Interactive Read-Aloud

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Interactive Read-Aloud Shared Reading

• Janice Such
• Grade 3

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Fountas and Pinnell on Reading

• Reading to children is the most effective
  literacy demonstration you can provide. As you
  read aloud, you demonstrate how to think and act
  like a reader you also provide insights into
  writing because you are sharing a coherent,
  meaningful piece of written language that an
  author has constructed
• --Matching Books
  to Readers, page 9

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The Continuum of Literacy Learning for Grades 3-8
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Structure of the Continuum of Literacy Learning

• Reader Thinking --Within --Beyond --About a
  Text

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Framework of the Continuum of Learning

• Provides information arranged by grade level.
• Describes characteristics of texts that are
  helpful in choosing read-aloud texts.
• Includes curriculum goals to notice and support
  as students think within, beyond, and about the
  text.

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How to Use the Continuum

• Fountas and Pinnell do not use specific texts,
  discussion topics, or content areas in their
  continuum.
• As teachers, you can use the continuum to
• --connect your curriculum with the state
• and district requirements.
• --set goals for your grade level.
• --plan your interactive read-aloud.

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Interactive Read-Aloud
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What is Interactive Read-Aloud?

• According to Fountas and Pinnell, Interactive
  Read-Aloud is A teaching context in which
  students are actively listening and responding to
  an oral reading of a text.
• --The Continuum of Literacy Learning,
  Grades 3-8. A Guide to Teaching,
• 
  page 247

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Student Involvement during Interactive Read-Aloud
Answer Questions
Think Critically
Make Predictions
Discuss Interpretations
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Interactive Read-Aloud and Vocabulary

• Interactive Read-Alouds and Literature
  Discussions help students to expand vocabulary
  because children hear words that are not
  ordinarily used.
• Since the teacher says the words the length,
  number of syllables, inflectional endings, etc.
  are not major factors in choosing a text.

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Within the Text
Benefits

• Students do not have to decode.
• Children hear fluent phrasing.
• Students can self-monitor their understanding.

• Children can remember information in summary
  form.
• Children can adjust their thinking to understand
  different fiction and nonfiction genres.

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Read, Read, Read!
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Beyond the Text

• The teacher can
• Help children to make predictions and connections
  to previous knowledge and their own lives.
• Support student thinking beyond the literal
  meaning.
• Demonstrate how to think beyond the text.
• Stop at selected intervals to discuss text
  elements that expand thinking.

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About the Text

• The teacher can direct students attention to
• Authors craft
• Use of language
• Characterization
• Organization
• Text Structure

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Special Benefits for ELL Students

• For ELLs, Interactive Read-Alouds provide
• Opportunities to hear the syntax and vocabulary
  of the language in text.
• Modeling and engagement in oral language
  opportunities.
• Exposure to meaningful, high-quality texts.
• Scaffolding through the literacy process for
  students.

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Informational Text and Nonfiction for Read-Alouds
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A Clarification

• What is the difference between informational
  genres and nonfiction?
• According to Fountas and Pinnell,
• Informational genres are a category of texts in
  which the purpose is to inform or give facts
  about a topic. Nonfiction feature articles and
  essays are examples of informational text (page
  247).
• Nonfiction is a text based on fact (page 248).

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Advice for Teachers
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Advice to Teachers about Using Informational Text

• Browse through nonfiction titles to find works
  with student appeal.
• Gather nonfiction books on the same topic.
• Find nonfiction books that can support your
  curriculum.
• Share nonfiction and text sets with students.

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Why Use Informational Text for Read-Aloud?

• Provides interesting subject matter.
• Inspires curiosity in students.
• Offer interesting topics, different formats, and
  attractive illustrations.

• Helps children to learn about linguistic features
  that differ from fiction.
• Supports comprehension.
• Promotes interaction with the text as readers
  seek meaning.

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Choose a Starting Point

• Fiction
• Teachers may want to read from beginning to end.

• Nonfiction
• The teacher may begin at an appropriate section.
• Students may use the index to find a topic that
  interests them.

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Capture Student Interest

• Investigate high interest short reads such as
  those found in Read-Aloud anthologies.

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Teach Students How to Read Nonfiction

• When students understand how to read nonfiction
  and use text features, they are better able to
  comprehend it.

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Benefits for Teachers, Too!

• Teachers can increase their own background
  knowledge by reading nonfiction in the content
  areas!

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Use Read-Aloud Logs

• Keep a log of Read-Alouds shared with the class.
• List the date, author, title, and type of book.
• Include subcategories for informational books and
  fiction.

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Balance Your Read-Alouds

• 50

• 50

Fiction
Non-Fiction
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Include Content Area Read-Alouds

• Teachers may select read-alouds based on their
  science, math, and social studies curricula.
• Find additional practice opportunities for
  students such as timeforkids.com
  http//www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/minilesson
  s/ns/0,28171,1701141,00.html

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Benefits of Informational Texts

• Informational texts can
• --boost childrens knowledge
• --motivate students
• --ignite childrens curiosity
• --encourages research and inquiry

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Pair Fiction and Informational Read-Alouds

• Consider pairing fiction with informational
  books.
• Pairs help teachers feel more comfortable with
  informational read-alouds.

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Sources for Building Background

• National Geographic Kids
• http//kids.nationalgeographic.com/
• http//animals.nationalgeographic.com/
• Teacher Scholastic
• http//www2.scholastic.com/browse/teach.jsp
• United Streaming
• http//streaming.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?
  locationgpb

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Nonfiction Designs and Features
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Nontraditional Book Designs

• Information may be arranged across the page in
  ways that the students are not used to seeing.
• Topics may be accompanied by different sizes of
  photographs along with captions and lists of
  facts.
• Teach students explicitly about how to interpret
  these features.

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Reading Aloud Books with Nontraditional Designs

• Teachers should seat children so that they can
  see the details of the text.
• Teachers may choose to use big books or an
  overhead projector or LCD projector that lets
  them zoom in and out on a targeted book feature.

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Call Attention to Nonfiction Text Features
Captions Bold type Arrows Bullets
Keys Headings Labels Glossary
Index Table of Contents Photos Illustrations
Diagrams Italics Maps Inserts
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Nonfiction Text Features

• Display blown-up examples of important text
  features.
• Teach the importance of each text feature.
• Call student attention to important text features
  during read-alouds and guided reading groups.
• Send students on a scavenger hunt to locate
  different text features.
• Provide students with the opportunity to work
  with nonfiction. For additional helpful ideas,
  see http//www.readinglady.com/mosaic/tools/Nonfic
  tion20Conventions20Notebook.doc

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Turn and Talk

• Please share your tips and ideas about
  Interactive Read-Aloud

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Types of Performance Reading
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Thinking Within the Text for Shared Reading

• The goal is to produce a fluent, expressive oral
  reading of a text.
• Independently, readers must solve the words and
  interpret information that they will reflect in
  their oral reading.

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Thinking Beyond the Textfor Shared Reading

• Students bring their background knowledge to
  shared reading.
• They create connections with the text and make
  inferences.
• To take on the role of a character, they have to
  understand how the character feels and acts.

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Thinking About the Text for Shared Reading

• Through Shared Reading, students learn to
  understand the writers craft
• Characterization
• Organization
• Structure

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Readers Theatre

• Students enact a text.
• Students do not usually memorize lines.
• Props and costumes are optional.
• Emphasis is on how each actor or actress
  interprets a role vocally.

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Sources for Readers Theater

• Almost any story can be transformed into
• a Readers Theatre script.
• For ideas, check out
• http//www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htm
• http//www.aaronshep.com/rt

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Choral Reading

• A group or several members read a text together.
• The text may appear on a chart or projector or in
  individual student books.
• Group members try to interpret the text with
  their voices.

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Get Ready to Perform!

• Now Featuring
• Readers Theatre Scripts based on
• Lifetimes
• Bugs

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Building Background for Bugs

• http//streaming.discoveryeducation.com/search/ass
  etDetail.cfm?guidAssetID63D041B5-71FD-4A7D-A8F9-0
  E105D2A7B99blnPrinterFriendlytrue
• http//animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs
  .html

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Turn and Talk

• Please share your tips and ideas about Shared
  Performance Reading.

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Writing About Reading
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Student Writing

• Through writingand drawing as wellreaders
  can express and expand their thinking and improve
  their ability to reflect on a text.
• --The Continuum of Literacy Learning, Grades 3-8,
  p. 19.

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Grade 3 Writing About Reading
Functional Writing Narrative Writing Information Writing Poetic Writing
Short-writes Plot Summaries Reports Poetic texts
Graphic Organizers Cartoons comics Book Reports Assorted types of poems
Directions Storyboards Author Studies And more..
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Writing Topic Ideas

• To see existing writing prompts for your grade,
  consult United Streaming http//streaming.discover
  yeducation.com/tools/writingPrompt/index.cfm
• There are also narrative, expository, and
  persuasive writing prompts based on Grade 3
  Making Meaning materials at
• http//www.u-46.org/roadmap/dyncat.cfm?catid7
  44

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Wrap It Up!Comments?Questions?
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Thank You for Sharing!
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Acknowledgements

• Fountas, Irene and Pinnell, Gay Su. Matching
  Books to Readers. Portsmouth, NH 1999.
• Fountas, Irene and Pinnell, Gay Su The Continuum
  of Literacy Learning, Grades K-2. A Guide to
  Teaching. Portsmouth, NH 2007.

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Mentor Text

• Rice, David. Lifetimes. CA Dawn
• Publications, 1997.

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Mentor Text

• Have You Seen Bugs? By Joanne Oppenheim. New
  York Scholastic Press, 1997.