1. Interactive Read Alouds Modeling Comprehension Strategies

2. “What is reading but silent conversation?” Author Unknown

3. Comprehension Strategies Good readers use comprehension strategies to help them understand the text they are reading Teachers demonstrate these strategies through interactive read alouds and think- alouds

4. Comprehension Strategies Good Readers Use Connections (text to self, text to text, text to world) Predicting Clarifying/Monitoring Questioning Inferring Visualizing –creating sensory images Determining importance Summarizing Synthesizing

5. Read Aloud Description: Teacher reads aloud to students Students experience a variety of forms and styles of writing Reading aloud encourages students to emulate the reader and to acquire the skills that will allow them to enjoy the pleasure and satisfaction of reading Read aloud is the instructional link to guided reading The listening and thinking skills used during read aloud help students with the development of comprehension skills that are used when students read themselves CELL/ExLL/SC2005

6. Gradual Release of Responsibility 1 Model I do You watch 2 Apply I do You help 3 Confer You do I help 4 Assess You do I watch Read Aloud Shared Reading Reciprocal Teaching Shared Reading Reciprocal Teaching Shared Reading Guided Reading Reciprocal Teaching Book Clubs Reciprocal Teaching Guided Reading Book Clubs Independent Reading

7. Read Aloud Purposes Builds vocabulary Introduces good children’s literature Increases repertoire of language and its use Develops comprehension strategies Improves listening skills Promotes phonemic awareness Demonstrates fluent, expressive reading Language and grammar usage CELL/ExLL/SC2005

8. Read Aloud Materials When selecting materials, consider the standards and the needs of the students Selections should represent a wide variety of genres with specific text features Examples of text include: Open Court, chapter books, instructional manuals, letters, magazine articles, picture books, and reference materials CELL/ExLL/SC/05

9. Read Aloud using Open Court Materials Why? Many of the stories are beyond the reading level of many students Example: Teammates from 3 rd grade Open Court

10. Read Aloud = Think-Aloud What is a think-aloud? According to Debbie Miller (2002) a think-aloud is a way of modeling or making public the thinking the goes on inside your head as you read. When we explain this to children, we tell them that two voices are really speaking as we read. The voice you can usually hear is your own voice reading the words, but inside your brain in another voice telling you what it thinks about the material you are reading. Thinking aloud shows children we think as we read (54).

12. Modeling Reading through Think Alouds 1.Select a book or passage to read aloud. 2.Plan ahead and choose specific instances to model aloud a comprehension strategy for students. 3. Consider the following points during think alouds:

13. Make Predictions Describe the picture you are forming in your head from the information in the text Make connections Verbalize confusing points Demonstrate “fix-up” strategies

14. Modeling Reading through Think Alouds (Continued) 4. Make sure you are precise about WHY you’re thinking aloud. 5. Make sure your students know the difference between thinking aloud versus reading aloud (put the book down when you are thinking aloud). 6. At first limit the “think aloud” focus to one strategy (unless the purpose is to build on strategies previously taught).

15. Modeling Reading through Think Alouds (continued) 7.Be clear to students when explaining this metacognitive process. Make sure they understand that what is being modeled will help all readers comprehend. 8.Make specific comments to share to students that they will be expected to be metacognitive in the same way with their own texts. Adapted from Keene and Hutchins PEBC Comprehension Summer Study, 2000

16. Think-Aloud verbal response starters to assist in the process of “thinking-aloud” for students Connections This reminds me of… I remember when… I read another book… This is like in our school when… I have a connection… Questioning I wonder if…. I wonder who… How come… Why…

17. Visualizing (creating sensory images) Mmmm, I can almost taste the… I can picture in my mind… For a minute I thought I could smell… I could hear the… I can imagine what it is like to… It’s like a movie in my head… I visualized…. Monitoring I wonder what it means… I don’t get it… It didn’t make sense when… I’m confused… I’m going to reread that because it didn’t make sense

18. Predicting/Inferring I think I know what is coming next….because… Maybe it means….because… I’m guessing that…because… I think we will learn how….because… I predict… because… Adding the word because to the sentence frame allows students to explain their predictions. Determining Importance The most important thing I’ve learned so far is… So far in the text…. This is really important… I need to remember that…

19. Summarizing The most important ideas in this text are… This part was about… This book was about… First,…Next,…Then,… The story takes place… The main characters are… A problem occurs when… The way the problem is solved is… Synthesizing I really like how the author… I wish I could… Yes!... AHA!.... It was really interesting to learn that…

20. Management of Read Aloud Seating Chart Partners Pair-share Structured Academic Discussion – Sentence Starters

22. Structured Academic Discussion Sentence Starters I predict _____because_____________. This part didn’t make sense because______. I’m guessing that_______because_______. I wonder if ______________. This reminds me of ___________.

23. I see it another way. I don’t agree with you because… I respectively disagree because… I got a different answer than you. My idea is similar to ______’s idea. I agree with ____________ that… Structured Academic Discussion Sentence Starters Teaching Students Formal Conversation

24. Instructional Steps for Academic Discussion Now let’s practice!! (refer to handout)

25. Key Points to Remember Read aloud every day Model the thinking that goes on in your head through think-alouds as you read aloud to students Management – seating chart and pair share Teach students how to have a structured academic discussion using sentence starters