Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners
Leah Kriz
Vanderbilt University
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Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners
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Table of Contents
Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Book Selection………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
Book Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
Vocabulary Emphasis………………………………………………………………………………………………11
Strategy Instruction……………………………………………………………………………………………… 16
After Reading………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 23
Limits to Read Alouds …………………………………………………………………………………………… 24
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26
Future Research …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 27
References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 29
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Abstract
Teachers use read alouds in the classroom to promote learning and increase
classroom discussion about text. In order for this instructional practice to benefit students,
it should align with what students know and should include appropriate ways of expanding
their knowledge. The teacher will need to tailor instruction accordingly for a classroom
that includes students of diverse backgrounds. There are many factors involved in creating
a successful read aloud, which include the book selection, the introduction activities,
vocabulary emphasized during reading, specific strategies for understanding text, and the
conclusion activities after reading. The book selection, vocabulary emphasized, and specific
reading strategies are three aspects that will be greatly influenced when doing a read aloud
in a diverse classroom.
In selecting a book for a read aloud, the teacher should consider his/her learners
and what content/strategies they need to learn. This is true for every classroom, but
teachers must be cognizant of how the book will relate to and benefit specific students.
Students come to school with many different levels of vocabulary knowledge and the
teacher should realize this and be equipped to teach new vocabulary to them. A read aloud
is an effective way to teach new vocabulary in context, but selection of words must be
purposeful. During this type of instruction, a teacher can explicitly teach reading strategies
through thinking aloud and involving students in the comprehension process. While doing
this with diverse learners, it is important to acknowledge differences in background
knowledge among students. Another important adaptation involves the type of questioning
used while reading to accommodate or even take advantage of the differences in culture.
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In this synthesis of information on components of the read aloud process and how
they relate to diverse learners, there are clear conclusions about what this means and what
needs to be done in order to benefit all students.
Introduction
Read alouds are a common teaching practice in many classrooms. If a teacher can
implement them appropriately and effectively, students can learn a great deal about
reading strategies, vocabulary, and comprehension. If, however, a teacher is not able to
reach his/her students on a common level of understanding, the students will not benefit
from this practice. This, therefore, means that teachers need to pay close attention to how
they use read alouds in the classroom when working with students of cultures different
than their own. It cannot be enough to simply read a book and expect students to
automatically learn strategies, deeper meanings, and new vocabulary. It is the teacher’s
role to ensure that all students can gain as much as possible from rich texts. Cultural
differences that may include language, background knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, or
customary practices can make a read aloud different in a diverse classroom.
Reading aloud is a complex task when done with instructional intentions. A teacher
should always have a reason for doing a read aloud, which could involve teaching specific
vocabulary, reading strategies, or types of texts. One of the greatest benefits of reading
aloud is that it “makes available rich content so that children can analyze texts and
compare them” (Fountas and Pinnell, 1996). This is important because it allows children to
experience authentic and rich text before they can access it themselves. Students need
experience with meaningful text even when they are new to interacting with text in a
school setting or new to the language that involves literature, what Beck and McKeown
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(2001) refer to as “text talk”. When done effectively, reading aloud to students allows
teachers to model how they think about text, which shows students how to do the same
thing.
The students of a culturally and/or linguistically diverse classroom need certain
modifications to general content in order to benefit fully from instruction. For this reason I
will examine the types of activities surrounding a read aloud that are most appropriate for
these learners with a focus on students from preschool to third grade age. The learning
context that I will discuss revolves around a group dynamic of student-teacher interaction.
In this format, a teacher leads a read aloud, while encouraging and requiring student
participation and engagement. As recommended by Routman (1994), a “whole group area”
should be a defined space where the students and teacher can gather to read together (p.
426). The curriculum that I’ve focused on involves the read aloud features that I will
outline. A read aloud should not be the only activity that a teacher uses to teach reading,
but is an important one. It is an integral part of the curriculum because the teacher can use
it to teach strategies, extend vocabulary and concept knowledge, and review these
periodically. The teacher will be able to assess their knowledge because a read aloud
teaches or reviews a skill or topic. This can be done through assessment during the read
aloud, discussion or wrap up activities directly following the read aloud, or extension
activities afterwards, such as literature circles.
The following are what successful and meaningful read alouds look like and also
what teachers need to do in regards to teaching students from different cultures. When
done correctly, a read aloud can be an influential tool in introducing students to reading.
There are five components necessary to using a read aloud in the classroom, namely, book
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selection, introduction, vocabulary emphasized, strategy instruction, and after reading.
There is research on each of these components; however, the greatest differences for
reading aloud in a culturally diverse classroom involve the book selection, the vocabulary
emphasis, and the strategy instruction.
Book Selection
When selecting a book for a read aloud, a teacher must consider what will appeal to
his/her students. According to Fountas and Pinnell (1996), who lay out guided reading
selection and introductions, a book should have themes, topics, or concepts that are
familiar to students and should address these in a way that will allow for students to make
connections. “If students do not read about their cultural groups’ contributions or see
pictures of people that represent their cultural backgrounds, they will likely feel alienated,
and this will hinder academic performance” (Gollnick & Chinn, 2006, as cited in Morgan,
2009, p. 3). Agosto (2007) goes on to explain that students who feel accepted and welcome
in school will make greater gains and have greater motivation in school. This means that
teachers need to read books that all students can relate to, at one time or another. “Text
should be selected on the basis of enabling students to make connections to real-life
experiences and to their background with challenging ideas and content” (Conrad et al,
2004, p. 188). An important criteria for selecting any book to read in the classroom is using
“culturally sensitive” books, “teachers can select those that are recommended by
researchers who specialize in multicultural children’s books” (Morgan, 2009, p. 6). Roberts
et al. (2005) describes how stereotypical books are still produced today, offending groups
such as Native Americans. Hall and Williams (2010) conducted a study using Caldecott
books for read alouds in a culturally diverse classroom. Even in these award-winning
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books, they detect stereotyping of characters and also note that the particular students in
the study read about unfamiliar content, such as snow. These examples illustrate a caveat
for teachers who are trying to select appropriate books in the classroom. Even if a book has
just been published or has received national awards, there is still potential for the book to
have an inappropriate topic or aspects for a certain classroom.
Morgan (2008) suggests general guidelines for a teacher to use when selecting a
book: “The book should present accurate facts about specific groups. The characters should
reflect the full complexity of men and women’s roles. The social issues of a group need to
be described authentically and honestly. The illustrations should show an accurate cultural
setting” (p. 106-H). More specific guidelines, outlined by Yokota (1993), are “ richness of
cultural details, authentic dialogue and relationships, in-depth treatment of cultural issues,
and the inclusion of members of ‘minority’ groups for a purpose (p. 159-160). It is
important to consider these different aspects when choosing appropriate books for the
classroom. McNair (2010) cites a study done by Sims (1982), in which she analyzed 150
books containing African American characters published between 1965 and 1979. In doing
this, she found that there were two categories that stood out: “melting pot” and “culturally
conscious” books. In “melting pot” books, the characters do not possess any differences in
culture compared to Whites besides skin color. The “culturally conscious” books, on the
other hand, portray African Americans accurately.
For English Language Learner (ELL) students specifically, Agosto (2007) points out
that when they read or hear texts that have familiar content and cultural similarities, they
are able to focus on learning the language. Another point she makes is that picture books
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with language that ELL students will generally understand makes the best use out of
teaching through reading.
According to Naidoo (2005), informational books are highly effective for teaching
ELL students. Teaching content and language simultaneously in a way that allows students
to build upon prior knowledge of both is a useful teaching strategy (Reid, 2002, as cited in
Naidoo, 2005). Moss (2003) touches on five benefits of reading nonfiction texts during read
alouds that include giving students information about the world in other places or times,
demonstrating examples of nonfiction text structure, lending to connections with fiction
books, providing curricular content necessary, and motivating students through interesting
topics (as cited in Naidoo, 2005). Another benefit of providing nonfiction text during read
alouds is that it incorporates content with learning to read. This is especially helpful for
ELL students because it gives them interactions with language that they would not
otherwise experience.
Also specific to students is deciding whether the text has some known vocabulary
and an intriguing plot line. The important thing to consider in choosing books that meet
these criteria is interest. Books still need to be intriguing and motivating while also being
comprehensible to students. Students should be able to relate to characters, which can
present the need for teachers to find books for all different cultures (Coatney, 2004). Other
important technical factors to consider for selection involve length of text, illustration
quality, and opportunity to use reading strategies. A type of book especially helpful to ELL
students is one that is heavily based on illustrations that go along with text. This allows
pictures to tell a lot of the content in the story which can lead to making connections
between words and meaning. Books that are predictable or have familiar patterns are also
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useful because they repeat language and allow students to remember it (Tsarykovska,
2005).
An effective way to enhance learning, especially in a read aloud where there is such
scaffolding of teacher support, is to choose books that are complex and may expand a
student’s thoughts on a topic (Beck & McKeown, 2001). Morgan (2009) points out that
students may feel more comfortable interacting with teachers who can facilitate differences
that arise from multicultural literature. The texts selected for a read aloud in the classroom
should promote discussion among students (Shedd & Duke, 2008, p. 3). This discussion will
allow the students to voice opinions as well as learn from others in the classroom. While
there are many factors to consider when choosing a book to read aloud, it will be different
for every classroom because it should be tailored to each group of students.
Book Introduction
The introduction to a read aloud depends heavily on what type of book is being read
and what supports the students need. When first introducing a text, the teacher should
specify what type of book he/she will be reading to them. This will prepare them in regards
to knowing the purpose of the read aloud—they will know if it is either a narrative book or
an expository text. In order for this to mean anything to the students, the teacher needs to
also explicitly state the difference between these two types and how to read them for
meaning accordingly (Santoro, et. al., 2008). According to research conducted by McGee
and Schickendanz (2007) involving repeated read alouds of sophisticated books for preschool and kindergarteners, the introduction should be brief. They show the cover picture
and sometimes the back cover and explain what students should be thinking about during
the reading. They do not recommend talking about the book parts (title page, concepts of
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print, dedication page, etc.) because it could interfere with the students’ attention to the
story line. They do not do a picture walk with the students during the first read, but rather
allow the students to experience the book during the actual reading. According to
Holdaway (as cited in Fountas & Pinnell, 1996, p. 136), “a book introduction is ‘a brief and
lively discussion in which the teacher interests the children in the story and produces an
appropriate set for reading it’ (1979, p. 142).” The introduction is adjusted according to
how challenging the text may be for the specific students being read to and also how much
background knowledge they have about the concepts. There are many aspects to capitalize
on when doing an introduction for students. Fountas and Pinnell (1996) compiled a list of
possibilities including relating to students’ background knowledge and connecting to what
the students know and allowing students to bring personal experience to text. Clay (as
cited in Fountas and Pinnell, 1996, p. 137) makes the point that when a teacher starts an
introduction with this type of discussion about what students already know in relation to
the new concepts/topics, the discussion should be an interaction between the students and
teacher (1991, p. 267). Other parts of an introduction can involve the teacher explaining
the important concepts and themes of the book, summarizing the general meaning so that
students know what to look for, analyzing the illustrations, and talking about the
characters (p. 137). By selecting appropriate books and providing comprehensive
introductions, a teacher can draw students into the book. Both of these important prereading factors influence how students think about the book and how they come to
understand it. Because read alouds consist of teacher modeling (Kimball-Lopez, 2003), it is
important then to show students how to think about text before it is even presented to
them.
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Because an introduction should build upon prior knowledge and familiar concepts,
it is important to use what students know to expand on that knowledge. While following a
third grade teacher through a read aloud, Iddings, Risko, & Rampulla (2009) emphasized
the process he took in reading to the students. He started with a picture walk and
discussion of some of the vocabulary in the story. This allowed students to connect pictures
to words and encouraged them to consider using this strategy to understand the book. This
brings in one difference between a typical read aloud and one for culturally and/or
linguistically diverse students, the teaching of common vocabulary. While both incorporate
new words, for these students, some words need to be introduced even before the story
begins in order to access the information. According to Calkins (2001), students who may
not be familiar with content or vocabulary will “profit enormously from…book
introductions geared toward rehearsing and talking about some of the words and concepts
in a book” (p.168). This part of the read aloud, then, can be a crucial piece to build
background knowledge before even beginning the story.
Vocabulary Emphasis
The actual read aloud process can look different depending on the teacher, the
audience, and the text. There are, however, specific components that are necessary to
incorporate during this process. Capitalizing on the vocabulary in a given text is an
underlying basis for a read aloud. According to Biemiller (2001), explicitly stated
definitions and explanations of vocabulary are necessary for students to acquire new
language. In a read aloud, then, a teacher should purposefully select new words to explain
to students. Picking a limited number of new words to define in a read aloud is necessary
so that the teacher does not provide an overwhelming amount of information. These words
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should be pre-selected and “critical to understanding the story and are likely to be
encountered in other books or useful in nonbook contexts” (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan,
2002 as cited in McGee and Schickendanz, 2007, p. 744). In the context of reading, the
teacher should stop at these words and briefly explain them so that students understand
the meaning of the text. In an outline of a read aloud, Santoro et al. (2008) includes defining
vocabulary before reading, including it while reading, and “introducing, reviewing, and
extending” it after reading (p. 403). This means that there are also opportunities for the
teacher to make these new words clear and accessible for student learning. Another way to
introduce words, while also finding out what students know, is to first ask about the word.
This allows the students who know to demonstrate their knowledge while teaching others
who may not have that word in their lexicon (Shedd & Duke, 2008).
According to McGee and Schickendanz (2007), the teacher should use words,
pictures, gestures, or voice tone and speed to explain vocabulary. In repeated readings, the
explanations can become more explicit and useful in other contexts and can include
examples of how the word is used. This instructional sequence can include brief definitions
or examples while reading or can be more in depth explanations that students need to
understand an overall concept (Kindle, 2010). Another example of explicit teaching is
Roskos’ (2008) method of “Say-Tell-Do- Play” which consists of a teacher saying a new
word, the students repeating it, the teacher giving a short definition, the students repeating
it to a friend, the teacher stopping while reading to do the repeating once again, and then
encouraging the students to use the word in other contexts (As cited in Kindle, 2010, p. 68).
A major finding of Justice and colleagues’ (2005) study of vocabulary acquisition for
at-risk Kindergarteners concerns the “elaboration” of vocabulary over repeated readings
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rather than “mere exposure” (p. 26). This means, then, that in order to teach this new
vocabulary, it is not effective to simply read the words, but instead specifically define them
for students. Because reading aloud is such a teacher-directed activity, it is important to
teach as much important vocabulary as possible. Especially for students who are not able to
read, teaching new vocabulary is a way to increase their repertoire of words. Brabham
(2002) also found that a teacher merely reading new words produced the smallest
vocabulary gains for students, while performance reading and especially interactional
reading produced the greatest gains. In Dickinson and Smith’s (1994) study involving preschool classroom read alouds, they also detected a “strong association between childinvolved analytic talk and vocabulary development” (p. 117). This means, then, that
students should be involved in the learning of these new words rather than just recipients
of new information. According to Jimenez, Garcia, and Pearson (1996), Latino/a students
had to use many more strategies for understanding vocabulary in a text than their
Caucasian student counterparts. This was a large part of their comprehension strategies
because of the unfamiliarity with words. Knowing this, a teacher should make sure when
reading aloud to English Language Learners that he/she not only explains vocabulary but
also thinks through how the student could figure out what those words mean. This
modeling can be beneficial for students who will need the skills to read independently.
While some words are introduced at the start of the book, words should also be
introduced and reiterated throughout the story. Using the repeated reading model outlined
by McGee and Schickendanz (2007), vocabulary instruction is an important aspect. In
emphasizing picture definitions and gestures to explain new words, the teacher can reach
English Language Learner students. Another way to teach vocabulary during a read aloud
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that allows the student practice with oral language is having students repeat new words
(Swanson & Howerton, 2007) and possibly even repeating short definitions. When
choosing a text, the teacher should keep in mind the limited amount of new vocabulary and
should use works that will provide words applicable in other contexts as well (Swanson &
Howerton, 2007).
Interestingly, Boykin (1994) cites a study done by Albury (1991) in which the
vocabulary knowledge of low income fourth and five grade African American and European
American students is compared. This study found, by providing four different vocabularylearning situations, that African American children performed lowest when vocabulary was
taught under individual conditions. They did, however, outperform the European American
students on the communal learning conditions. This provides evidence for the fact that
African American students achieve more when in a communal environment. Read alouds,
then, are a way to promote this learning.
In a longitudinal study of low-income students, Dickinson and Porche (2011) found
that aspects of teacher-student interaction in preschool had lasting effects on students’
language and literacy development. Namely, “Analytic talk during book reading was related
to Grade 4 vocabulary and had indirect effects mediated throughout Kindergarten
vocabulary… Engagement in analytic discussions about books may have directly foster
vocabulary learning” (p. 882). This study shows that even when students may not be
equipped with vocabulary knowledge before entering school, preschool practices can
promote vocabulary learning. This early education is apparently crucial for students who
wouldn’t otherwise have as extensive vocabulary knowledge needed for later grades. An
interesting finding that Dickinson and Porche (2011) discovered was that the analytic
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discussion was not highly correlated with Kindergarten vocabulary. They accounted for
this by explaining that part of the lasting effects of analytic talk was the students’ ability to
learn new words while discussing a book. This finding leads to the fact that teaching
vocabulary definitions alone, even while a teacher reads aloud, may not be effective.
Students need ways to learn new words and develop their vocabularies, rather than simply
learning many new words.
Teachers can read aloud to students from both fiction and nonfiction books. When
reading aloud the nonfiction, the goal is usually to teach the factual information in a way
that students will understand and enable them to make connections. Hickman (2004)
points out “the thematic selection of texts provides students with many opportunities to
use and extend new vocabulary and comprehension skills, as well as gain more depth of
content knowledge…” (p. 722). She goes on to explain that teachers should pick words to
teach that will help students explain personal experiences and analyze text, these are the
words that will benefit their learning. They should be able to use the vocabulary they’ve
learned in different contexts and should be able to use it to talk about the text and
connections they’ve made. According to Reese and Harris (1997), “Because informational
texts contain more varied and technical vocabulary than narratives, conversations
surrounding informational texts may facilitate vocabulary acquisition (as cited in
Pentimonti et al., 2010, p. 658). This is a useful way to view the information books,
especially when teaching new concepts along with reading strategies.
Silverman and Crandell (2010) found, again, that students’ learning of vocabulary
was positively correlated to teachers’ use of vocabulary instruction in a read aloud. They
also found, however, that when teachers extended this vocabulary use to non-read aloud
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activities, students made even greater gains in learning. This shows the importance of
creating meaningful, useful learning of vocabulary that can be used in other contexts. This
vocabulary that they teach should come from higher-level books, so that they promote
learning for the students. Kahn and Stahl (2009) recommend after a review of literature
that “teachers who want to increase the amount of vocabulary learning through context is
to have [the teachers] encourage their students to read more text of a level sufficiently
challenging or containing words that might be learned from context”(p. 135). A read aloud,
then, is a way to present these challenging texts in a meaningful way to teach the
vocabulary.
Strategy Instruction
Another part of the read aloud process is teaching reading strategies to students. In
this review, I look at only a few of the multitude of strategies that teachers can use.
According to Teale, Paciga, and Hoffman (2007), “During the primary grades, it is essential
to teach children appropriate comprehension strategies and skills that enable them to
understand texts that are more complex than those made of everyday words they already
know and conversations they routinely hear” (p. 346). This is especially important for
students of different cultures who need extension of language use. Kong and Pearson
(2003) explain that students of different cultures, specifically linguistically different, should
be provided with many opportunities to engage in literacy practices with appropriate
scaffolding. Santoro et al (2008) discovered that emphasizing comprehension strategies
and discussion of a text led to positive student performance. The idea of “text talk” (Beck &
McKeown, 2001) can be combined with culturally responsive teaching in a way that
extends the students’ understandings and discussions of text. When the students are
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 17
reading about familiar topics and have sufficient background knowledge about them, they
are more willing and able to participate in the interaction required in a read aloud (Conrad
et al., 2004).
In McGee and Schickedanz’s (2007) model of repeated readings, they recommend
modeling, inference-making, and predictions in the first reading and then providing less
modeling with more scaffolding questions for second and third readings. By doing this, the
students are exposed to subtle cues when the teacher thinks aloud and are able to transfer
this type of thinking to themselves. While this is important and necessary for all read
alouds, it can especially help students from different cultures. The teacher provides
language about text that questions and hypothesizes ideas and also forms conclusions and
answers to questions (Galda & Beach, 2001). Questioning, however, can be a difficult
strategy to use with students from different cultures. Many times a teacher may ask a
question to students that elicits no response. There are different reasons for this, such as an
ambiguous questions, low-level questions that do not lend to a thoughtful response, or
students not being used to asking or answering questions during learning (Mohr & Mohr,
2007). A model that Goldberg (1993) explores is “instructional conversation” (Tharp &
Gallimore, 1988, 1989) which is based on the assumption that having rich discussion and
meaningful use of language in learning will be beneficial to ELL students.
In a read aloud, then, it is important for the teacher to model thinking and asking
questions and also allow students to make input. A teacher should also understand that
students, when presented with a question, may not know how to verbalize what they are
thinking or want to convey (Jimenez, Garcia, & Pearson, 1996). Kindle (2010) found that
teachers favor questioning over other strategies during a read aloud. This shows that
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 18
questioning is an important aspect of this instructional technique, but teachers should use
them carefully. There can be different types of questions that teachers ask. According to
Cazden (2001, as cited by Mohr & Mohr, 2007), there are differences between display
questions and exploratory questions. Display questions involve lower level thinking
demand for answers; these would include literal questions that have one right answer.
Exploratory questions, on the other hand, lend themselves to thought-provoking answers
and discussion where there is no one right answer. These can be more meaningful for
students, but also take practice for them to become comfortable with. According to Jimenez,
Garcia, and Pearson (1996), Latino/a students include questioning as a skill that they can
transfer from one language to another. It is important for the students to see the
connections between first language and second language.
Throughout a reading, teachers ask questions concerning different strategies. These
questions help to give more of the control to the students and allow them to think about
what they’re reading. While modeling is important in helping students think about text,
some questions can allow students to take initiative in thinking about it (Klesius and
Griffith, 1996). Another way to incorporate questions can be using them in subsequent
readings of the same text once the teacher has modeled his/her own thinking already.
Questioning strategies can sometimes be the root of differences between the
mainstream Western culture that is prevalent in the classroom and other cultures. For
example, Tweed and Lehman (2002) point out the difference between East Asian and
Western cultures in this regard. Western students are encouraged to question throughout
the learning process, as seen during a typical read aloud, but East Asian students typically
follow an ordered pattern of “memorizing, understanding, applying, and questioning or
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 19
modifying” (p. 96). For this reason, not all students will feel comfortable immediately
questioning information they read about. Much like the previous example, Mohr and Mohr
(2007) explain that immigrant students may come from these cultures that do not
encourage asking or answering questions, but instead encourage listening quietly to the
teacher. Another example of this difference is cited in Hart and Risley (1995), in which they
find that higher socioeconomic status (SES) parents use more indirect requests with their
children, while lower SES parents use more direct commands. While Hart and Risley
(1995) discuss this in a negative way and link this to issues in school where lower SES
students are not prepared for the culture of the classroom, Dudley-Marling and Lucas
(2009) take a different stance. In their point-of-view, students with parents who use
different questioning techniques have language differences, not deficiencies. In knowing
this, a teacher using a read aloud in the classroom should pay close attention to his/her
questioning techniques to ensure that all students are benefitting.
Another strategy that teachers use during read alouds is making connections. In
providing students with the opportunity to do this throughout the text, the teacher allows
them to relate their present learning to something that they already know about. They can
relate text to themselves through characters or events, to other books that they’ve heard or
read, or to outside events that they recall (Hughes, 2007). By using schema, a reader can
develop new understandings and ideas about what they know in order to form new
conclusions (Anderson, 2004, as cited by Morrison & Wlodarczyk, 2009). When modeling
how to make connections, the teacher should purposefully explain what he/she is doing in
order to allow students to see when and where to make connections. Because this is based
on such a personal level of background knowledge and recall, students should be
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 20
encouraged to think for themselves and make relevant connections in their own lives. This
emphasizes the importance of the book selection, so that students have some prior
knowledge in which they can build upon.
When students enter school without knowledge of the language and culture, it can
be difficult to assimilate. “Minority children could have a handicap if stories, texts, and test
items presuppose a cultural perspective that the children do not share” (Anderson, 1994, p.
601). Anderson (1994) goes further to explain that lack of background knowledge about a
particular topic could cause a child to have trouble with comprehension. All readers have
an underlying expectation about what characters should act like, which is reflective of their
own life experience (Galda & Beach, 2001). This means, then, that students from diverse
backgrounds may have different understandings or predictions about text. A teacher needs
to use this understanding in order to help his/her students reach mutual understanding of
aspects of our culture and people that may be different than their own. Galda and Beach
(2001) suggest that reading should open students to looking at the whole system in which
characters are shaped and come to consider the differences between text and their own
experience. “Research has revealed that students from culturally and linguistically diverse
families possess a wealth of cultural knowledge and experiences that can be used to
enhance their literary development” (Moll & Gonzalez, 1994, as cited in Manyak, 2008). A
read aloud is a crucial time for a teacher to learn about these differences and allow
students to share what they know and how they interpret text. According to Harper and
Brand (2010), “Goals for incorporating multicultural literature into the early childhood
curriculum include facilitating children’s understanding of and respect for their own and
others’ cultural identities, assisting children to consider multiple perspectives and
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 21
experiences of others, and fostering children’s empathy” (p. 225). This means that all the
students in the class can learn from each other through difference in perspective and
cultural experiences. This can also be true for the dynamic between the teacher and
students.
As Kong and Pearson (2003) point out in their discussion of Book Clubs, which can
also apply to read aloud topics, English language learners have different experiences that
they can share with students. This allows for building upon background knowledge but also
for exposing all students to broader ideas and cultural awareness. Another main conclusion
in their research leads to the fact that ELL students need to have exposure and interaction
with meaningful text and need to gradually move from a great deal of support to less
support, as appropriate. This can be done even when the students do not have full mastery
of the language. Beck and McKeown (2001) present a caveat to using background
knowledge by pointing out that it is important to ensure students are using text to think
about what will happen in the story. If children use primarily background knowledge
without considering and developing new ideas involving the present text, it can be
ineffective. As a teacher, this is important to keep in mind.
When a teacher thinks aloud while reading a text, it can be used as “an instructional
practice to help students verbalize the thoughts they use during reading, and thus bring
that thinking into the open to that they can replicate it more effectively in the future”
(Oster, 2001, as cited in Collins Block & Israel, 2004). This process not only allows children
to see the teacher’s comprehension strategies, but can also give them vocabulary to use
when they discuss the strategies. A read aloud is a time for interaction between the teacher
and the students in the classroom. This interaction can foster communal development and
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 22
encouragement of others. According to Boykin (1994), African American students
emphasize communalism and work well together rather than in a competitive way. While a
lot of our current mainstream culture is competitive in nature, a teacher can reinforce this
type of communal learning and interacting during the read aloud. This will not only allow
more children in the classroom to benefit from their learning, but can also encourage this
collaborative way of interacting in general. Williams et al (2002) points out that teachers
should be “facilitators” of the discussion and allow students to make contributions and
arrive at their own understandings of text” (pg. 235). Dickinson and Smith (1994) also
found that this “teacher-student dialogue” is necessary for students to “engage fully in the
[the most beneficial] type of analytic talk” (p. 118).
In using books that contain multicultural topics or at least cultural topics other than
our own, the teacher can emphasize critical literacy. “A critical literacy approach includes a
focus on social justice and the role that each of us plays in challenging or helping to
perpetuate the injustices we identify in our world” (Leland, Harste, & Smith, 2005, p. 259).
This type of reading not only boosts comprehension, but also gives children a way to
express their thoughts and feelings on a topic.
There are many different ways to conduct read alouds in the classroom. Here I have
focused on ones that would include discussion throughout the book in order to promote
strategy use while reading. Dickinson and Smith (1994) found, however, that students
made greater gains with “performance-oriented” reading rather than “didacticinteractional” reading. The “performance oriented” is described as “limited
discussion…followed by extended discussion”, while the “didactic-interactional” is
describes as responding to “factual details”. Regardless, the “child-involved analytic talk”,
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 23
either during or after a reading produced effects on story understanding. “Many
conventionally trained teachers would see these different norms of interaction as signs of
disruption or ill-discipline. Yet they relate directly to home and community values…”
(Corson, 2001). These different considerations relate to teaching read alouds because they
involve how to treat students from different backgrounds and how to incorporate them
into the classroom environment.
After Reading
As part of a read aloud, the teacher should provide some type of concluding activity
or explanation. This can show up in different forms based on how many readings of the
same book have been done and what the learning goal of reading the book consisted of. In
line with McGee and Schickedanz (2007), the three read alouds that they suggest should
differ slightly in afterward discussion. At first, the teacher should lead more of the
questions and they usually consist of straightforward questions about events in the book
and characters’ actions. In repeated readings, more of the questions are based on
hypothetical thinking and deeper understanding of the text. Another way to wrap up a
story can be a retelling, either by the teacher, students, or a co-construction. Many times, a
teacher will work with students to construct a retelling of events in order to ensure that
students understood what happened in the story (Santoro et. al., 2008).
In Iddings et al.’s (2009) account of the third grade teacher, it is evident that he
works with the students throughout the read aloud to assist their language. He encourages
students to answer questions and to ask questions and also clarifies and restates what the
students say. This affirms their input and helps them to hear it being said again/correctly.
One way that this teacher summarizes the story, which is beneficial to many students, but
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 24
English Language Learners especially, is making a chart of the story. This allows him to use
a visual representation of events in the story so that students can hear him, look at the
book, and look at the chart information.
McGill-Franzen, Landford, and Adams (2002), in a study of five different preschool
programs, found the most effective use of read alouds included discussion before, during
and after reading. The discussion after reading can revolve around concepts that arise in
the text and can also allow all students to make input. During this time, the teacher can
informally assess the students’ understanding of the text based on the comments that they
make. Another way to extend the learning and capture evidence of this is to link the read
aloud to writing. “Read aloud and shared reading offer opportunities for children to
respond orally to texts and familiarize them with the types of responses they’ll later be
asked to write” (Taberski, 2000, p. 81). Kimball-Lopez (2003) suggests an extension
activity of journal writing so that students can analyze text, ask questions, and/or make
connections to the text. Another idea that Taberski (2000) presents involves story mapping
for different elements of a story. This not only provides visual access to the text, but also
gives students a demonstration for producing their own story maps. This is another
assessment tool that the teacher could use to check for specific understanding.
Limits to Read Alouds
There has been research that disputes the effectiveness of read alouds, while I have
only thus far provided why the teaching method is beneficial. This research focuses on
problems with read alouds that are done poorly, which is why I am careful to point out that
it must be done explicitly. Meyer and colleagues (1994) found through a longitudinal study
that the amount of time spent reading aloud to Kindergarten students did not have a
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 25
positive correlation to reading achievement for these students (as cited in McGee &
Schickedanz, 2007; Lane and Wright, 2007). They based this lack of correlation on
ineffectiveness of the read alouds. According to the study, merely reading to students will
not necessarily help them, but instead by doing so in a meaningful way. In reflection of this
point, it is important to realize that a read aloud, when done like the supporting research
suggests, will be effective.
Another problem that McGee and Schickedanz (2007) point out involves the types of
books that teachers choose to read, especially to at-risk students. In their research they
find more cases of teachers reading predictable, low level books rather than higher level,
sophisticated stories. This can be problematic in making the reading meaningful for
students and therefore can also hinder progress. According to a review of empirical
research, Scarborough and Dobrich (1994) found that parent-preschooler shared reading
(parents reading aloud) led to only an 8% difference in reading ability. They point to
factors such as Socio-economic Status (SES), child interest in reading, early ability among
children, and parent influence on reading. These are understandable variables and do lead
to differences in reading ability. This research, however, is also based off of home
interactions, whereas the read alouds that I am considering are led by teachers in a
classroom setting.
Still another barrier to making a read aloud successful and beneficial to students
involves lack of training and planning on a teacher’s part. According to Kindle (2010), in a
study that followed teachers who had not received professional development in teaching
vocabulary through read alouds, these teachers needed more guidance. She found that
teachers’ word selection and use of context to explain vocabulary needed the most
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 26
improvement. For this reason, it is important to ensure that classroom teachers attend
training and perform personal research on how to implement read alouds.
Conclusion
“Reading aloud is seen as the single most influential factor in young children’s
success in learning to read. Additionally, reading aloud improves listening skills, builds
vocabulary, aids reading comprehension, and has a positive impact on students’ attitudes
toward reading” (Routman, 1994, p. 32). If this is true, teachers need to incorporate such a
powerful tool into their teaching practices. Teachers need to know their individual
students’ needs in order to promote growth and success for this to be possible. This should
be done in such an environment that not only provides comfort in expressing ideas and
learning new concepts, but also fosters a specific type of interactional learning between
students and teachers. In doing this, a teacher will be able to assess the students based on
what they’ve learned or reviewed in a communal environment.
There is such a great deal of research on the effectiveness and benefits of read
alouds in the classroom, which has convinced teachers tend to adopt the technique.
However, many do not properly research the subject or receive instruction on the proper
utilization. In order to make read alouds beneficial, teachers need to participate in
professional development that deals with implementation. It is not enough to simply read
books to students without providing these structural components of the read aloud format.
All teachers in younger grades classrooms should be encouraged to participate in this
development opportunity. Teachers of culturally and/or linguistically diverse classrooms,
however, should be required to receive additional instruction properly addressing the
diversity of their students. The read aloud is an important activity in the curriculum for
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 27
learning of specific contents as well as reading strategies, and all students should benefit
accordingly.
The only way that these students will benefit, however, is by having teachers who
have an understanding of the accommodations necessary. When selecting books, the
teacher needs to recognize multicultural literacy and use books appropriate to content,
strategies, and cultural concerns. For the actual read aloud, the teacher must acknowledge
where his/her students are in terms of content knowledge and background knowledge in
order to determine how to introduce the book. Throughout the reading, he/she needs to
realize the potential differences in understanding based on background knowledge of
students. He/she also needs to ensure that types of strategies used throughout are
culturally responsive in format of questioning and responses expected. Finally, after the
book, the teacher should use activities to not only solidify learning among the students, but
also as assessments to ensure they’ve understood the material.
Future Research
There is a great deal of research from both past and present about read alouds in the
classroom. The cultural component of this instructional technique, however, is lacking.
There should be more specific studies done on this topic so that teachers can have models
on which to base their instruction. This could be a large area of interest, because the read
alouds are so effective in the classroom for teaching content and strategies. In schools that
are becoming more and more diverse, this read aloud adaptation is necessary. Without the
research to back it up specifically, there won’t be school-wide improvement in this area.
Another way to promote the use of culturally responsive read alouds is to design
read aloud guidelines for teachers based on this research. In doing this, teachers would be
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 28
able to have a resource from which to find books that relate to specific content or
strategies. Along with these book citations would be ways to introduce the text, ways to use
different strategies effectively with students of diverse cultures, and then activities to wrap
up the text in a meaningful way. While there can never be a prescribed method for this type
of instructional opportunity because of the diversity of students, it would benefit teachers
to not only received professional training, but also have guides and examples of effective
read alouds and to use.
Read Alouds for a Class of Diverse Learners 29
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