Interactive+Read+Alouds

 "When read-alouds are understood as powerful tools for teaching literary elements, building analytical ability, and addressing standards, they can bring both joy and accelerated learning into the lives of our students". Linda Hoyt An interactive read-aloud with a clear instructional focus lifts students achievement.

The //Interactive Read-Alouds// lessons by Linda Hoyt are grouped into six standards-based strands: comprehension, story elements, vocabulary/literary language, literary elements and devices, genre, and writing traits. Turn and talk time is an integral part of every //Interactive Read-Alouds// lesson. This is where children and their thinking partners engage in sharing ideas about the text and target standard. Each turn and talk time is short 20-30 seconds of conversation so children can stay focused and not stray off topic. Turn and talk time moments occur approximately every five minutes of read-aloud time. Powerful "mentor texts"-exemplary children's classics and strong nonfiction texts-are the centerpiece of //Interactive Read Alouds//. Multiple Read-Alouds a Day: one fiction, one nonfiction, and one for the "art" of it (a poem, a paragraph of carefully crafted text, or a lead from a beautifully written picture book). Only one (fiction or nonfiction) will be used as the interactive read-aloud. The read-aloud for the "art" of it only takes a few minutes and can be easily be worked into transition times.