Think Aloud
A think-aloud is a helpful and metacognitive reading activity for students because it shows students how smart readers think. Students may incorporate reading strategies such as predicting, making inferences and connections, creating mental pictures, and actively questioning the text without realizing it; however, students may not even realize that effective reading requires a lot of rigorous mental activity. If the teacher models effective, active reading then students will be more familiar with the activities that should take place during reading. If students engage in practicing these mental activities, they will be more likely to use them when reading for any reason to foster high comprehension and retention.
When beginning a think-aloud, let your students know what will be going on. You might try something like this:
“I will be reading a passage (from the textbook; from the novel; from this article, etc.) out-loud and stopping to think out-loud.
“Pay careful attention to how I (use what information the text gives me to figure out what is happening; monitor my own understanding and confusion; point out information that I feel is important; etc.) This is called (making inferences; self monitoring; evaluating; etc.) “These are thoughts that are going on my head all the time when I am reading, but I am going to say them out-loud today so that you can get a sense of what your brain should be doing as you are reading, and so that you can use these strategies when you are reading, because these are thinking strategies of effective readers, and these strategies will make you a better and more effective reader.”
As you are reading, stop frequently to model your thinking process as you are reading. After you read and model a passage, have students try this activity in pairs or take turns as a whole class. If students get stuck, point out a few key pieces of information, ask them what questions they have, or point out possible connections.
A few key tips for a successful think-aloud:
· Use a shorter passage, both for modeling and for practice.
· Make sure students know when you move from reading to thinking out-loud. Shift your voice, change our tone, or simply tell them that you have stopped reading and are now thinking.
· Do this often! The more you model the thinking strategies of effective readers, the more comfortable and familiar with them the students will be. Show them how it works in a variety of texts.
When beginning a think-aloud, let your students know what will be going on. You might try something like this:
“I will be reading a passage (from the textbook; from the novel; from this article, etc.) out-loud and stopping to think out-loud.
“Pay careful attention to how I (use what information the text gives me to figure out what is happening; monitor my own understanding and confusion; point out information that I feel is important; etc.) This is called (making inferences; self monitoring; evaluating; etc.) “These are thoughts that are going on my head all the time when I am reading, but I am going to say them out-loud today so that you can get a sense of what your brain should be doing as you are reading, and so that you can use these strategies when you are reading, because these are thinking strategies of effective readers, and these strategies will make you a better and more effective reader.”
As you are reading, stop frequently to model your thinking process as you are reading. After you read and model a passage, have students try this activity in pairs or take turns as a whole class. If students get stuck, point out a few key pieces of information, ask them what questions they have, or point out possible connections.
A few key tips for a successful think-aloud:
· Use a shorter passage, both for modeling and for practice.
· Make sure students know when you move from reading to thinking out-loud. Shift your voice, change our tone, or simply tell them that you have stopped reading and are now thinking.
· Do this often! The more you model the thinking strategies of effective readers, the more comfortable and familiar with them the students will be. Show them how it works in a variety of texts.