CCBC-Net Archives
Dean Schneider on Reading aloud
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Robin Smith <robinsmith59>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 09:58:03 -0500
Steven wondered about reading aloud vs. listening to audiotapes:
I think audiotapes are great for the car. They have sustained us on many family trips over the years. But I hate when I see a car go by and everyone is on a separate set of headphones; it seems so isolating and unfriendly to travel like that. I believe in the group experience of traveling: agreeing on the same music or listening to the same book on tape or, lo and behold, having some quiet time.
But at home and in the classroom, I believe in reading aloud. Parents and teachers should be reading aloud to kids. It's different if, in addition to being read aloud to, kids listen to books on tape on their own (perhaps while playing in their bedrooms) or if a classroom choice is to listen to a book during free time, but when possible kids need the personal touch -- the real, live adult reading a good book aloud.
We need not be intimidated by actors and professional readers who can do voices. Much as I love hearing a story well told, a simple, fluent reading is fine when we read aloud. I pride myself on having read aloud a lot when my kids were growing up, and both of my kids are avid readers and excellent writers now; but I'm not great at voices or even especially dramatic in my reading; I simply read stories fluently -- getting the words and rhythms and intonations right. Kids want to hear the story first and foremost. My son still kids me about the voice I tried to affect when I read aloud Iain Lawrence's The Buccaneers. (His High Seas trilogy, by the way, is great for reading aloud.) On the other hand, I still remember my wife being in tears, laughing so hard listening to Jack Gantos reading Joey Pigza Swallows the Key on tape; I'm glad I was the one driving at the time! Charles Keating's dramatic reading of Kit's Wilderness stands out, too. And my daughter wanted to listen to Make Lemonade on tape on the way to college; it was one of her favorite books from 7th or 8th grade.
Happy Reading,
Dean Schneider Ensworth School Nashville, Tennessee schneiderd at ensworth.com
Received on Sat 14 Aug 2004 09:58:03 AM CDT
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 09:58:03 -0500
Steven wondered about reading aloud vs. listening to audiotapes:
I think audiotapes are great for the car. They have sustained us on many family trips over the years. But I hate when I see a car go by and everyone is on a separate set of headphones; it seems so isolating and unfriendly to travel like that. I believe in the group experience of traveling: agreeing on the same music or listening to the same book on tape or, lo and behold, having some quiet time.
But at home and in the classroom, I believe in reading aloud. Parents and teachers should be reading aloud to kids. It's different if, in addition to being read aloud to, kids listen to books on tape on their own (perhaps while playing in their bedrooms) or if a classroom choice is to listen to a book during free time, but when possible kids need the personal touch -- the real, live adult reading a good book aloud.
We need not be intimidated by actors and professional readers who can do voices. Much as I love hearing a story well told, a simple, fluent reading is fine when we read aloud. I pride myself on having read aloud a lot when my kids were growing up, and both of my kids are avid readers and excellent writers now; but I'm not great at voices or even especially dramatic in my reading; I simply read stories fluently -- getting the words and rhythms and intonations right. Kids want to hear the story first and foremost. My son still kids me about the voice I tried to affect when I read aloud Iain Lawrence's The Buccaneers. (His High Seas trilogy, by the way, is great for reading aloud.) On the other hand, I still remember my wife being in tears, laughing so hard listening to Jack Gantos reading Joey Pigza Swallows the Key on tape; I'm glad I was the one driving at the time! Charles Keating's dramatic reading of Kit's Wilderness stands out, too. And my daughter wanted to listen to Make Lemonade on tape on the way to college; it was one of her favorite books from 7th or 8th grade.
Happy Reading,
Dean Schneider Ensworth School Nashville, Tennessee schneiderd at ensworth.com
Received on Sat 14 Aug 2004 09:58:03 AM CDT
