The day is coming to a close, and you can feel it in the air. The students played hard at recess, gabbed at lunch, and spent hours deepening their understanding of Language, Mathematics, Science, and more. Attention spans grow shorter, bodies wigglier. Thoughts begin to turn toward the evening ahead. Perhaps this is one of the hardest times to maintain engagement, and yet, it is one of my favorite times of the day. It is read-aloud time. 

Whether you prefer to read aloud right after a recess or lunch break, or in the last half hour before the final bell rings, it is always a tool for regrounding students. In this time of in-between, we are often able to catch students unguarded by the confines of academic pressure and more open to engage. Often, students think of read-aloud as another time of break and rest. But if we, as educators, are intentional about selecting our read-aloud literature, we can maintain this time as one of both a regenerative calm period and as a tool for intentional learning. 

In this article, I will discuss how to select and facilitate read-alouds through the Understanding by Design model to both increase student engagement and promote learning. Note that I will primarily be referencing fiction books and directing less toward non-fiction text. 

Going for the Win-Win

The dual importance of read-alouds is critical here. Simply selecting a historical fiction novel set during the Salem Witch Trials to underline the Pilgrim experience is clearly an informative and exciting way to engage students in a social studies unit. Similarly, choosing a favorite by Roald Dahl can feel like a mental “brain break” for students and send them howling with laughter. But we can have both! 

The intentionality inherent in the Understanding by Design framework requires us to look at our curriculum and our classrooms and make intentional choices based on long-term goals. And read-aloud is an exciting space where we can meet multiple goals at once. 

Selecting the Best Book

In a time of mass quantity production, we are increasingly seeing children’s books that lack substance. Book series that follow formulaic patterns have their place in independent reading time, but often leave much to be desired in form and content. For this reason, I recommend against selecting books to read aloud purely for subject relevance. These books are best saved for student-led book clubs, reader’s theater projects, independent research, etc., but hold less value in precious read-aloud time. The selection process needs to be informed by the needs and skills of your students, your curriculum, and what you value as an educator. 

Instead, read-alouds are most successful when the books are well-written, age appropriate, and relatable. Let’s dive into each of these factors. 

Well-Written: It’s Gotta Be Good!

While this may feel self-explanatory, the importance of picking a well-written book cannot be overstated. Books are simply better when they contain deep, layered stories, characters, and meanings. Complex themes, humor, and well-developed characters all grab students in a way that more simplistic/formulaic books do not. 

When utilizing the UbD framework, we begin with our desired results and the Enduring Understandings we want students to carry with them beyond the classroom. On the subject of “read-aloud,” one desired result is nurturing a lifelong love of reading in students. Thus, selecting thoughtful and intentional literature is crucial in engaging readers, regardless of age. 

Similarly, I strive to develop readers who think critically about their text, engage with it, and discuss it with others. These Enduring Understandings might appear as: 

• Reading is an active (not passive) activity
• Reading is both an independent and communal practice 
• Readers utilize various skill sets dependent on text types

These understandings grow more specific based on specific units.

Age Appropriate: Don’t Rush It!

We are all guilty of rushing good books. Whether this means reading Charlotte’s Web to kindergarteners or Tuck Everlasting to third graders, reading an amazing book to the wrong age group is a missed opportunity. 

While read-aloud books are incredible tools for expanding vocabulary and allowing students to access text beyond their current reading capabilities, if we reach too far beyond the book’s intended grade level, we are doing more harm than good. Not only is it disengaging for students to listen to text outside of their understanding, it is also frustrating. 

There is often social pressure from students to say they have read popular series (such as Harry Potter) and I believe that adults can fall into this pressure as well. We want to say we are exposing our students to the highest level text possible. But this does a disservice when we merely check a box of reading a book without having really engaged our students with it.

Thinking back to my desire to develop lifelong readers, I want to note the importance of read-alouds in older grades. For upper elementary, middle school, and even high school readers, it is important to remind students that reading is not just a learning activity but a point of pleasure. Read-alouds in these higher grades offer the perfect space to bring back the joy of reading.

Relatable: Read-Alouds as a Tool for SEL!

Finally, a read-aloud must be relatable to students. I don’t mean students must relate to a novel’s more surface level components such as setting, style, or even plot. But there must be a component of the novel that speaks to the age-group or particular classroom of students you are reading to. This includes characters, themes, conflict, and more. 

For example, in one of my first years of teaching, I had a nine-year-old student who felt isolated in her identity as a mixed-race person. After a team discussion, we decided that in addition to general identity discussions within social-emotional-learning and social studies lessons, a read-aloud would be the perfect place to facilitate discussion on mixed-racial identities. 

We explored a few options and finally selected a wonderful book written by a biracial author about a young Scottish-Chinese-American girl exploring her identities at home and in the classroom. Reading this novel to the class allowed for easy entry into many discussions on belonging, identity, and community-building.  

This is one example of the many ways read-alouds can be used to address specific classroom needs, beyond academic subject material. Starting the year with a book whose main character feels nervous or isolated can be a great tool for helping students become more comfortable in the classroom. Highlighting a novel that involves bullying issues when there is friendship conflict is a great way to engage students in discussions of kindness. 

Conclusion 

Selecting the best literature to read aloud each year requires time. When we intentionally look at our units of study, recurring SEL issues that pop up throughout the grade-level, and specific students, we can utilize read-aloud time as a tool for growth. By choosing well-written, age appropriate, and relatable books for our classrooms, we are not only allowing children to enjoy the pleasures of reading but also opening the door for discussions along the way. 

As this school year comes to a close, revisit your read-alouds and analyze how they meet your classroom goals. And with this information in mind, let’s start picking the best books for the year ahead!