What is Think-Aloud
With this strategy, teachers verbalize out loud while reading a selection orally. This verbalization includes describing thoughts and reactions to the reading as they read. The purpose of think-aloud is to model for students how skilled readers construct meaning form and analyze text. (Reading Rockets Inc., 2015)
This strategy proves useful for helping students to monitor their thinking while they read a text which will improve comprehension. In addition, it teaches students to re-read sentences, read ahead to clarify, or look for context clues. Finally, it causes the reader to slow down and allow students to monitor their understanding of the content. (Sandbox Networks Inc., 2015)
Using Think-Aloud in the classroom
There are several steps involved in implementing Think-Aloud into the classroom:
3. Give student adequate opportunity to practice and strengthen the technique. Be sure to offer structured and positive feedback to students as they being using this strategy.
4. Finally, demonstrate how good readers monitor their understanding of a text by rereading sentences, reading ahead, and looking for context clues.
(Reading Rockets Inc., 2015)
Getting students into the habit of thinking out loud enriches classroom discourse and gives teachers an important assessment and diagnostic tool. This strategy also involves several notifications that can foster interactions for classmates and peer learning. In reciprocal think-alouds, students are paired with a partner. Student take turns thinking aloud as they read a difficult text. While the first student is thinking aloud, the second student listens and records what the first student says. After a time, the students will switch roles and continue to exercise.
(Sandbox Networks, Inc., 2015)
Tie it to writing
Utilizing the strategy in this way incorporates a writing element for the students. It will require students to be active listeners and transcribe what their partner is discussing and verbalizing. This modification satisfies the College and Career Readiness Writing Standard number 10:
Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
With this strategy, teachers verbalize out loud while reading a selection orally. This verbalization includes describing thoughts and reactions to the reading as they read. The purpose of think-aloud is to model for students how skilled readers construct meaning form and analyze text. (Reading Rockets Inc., 2015)
This strategy proves useful for helping students to monitor their thinking while they read a text which will improve comprehension. In addition, it teaches students to re-read sentences, read ahead to clarify, or look for context clues. Finally, it causes the reader to slow down and allow students to monitor their understanding of the content. (Sandbox Networks Inc., 2015)
Using Think-Aloud in the classroom
There are several steps involved in implementing Think-Aloud into the classroom:
- Begin by modeling the strategy. Read aloud a text and model the thoughts that are provoked while you read. Do this especially during difficult or challenging portions of text that may confuse students.
- Introduce an assigned text and discuss the purpose of using a think-aloud approach when reading. Several questions can be used to foster a think-aloud strategy:
- What do I know about this topic?
- What do I think I will learn about this topic?
- Do I understand what I just read?
- Do I have a clear picture in my head about this information?
- What more can I do to understand this?
- What were the most important points in this reading?
- What new information did I learn?
- How does it fit in with what I already know?
3. Give student adequate opportunity to practice and strengthen the technique. Be sure to offer structured and positive feedback to students as they being using this strategy.
4. Finally, demonstrate how good readers monitor their understanding of a text by rereading sentences, reading ahead, and looking for context clues.
(Reading Rockets Inc., 2015)
Getting students into the habit of thinking out loud enriches classroom discourse and gives teachers an important assessment and diagnostic tool. This strategy also involves several notifications that can foster interactions for classmates and peer learning. In reciprocal think-alouds, students are paired with a partner. Student take turns thinking aloud as they read a difficult text. While the first student is thinking aloud, the second student listens and records what the first student says. After a time, the students will switch roles and continue to exercise.
(Sandbox Networks, Inc., 2015)
Tie it to writing
Utilizing the strategy in this way incorporates a writing element for the students. It will require students to be active listeners and transcribe what their partner is discussing and verbalizing. This modification satisfies the College and Career Readiness Writing Standard number 10:
Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
The following video offers an excellent, in-depth explanation of Think-Aloud strategies. Not only does it offer an excellent introduction to the strategy, it offers concrete reasoning why comprehension is reading is such an important aspect.
The last video offers a teachers view on the Think-Aloud strategy. She provides excelling insight into before, during, and after think-aloud strategies and how they are utilized in her classroom. She gives great examples of questions she asks her students and the answers that she gives. It is a great video to model after when implementing this strategy into your classroom.
References:
Reading Rockets Inc. (2015). Think Aloud. Retrieved May 26, 2015, from http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/think_aloud
Sandbox Networks, Inc. (2015, June 1). Think Aloud Strategy. Retrieved May 30, 2015, from https://www.teachervision.com/skill-builder/problem-solving/48546.html?page=1
Reading Rockets Inc. (2015). Think Aloud. Retrieved May 26, 2015, from http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/think_aloud
Sandbox Networks, Inc. (2015, June 1). Think Aloud Strategy. Retrieved May 30, 2015, from https://www.teachervision.com/skill-builder/problem-solving/48546.html?page=1