Effects of Teachers' Reading-Aloud Styles on Vocabulary Acquisition and Comprehension of Students in the Early Elementary Grades

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?