Read Them a Book

1. Read Them a Book! ETAI Winter Conference 2009 �Sharing Ideas� Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva Michele Ben (mggben-at-gmail-dot-com)

2. The benefits of reading aloud �Reading aloud is the foundation for literacy development. It is the single most important activity for reading success (Bredekamp, Copple, & Neuman, 2000). It provides children with a demonstration of phrased, fluent reading (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). It reveals the rewards of reading, and develops the listener's interest in books and desire to be a reader (Mooney, 1990).� Judith Gold and Akimi Gibson (2001)http://www.readingrockets.org/article/343?theme=print

3. Reading out loud contributes to: Vocabulary acquisition Familiarity with vocabulary patterns Internalizing language patterns Understanding the structure of a story

4. When pupils listen to the teacher reading a book they - Learn about the relationship between the printed word and meaning - children understand that print tells a story or conveys information Are exposed to language and stories on a higher level than what they can read

5. When a teacher reads a book out loud she: Models reading � prosody and fluency Can engage all the pupils in the class Reinforces or introduces topics Reinforces or introduces vocabulary and language structures Motivates and interests pupils in reading and books

6. Things to think about Is it a good story? Is the book worthy of a reader's and listener's time? Does the story sound good to the ear when read aloud? Will it appeal to your audience? Is the story memorable? Will children want to hear the story again?

7. What to look for: Repetition of vocabulary or language structure Not too much text on each page Attractive pictures Humour Familiar themes and topics A book known to the pupils in its Hebrew translation

8. Ideas for things to do Predict based on the picture or story structure Take turns reading Use the book as a model for writing Allow a pupil to choose a book to take home, practice and read to the class

9. PEER: Dialogic reading, reading in an interactive manner Prompt with a question to focus and engage: Point to something and ask, �What is that?� � �A balloon.� Evaluate the response: �That�s right!� Expand on what was said: �The balloon is red.� Repeat the prompt and encourage the child to use the new information. �That�s a red balloon. Say, �The balloon is red�.� Dialogic reading works. Children read to in a dialogic way have better oral language skills, and are more likely to be exposed to new words. From: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/33854

10. To sum up: �Researchers have validated that reading aloud affects vocabulary development (Robbins & Ehri, 1994; Whitehurst et al., 1999), acquisition of literary syntax and vocabulary (Purcell-Gates, McIntyre, & Freppon, 1995), story recall (Morrow & Smith, 1990), and sensitivity to the linguistic and organizational structures of narrative and informational text (Duke & Kays, 1998). Studies have shown that children make gains in expressive language even when the duration of story reading interventions are short (e.g., Hargrave & S�n�chal, 2000)� http://www.readingrockets.org/article/16287