Virtual Read Alouds
As a teacher who LOVES children`s books, I often find myself
scavenging garage sales, book sales and stores to find the best picture books
for my students` (and my) enjoyment. While I find a lot of books this way, I
also discover amazing picture books through formal book reviews or just while
talking to a friend. When I hear reviews, I want to read the book ASAP. In these situations, I often find myself going
to Youtube to see if there are videos of that book being read aloud. As I do
this, a question pops into my head. Are virtual read alouds taking the place of
actual in-person read alouds? The first chapter of Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a world of screens acknowledges
the shift from paper books to virtual books in their first chapter. Through my
searches, I have found librarians, teachers, and principals who post videos of
themselves reading books on websites. I still remember, as a kid, going to the
library a few times a month and participating in a read aloud with 7 to 10
other kids. I hate the idea of this becoming outdated.
While I
have found hundreds of videos of read alouds, I have found limited research on
the topic. I believe that just like many technologies, it has its pros and cons.
On one side, it gives children access to hundreds of free stories and books
with the click of a button. On the other hand, most of time, the students are
not engaging with the book and the read aloud. I have attached a link to an
article that talks about the benefits of read alouds. Many of the benefits
listed deal with the interactions and discussions that occur during and after
the book is read. These discussions lead to connections to background
knowledge, critical thinking, and decoding of vocabulary, which are all
important aspects in a child`s education. While I see the definite benefits of
participating in in-person read alouds, I don’t want to be quick to dismiss a
source of hundreds of free read alouds for children.
To teachers and parents, how do you feel about using videos
of read alouds? Is it a resource to be used or is it something standing in the
way of meaningful discussions?
https://teach.its.uiowa.edu/sites/teach.its.uiowa.edu/files/docs/docs/What_are_the_Benefits_of_Reading_Aloud_ed.pdf
I wouldn't want to see video read alouds completely replace traditional read alouds. Although I do see benefits to sharing video read alouds with students. Video read alouds can be used to initiate a discussion on the importance of reading with expression. Students could listen to a variety of read alouds and discuss what makes each one unique, while discussing the readers tone and expression. Also, I would still want to incorporate comprehension questions with a video read aloud. Meaningful discussions can be incorporated at the end of the video read aloud or through out the read aloud at appropriate pausing points.
ReplyDelete