1.
How do I locate appropriate nonfiction titles?
2.
How do I read nonfiction aloud in a way that engages
students?
3.
How do I encourage and facilitate student responses to a
nonfiction read aloud?
I addressed the first two questions last week and the week
before. You can scroll down to read my suggestions. Today, I’m going to
focus on question number 3.
When someone asks me for advice on how to encourage and
facilitate student responses to a nonfiction read aloud, I reassure them that
this is the last thing they need to worry about. Here’s why:
During a fiction read aloud, students have no idea what to
expect. The story could go in any direction at all. The only limit is the
author’s imagination. As a result, during fiction read alouds, students often sit
quietly, waiting to hear how the story will unfold.
But students come to nonfiction read alouds armed with a
powerful tool—their prior knowledge. They’ll have a cornucopia ideas and
opinions before you even open the book. In fact, one of your students may even
be a mini-expert on the topic.
Instead of passively waiting to hear the story, children
will be eager to contribute. All you have to do is let them. Encourage children
to talk with one another about what they’re hearing and thinking and wondering.
Every once in a while, stop reading and invite students to share their thoughts.
While organic student-led conversations are often
sufficient, in some cases, you may want to document a nonfiction read-aloud
experience. In his wonderful article “Nurturing Inquiring Minds with Nonfiction Read Alouds,” highly-regarded educator Tony Stead suggests recording
student thinking before, during, and after the read aloud using a table with
the following headings: “What We Think We Know,” “Confirmed,” “We Don’t Think this Anymore,”
“Exciting New Information,” and “Wonderings.”
This strategy works especially well when students come to
the read aloud with misconceptions about a topic. It can also spark inquiry and
guide students as they independently research and write about a topic.
So what do you think? Has this 3-part series made nonfiction
read alouds seem more manageable? If you still have questions, please let me
know. I’d like to help if I can.