World Read Aloud Day 2014 Week 1

The question posed to bloggers in the reading community is "What do you think is special about reading aloud"? This post was meant for the Week of February 10-16.

I believe what makes reading aloud special is the intimacy that is created between the reader and the audience, whether it be one person or many. Some of my favorite memories as a child were of my mom and dad reading aloud to me and my sisters. I felt cherished in these moments as I sat on their lap and later, next to them on my bed or in a cozy chair.

Me, my Dad, and my sister with our cat, Pretzel.

 



A great thing about reading aloud a book in your classroom is the shared vocabulary that you can create with your students. Over the years, my classes have gotten to know characters like Charlotte, Harriet, Brian, Miss Viola Swamp, and Clifford. Read aloud books have helped us become a community by learning how to get along with one another and supporting one another just like Brother and Sister Bear; being scared together reading Skeleton Man; learning about death in The Tenth Good Thing About Barney and Bridge to Terabithia.

As a librarian, I am lucky enough to get to share read aloud books many times a day. It is my very favorite thing about being a librarian. I am planning to celebrate World Read Aloud Day 2014 by simply reading aloud to all the classes that I can. This is the first WRAD I have actually celebrated in my library, so I am looking forward to it very much.