As a teacher, what's the one thing you look forward to
doing with your students each day? Do you even have something like that? I sure
hope so!
For me, it's our daily read aloud. From what I hear, a
lot of teachers give up on the read aloud by the time students reach fourth
grade. You know what? That just makes me sad. On days like today (state testing
days) when we don't get to read together, I realize how important that time is
with my students. We usually start each day by gathering in our meeting area "like
a family" and devouring a chapter - or more if they're short. I
intentionally choose a wide variety of books from different genres that most of
my students probably wouldn't choose on their own. Together, we get to explore
new places, travel through various periods of time, and meet all types of interesting characters.
Other teachers have asked how I find the time to be
consistent with this practice. There are SO MANY skills we're responsible for
teaching during the school year, but who says we can't teach some of those
through the use of a read aloud? The best part about this type of authentic teaching is students often
don't even realize they're being taught because they're so engrossed in the story.
The learning happens naturally through discussions while reading.
Additionally, what better way is there to encourage a
love for reading than for students to have a teacher who LOVES to read? I know
that this works because there are numerous times when my students choose to
checkout books to complete a series that we started as a read aloud, or maybe
they look for books by particular authors they enjoyed. Possibly even better than that, is when they ask your opinion when looking for a new book to read because they trust you'll choose a good book that reflects their interests. We must make time for
the things we love!
What are some of you favorite read alouds? I'd love to add new books to our classroom library through your suggestions!
