“Read aloud, Think aloud… key to the universe!” my professor at UNI Maggie Manayer would always say to us in our coursework. In second grade at Keystone Elementary, we begin each daily whole group lesson with a read aloud and discussion at the carpet in our classroom. Through this shared experience of reading out loud to kids, we share in the excitement of a story that they may previously have read, but are eager to experience that joy again! It is providing appropriate expression, intonation, and rate modeled for children. It is stopping to think about what the characters are like, how they feel, what is happening in the story throughout, and how we feel about it. Critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaborative learning take place organically through this daily read aloud.
Each year I ask students to read for 20 minutes each day outside of school. As a passionate advocate of early literacy, I have many great hopes. One is that adults and children can bond over shared reading experiences, that children gain confidence in all areas of school, want to be at school, and embrace the challenges that reading and learning new things produces. I want children to discover that their opportunities become limitless because the more they read, the more they can learn!
Think reading aloud is only for kids? The audiobook industry made 4.8 billion dollars in 2021- it is projected to earn 15 billion by 2027 with a growth rate of 24.4% in 7 years. Reading out loud is for all ages!