The Gospel of Read-Aloud

**Kim/K/SCal** · 03-22-2002, 10:25 PM

Hope4Me brings up an excellent point on the tail end of the hopelessly LONG "off on a tangent" thread started by David of the Big Recliner and Massive Remote Control (Horror Stories About Spelling).

Not that DAVID went off on a tangent. OH noooo... it wasn't him. The CULPRIT (ahem!) shall remain nameless.

Anyway... Hope4Me states that we MUST encourage every parent we know to read aloud to their children. Grace says we are hopelessly idealistic but where would the IDEAL be if nobody aspired to it? We CAN do what we can do with what we are given.

I believe wholeheartedly, as do MANY researchers, that reading aloud is the cornerstone of ANY balanced literacy program and crucially important at ANY AGE. This means that David of the Big Recliner and Massive Remote Control should be reading aloud to his kidlets (I bet they could all fit up there on that chair with him) as often as RebaRed, Hope4Me, and I read to our little charges.

Reading aloud has so many benefits that I hardly know where to begin..... building vocabulary and ideas, illustrating concepts, modeling language, providing information..... not to mention all those social-emotional and affective benefits! It is the SINGLE BIGGEST AND BEST THING I DO in order to make my little kids into readers. Jim Trelease states it eloquently: "There are 44 sounds in the English language and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM can be found in 'Make Way for Ducklings,' 'Good Night Moon,' and 'Charlotte's Web." He goes on to state that if parents would make a habit of reading aloud to their children, NOBODY would have to call 1-800-ABCDEFG and order a box of $200 flash cards to instill the "love of books" (HA!) into their children who struggle to read.

I firmly believe that a copy of Jim Trelease's excellent "Read Aloud Handbook" should be placed in the diaper bags of EVERY single new parent leaving the hospital with newborns. I make it a habit to present one at EVERY baby shower I attend, along with Robert Munsch's "Love You Forever."

I go further: Bernice Cullinan has what I call the "cheap version" of the Trelease book... many of the same basic ideas but in a smaller, more compact, and LESS EXPENSIVE book. I order 20 copies of her "Read To Me: Raising Children Who Love to Read" at the start of each school year and hand them out to my parents. B&N gives a nice discount (20%) so the expense isn't too terribly much. The fact that I have purchased these books usually GUILTS most of the parents into reading them, LOL!!

**Miss Kitty** · 03-22-2002, 10:46 PM

Kim, I agree with you wholeheartedly, and so does my sister! When my sis was expecting 15 years ago, I kept telling her to read to the baby, even though it wasn't born yet. She got into the habit of reading to her child, and now credits me (and "my" idea) with my niece's good grades and love of reading.

On the opposite side of the coin, my 9-year-old stepson was and is read to rarely by his mother. I used to read to him before bed, but he no longer wants to even listen. He has no interest in books and reading and has a hard time with it. I am firmly convinced that if his mother had read to him every day, he would also love to read.

Just a little anecdotal evidence, but quite compelling, IMHO.

Miss Kitty, who intends to continue to encourage everyone she can to read to their kids!

**David of Houston** · 03-23-2002, 12:37 AM

Originally Posted by Kim/K/SCal

We CAN do what we can do with what we are given.

In my school district, we do what we can do with what we are given WITHIN the scope and sequence of TEKS - the Texas Essential Knowledge objectives and our timeline for the various TAAS (state mandated) benchmark testing. In my school, each of the 4th grade teachers teaches the same thing the same way because the building administrator and the team leader have mandated that there will be no deviation from grade level lesson plans.

I mention this only because some teachers, like yours truly, do not have any instructional flexibility to truly do what we can do with what we are given. We do what we are TOLD to do.

(grumble)

David

**Kim/K/SCal** · 03-23-2002, 04:57 PM

I am sooooo glad you will be leaving that district. Your administrators will probably be long retired on a fat bureaucratic retirement salary long before the "powers that be" recognize the monster they have created.

I am having a hard time deciding whether to leave my district for another, more progressive district, because I AM LEFT ALONE and allowed to teach. Oh sure, we have "adopted" texts, but I use what I want and do what is best for my kids.

I figure as long as my kids meet the "goals and objectives".... who cares how I get there? I just engage in best practice and do what I want.

I can defend my practices (i.e. READING ALOUD everyday) until the cows come home and baffle the bureaucrats with research.... something they never read and don't understand.

LOLOLOLOLOL..... (<<<wicked laughter)

**RebaRed** · 03-23-2002, 10:03 PM

There's a lot to be said for a school that lets you teach how you want to teach to the kids. While my principal isn't the same for all, she does leave me to teach how I want to teach. If my kids beg for me to continue reading our read aloud, I can do that. If I want to spend the day focused on reading in all variety of ways, I can. It makes my job more enjoyable.

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