Why Reading Aloud to Children is Important

Educators recognize reading aloud to children as very important and advocate strongly for preschools and elementary students to be read to. Why is it so important? Torgeson (2004) shared the finding that many elementary students who fall behind in reading were not read to prior to attending school. Bardige (2009) showed that it stimulated a child’s cognitive and language development. But it is not simply the reading that has the greatest impact on the child, it is the interaction between the reader and child (Duursma, Augustyn, & Zuckerman, 2008).

There is much more involved in the process of reading a story to children at home or in the classroom than merely reading the words to achieve active participation and high-level comprehension. At home when you are reading with your children there are usually fewer participants than in a classroom, but in either situation the same elements need to be found along with interactions between the reader and the listener(s) to achieve these results. It is not just reading orally, but activating the listener to build comprehension skills through asking questions and making connections between the text and life.

When the reader takes time to ask questions and talk about what they are reading along with making connections to life they are allowing the listener to develop their auditory understanding.  During these interactions the listener will begin to develop their own understanding and questioning skills.  As adult readers when we find free time to read, we ask ourselves questions all the time about the story and wonder what will happen, then make judgments about what did or did not happen in the story. These are skills that we have developed as adult readers. As educators we can guide our students by developing these skills by modeling them during read alouds. To get children to build vocabulary, predictions, and make text-to-life connections the oral reader must stop and ask leading questions while they are reading to children.  These skills begin the building of understanding and comprehending a story.  Students will also become more engaged in the reading and begin to ask their own questions. Engaging students in these activities helps them build their vocabulary and actively engages their comprehension. When the reader takes the time to stop on a word the students might not be familiar with and talks through their process of figuring out the word from the context, it will go a long way toward helping students transfer that skill to their own reading.  The same is true with making predictions as well as parallels to real life.

So often I observe teachers reading to their class and there is no interaction between the teacher and the students. Often the teacher lets the students draw or color. When I have asked why they are having students draw and color, they tell me the students don’t want to listen to the story or they are quieter this way. At this point I feel there is no one in that class benefiting from this form of oral reading. The teacher is frustrated because the students are not listening, and students are frustrated because they are not engaged in the story.

What are some ways you engage your students while you read to advance their vocabulary and other reading skills?

Torgeson, J. (2004) Avoiding the Devasting Downward Spiral, American Educator.

Bardige, B. (2009)Talk to Me, Baby!, Paul H Brookes Pub Co.

Duursma, E., Augustyn, M., & Zuckerman B.(2008) Reading aloud to children: the evidence, Reading Aloud to Children