Ms. Dalbir Kaur led a three-day interactive read-aloud session at The Khaitan School from March 22 to March 24, 2023. The language teachers of classes 3-5 attended the workshop. The workshop was also attended by the librarian and the Primary Wing’s coordinator of the reading programme. The objective of the workshop was to introduce effective reading aloud in the classroom because it is essential for fostering language development, background knowledge, and a love of reading.
Ms. Dalbir discussed the significance of the IRA on the first day of the session. A few pre-reading activities that the students might participate in came next.
Discussing about the book’s cover will assist students in developing a thinking routine.
Asking questions based on the observation of the front cover which will be followed by learning to construct priority questions.
How to assist the students in recognising the book’s characters, setting, and problem. The aforementioned exercise will assist the teacher keep track of and monitor students’ comprehension.
SEE-THINK-WONDER, STOP and JOT, STOP and DRAW, TURN and Talk and ACT IT OUT are a few exercises that can be taken up. The aforementioned exercises can be used to promote class participation.
Ms. Kaur stressed that the teacher shouldn’t oversimplify the vocabulary. Exposing the students to complex language and textual meaning-making should be the main objective.
n the second day, Ms. Dalbir discussed how IRAs should be strategically constructed because it aids teachers in determining the IRA’s objective. When and why she must pause while reading must be planned in advance by the facilitator. She also outlined how using an Anchor chart might aid in IRA planning. It consists of-
Actions
Dialogues
Relationship
Choices
Problems
The teacher must pose directed questions that will encourage the students to consider the texts they are reading in a positive light. A crucial part of the Think Aloud procedure is the breakdown of the author and illustrator. She can do this with the aid of the book’s illustrations.
Ms. Kaur concentrated on summarizing the techniques on the third day. She gave an example of how a teacher should approach the first chapter of a book. Ms. Kaur explained how students should engage in USSR (Uninterrupted Silent Sustained Reading) every day in the classroom.
The facilitator gave a brief introduction to the Reading Log and described how to use it effectively in the classroom. Finding out how frequently a youngster visits the reading zone is the objective of the same. She went on to discuss the various genres that should be studied in grades 3 through 5. A model read-aloud session from Ms. Kaur’s book “Go Left” marked the workshop’s end. All those present found the discussion to be insightful and interesting.
