My Soapbox Song

May I jump straight to the point?

Please, hold your read-aloud as sacred.

I know we are busy, the day is crowded, and we have a lot to get in. But a read-aloud offers something no other activity can. If you have been around here a while, you’ve heard me on this soapbox before (“What About Read-Alouds?” and ”Read-Aloud Tips, Techniques, and Titles”). Whether kindergartners or children taller than we are, our students receive multiple benefits from hearing books read aloud. And whether from picture books or novels, when beautiful, grammatically correct, sophisticated language patterns come to their brains through their ears, it is a deposit on future reading success. These language patterns are not replicated on TV, in daily conversations, and certainly not through devices, which is why this activity isn’t just fluff or a time filler. Read-alouds are truly going to have a positive influence on future success. (Audiobooks are an additional way to get these beautiful language patterns into our schema.)

Two of the most rewarding things in my teaching life are hearing the cries of “No! Keep going!” when I stop at a deliciously suspenseful spot and the contented sighs that whip through the room when the last word of a great book is uttered. Hearing fantastic stories students love keeps the value of this thing called “reading” worth working toward.

This is important for everyone, but especially for new or struggling readers who might not feel like the effort is worth it when their reading experience is characterized by “The bug on the rug dug and dug.” But the ones who are laughing at The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter, or crying in When Friendship Followed Me Home, or sighing with contentment at The Beatryce Prophecy see that the struggle will be worth it, because that is the world that will soon be open to them. I want that world to be open to them all. Don’t you?

Let’s make reading aloud a priority this year. Come on up. There is room for you on my soapbox.