As far as I am concerned, read aloud is more than just uttering the text
aloud.  It is also thinking aloud.  Read aloud is about thinking aloud as
you read.  It is a way of making explicit the reading process.  This should
not be confused with read along.  

 

Read aloud, if done correctly, is a great indicator of reading ability.  For
example, as a student is reading along (out loud) and comes to a word he or
she does not understand and then stops to think of the word trying to figure
out the meaning (but doesn't stop speaking out loud about the process of
comprehension), he or she is engaged in read aloud.   A reader sounding out
a word he or she has trouble decoding is another example of read aloud.
When done out loud, we see the skills being utilized to master the task of
reading.  This is why it is so powerful.  At higher levels of reading, the
read aloud process becomes more complex.  You can use it to teach symbolism,
themes, comparison and contrast foreshadowing, etc.   

 

Talking about this makes me miss teaching so much.

 

I am not sure if I made sense, but believe me read aloud is a very powerful
tool in developing the reading abilities of students.  I have used it with
great success in the past.  I am also very aware of this process in my own
reading.  After all, it is another one of the seven habits of highly
effective readers.   

 

Abrazos, 

 

Eugenio 

 

From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Janet Isserlis
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 11:08 AM
To: The Family Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 963] Re: Comprehension
MonitoringStrategiesDiscussionBegins Today

 

All

The answer to this question might be embedded in some of the earlier posts,
but I'd like to learn more about how it is that reading aloud ("sounding
good" - I think someone said) is and isn't useful as an indicator of reading
abilities.

My understanding is that people who can read aloud fairly well are decent
decoders.  They can wrest sound out of symbol.  This, however, is not the
same as making meaning out of what's been read.  (I know that when I read
something aloud, I can't always remember or even make sense of what I'm
reading).

We tend to use reading aloud as a way of 'seeing' what learners can do - but
it seems to me that this gives us a very incomplete picture.

Janet Isserlis 

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