Read Aloud WV

"...Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around
you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in
the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in
magic will never find it." -- Roald Dahl

The immeasurable value of Read Aloud

 

By Meryl Ironson

The air was soggy with the scent of rubber erasers, recently dittoed paper, and pencil shavings. Although each paint-chipped window across the wall was raised halfway, the room was warm. The morning heat had already filtered in so heavily that I witnessed droplets of perspiration forming on the upper lips of at least three of the children at my table. No one moved. It was time.

An idle fly slowly worked its way around the room. It found the red curls of an unsuspecting student until, amidst muffled giggles and pointing, it was shooed away. One severe flash of those dark brown eyes and the giggles were cut short. I don’t remember what was more stifling, the stagnant air or the silence. No one moved. It was time.

With a slight nod (the 10:00 signal) the sound of scraping wooden chairs filled the room as we assembled in a semi-circle around the Large Wooden Chair. Hands folded on laps, we waited. We knew that the slightest infraction would result in a delay, or worse yet, a cancellation. So we knew what to do. We waited. Our efforts were rewarded as Mrs. Mann, my third grade teacher, opened Roald Dahl’s, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and began to read aloud.

Despite her stern demeanor, Mrs. Mann read to us in a way that opened doors exposing a new gift. Although I was not capable of understanding at the time, she skillfully modeled fluency, pace, and expression for future independent readers. In the 1970’s many educators believed that as soon as a child was capable of reading autonomously, they were left to their own devices. But Mrs. Mann must have seen a value in reading aloud to her students. As far as I was concerned, the world’s energies were funneled into the voice and inflection of a third grade teacher from 10:00-10:30 every morning.

Discovering that stories could come to life from words on a page, astounded me. It was as if I were Alice in Through The Looking Glass falling into another dimension and I wanted to own a piece of that magic. Slowly realizing success as a reader in my own right, I read what I felt connected to, and re-read what I liked. Reading gave me the opportunity to look at life through someone else’s eyes and yet this exposure helped me to understand my own world.

As we infuse the teaching of reading with the attempt to instill a love of literature, we will find the quiet, reflective moments that matter. It does not make a difference whether a child is sitting on a grandparent’s lap listening to a picture book story or if a teacher takes the time to sit in a Large Wooden Chair surrounded by wide-eyed students in order to read aloud. The love of reading literature often begins with the love of listening to literature. And to Mrs. Mann, credit where credit is due.

This article first appeared in “Education Week”, November 14, 2007 and is reproduced with permission from the author.