Revitalizing Read Alouds: Interactive Talk about Books with Young Children, Prek-2

How can educators and other professionals caring for children extend the learning potential of read alouds? This book is designed to help teachers, special education specialists, and speech-language pathologists achieve two objectives: 1) how to interact with children around books in ways that are instructive in nature but also responsive to children’s verbal contributions; and 2) how to use literature, informational texts, and poetry to achieve the goals of the Common Core State Standards. The authors provide specific recommendations for structuring read aloud routines in the early childhood classroom, making the read aloud interactive, using instructional strategies that enhance children’s vocabulary and content knowledge, and supporting and extending children’s verbal contributions through scaffolding during the activity. This practitioner‐friendly text also includes methods for supporting children with special needs, as well as English language learners.

Book Features:

• Recommendations for how to choose quality books in each of the three genres― informational, literature, and poetry.
• The most useful interactive‐instructional strategies.
• The types of visual supports and props that can augment the read aloud.
• Methods for extended learning opportunities.
• Examples and excerpts from actual read alouds to illustrate the methods.
• Read aloud activities that align with the Common Core State Standards.
• The benefits and challenges of using digital texts

Lisa Hammett Price is professor in the speech-language pathology program in the Department of Communication Disorders, Special Education, and Disability Services at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Barbara A. Bradley is associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at the University of Kansas.