Megan Zara, M. Ed.

During my Phonological and Orthographic Systems class, I worked with a partner to dive deeper into the topic of interactive read-alouds. Reading aloud to children is a wonderful way to engage students and help them build a love of reading. In addition, when adults read aloud to children, they have the opportunity to listen to more sophisticated stories than they may be able to read on their own. My partner and I understood this idea, but it was through our inquiry project that we learned that taking read alouds to the next level, making it interactive, can have an even greater impact on a child’s literacy journey.

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As a result of our research, we learned that teachers can increase the effectiveness of a read aloud by planning quality questions and places for meaningful discussions throughout the story. When teachers use this research-based instructional practice, they are creating an enriched literacy environment, that combines the foundational knowledge of story structure, discussing texts, and the opportunity of literacy growth through more sophisticated stories. Consequently, teachers are providing authentic social experiences around quality literature. Teachers are able to model and facilitate effective talk around texts.