Reading Aloud to Children

George Jacobs

published by Times available at National Library

gmjacobs@pacific.net.sg Internet: www.georgejacobs.net 9389-8360

Read Aloud Asia,

Agenda
Why Reading Is Important Benefits of Reading Aloud Techniques for Reading Aloud Demonstration of Reading Aloud Your Turn

Agenda (cont)
Reading Aloud with Prediction: Demonstration, Benefits, Your Turn Q&A Conclusion

Why Reading Is Important

Language acquisition grammar, spelling, vocabulary the fun way Knowledge acquisition Life-long learning

Benefits of Reading Aloud

Introduces children to books, poems, etc. Provides a model for pronunciation Develops vocabulary Teaches knowledge of the world and of books Builds bonds between the reader and listeners Offers a model of the joy of reading Encourages a love for reading silently/aloud

Reading Rights of Children

International Reading Association http://www.reading.org/positions/MA DMMID.html 1. Children have a right to appropriate early reading instruction based on their individual needs

2. Children have a right to reading instruction that builds both skill and the desire to read increasingly complex materials 4. Children have the right of access to a wide variety of books and other reading material in their classrooms, and in school and community libraries

7. Children have a right to reading instruction that involves parents and communities in their academic lives

Read Aloud Checklist

Choose good stories Practice first Set the scene Give title and author Read with feeling & variety Perhaps, summarize slow parts and paraphrase new words

Stop at interesting places Invite participation Ask questions, make connections, make comments Make gestures, body movements, sounds

Advice on Television by Roald Dahl

The most important thing we've learned, So far as children are concerned, Is never, Never, Never, let Them near your television set - Or better still, don't install The idiotic thing at all.

In almost every house we've been, We've watched them gaping at the screen. They loll and slop and lounge about, And stare until their eyes pop out. (Last week in someone's place we saw A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)

They sit and stare and stare and sit Until they're hypnotized by it, Until they're absolutely drunk With all that shocking ghastly junk.

Oh yes, we know it keeps them still, They don't climb out the window sill, They never fight, kick or punch, They leave you free to cook the lunch

And wash the dishes in the sink But did you ever stop to think, To wonder just exactly what This does to your beloved tot?

IT ROTS THE HEAD! IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD! IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND! IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!

HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE! HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE! HE CANNOT THINK - HE ONLY SEES

'All right!' you'll cry, 'All right!' you'll say, But if we take the set away, What should we do to entertain Our darling children! Please explain! 'We'll answer this by asking you, 'What used the darling ones to do?

How used they to keep themselves contented Before this monster was invented?' Have you forgotten? Don't you know? We'll say it very loud and slow:

THEY ...USED...TO ...READ! They'd READ and READ and READ, AND READ and READ, AND THEN PROCEED to READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks! One half their lives was reading books!

The nursery shelves held books galore! Books cluttered up the nursery floor! And in the bedroom, by the bed, More books were waiting to be read! Such wondrous, fine fantastic tales Of dragons, gypsies, queens and whales

And treasure isles and distant shores Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars, And pirates wearing purple pants, And sailing ships and elephants, And cannibals crouching round a pot, Stirring away at something hot...

Oh books, What books they used to know, Those children living long ago! So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, Go throw your T.V. set away, And in its place you can install A lovely bookshelf on the wall.

Then fill the shelves with lots of books, Ignoring all the dirty looks, The screams and yells, the bites and kicks, And the children hitting you with sticks -

Fear not, because we promise you That in about a week or two of having nothing else to do, They now begin to feel the need Of having something good to read.

And once they start - oh boy, oh boy! You watch the slowly growing joy that fills their hearts.

They'll grow so keen They'll wonder what they've ever seen In that ridiculous machine, That nauseating, foul, unclean, Repulsive television screen!

And later, each and every kid will love you more for what you did.
Advice on television Extract taken from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.

Demonstration
Please see if I do what is in the checklist Remember: your turn is coming after this

Read Aloud Checklist

Choose good stories Practice first Give title and author Read with feeling & variety Perhaps, summarize slow parts and paraphrase new words Stop at interesting places Invite participation Ask questions, make connections, make comments Make gestures, body movements, sounds

Your Turn
Look through the books available. Choose one - prepare to read it aloud to a partner - use checklist to prepare. Take turns reading aloud - your partner plays the role of a child - you say what age. Partner checks you with checklist.

Key Point
Reading aloud is a journey, not a race Thus, the longer it takes to finish the story, the better The book can be a tool to launch a conversation, mostly about life, and, to a lesser extent about language

Prediction - Procedure
1. Read aloud the title and the portion of the text up to the point of prediction. Ask a question about what will happen next.
2. Children make predictions and provide reasons for their predictions.

Prediction Clues
Title Author Illustrations Knowledge of the world Similar stories Knowledge of the genre Previous parts of the book

Procedure, continued
3. Read the text until the next prediction point.
4. Discuss whether childrens prediction

were confirmed or disconfirmed.

Key Point
However, the quality of a prediction is measured by the reasoning behind the prediction, not by what actually does happen next in the story. After all, stories are just inventions of writers.

Benefits of Prediction
1. Arouses the interest of children 2. Allows children to follow the story better 3. Encourages careful listening 4. Allows children to interact with the story 5. Promotes logical thinking 6. Promotes creativity

Ideas for Motivating Children to Read More

1. Share/discuss books you have read. 2. Keep records of childrens reading and display them in an interesting manner. 3. Display books in a prominent part of the your house and in childrens rooms. 4. Dont force reading if kids arent in the mood. 5. Let children listen to CDs, etc. of books being read aloud.

More Motivational Ideas

6. Children swap books with friends. 7. Children read aloud their favorite stories to you or read along with you. 8. Recreate a scene of the book through role play or puppet play or drawing. 9. Design a comic strip/book mark

Q&A
Questions Disagreements Experiences Ideas

Final Tips
Store read aloud books where children can reach them Keep library books all in the same place, unless you want to make lots of donations to the library Enjoy reading aloud to children!

Books with Lists of Read Aloud Books

Honey for a Childs Heart (includes annotated list of books for ages 0-14) Books Children Love The World through Childrens Books Great Books about Things Kids Love

Best Books for Children Books to Grow With Reading Rainbow Guide to Childrens Books: The 100 Best Titles 100 Best Books for Children

Best Books for Kids Who Think They Hate to Read The Read Aloud Handbook 70 Tried and Tested Great Books to Read Aloud by Jacqueline Wilson, who is/was the UK Children's Laureate published by Corgi, an imprint of Random House, 2006

Please Thank
Your Partner