Intentional Planning in the Read Aloud: A Case for Questioning

Abstract

Reading aloud is an important instructional activity for helping young children learn early literacy skills and develop content knowledge. When teachers ask questions during a read aloud, they can help students notice and think more deeply about information in the book. Despite the benefits of read alouds, some teachers do not engage students in ways that support learning. The purpose of the study was to explore how two kindergarten teachers, each identified as a “model teacher” by their principal, based on a given criterion, prepare for read alouds and engage students in questioning during read alouds. Data collected included a survey about teachers’ read aloud beliefs and practices, video recordings of four read alouds (i.e., two reading of a teacher chosen book, two readings of a researcher chosen book) and semi-structured interviews after the second read aloud. Results indicated that teachers plan differently for read alouds, and teachers’ beliefs about read alouds and the role of questioning may have influenced the kinds and number of questions they asked.