The Hidden Power Of Read Alouds Ascd

Calderón, M. & Soto, I. (2017). Academic Language Mastery: Vocabulary in Context. In Academic Language Mastery: Vocabulary in Context. Corwin.

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.4135/9781506338293 Christ, T., & Cho, H. (2021). Sharing Power in Read-Alouds with Emergent Bilingual Students. The Reading Teacher. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2021

Fisher, D., Flood, J., Lapp, D., & Frey, N. (2004). Interactive Read-Alouds: Is There a Common Set of Implementation Practices? The Reading Teacher, 58(1), 8–17. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1598/RT.58.1.1 Johnston, V.

(2016). Successful Read-Alouds in Today’s Classroom. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 52(1), 39–42. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/00228958.2016.1123051 Kaefer, T. (2020).

When Did You Learn It? How Background Knowledge Impacts Attention and Comprehension in Read‐Aloud Activities. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1), S173–S183. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.344 Classroom teachers, regardless of grade level, should consider implementing a daily read aloud in their classroom schedule for the benefit of all readers. In this article, Brittany Brooks shares the importance of making time for read aloud, effective read aloud strategies, information on text selection, along with future action steps.

The Hidden Power of Read Alouds by Brittany Brooks This is copied directly from the article: "An interactive read aloud is a “systematic approach to reading aloud where the teacher models vocabulary development, reading fluency, and comprehension strategies, and requires the students to... The Commission on Reading has said that “the single most important activity for building knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children" (Fisher et al., 2004, p.1)" This post is part of our 4-part series on storytelling with nonverbal learners: Why Reading Aloud Matters, Making Story Time Interactive, Choosing the Right Books, and Extending the Story Beyond the Book. Reading aloud is more than just a cozy tradition; it is a powerful way to support learning, especially for students who do not yet read on their own or who communicate nonverbally. Hearing stories exposes our students to rich vocabulary and sentence structures that they might not hear in everyday conversation.

This kind of language input helps strengthen comprehension and listening skills, giving them more opportunities to connect words with meaning. Research has shown that shared reading can improve story understanding and vocabulary growth, even when a child is not actively speaking. For nonverbal or minimally verbal learners, reading aloud becomes a gentle doorway into language. Stories provide models of grammar, phrasing, and sequencing that can be absorbed just by listening. Even when a student does not decode text independently, they are building foundational literacy skills such as vocabulary, print awareness, and narrative understanding simply by being part of the read-aloud experience. Pairing stories with simple supports, such as pointing to pictures or modeling AAC phrases, turns each book into a scaffolded opportunity for learning.

I’ve had to learn over time how to figure this out with my daughter. For a long while, she would reject me whenever I tried reading aloud to her. She liked it as a toddler, but from about age five to nine, she made it clear she didn’t enjoy it anymore. Was I talking too loudly? Too animated, and therefore a little overwhelming? Or maybe it was because I was trying too hard to “sit down and read together.”

It was a bummer because we’ve collected so many children’s books for her over the years, and both her father and I were avid readers growing up, so it was hard to understand. But then I began to read aloud while standing up, walking around, and not demanding that her full attention be on me. Slowly, we started getting through more books. Interested in learning more about read alouds? Check out the "We Are All Readers and Writers" book talks! As a teacher, I have always loved reading aloud to my students, no matter what grade level I was teaching.

I have done read alouds for second graders, middle schoolers, undergraduates, graduate students, and even principals. Storytelling is a fundamental aspect of our community and humanity. Christ, our greatest teacher, knew well the power of story to instruct. The act of reading aloud makes text come alive and produces its own kind of magic. As a mom, I couldn't wait to read aloud to our daughter. I started reading aloud as soon as I found out as I was pregnant.

Now that our daughter is three, every night she chooses the book she wants us to read to her from her bookshelf and if it's one that we've read a lot, she can "read"... Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Mixed: A Colorful Story are current favorites that she can recite by heart. Teachers have been reading aloud to students for years and the research base on the power of read alouds is extensive and well documented. Research has shown that read alouds improve comprehension (Duke & Pearson, 2008), vocabulary (Massaro, 2017), and fluency (Trelease, 2001). Read alouds allow the teacher to model expert, fluent reading of the text. This liberates the students from having to do the work of decoding and allows them to focus on comprehension, acquisition of new vocabulary, phonemic awareness, etc.

For this reason, teachers can select books that are above students' independent reading level but at their listening level. According to Massaro, "children listening to a reading aloud of a picture book are roughly three times more likely to experience a new word type that is not among the most frequent words in... 64). This is particularly important in early elementary classrooms to ensure that children become familiar with a wider range of words earlier in life, knowing that children come to school with varying levels of exposure... Read alouds also give children experience with decontextualized language–requiring students to make sense of ideas beyond the classroom and the here and now (see Beck & McKeown, 2001). A key aspect of this sense-making is the role of dialogue.

Students need to engage in discussion with their teacher and classmates to make sense of the text. This emphasis on talk highlights the importance of careful planning of think alouds and questions. Laura Varlas is a former ASCD writer and editor. You know that magical moment when you pull out a read aloud book and suddenly your most reluctant reader scoots closer, completely captivated by the story? When even your wiggliest students settle in, hanging on every word? If you’re like me, sipping something caffeinated while planning tomorrow’s lessons, let’s explore why read aloud is important for every child in your classroom.

When I think about why read aloud is important, I think of Ava, a second grader who taught me more through her responses to daily stories than all my professional development binders combined. Her transformation during read aloud time speaks volumes. Ava typically sits in the back of her classroom, seemingly disconnected during regular reading instruction. But the moment her teacher opens a read aloud book, something transforms. This usually reluctant reader suddenly perks up, scoots closer, and becomes completely engrossed in the story. During one particularly memorable read aloud about horses (her passion), she actually shushed another student who was whispering – this from a child who typically showed little interest in our literacy block!

When I first started teaching, I’ll admit I saw read alouds as a “nice to have” activity – something to fill those transition times or calm students after lunch. (Feeling seen right now? You’re in good company.) But watching students like Ava transform during read aloud time made me realize why read aloud is important for reaching every learner in our classroom.

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