The Read-Aloud Handbook Chapter 2

The Read Aloud Handbook Chapter 2 Book Discussion

Read-aloud is an important part of early literacy for children, but when do you begin (and end) read-aloud?

The Read Aloud Handbook Chapter 2 Book Discussion for #teachers and #parents #readaloud

Today we’re discussing chapter 2 of The Read-Aloud Handbook (7th edition) by Jim Trelease; When to Begin (and End) Read-Aloud.

I hope you enjoyed chapter 1 with Scott over at Brick by Brick. I am thrilled to pieces that I get to host this chapter because Jim touches on some very important, hot-button issues in the read-aloud realm. I know, you’re thinking “There are hot-button issues about read-aloud?” You betcha! Keep reading to find out what they are.

When to Begin Reading Aloud for Childhood Literacy

In response to the question when to begin read aloud Jim answers with a question of his own, “When did you start talking to the child?” Of course, this makes perfect sense to us as actively involved parents and teachers of young children; we already know the importance of reading aloud to children from birth. However, the sad reality is that some parents do not understand this simple fact. For some reason they have not received this important message, therefore it is our job- no, our duty as educators to spread the word.

As a teacher, I have always believed in reading to kids as part of the parent’s responsibility each night in our partnership to educate their child. But I learned very early on that just telling parents to do so without an explanation as to why or a demonstration of how to do it was ineffective. You may be thinking an explanation or demonstration is overkill but allow me to share the story of Cherise. Cherise was a bright-eyed, curious little girl in my class several years ago -emphasis on the several portion. Her mother confided in me during a parent conference that she had given up on my request that parents read with their child each night. I asked why she felt she could no longer do so and her reply was this, “I give her the book and she can’t read it, she sits there forever trying to read but it’s hurting her self-esteem too much.” Needless to say I was astounded that anybody could misinterpret my request to “read with their child” each night in such a way. The child in question was four years old. Of course, I asked Cherise to pick out her favorite book from the classroom library and we did a quick demonstration of how to read-aloud to a young child. From then on a Family Literacy Night was implemented, live and learn.

Reading Aloud to Babies In Utero

Jim also goes on to cite some fascinating research about reading to your baby in utero proving it’s never too early. Start planning those board book baby showers that are all the craze on Pinterest now!

Reading Aloud to Children with Special Needs

Many of our readers are Special Ed teachers or parents of children with special needs. Regardless of your vocation or situation you will definitely find Jim’s story about Cushla and Jennifer heartwarming and inspiring- tissue alert!

The Read-Aloud Handbook Chapter 2 Book Discussion #teachers #parents
Are you ready for the hot-button issue? Here it is!
One of the most frequent questions I am asked by parents and teachers alike is this “Can I buy something to teach my child (or students) to read?” And apparently Jim gets this question quite often too. I laughed out loud when I read Jim’s reply about the types of things we have that are instant and how reading isn’t one of them- that’s my summary, you’ll have to read the book for the real and much funnier quote.

He also lays out his carefully crafted and highly effective “reading kit” consisting of three B’s- where I also lol’d again, is it just me? Please tell me you’re laughing as you read along too so I don’t feel like a nutcase! This section of chapter 2 really resonated with me as an early fluent reader- you can read all about my personal reading journey over at TeachMama.

When to Stop Reading Aloud

Jim makes a very compelling argument about reading aloud to kids well beyond their early years. He says “…kids usually listen on a higher level than they read.” I know many parents who read the Harry Potter series aloud with their older children. As teachers it’s important to not give up reading aloud in the upper grades. One of my fondest memories of elementary school was my fourth grade teacher reading aloud to us daily.

There’s a lot more to this hefty chapter, I have only touched on the highlights. I invite you to share your thoughts or personal stories about when to start and end read aloud in the comments below or link up using the linky. Happy Reading and stay tuned for chapter 3 which will be hosted by Karen over at Prekinders on July 15.

Check out the links below for more discussion about The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease.

Book Study Blog Party: The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

18 thoughts on “The Read-Aloud Handbook Chapter 2”

  1. I enjoyed reading this chapter very much. It is truly amazing that will all of the push to improve reading scores on standardized tests, something as simple as Trelease’s “3 R” approach is not implemented more often.

    I am impressed by the fact that Finland does not even attempt to teach reading until age 7. What is it about our culture here in the United States which dictates that “earlier is always better”? I supposed this links with all of the instant products that Trelease mentions in this chapter.

    I have actually never been asked by the parents of my students how to help them read earlier. Perhaps they are not aware of the benefits of literacy themselves, as many have not experienced this firsthand. My site does put on a Parent Night about literacy every year in the fall, to kick off the Raising a Reader program (a way to get books into children’s homes), and I am hoping to share some of Trelease’s research with them. Only one of the pamphlets on his web site has been translated into Spanish, unfortunately, but it does contain a good summary of the reasons to read with and to children.

    1. Thanks for sharing Joy! I forgot to mention all the fabulous resources available for free on Jim’s site, I will update the post with a link so others can find them more easily.

  2. Great wrap up Vanessa. For me, working in the socio-economically challenged school I do, I read this chapter and kept thinking to myself, ‘As a kindergarten teacher, what can I do to help families understand this BEFORE their child gets to school?’ We all know part of our job is to educate the family as well as the child and, working with both the other K teacher and our preschool teacher, next year, we are going to push and try to get some of this information (and resources) into homes. 🙂

    1. Thanks for sharing Matt. If you think about it you are already helping families before their children get to school if they have younger children. I found that when we started educating the parents at registration, long before the first day of school we saw an improvement. We did this with a simple power point on a loop that had pictures and a few words about what they could do to prepare their child for kinder on each slide. I still have that ppt but will have to search for new pictures before I can share it publicly. Of course, this didn’t provide the modeling and demo they needed but we provided them with that after school started at family literacy night. Just planting that little seed at orientation seemed to help.

      1. Vanessa,

        We are planning a family literacy night in the first six weeks of school. I fight be picking your brain for ideas! 🙂

  3. Carol Belanger

    I too enjoyed and chuckled at various times during this chapter. I had to shake my head at your story of Cherise, Vanessa……….talk about mom taking a literal approach. But, like you mentioned, we should never take things for granted.
    I loved the basket of books in the bathroom with the little boy reading. Jim is correct about much reading taking place in that very special room.
    In my years as a pre-k teacher I have only had two children come to me that were actual readers. One “taught” by her mom, the other naturally developed. It was interesting to talk with the parents. The latter parent didn’t want any formal instruction, which is not what I would have done, and she wanted her child to experience the classroom and growth of the whole child. Her son was a well-rounded little boy in all areas of development. The first parent pushed to have her child take the AR tests and did homework with her every night. Her daughter was lacking in so many areas and was beginning to avoid the reading/writing/literacy area of our room. My assistant and I continued to talk with the mom and encourage her to allow the reading to become a more natural part of her life. It took a lot of persuading, but once the mom relaxed a bit, we saw such an improvement in her daughter. I wish now I had the research and this book to share with the mom.

  4. Kristie Walters

    I am a preschool teacher in a Title 1 school and the majority of our families are low income. It is not enough for me to tell them how important reading aloud is for their children, I need to show them. I always emphasize reading at home but this year, I am making it my goal to drive home this point. We do reading buddies with a 4th grade class and I am thinking that I need to bring parents in and do a reading buddy day with the parents to demonstrate how many skills you can cover in a read aloud. I am enjoying this book and excited about how I am going to put it to use in my classroom!!!

    1. Kristie, I really like your idea of having parents come in early in the year for a reading buddy day! I am now thinking of doing the same thing only perhaps do it at night rather than during the day. Great idea!

      1. In our Title 1 preschool classrooms we encourage read-alouds by sending home a quality paperback book each week-October through March-along with a journal to record the family’s thoughts about the story. These selections are packaged in canvas bags, we call our bookbags.

      2. Debbie Bunner

        I am very interested in your idea, Kristie, regarding buddy day reading at night. Working parents might really enjoy the opportunity to participate in the classroom setting. It is something that could be used to promote at home reading before bed.

      3. I really like your idea of having reading buddies with an older grade! I think I’m going to have to try that out this year! I also think that you have the right idea about having a night when the parents can come in and having a reading buddy day/night! Thanks for the ideas :0)

  5. I liked this chapter, too. His connection to reading – writing – spelling was really interesting. Learning how words work together and how sounds connect to written word – I can see how reading really helps in all those literacy areas without explicit teaching.

    But I think my favorite part was adding a lamp by the bed and telling the child that the light would stay on for extra 15 minutes if he was reading. I don’t know why – but that really made me smile.

    1. Wasn’t the bed lamp just the best idea ever? I wish I had a bed lamp, instead I used a flashlight and I think it ruined my eyesight 🙁 But I had a great time doing so!

  6. Loving the book and seeing all the thoughts on it. Great post! So far the book reminds me of a Children’s book I enjoy reading when I present to parents… Rosemary Wells – Read To Your Bunny. It’s pretty simple story that makes the point over and over again… Read to Your Bunny and Eventually Your Bunny Will Read to You!

    1. I love that book too Colleen!! Do you remember the year (several years ago) when Scholastic offered that book as one of their Back-to-School freebies? You got one for every student in your class if you ordered from the BTS flyer. I was sooooo excited to get one for each child in my classroom!!!

  7. Lorrie Looper

    Oh my word! I am just loving this book. It is so hard to put it down! So much of this information really resonates so well with past and current experiences. I currently mentor and evaluate teachers in NC Pre-K classrooms, which gives me the opportunity to share information with teachers after developing a respectful and trusting relationship. Boy will I have more to share when the school year starts back! I also work for another agency as literacy coordinator which entails working with parents and families, so every page of the book has multiple strategies and incredible information that I can share in that work. Tis just keeps getting better and better. And on top of all that, I have a 1 week old grandson, so I am using this information as I preach it – and loving every minute of it!!! Awesome book and great opportunity to share with others -so glad I joined….

  8. Kristin VanCuren Koester

    Vanessa,
    You are not alone in laughing out loud. I not only laughed out loud I also was a little teary a time or two as well…because Jim writes so well & gets to the heart of it!
    Thanks!

  9. Aleisha Brixius

    I enjoyed reading this chapter. I always try to express my beliefs to new parents and parents in my classroom about reading aloud to their child. Some of the points discussed in the chapter I have experienced with my own children (8 and 6). My 8 year old is a natural reader, we never sat down with him and “taught” him to read (he was reading before he started kindergarten). I remember him sitting on the floor in front of a book shelf when he was 18 months old and looking through books and “reading” them. It wasn’t actual reading of the words, but he had the rhythm of reading down and was talking about what he saw in the pictures and what he remembered us reading to him. As for my 6 year old, we are letting her learn to read at her own pace. She loves to sit with a book and read by using the pictures. She is now starting to look at the words and try to read the sentences in the book and does a great job, but I don’t push her. I know all of the sudden, she will get it. 🙂

    As for vocabulary, both of my kids have a wonderful vocabulary and I give credit to books and of course us, the parents. We have always read to them, since day one and have talked to them, not at them.

    I also like how Jim described learning to read and comparing it to a baby understanding his/her home language. How he said that we were talking in a “foreign language” to the baby is so true.

    Another section I liked in this chapter was comparing fiction to nonfiction.

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