ThinkAlouds Thinking through the text together helps children

Think-Alouds Thinking through the text together helps children become aware of what's going on inside their heads, learn to articulate their thinking. The students think aloud their connections and thinking process. It helps them construct meaning , helps them develop reflections, and insights.

Research u u u Research indicates that learning and reading are active processes. Readers construct meaning as they read. Effective readers are strategic. They make predictions, organize information, and interact with text. Readers evaluate the ideas they are reading about in light of what they already know. They monitor comprehension, and know when and how to modify their reading behaviors when they have problem understanding what they read.

Needs to be: u Genuine (Authentic) u Precise Language u Thoughtful Responses It Does not need to be: u Random/last minute u Too much or not a good choice!

Do: u u Proper Planning for explicit modeling. “What do I want kids to understand about the strategy? “I want the students to be able to use the STAR Strategies while reading the story”. “I want the students to be able to compare two author styles, genres, etc” Which page or what I read really helps me best illustrate my point? If I want my students to relate a new vocabulary word to their own background or schema. Which one am I most comfortable talking about? Mark those places before your lesson, and think about what you will say and how you will say it” Connect to the story, use humor, voice, read books constantly and have some prepared to use for specific genres. Be prepared! Shopping for books is like shopping for clothes…. we have to try it if it fits!!

Sharing Connections u u u u “When I read these words………. it reminded me of……. “When I saw the picture of ……. it made me think about………. . Child responds or says “My neighbor brings us flowers, ”…teacher says “What were the words in the story that made you think about your neighborhood? Re-read if he doesn’t know, ask him to listen carefully. Teacher phrases “When you read about…. it reminded you about…” Model the sentence he has to say and then have him practice or say it again. Let him rephrase what you said. Have students share too…Activity: eye to eye, knee to knee. They tell each other their connections. Hold book up- to read, Hold book down – while thinking

Lets practice! u Look at the pamphlet …Lets read it! u Choose a book! u Post it! Read the story and find specific pages where you could think –aloud! u Write it u Read it to your group!