Read Aloud/Think Aloud
During Read Aloud/Think Aloud, students are given opportunities to be coached while they are reading or singing. Sometimes, this includes guided questions which help the students think more deeply about what they are reading. This is an important step in helping students gain skills in comprehension as well as fluency. The video above shows one of my students learning how to sing his part while viewing the music scrolling in real-time. I purchase a copy of music for every student. I use Finale to help bring their parts to life and off the page so they can hear and see the music at the same time.
One process easily adapted to a choral rehearsal is suggested by Jan Miller Burkins in her article, Teacher Read-Aloud That Models Reading for Deep Understanding. In this article, Burkins states "By showing students the ways that involvement with text engages us, we give them energy for learning how reading works. By showing them how to search for meaning, we introduce strategies of understanding we can reinforce in shared, guided, and independent reading."
Burkins makes excellent suggestions regarding choosing appropriate material and then offers ideas about how to engage students thinking about the material. Among strategies easily adapted for choir is to review new or unfamiliar vocabulary, have students read the text aloud, consider the "big idea" you'd like the students to convey, and then provide numerous opportunities for students to practice the text alone or with others. Once students understand the meaning of the text, they are more likely to perform the choral work with greater expression and fluency.
1. Bobby McFerrin leading an audience singing a melody using only his movements to guide them.
2. Reading the text of short statements while a choir performs a contemporary song, "Brave".
3. Software and apps that can facilitate read aloud practice for children at home are available for many platforms. These applications read the words on the page so students can hear the text.
4. Using music software to read music in real-time.
Here are two videos of a middle school/high school teachers performing for their students. The first sings the Quadratic Formula to a song by the group, One Direction. The second teacher performs a song that he composed. It's great for these students to hear their teachers model this "Sing Aloud" version of a fluency strategy that will no doubt inspire them to learn the quadratic formula for math or sing with greater fluency in choir.
One process easily adapted to a choral rehearsal is suggested by Jan Miller Burkins in her article, Teacher Read-Aloud That Models Reading for Deep Understanding. In this article, Burkins states "By showing students the ways that involvement with text engages us, we give them energy for learning how reading works. By showing them how to search for meaning, we introduce strategies of understanding we can reinforce in shared, guided, and independent reading."
Burkins makes excellent suggestions regarding choosing appropriate material and then offers ideas about how to engage students thinking about the material. Among strategies easily adapted for choir is to review new or unfamiliar vocabulary, have students read the text aloud, consider the "big idea" you'd like the students to convey, and then provide numerous opportunities for students to practice the text alone or with others. Once students understand the meaning of the text, they are more likely to perform the choral work with greater expression and fluency.
1. Bobby McFerrin leading an audience singing a melody using only his movements to guide them.
2. Reading the text of short statements while a choir performs a contemporary song, "Brave".
3. Software and apps that can facilitate read aloud practice for children at home are available for many platforms. These applications read the words on the page so students can hear the text.
4. Using music software to read music in real-time.
Here are two videos of a middle school/high school teachers performing for their students. The first sings the Quadratic Formula to a song by the group, One Direction. The second teacher performs a song that he composed. It's great for these students to hear their teachers model this "Sing Aloud" version of a fluency strategy that will no doubt inspire them to learn the quadratic formula for math or sing with greater fluency in choir.
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References and Resources for Read Aloud/Think Aloud
Albright, L. K., & Ariail, M. (2005). Tapping the Potential of Teacher Read-Alouds in Middle Schools. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy.
Beltchenko, L.Retrieved July 13, 2015, from http://www.d118.org/district/curriculum/initiatives/components-effective-read-alouds.pdf
Burkins, J. M. (n.d.). Teacher Read-Aloud That Models Reading for Deep Understanding - ReadWriteThink. Retrieved from http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/teacher-read-aloud-that-30799.html
Middle School Teacher to Literacy Coach: Interactive Read Aloud Significance [Web log post]. (2013, October 8). Retrieved from http://middleschoolteachertoliteracycoach.blogspot.com/2013/10/interactive-read-aloud-significance.html
MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS’ READ-ALOUD PRACTICES IN THE CLASSROOM: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Liberty, VA. (2014).
Press, M., Henenberg, E., & Getman, D. (2009). Read Alouds Move to the Middle Level.Educator's Voice, 36-43.
Teaching Multicultural Literature . Workshop 7 . Teaching Strategies .Read-Aloud. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2015, from http://www.learner.org/workshops/tml/workshop7/teaching2.html
Ten Poems Students Love to Read Out Loud by Eileen Murphy. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2015, from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/article/178700
The Think-Aloud Strategy: An Oldie But Goodie | Edutopia. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/think-aloud-strategy-oldie-but-goodie-elena-aguilar