I have done nothing but read aloud today. My day was awesome. I just put Emerson to bed and got to read her a few of our favorite stories. Right now as I am typing I can hear Mrs. Tarr reading aloud to Beckett.
I love my job, but the best part of my job is getting to read aloud to students. I not only enjoy reading aloud but I think it one of the most important parts of our day. Read aloud allows me to share my favorite books and authors. I hope by sharing these authors and books that the students will find authors and books that they love. Read aloud allows me to share how I think as I read. I wish students could see what is going on in my brain as I read. Read aloud allows this to happen. I can let students know how I notice things about characters, the setting, or little signs that the author has left in the text. Then the students can try to do these same things as they read. Read aloud allows me to take a class to a zoo inside a mall or to a small village in China or to Blundermeecen. The books that we share allow us to travel to far away places and meet new friends and face enemies.
Read aloud is the base of my structure.
So what do you do on World Read Aloud Day...you read aloud. I started by reading aloud the book Love that Dog by Sharon Creech.
This is a short novel, but I was hoping I could fit the book into one day. How cool would that be if I read a whole book in one day! The book is a group of poems/short texts written by a young student named Jack pieced together to create a story. In just over 30 minutes I finished the book. In one day we got to watch Jack change as a character and a writer.
Then I had to read aloud the book Journey by Aaron Becker.
This book is amazing. It tells its story without using words. The best question of the day was, "Mr. Tarr can it count as read aloud if you are not reading?" Yes...Yes...Yes.
Then we checked back in with Flora and Ulysses.
What a day in this gem of a book. We had a fake letter, a kidnapping, and a girl who realized who she trusted. I cannot wait to see how this books turns out.
To end all this reading, we checked in on a Jane Yolen book.
I want you to know that students love to be read aloud to. You might think they are too old or not interested or any of the thousand of other excuses, but it is not true. Each day when I stop reading you can hear groans. Kids love this time.
Hope you are having a great week and an amazing World Read Aloud Day.
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