Top 10 Ways Reading Aloud Makes Powerful and Productive Classrooms

My classroom was rarely quiet during my 16 years as a high school ELA teacher. 

And not just because I taught 9th graders. 

Although reflection and silent reading are skills every student needs, my students spent a lot of time reading aloud in class. By this, I don’t mean that I forced round robins or other outdated practices that have repeatedly been shown to do more harm than good. I’m talking about voluntary, community-building, and celebratory read-alouds. 

We’d regularly start class with a student volunteering to read a favorite line or paragraph from last night’s assignment. This gave me great insight into how my students had connected to and processed the texts we were about to discuss. When we studied plays, we’d read aloud while performing, using our diction and acting choices as close reading techniques. And in discussions, students would read aloud the passages they most wanted to discuss, or when someone made a claim that seemed unsupported, their peers and I would push them to read aloud the part of the text that was informing their assertion.   

The regular read-alouds made my classroom more energetic, engaging, and collaborative. Read-alouds helped me cultivate the kind of student-centered, asset-based classroom I had hoped to build when I started teaching.   

What Science Says About the Benefits of Reading Aloud   

Although I was teaching high school, research suggests that read-alouds are especially important for younger children. For most students, listening comprehension exceeds reading comprehension through about age 13. As such, we should give students opportunities to leverage their strong listening comprehension. High-quality curriculum and instruction should include read-alouds so students can build knowledge and vocabulary as they develop word recognition and reading comprehension skills. 

There’s plenty of science to back up the educational efficacy of reading aloud to students at all grade leves. Here’s a condensed version of what the research says.

1. Reading aloud builds vocabulary. Students hear words they might skip when reading individually. They will also learn how words are pronounced and their definitions through context or purposeful dictionary consults. 
    
2. Reading aloud strengthens fluency. When students hear and practice proper pacing and emphasis in the sentences being read aloud, their own fluency skills will improve.
    
3. Reading aloud improves active listening skills. When students listen for meaning so they can discuss what was read, they are authentically building critical deep listening skills.
      
4. Reading aloud hones executive functions such as memory and attention. If students know they must engage with and comment upon something being read aloud, they will have the incentive to pay attention and commit specific details to memory. Students who struggle with executive functions, such as memory and attention, can use tools like note-taking, annotation, and asking clarifying questions.
    
5. Reading aloud aids in comprehension (when accompanied by questioning). When teachers and students pause to ask and answer questions, students can feel confident knowing they understand the text (or work actively towards understanding). What’s more, reading aloud slows reading rates, building in more time for comprehension.
    
6. Reading aloud serves as a launching point for discussion. When students have all read (or reread) a text together, they are well situated to start discussing it, partially because the information is fresh and partially because they can transition from one shared experience to another.
    
7. Reading aloud takes the pressure off ELLs and students with learning differences to read and process everything independently. For students who struggle with reading for any reason, hearing the text read aloud—as they would if using an audiobook—can be invaluable for building comprehension and fluency skills. Of course, you’ll want to avoid demanding that struggling readers participate in read-alouds until they are comfortable doing so.
    
8. Reading aloud centers student voice. When students read aloud, their voices fill your classroom with their presence. Read-alouds also invite students to ask and answer questions and make comments, which also centers their voices.
    
9. Reading aloud builds a sense of classroom community. Anything students do together can be community building, and reading aloud is no exception. Chances are, they’ll laugh, groan, or show confusion at similar points in the text. When they don’t, discussing their differences of interpretation and opinion can positively contribute to classroom culture.
       
10. Reading aloud reduces stress and makes us happy. Really! Here’s just one of the many studies that discusses the mental health and well-being benefits of reading aloud. I watched my students’ stress melt away when we slowed down and focused on reading aloud together.      
     

While there is robust evidence that read-alouds are powerful across subjects, these findings come with a big elephant in the room. For read-alouds to benefit all students, every student needs to feel comfortable reading aloud. And they need to be able to process and comprehend the speech of others. 

Sound like insurmountable challenges? 

Not with the right tools. 

Introducing Reading Assistant Plus™      

Students struggling to read, silently and aloud, need immediate corrective feedback, the kind that a teacher with 20-30 students per class just can’t give. 

Enter Reading Assistant Plus, an online guided reading tool that builds fluency using patented voice recognition technology to listen to students as they read aloud. 

Whereas most reading programs only allow students to record themselves reading, Reading Assistant Plus actually listens to a student read aloud and corrects them if they struggle with or mispronounce a word. The program then allows students to try again—and again—until they have learned to pronounce and define unfamiliar words and fully comprehend a text.

Reading Assistant Plus can also read aloud to students, helping those who would benefit from hearing selections before reading them aloud themselves.   

Acting as a 1-on-1 reading tutor, Reading Assistant Plus improves phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and pronunciation. It also teaches comprehension by pausing to ask meaningful questions throughout the reading process—the exact thing my students and I would do when we read aloud together. 

Capable Readers, Confident Speakers, Lifelong Learners

Teachers do so many things every day to build classrooms where kids are comfortable, motivated, and willing to confront challenges. And while reading aloud on its own won’t magically transform your classroom into a place where kids feel safe and supported, it is one helpful tool for your toolbox. 

When I think about the best read-alouds from my time in the classroom, I remember the rawest, most honest, and most productive conversations of my teaching career. And I want more moments like that for all students.