Engaging Students in Read Alouds

It is well known that a key to a successful read aloud is engagement. Engaging read alouds can lead to discussions that encourage students to think critically while thinking about past experiences. It also gives students the opportunity to see and hear teachers model fluency and expression. With this said, in order to get results, the read aloud needs to be engaging.  They key factor to a successful read aloud though, is student engagement. There are many ways to engage students in a read aloud. A couple popular ideas are to give students the option to draw the story while they are listening. Another option as the reader, is to change your voice for each character. Many teachers use techniques like this in their classrooms every day to engage their students.  

            At a reading conference, I was introduced to a new way to engage students in read alouds. Enrique Feldman, the keynote speaker at the New York State Reading Association conference this year, talked about his experience with adding music as a backdrop to his read alouds. Enrique Feldman will play classical music when reading to children. He will change his pace, inflection and volume to match that of the music. I saw him read aloud at the conference, and the result was a room full of teachers fully engaged in a story written for a child. If adding music can have adults sitting at the edge of their seats, imagine what it could do for children.