This week's article, Effects of Teachers'
Reading-Aloud Styles on Vocabulary Acquisition and Comprehension of Students in
the Early Elementary Grades, explores
the effects of different read-aloud techniques on vocabulary acquisition and
reading comprehension. The authors, Edna Brabham and Carol Lynch-Brown, discuss
the just reading, performance-style, and interactional
approaches to a read-aloud. Although educators, including myself, want the
answers to the million-dollar questions about the “right” way to do things in a
classroom, Brabham and Lynch-Brown do not provide a one-size fits all approach
to read-alouds, particularly when it depends on the instructional goals.
It is extremely
important for teachers to consider their goals of the read-aloud. Is it to
increase comprehension, build vocabulary, or for entertainment and enjoyment? Students’
learning styles are as unique as their fingerprints. For example, when I was
growing up, I can remember how frustrated I became when the teacher repeatedly
stopped during the read-aloud to discuss the text versus just waiting until the
end. While everyone else was more interested in having multiple in-depth
discussions throughout the book, I remember being on the edge of my seat to
find out what happened, wishing they would just be quiet so the teacher could
continue reading. According to Brabham and Lynch-Brown, those discussions, whether
before, during, or after the reading, are more effective that simply reading the
book straight through if the goal is vocabulary acquisition. When my teachers
read some texts, I recall having some gaps in my comprehension because I did
not know what a word or concept meant, making it seem necessary that we should
have either had a discussion before the book was read or either when the
word/concept was encountered in the text.
If the goal is to improve
reading comprehension, the teacher has the job of choosing which technique to
use because all three can help students in different ways. For example, some
students need to stop periodically to synthesize the information presented in a
text. Others, including myself, prefer to avoid interruptions that might
disrupt the flow of the text. However, recognizing the importance of preparing
our minds to read as well as using what we what immediately, I can see the
benefits of performance-style read-alouds on reading comprehension because of
the incorporation of before and after discussions. Again, since students differ
in their learning styles, I feel it is necessary for teachers to vary in their read-aloud
techniques if the goal is to improve reading comprehension.
In the end, research
supports an interactional read-aloud approach for vocabulary acquisition and a varied
read-aloud approach to reading comprehension. While teachers never have enough
time in the classroom, I feel it is extremely important for teachers to
differentiate instruction. In the area of read-alouds, this can sometimes mean rereadings
of the same text in the early grades. For example, students can benefit from reading
the text the first time using an interactional approach, allowing the teacher
to focus on vocabulary acquisition. Teachers can read the text aloud again a
second time, using a performance-style approach to allow students, like myself,
to experience the text as a whole and focus more on comprehension. As a parent,
I know my children enjoy listening to the same story multiple times.
QUESTIONS:
1)
Does
the “just reading” approach incorporate the use of reading comprehension
strategies such as the 4Ps, or is it merely reading the title and starting with
the first page?
2)
When
using the interactional approach, do the discussions tend to take more time
than was allotted for the lesson, preventing the teacher from being able to
finish reading the book in its entirety?
