Description of the practice

Reading aloud to children has been called "the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading." (1995 Commission on Reading Report). In an interactive read-aloud the teacher engages in a series of activities, including: pre-viewing the book; asking students to make predictions and connections to prior knowledge; stopping at purposeful moments to emphasize story elements, ask guiding questions or focus questions; and using oral or written responses to bring closure to the selection.

Because the interactive read-aloud is a group activity, it poses difficulties for a class in which students have widely ranging abilities in their two different languages. Teachers at PS 24 experimented with a variety of ways to adjust the interactive read-aloud to meet the needs of class with heterogeneous L1 and L2 language abilities.

Elements of the Practice

The specific techniques the teachers piloted are:

• Pre-teaching key vocabulary and concepts in the 2nd language.
• Developing fundamental skills in the first language
• Assigning students "shoulder buddies" or partners
• Using dramatic and exaggerated emphasis
• Using visual aids to establish comprehensible input
• Reading two-language books

Although each teacher originally piloted only one strategy, they soon began to employ the ones being piloted by their teammates as well, as they learned about their effectiveness in group meetings.

Evidence that the Practice Works

Throughout the ‘99-’00 school year, outside observers made approximately 10 visits to these classes when the strategies were being implemented. Students were observed responding appropriately and thoughtfully to teachers’ probes for comprehension and higher order thinking. Even students with very low L2 proficiency were observed engaging their "shoulder buddies" in conversation about the selection.

The team developed an "Interactive Read Aloud Performance Inventory" for use in ongoing classroom assessment and several members are using this instrument during the fall of the ‘00-’01 school year to collect further evidence of the strategies’ effectiveness.

Learner and the School Contexts

P.S. 24 is a dual language (Spanish-English) elementary school in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. It implements a "roller-coaster" model of dual-language instruction, where instruction in the two languages alternates on different days of the week. Students whose first language is English and whose first language is Spanish are taught in the same class.

During the past several years, P.S. 24 has served as a demonstration school for the University of Pittsburgh’s New Standards project in District 15. Teachers have received intensive professional development in implementing the Principles of Learning, and have worked intensively to incorporate them into strategies that support ELL student achievement.