World Read Aloud Day 2019

This year World Read Aloud Day is on February 1st.  I have been reading aloud to people for years whether it was my own children since they were born to the students in my classroom.  One year the school where I worked did a teacher swap.  I read to seventh graders instead of my usual second graders.  I brought in a picture book titled Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by Kevin O'Malley.  It was a story told by two very different students in their own voices as they had to work together to write their own story.  My voice changed between the sweet, innocent girl to the boy who sounded like he should have been riding the waves instead of presenting in front of a classroom.  Even seventh graders enjoy a read aloud, it seems.

I read to my kids until they were done hearing my voice.  My daughter is more into a Q&A session instead of books.  My son was a struggling reader so I did not hesitate to read to him each night, even when he was in middle school.  My husband wasn't a fan of that idea because he thought that middle school is too old to be read to.  Honestly, there is no time in which a person is too old for a read aloud.  Not only does it happen often, but the listeners benefit from a good story.

Jim Trelease wrote The Read-Aloud Handbook which has been revised into numerous editions.  It outlines the benefits of reading aloud at any age and gives a list of books that are great for reading it aloud.  Even though kindergarteners may not be able to read more than the basic sight words, they can sit and enjoy a read aloud novel like Charlotte's Web.

What are the Benefits of Reading Aloud?

• A love of reading
• Building vocabulary
• Developing background knowledge about their community and world
• Developing a bond between reader and listener

What are the Benefits of Reading Aloud to Older Readers?

Just like reading a picture book to seventh graders, I have worked with people who love to sit back, relax, and enjoy a story.  Seriously, what is the allure of audiobooks if not to be read to?  It is not just for teachers and parents, but also to other members of the family such as children or caregivers.  People can share newspaper articles, poems, stories, and other written work that is worthy of sharing out loud.  It can be modeled to children of all ages.  When reading aloud is consistent in daily life, it can be enjoyed for years to come as long as it is still enjoyable.

Struggling readers still enjoy books, but often it is challenging for them to read age appropriate books when they struggle with words or concepts.  Thick novels from Harry Potter to Percy Jackson have creative language that are Greek or Latin-based.  Readers can struggle through figuring out the word, but miss out on the enjoyment.  They are ready to drop the book and wait for it to come to film.  When the book is read aloud, the speed of the book is comfortable, fluid, and easier to comprehend.

What about older books like the classics?  A lack of proper grammar was part of the characters in some books.  Think Tom Sawyer and dialects used by Mark Twain.  One time I read aloud To Kill a Mockingbird to an eighth-grade class when I was a substitute teacher.  I had to read aloud the chapter of the trial in which Tom Robinson testified.  The southern dialect of an uneducated African-American defied everything students learned in English class.  It is like "Write this way, but read this way".  Yes, eighth graders have already learned how to read, and literature such as this showed character and culture that was not like their own.  By reading along as I read aloud, they spent less time decoding words and more time analyzing the content regardless of their reading ability.  And I got to practice my southern drawl.  Bonus.

Older readers are not just students.  I have read to my grandfather when he was going blind.  Back in the 1990s, audiobooks were available by mail from certain libraries, but they were not always what he wanted to know.  I have read aloud the Catholic Diocese history in our town, the beginning of the biography of a president of his alma mater, and the collection of one of his son's essays and poems.  He probably had the latter one memorized, but he requested a read aloud whenever I would visit him on Sundays.

My grandfather was an inspiration for the senior fiction I wrote with Jamie Stonebridge.  While it is age-appropriate and easy enough for some seniors to read on their own, it can still be read aloud to those who want to hear a story.  They are designed for patients with Alzheimer's or those who are recovering from a stroke.  Reading aloud is not just for the young, but for anyone who want to listen to a good story. 

What books do you love to hear read aloud?  What book did your children want you to read over and over?  Do you think there is an age limit to be read to?

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