Read Alouds – Books for All Age Groups

Hello Fellow Lit. Mates welcome to Thursday November 10^th, the election is over and now it’s time to get back to the books.  This post will be about the importance of ‘Read Alouds’ to not only beginner and early readers but to children in middle grades and high school.

My personal experience in my home is that we read aloud together my children and I and it was treasured time.  My daughter especially who’s challenge has always been reading.  She would sit for hours each week and listen to me as I read to her so that she would not fall behind in her AR goal.  We would get up early in the mornings wrap in a blanket and share a hot drink while we or I read chapter after chapter (don’t remember discussing the stories as much as I would have liked to though).  What came out of these reading sessions which started in her second-grade year and lasted half way through high school was our connection to each other through books.  Today when we talk about those times we both smile and remember our commitment to her success in school and this case the commitment to read out loud.

My first experience of a read aloud in school was with a small group of 5^th graders.  We were assigned to read “Island of the Blue Dolphins” as we took turns reading the pages are relationship grew.  We discussed new vocabulary, did online research to find out about sea life and the Inuit people.  Taking the time to work through this book allowed the children to use their imagination and have each other as sounding boards during our discussions.  I still see those students walking in the halls and I always greet them with a found smile, as they taught me that not only my struggling daughter valued ‘Read Alouds’ but so did they.

This week I have spent time learning about the importance of reading aloud to children.  One blog that I was assigned to read for my literature class was nerdybooks a blog dedicated to children’s and YA literature.  On that site, I found what I consider to be the most valuable advice from this week’s study.  I read the that you can start a new class off with a short ‘read aloud’ (a story with a moral you hope to instill in your new students) and at the end of the year revisit the book.  By doing this the children are able see how they have matured and how they are learning to be better citizens.  I like the idea so much I may add to it by visiting it a 3rd time say in early winter and adding in some journaling time.  Please click here for a minilesson on how what using ‘read aloud’ in the classroom might look like, minilesson

Another blog I was assigned to read was 100best , this blog once I got started reading it did not seem like an assignment at all.  If you view the site, you are able to at a glance get their top100 ‘Read Alouds’ for home.  I learned on this site the importance of reading to your children.  The blog said that 8 in 10 kids across all ages report that it is a special time of boding with their parents.

On this same list of 100 top ‘Read Alouds’ I was stunned to find my grandson favorite board book as #75!  The bloggers associated with site in my opinion are right on the mark.  My 14-month-old grandson will listen to “Moo Baa LaLaLa” aloud to him over over and by his attention and body language I can infer the book brings him pleasure.

Of the books, I have read so far this semester I want to read aloud to my future students these (in no particular oder);

I hope everyone gets to read their top 10 picks to their future students soon!