The section that stood out to me the most was "Reading Aloud." Last semester, my Curriculum and Instruction teacher, Jill Ostrow (who I absolutely loved), suggested that we avoid asking our students to read aloud at all costs. This threw me for a loop, because I was the student who jumped at the chance to read aloud. I got tired of hearing my teacher read all the time, but also became frustrated when a slower reader was picked over me! This is where Jill's experience provided a great explanation: Many students become anxious/uncomfortable/embarassed when asked to read aloud due to their reading abilility or speaking in front of a group in general. B&B uses Hall and Moats' list of six benefits for reading aloud, one being that, "The child identifies reading as a pleasurable activity" (13). I have to disagree; not all children enjoy reading aloud. Jill also admitted that asking for volunteers becomes problematic, too, because the reader focuses solely on accuracy instead of comprehension. This rang especially true for me, since I would have to go back and re-read what I had just read aloud to the class for understanding.
B&B goes on to suggest that children should be read TO for many reasons with which I totally agree. But I wonder, How do we incorporate reading aloud in the classroom where the students can also participate?
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4 comments:
Hi Lisa! That's a good question. Short to say, I think students can choose to real aloud with their favorite choice! I was horribly scared to read aloud in my elementary upto college. I think I'm still a bit at certain situations. I also liked Jill Ostrow's Reading Comprehension class very much last semester!
I definately agree with you on the comprehension part. I always found myself wondering "what did they just read" during a read-aloud (sometimes even when I'm reading along with them). Sometimes it's easy to lulled to sleep by a pretty or boring voice and it's even easier to get frustrated and read ahead or just lag behind. I remember (and this was in elementary so it might not happen in high school) when one of my classmates used read-aloud time to show off how fast she could read. Needless to say it bugged everyone. It kinda forces everyone to read at the same pace, which is difficult. Personally I'm against reading together aloud -- one person reading and others following along. But if one person reads while everyone else listens I think it's a little better...you feel less constrained and you don't ruin any suprises in the writing. However, where I'd be really adamant about reading aloud is with poetry. Poetry is meant to be read aloud and I think it works better aloud than prose.
This is very interesting. In my own field class last week the teacher was telling me how they had just finished reading a book, but that she had read the book to them, as hey followed along. I think we should experiment with this. Sometimes it's not that the students don't want to hear what the book has to say, but it's a lot of pressure to read a book yourself, especially if you are a student who isn't as confident. Nice inquiries....
I think a good way for the students to participate would to simply have a read around! At times students are going to be reading different books or in a lit set group, but then there will be times when you want the students to read the same book. It is also important to give students the opportunity to read in class, sometimes quietly and by themselves and other times as a class, outloud!
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