The Secret to Interactive Read Alouds: Think Alouds
I am so excited to share the 3rd part of this reading comprehension blog series about all things think aloud! We will go through every detail of how this technique of modeling the way you THINK and APPLY reading strategies yourself can help your students internalize and practice implementing the skills themselves.
Here is a peek at all of the blog posts included in this series if you want to check out any others!
#1 Overview of all Comprehension Skills
#2 Three Steps to Scaffolding Lessons
#3 Interactive Think Alouds to Model Comprehension
#4 Using Picture Books to Practice Skills
#5 Comprehension Activities to Apply Reading Strategies
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THINK ALOUDS
💭 What are think alouds?
It is showing your thinking to your students. In this process you apply reading comprehension strategies out loud so students can see how it’s done!
Yes, it can feel totally awkward.
Yes, you may start thinking aloud everything you do.
BUT yes, it totally and completely will teach your students how to apply reading strategies.
Kids learn from what they see and hear. So do we. I am guessing I am not the only one who looks up a youtube video on how to do something rather than reading a paragraph about it right? We like to see it! (Side note- most of those people we are watching do think alouds as they are showing the camera how to do something…)
💭 When to use think alouds?
Think alouds can be used anytime to model using a reading strategy.
In the three step lesson progression from blog post #2, I use think alouds mainly with photographs and passages. Think alouds are amazing tools in small groups when focusing on those short texts and photographs to lead discussion and instructional scaffolding.
I do a 10 minute shared reading to start off my reading block each day. At this time, I read a part of a picture book and use think alouds to teach a reading comprehension strategy. (Blog post #4 walks you through these steps 🎉)
We focus on one strategy per week.
Use think alouds anytime you are reading aloud or practicing using a comprehension strategy. It really doesn’t matter what structure of reading instruction you use!
🖥️ Read about planning an inference think aloud in this blog post.
💭 How do to think alouds
While reading a text aloud to students, frequently pause and model how to notice a detail in the text or picture and think about something you know in order to apply the focus reading strategy.
Make sure to use a sentence starter (from blog #1 here) so that moment you use the strategy sounds consistent every time. Your students will also feel more confident replicating what you did and using the sentence frame after hearing you do it over and over.
I get my pictures from PIXABAY they have good stock photos, but you can use google images to find photographs to use with your students.
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Think Aloud Examples with photographs:
Below I will share several think alouds for each photograph that I would use to model implementing that reading strategy.
Sentence frame is- “I predict ___ will happen next because ___”
Prediction think aloud: “I notice the boy is laying on the couch. I do not see him holding any toys or books. I predict that next he will turn on the TV because I like to watch TV when I lay on the couch.”
Then I would say to students
“Did you notice how I looked at details about what the boy was doing and holding in the picture. Then I mixed that with my experience to make a prediction about what would happen next.”
Prediction think aloud: “I notice there is a blanket on the couch behind the boy. I predict that next he will pull the blanket on him to snuggle under it because it is nice to lay with a blanket on the couch.”
Then I would say to students
“Did you notice how I saw the blanket detail of the photograph and connected it to things that I like to make a prediction about what would happen next?”
Inference sentence frame- “I can tell ___ because ___.”
Inference think aloud: “I notice the girl is holding a very big bowl of lettuce. I also see that she is outside. I can tell that she is having a picnic because people eat outside at a picnic.
Next I would say to students
“Did you notice how I took details from the photograph and combined that with things I know to make an inference?”
Inference think aloud: “I notice the girl has Pikachu on her shirt. I can tell that she likes Pokemon because she is wearing a Pikachu shirt.”
Next I would say to students
“Did you notice how I saw the detail on her shirt and used that to make an inference about something she likes?”
Questioning sentence frame- I wonder (who, what, when, where, why, where, and how) ___”
Questioning think alouds:
“I wonder where these kids are walking?”
Say to your students, “I wonder what the yellow flag represents?”
Model thinking deeper about the picture details, “I wonder how they will use the pots and pans outside?”
“I wonder why they are laughing?”
Incorporate all question words to expand deeper thinking such as, “I wonder when they will need to use the lantern?”
Next I would say to students:
“Did you notice how I looked at details in the photo- the peoples’ expressions, the objects, the setting and asked questions about them? Did you notice I did not pause to answer the questions? When practicing questioning we only ask questions, no need to answer them right now!”
Choosing a book for a think aloud
There are many things to think about when choosing books to read to your class and mentor texts to model applying reading strategies.
A good place to start is check out my blog posts below.
🖥️ Mentor Text Lists by Comprehension Strategy
➡️ To narrow down these lists think about…
I talk more about picking books with your students in mind in my free training 4 Easy Steps to Powerful Reading Lessons.
I see you wondering how to apply these think alouds to texts and I got you covered. Blog #4 will be coming soon with all the details on how I plan and use these when reading a book.
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What questions can I answer for you?
