Hi everyone! Welcome to the Read Aloud Classroom podcast and episode 4 of our interactive Read Aloud series. So far we’ve planned our lessons, chosen our books, and built our confidence and delivery. Now it’s time to focus on what makes these Read Alouds truly magical, student engagement. Building on the strategies we’ve discussed in our previous episodes, today we’ll tackle one of the biggest challenges teachers share with me.
Engagement during read alouds. If you’ve ever wondered, how do I keep everyone focused? Or, what about those students who never participate? You’re in the right place. Before we dive in, I want you to picture this. You’re sitting in your reading corner, holding up a fantastic picture book, and every single student is completely engaged.
They’re thinking deeply, making connections,
and can’t wait to share their ideas. This isn’t just a dream. It’s absolutely possible, and today I’m going to show you how.
Now I want you to picture something slightly different. You’re reading aloud, suddenly you notice three students sliding down to the floor, two are poking each other, and only your usual handful of eager participants are actually engaged. Sound familiar? We’ve all been there, and it’s exactly why we need multiple engagement strategies in our toolbox.
The key is to involve as many different learning styles as possible. Think about it. Some of our students are visual learners, others need movement, and some need time to process before sharing. That’s why I’m going to share five powerful engagement strategies that you can start using tomorrow. Strategy number one you’ve probably heard of, turn and talk.
This is my absolute favorite and here’s why. It gets everyone involved, not just those confident hand raisers. When you use Turn and Talk effectively, every single student gets a chance to share their thinking. I love to pause at a crucial moment in the story and say, Turn to your partner and predict what might happen next.
The energy in the room immediately shifts as students engage with each other and the story. Here’s a quick tip. Use those sticky notes that we’ve been talking about to mark perfect turn and talk moments in your book. This way you’re not trying to think on your feet about when to pause. Strategy number two, stop and jot. For those students who need processing time or are hesitant to share out loud, this is a game changer.
Have students quickly write or draw their thoughts on a sticky note or in their reader’s notebook. I had a student one year who barely spoke during discussions, but her jotted response showed amazing insight. This strategy gives those quiet thinkers their moment to shine.
Strategy number three, hand signals. Here’s a quick win for those moments when you need to check understanding without breaking the flow of the story. Have students show a thumbs up if they agree with a character’s choice, or hold up one finger if they think one thing might happen, two fingers for another possibility.
It’s a quick, it’s silent, and everyone can participate.
Now, let’s talk about think alouds. We briefly touched on these earlier in our series, but this is where you, as the teacher, make your thinking visible to your students. It’s like opening a window into your reader’s brain. But here’s the thing, it needs to feel natural, not forced. So let me share a quick example.
When I’m reading, I might pause and say, hmm, when the author described the character’s face as stormy, I’m thinking they must be really angry because storms are powerful and intense. That word choice tells me a lot about how the character is feeling. To get you started, here are some of my favorite think aloud sentence starters.
I’m wondering. This reminds me of, I noticed that, or I’m thinking. Again, go back to those sticky notes, write these down on your sticky notes, and put them in the book right where you want to model that thinking.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room, balance. It’s so easy to get caught up in the making our read alouds interactive that we sometimes lose the flow of the story. Remember, the goal isn’t to stop and discuss. on every single page. Instead, choose two to three strategic moments where deeper interaction will really enhance their understanding.
Think of it like a dance. There’s a rhythm to it. Read for a bit, engage with a turn and talk, read some more, maybe do a quick hand signal check, read again, perhaps stop for a jot. The key is to keep the story flowing while strategically weaving in those engagement opportunities. Now let’s talk about setting yourself up for success.
You know those days when everything just flows smoothly? That’s not magic. It’s preparation and clear expectations. First let’s talk about preparation. I know you’re busy, but spending just 15 minutes getting ready will save you so much time and stress during your read aloud. Have those questions ready in your book.
Remember those sticky notes we talked about? Get your anchor chart prepped and know exactly what teaching points you want to make. Trust me, when you’re prepared, you can focus on engaging with your students instead of trying to remember what comes next. But here’s the real game changer, setting clear expectations.
I learned this the hard way in my first year of teaching. I thought kids would just naturally know how to turn and talk, or handle materials. Spoiler alert, they don’t. We need to teach these routines explicitly. Let me share my favorite signal systems that really transformed my read alouds. When I tap my head, it means think.
When I put one finger to my lips and look up, that’s our signal for silent thinking. When my pointer fingers meet, that’s the signal for turn and talk. And I always keep a small chime nearby, when students hear it, they know it’s time to turn back to me. These signals become like a silent language between you and your students, no more repeating directions or raising your voice.
And here’s another tip that we’ve already talked about, but it will save you countless minutes. Strategic seating. Turn and talk partners right from the start. This eliminates that chaos of find a partner and ensures everyone has someone to talk to, even when some students are absent. But remember, we can’t just explain these expectations once and hope they stick.
We need to practice, practice, practice. I always start the year with explicit practice sessions. We act out what good turn and talk looks like. Sometimes we’ll even model what it shouldn’t look like.
We act out what a good turn and talk looks like, and sometimes we’ll even model what it shouldn’t look like. Kids really get a kick out of that. We practice what to do if there’s an interruption, like a phone call or a visitor, and we rehearse how to handle those materials on the carpet. And don’t forget to review those expectations after breaks when you notice things getting a little wobbly.
Getting a little chatty during silent thinking time, we would take five minutes to review and practice our signals. It makes such a difference.
Let’s also talk about those what if moments that can really derail a read aloud. What if your turn and talk partner is absent? I always have a backup plan, like joining a nearby pair to make a trio. What if someone’s in your assigned spot? We practice how to handle this respectfully. What if there is an unexpected interruption?
We have a silent signal for pause and hold that thought. Before we wrap up, I want to remind you of something important. Building engagement takes time. Start with one strategy and add others as you and your students get comfortable. Remember, you’re creating a safe space where every voice matters and every student knows that their thoughts are valued.
Let’s do a quick recap of our key takeaways from this episode. Use multiple engagement strategies to reach different types of learners. Plan your think alouds ahead of time and mark them in your book. Find the right balance between reading and interaction. Create a safe space for all voices. Now before you head back to your classroom, I have something just for you.
It is called 50 Picture Books Every Classroom Needs. This free guide is more than just a book list. It is ready to use discussion questions for 10 different reading strategies, as well as thinking prompts for your students. And practical tips for teaching these strategies with any book in your classroom library.
Whether you’re teaching theme, main idea, or any other essential reading strategies, you’ll have everything you need right at your fingertips. To grab your free guide, visit thecolorfulapple. com forward slash 50 books to sign up. That’s thecolorfulapple. com forward slash 50 books. I’ll also leave a link in the show notes so that you can grab it.
Speaking of books, this week we’re talking about books to help teach sequencing. I have five different books that I think would be perfect for teaching sequencing in your class. First, we have Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson. In this book, which is perfect for October or right around Halloween time, a witch meets a dog, a bird, and a frog who help her find her lost items.
The witch offers them a spot on her broomstick, but their journey is interrupted by a fierce Dragon. This one is perfect for sequencing because students can put the animals as well as the objects in order. After reading the Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, in this book, Peter wakes up to discover his world transformed by a winter snowfall Throughout the day, he embarks on a variety of snowy adventures, including making snow angels creating a snowman, and even attempting to keep a snowball as a souvenir.
This next one is also perfect for wintertime. The Mitten by Jan Brett. This, the detailed illustrations in this book introduce children to a collection of new animals who pass the mitten around, and you can put those animals in order as the book goes on.
Another book for teaching sequencing is Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems. In this book, Trixie, Daddy, and Knuffle Bunny take a trip to the neighborhood laundromat, but the exciting adventure takes a dramatic turn when Trixie realized that some bunny was left behind. And lastly, this isn’t just one book, but the series of books by Lucille Calandro.
There was an old lady who, she has quite a collection of this series of books for different holidays and seasons, and each of the books lends itself to students putting the events in order.
Thank you so much for joining me today in the Read Aloud Classroom. Definitely come connect with me on Instagram at The Colorful Apple and find all the links and resources mentioned today at TheColorfulApple. com. And in our final episode of the series next week, we’ll talk about extending the lesson beyond the actual Read Aloud.
You won’t want to miss it. I can’t wait to see you next week in the Read Aloud Classroom.
