levels.
• However, this study shows that read alouds can be effective even with older students. Many students in the intermediate grades have not fully developed the foundational literacy skills learned in the primary grades.
• According to Clark and Andreasen (2013), only 34% of fourth graders are at or above the proficient level in the United States.
• Hearing texts read orally can provide students with additional support to develop literacy skills and increase proficiency levels.
• High school teachers may want to consider this as well when working with students on difficult topics or with students who are struggling readers

Another study, Effects of a Read Aloud Intervention on First Grade Student Vocabulary, Listening Comprehension, and Language Proficiency (Doris Luft Baker,Lana Santoro , Gina Biancarosa, Scott K. Baker, Hank Fien , Janet Otterstedt) offers the reader points to ponder.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED613215.pdf

• In our read aloud intervention, before text reading, teachers introduced new vocabulary that helped students build background knowledge to be able to understand the content.
• For read aloud intervention effects for example, in a unit about reptiles, teachers introduced characteristics of reptiles (e.g., coldblooded, they have scales and plates, and they hatch from an egg) before reading the text.
• After text reading students engaged in conversations focused on the text where teachers encouraged students to use the target vocabulary they had learned in that lesson (e.g., Teachers would say: I liked what you said about turtles. Now say why turtles are reptiles: because they are coldblooded, they have scales and plates, and they hatch from an egg).
• Other activities used to reinforce key concepts included drawing pictures, writing the new vocabulary words, comparing reptiles to other animals students had learned before, and using the target words to describe different types of animals (see Author, 2016)
• The interaction effect between recommended read aloud instructional features and condition suggests that the effects of the read aloud intervention might depend on how teachers delivered the instruction.

A third study, The Potential Impact of Structured Read-Aloud on Middle School Reading Achievement by Jennifer Kohart Marchessault and Karen H. Larwin, makes excellent points of study, as well. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1091692

• In an Ivey and Broaddus [6] survey of 1,700 sixth graders, students named teacher read-alouds as the most preferred reading activity, with free reading time coming in second [6],[7].
• The Ivey and Broaddus [6] survey identified the overwhelming popularity of read aloud for the students; moreover, the similarities between the students of different ages and grade levels became clearer as well.
• Ivey noted that the sixth graders reacted to a read-aloud in the same way as many of her first graders: their eyes became wide with anticipation and they edged their seats closer to the reader [6],[8].
• Additionally, Ivey and Broaddus [6] encouraged future research into whether the teacher led read-aloud could be a component in increasing interest in reading, whether in the reading classroom or content areas.
• The Ivey and Broaddus [6] survey brought read-alouds in middle school into the research spectrum. As the topic becomes more and more prevalent, more research is taking place in regard to read-aloud both in relation to teachers and students.
• Albright and Ariail [7] found that teachers in the middle grades are beginning to utilize read-aloud for reasons such as: modeling fluent reading, making texts more accessible and ensuring all students were receiving the information from the texts.
• The use of read-alouds also gives students exposure to literature that students may not have received with a traditional textbook. Reading aloud can contribute to increased student engagement, understanding, and motivation [9].?
• Teachers who have embraced this strategy are also supporting the growing research about its effectiveness.
• Richardson [29] shares experiences from middle school and high school teachers from their childhoods and classroom: I did not experience the joy of being read aloud to until the 11th grade. My English teacher brought stories to life. When he read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to us, he gave each character a personality beyond words. His style of reading and the fact that he read aloud brought excitement into my life that I had not felt since the first grade.
• It is not just what you read but the teaching strategy that is modeled that makes an impact (p. 3). If read-aloud is to become commonplace in the middle school, all teachers should understand the importance. “By expanding their read-alouds to include expository, descriptive, and poetic text, teachers increase students’ opportunities to read in these areas and build their knowledge base” ( p. 181) [30].
• A group effort is required to support the continued literacy improvement of secondary students. The science teacher can scaffold difficult sections through read-aloud supported with charts, graphs, pictures, maps, etc.[30].
• A myriad of trade books is available to read aloud in a history classroom.
• Finally, math teachers can utilize books in the “Math Out Loud” series by Pat Mower [31]; this series gives teachers and students the tools to read about the math problems and talk their way through them.
• Cummins and Stallmeyer-Gerard [32] recount their classroom experiences with read-aloud as a support in the acquisition of informational texts. They report that when the read-aloud began, most students sat quietly listening, but this changed over time.
• Students began making connections to the text, text-to-text, text-to-self and text-to-world. The independent connections by the students may not have taken place without the scaffolding of synthesizing information [32]. “Content area literacy instruction can be beneficial for all students, including those who struggle; done well, it provides them with needed guidance in using a broad range of texts and literacy practices” (p. 5) [33]. Middle school teachers’ confidence in read-aloud is essential. Albright and Ariail [7]

Finally, an article by Natalie Wexler who illuminates issues in an accessible way. Wexler is one of my favorite writers regarding literacy and education.

'What Works' in Reading Comprehension--And What Doesn't- April 14, 2022

The divide between reading researchers and cognitive scientists has led to a lot of unnecessary complexity--and student failure

• Not to mention a couple of recent, more narrowly focused studies in England that produced eye-popping results.
• Teachers read aloud novels that exceeded students’ own reading abilities for about 30 minutes a day, leading class discussions at the end of each chapter, for 12 weeks.
• In an?initial experiment?with 12- and 13-year-olds, poor readers made?16?months?of progress?in that time, as measured by a standardized reading comprehension test.

https://nataliewexler.substack.com/p/what-works-in-reading-comprehension?s=w

Thank you, Miss McGinty for reading aloud The Witch of Blackbird Pond. 45 years later I remember our interactive class discussions about

• religious persecution,
• religious conformity,
• church reformation,
• the Puritans,
• religious ideals
• The Salem Witch Trials -1690s- United States
• outliers to the norm

Educating our children does not take BILLIONS of dollars. Go to the library and select a book that will transport your students to another era, time, continent, historical event or place. Magic occurs when teachers read aloud books that are more difficult than students can read themselves and teachers build out vocabulary and content knowledge.

Go forth and read to your students today! Better yet, obtain copies for each student to read along with you.

Thanks to Cuyahoga County Public Library System in Ohio for providing me with classroom sets of books for students to hold in their hands.