READ ALOUD
TECH
ICAN teachers emphasize the importance of reading aloud to their students. Reading aloud and talking about what students read encourages social-emotional learning, empathy, and conversation skills, even in adulthood. Once a student leaves elementary school, working-age adults often forget how much skill is needed to read aloud effectively. The more one reads aloud – no matter the age – the deeper the connections made, and the stronger the vocabulary learned.
Fluency, vocabulary, and social-emotional learning is not just for kids! There is an abundance of research to support the benefits of reading aloud at all age.
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Sharing stories often begins with reading aloud. Reading aloud provides a number of opportunities and benefits for children of all ages, from strengthening their vocabulary to increasing their attention span.
Develops stronger vocabulary. Children acquire language primarily through listening. Reading aloud lets children regularly hear new words in new contexts, which builds their vocabulary and helps them develop a stronger awareness of the communicative possibilities of language.
Builds connections between the spoken and written word. When children hear words read aloud, they begin seeing how printed words are closely connected to spoken words. This helps them recognise the difference between the arrangement of spoken language and printed text.
Strengthens cognition. A well written book exposes children to sophisticated language, which can strengthen their cognitive abilities. When children are regularly exposed to the sophisticated language of quality literature, they learn how to apply their cognitive abilities to understand the text.