© 2016 Victory Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

5 Keys to Unlock Read-Aloud Success

1. Choose your book carefully 2. Decide why you are reading aloud 3. Share the book 4. Connect books 5. Enjoy the book

© 2016 Victory Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

1 Choose your book carefully

• You need to select a book that all your students will enjoy.

• It should be fun to read aloud, but it should also serve a specific purpose.

• You need to know why you are choosing the book. This means take your time choosing the book.

• Read it aloud beforehand. Explore it to discover what the author’s purpose is and what meaning the author wants the reader to take away.

© 2016 Victory Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2 Decide why you are reading aloud

• Knowing the purpose of your read-aloud ensures a meaningful book interaction for your students.

• You can read aloud to ✦ help students hear language, word

choices, and how an author presents a storyline.

✦ introduce an author or genre, or to build background about a topic.

✦ teach a skill or strategy; other times just to share a book.

© 2016 Victory Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

3 Share the book

• It’s important to introduce the book by sharing information about it and the author.

• Students then see that many authors write a special kind of book and what their purpose was in writing. This helps students define an audience.

• With younger students, taking a “picture walk” helps them see connections between visuals and language.

• With older students, share your thinking about a book and then have students share their reactions and thinking.

© 2016 Victory Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

4 Connect books

• Use your read-aloud to help students connect books they have read and books they might want to read.

• Show how themes and topics link books. • No author writes in a vacuum, so it’s

important for students to see connections in their reading.

© 2016 Victory Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

5 Enjoy the book

• It’s hard to not “teach” a book. We are teachers and it’s our first instinct.

• Often, however, a read-aloud should be just that: students relaxed, sitting back, and hearing a good story.

• That’s true of both fiction and nonfiction. Students hear language, they see how it’s used, and they make meaning.