News
Reviving the Read Aloud
by SF Ed Fund on
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Literacy Specialist Jessie Blundell shows Education Fund Literacy Program Coordinator Shaina Steinberg how teachers can use a Common Core application to determine which Interactive Read Aloud activities are most relevant for their students.[/caption]Read Alouds are reminiscent of cozy times, sitting crisscross applesauce on the classroom carpet listening to your teacher read “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie,” or another classic. But at many of our schools, Read Alouds are becoming so much more.At Dr. Charles Drew Preparatory Academy, the Interactive Read Aloud (IRA) is an integral part of daily instruction. The school’s Literacy Specialists received an Education Fund Innovation Grant to fuel two Interactive Reading Professional Development days this month, designed to introduce K-5 teachers to a new professional text, “Interactive Read-Alouds,” and discuss the structure and purpose of this intentional way of reading to students.At Dr. Charles Drew Preparatory Academy, the Interactive Read Aloud (IRA) is an integral part of daily instruction. The school’s literacy specialists received an Education Fund Innovation Grant to fuel two Interactive Reading Professional Development days this month, designed to introduce K-5 teachers to a new professional text, “Interactive Read-Alouds,” and discuss the structure and purpose of this intentional way of reading to students.“It really levels the playing field. If you read aloud, everyone can access it,” said literacy specialist Jessie Blundell. “It’s a powerful tool.”Blundell explains that there’s a particularly high need for IRAs at our focus schools, like Charles Drew, where very few students’ oral languages match standard English. At Charles Drew, many students speak what is known as Black English or African-American language.Our oral language can override the conventions of standard English in both academic reading and writing. That is, students think about how they might say something before they write, so learning oral standard English is a critical part of their literacy development.Blundell underscored the equity piece of this: if a student doesn’t have the opportunity to develop what is in essence a second oral and written language, s/he can’t access ‘the conversation.’ Thus, the acquisition of academic language helps students “get a seat at the table,” which is essential in closing the achievement gap and ensuring students have the tools they need to advocate for themselves.This also includes teaching students to code-switch, to alternate between language varieties, so they tap into their knowledge of speaking standard English when it comes time to read and write.“The listening and speaking skills drive reading and writing,” Ms. Blundell said. “The social justice piece for us is if they can speak that way, they can read and write that way. Then they’re heard.”The aim is for teachers to start engaging students in IRAs three to five times per week, during English language arts and across content areas.“It supports all that we’re doing throughout the year so this is such a nice gift,” Blundell said.
Literacy Specialist Jessie Blundell shows Education Fund Literacy Program Coordinator Shaina Steinberg how teachers can use a Common Core application to determine which Interactive Read Aloud activities are most relevant for their students.[/caption]Read Alouds are reminiscent of cozy times, sitting crisscross applesauce on the classroom carpet listening to your teacher read “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie,” or another classic. But at many of our schools, Read Alouds are becoming so much more.At Dr. Charles Drew Preparatory Academy, the Interactive Read Aloud (IRA) is an integral part of daily instruction. The school’s Literacy Specialists received an Education Fund Innovation Grant to fuel two Interactive Reading Professional Development days this month, designed to introduce K-5 teachers to a new professional text, “Interactive Read-Alouds,” and discuss the structure and purpose of this intentional way of reading to students.At Dr. Charles Drew Preparatory Academy, the Interactive Read Aloud (IRA) is an integral part of daily instruction. The school’s literacy specialists received an Education Fund Innovation Grant to fuel two Interactive Reading Professional Development days this month, designed to introduce K-5 teachers to a new professional text, “Interactive Read-Alouds,” and discuss the structure and purpose of this intentional way of reading to students.“It really levels the playing field. If you read aloud, everyone can access it,” said literacy specialist Jessie Blundell. “It’s a powerful tool.”Blundell explains that there’s a particularly high need for IRAs at our focus schools, like Charles Drew, where very few students’ oral languages match standard English. At Charles Drew, many students speak what is known as Black English or African-American language.Our oral language can override the conventions of standard English in both academic reading and writing. That is, students think about how they might say something before they write, so learning oral standard English is a critical part of their literacy development.Blundell underscored the equity piece of this: if a student doesn’t have the opportunity to develop what is in essence a second oral and written language, s/he can’t access ‘the conversation.’ Thus, the acquisition of academic language helps students “get a seat at the table,” which is essential in closing the achievement gap and ensuring students have the tools they need to advocate for themselves.This also includes teaching students to code-switch, to alternate between language varieties, so they tap into their knowledge of speaking standard English when it comes time to read and write.“The listening and speaking skills drive reading and writing,” Ms. Blundell said. “The social justice piece for us is if they can speak that way, they can read and write that way. Then they’re heard.”The aim is for teachers to start engaging students in IRAs three to five times per week, during English language arts and across content areas.“It supports all that we’re doing throughout the year so this is such a nice gift,” Blundell said.