This Wednesday, February 5, 2020, is World Read Aloud Day, a global event from Scholastic and the literacy nonprofit LitWorld that unites people around the world to highlight the importance of sharing stories by reading aloud. It’s well-known that read-alouds provide many academic benefits, but the practice is also beloved. In fact, research from the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report™: 7th Edition shows that 83% of children ages 6–14 who are or have been read aloud to love or like it a lot.
When reflecting on his own read-aloud experiences in school, Lester Laminack, author of The Ultimate Read-Aloud Resource: 2nd Edition, says “listening to stories, living within stories, and talking about stories with others taught us that our understandings were made clearer when we shared a text and shared our thoughts with others.”
In the spirit of powerful read-aloud moments, and in honor of World Read Aloud Day approaching, we’ve rounded-up recent EDU posts from Lester and literacy experts focused on reading aloud.
The Read-Aloud: Time Spent Reading Aloud is Never Wasted
Lester Laminack, Professor Emeritus from Western Carolina University and author of The Ultimate Read-Aloud Resource: 2nd Edition, describes the power of the read-aloud experience in classrooms across grade levels and highlights the importance of opportunities for nonfiction read-alouds.
The Power of Storytelling to Bring School Communities Together
Rebecca Leon, Editorial Director of Education for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, covers the magic of sharing stories to communicate life experiences to classmates and new friends from around the world.
Access is Key for Helping Students Learn How to Have Conversations About Books
Nikki Woodruff, a Literacy Collaborative Trainer at The Ohio State University and contributing author to Responsive Literacy: A Comprehensive Framework, details her time spent in a first grade classroom facilitating interactive read-alouds to encourage meaningful conversations about texts.
Inviting the Community In: How Engaging Volunteers Can Improve Literacy Outcomes
Chris Otis, Executive Director of SMART, a children’s literacy nonprofit in Oregon, describes the benefits of a reading role model in a child’s life. She shares how inviting nonprofit and community organizations into schools to read with students provides opportunities for positive adult mentorship and one-on-one or small group academic support.
Let’s Stop Asking So Many Questions During Interactive Read Aloud
Sherry Kinzel, a Literacy Collaborative Trainer at The Ohio State University and contributing author to Responsive Literacy: A Comprehensive Framework, outlines suggestions for creating classroom environments that facilitate greater volumes and deeper levels of thinking about text during read-alouds.
Celebrate the Read-Aloud all Year Long: A Checklist for District Leaders
Pam Allyn, creator of World Read Aloud Day and Senior Vice President, Innovation & Development, Scholastic Education, outlines five simple tips administrators can use to ensure their schools are focused on reading aloud on World Read Aloud Day and beyond.
Art © 2020 by Peter H. Reynolds
