Weekly FrameworkStep 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Weekly

Read-Aloud Routinefor Building Vocabulary and Comprehension Skills in Kindergarten Through Third Grade

AcknowledgmentsRead-Aloud Routine for Building Vocabulary and Comprehension Skills was de-veloped with funding from the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs, grant H326M110003.

The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational RiskCollege of Education

The University of Texas at Austin

Development Team

Leticia Romero Grimaldo

Sharon Vaughn

Denise Knafelz

Design and Editing

Matthew Slater, Editor

Carlos Treviño, Graphic Designer

About This ToolSteps 1–5 of the routine take place in one 25- to 30-minute lesson for one pas-sage from a story. The weekly framework is an overview of what will take place over the course of reading the whole story. The routine focuses on language, vocabulary, and comprehension development.

Adapted from: Hickman, P., Pollard-Durodola, S., & Vaughn, S. (2004). Story-book reading: Improving vocabulary and comprehension for English-language learners. Reading Teacher, 57(8), 720–730.

Step 1: Select a Story and Vocabulary Words

Select a story.

• Usetextthatisonetotwogradelevelsabovestudents’independentreadinglevel.• Searchforastorythatisbothengagingandcontentrich.• Selectatextthatisculturallyrelevantandmeaningfultostudents.

Prepare.

• Thestorywillbereadover3to5days.Dividethestoryinto200-to250-wordchunks.Increasethesizeofthechunksasstudents’readingprogresses.

• Choosethreetofivevocabularywordsperchunkoftext.• Thinkofanonlinguisticrepresentation(e.g.,picture,gesture)ofeachwordtoshare

withstudents.• Createvocabularywordcardswithstudent-friendlydefinitionsandpictures.

Sample Vocabulary Card

BEFOREREADING

Sample Books

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HELPFULHINTSONWORDSELECTION• Focusonhigh-utilitywordsthatareusedacrosscontextsandcontentareas.Will

studentshearandseethewordsinmath,science,socialstudies,andextracurricularactivities?

• Usewordsthatmoststudentsdonotknow.• Usewordsthatwillhelpstudentsconnecttotheirownexperiences.

examineTo look at something carefully and thoroughly because you want to find out more about it

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Step 2: Introduce and Preview the Story

Preview and activate background knowledge.

• Showandreadthefrontandbackcoversofthestory.• Activatestudents’priorknowledgebymakingconnectionsbetweenwhatstudentsknow

andwhattheyneedtoknowtounderstandthestory.• Havestudentspredictwhatthestoryisaboutandbrieflydiscussconceptsrelatedto

thestorytopic.

Briefly introduce the new vocabulary words.

• Sayandshoweachwordandhavestudentsrepeatit.• Provideastudent-friendlydefinitionandnonlinguisticrepresentation(e.g.,picture,

gesture)ofeachword.• Askstudentstolistenforthevocabularywordswhileyouread.• Askstudentstogivea“thumbs-up”whentheyhearavocabularyword.• Makethewordsvisiblebydisplayingthemonapocketchart,vocabularywordwall,or

bulletinboard.

HELPFULHINTSONDEFINITIONS• Definitionsshoulduseeverydaylanguageandbeeasyforstudentstounderstand.• Resourcesforstudent-friendlydefinitionsincludetheLongmanDictionaryof

ContemporaryEnglish(www.ldoceonline.com)andMerriam-Webster’sLearnerDictionary(www.learnersdictionary.com).

Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

BEFOREREADING 5–7minutes

Student Thumbs-Up SignalShowing the Front Cover

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Step 3: Read the Passage

Tell students to listen carefully while you read because they will have to answer questions.

Thistechniquesetsthepurposeforreadingandincreasesstudentengagement.

Read the passage WITHOUT STOPPING, focusing on intonation and enunciation to provide a good model for students.

Readingtheentirepassagewithoutinterruptionsallowsstudentstofocusonmeaning.

Guide students in discussing and retelling the passage.

• Askstudentstoturnandtalkwithaneighbortoretellwhathappenedinthepassage(focusonwho,what,when,andwhere).

• Encouragestudentstousethenewvocabularywordsduringtheretell.• Usethestudentresponsestowriteamainideastatementontheboard.• Askstudentsaninferentialquestionthatfocusesonsynthesizinginformationnot

directlypresentinthestory(e.g.,Howdoyouknow_______?Whatcluesledyoutobelieve________?).Askstudentstoexplaintheirthinkingandjustifytheiranswers.

Weekly FrameworkStep 3 Step 4 Step 5

DURINGREADING 7–8minutes

Turn and TalkReading the Passage

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Step 4: Reread the Passage

Read the passage a second time, focusing on vocabulary words.

• Reviewwordsandmeaningswithstudents.• Tellstudentstogiveyouasign(e.g.,thumbs-up,handonhead,fingeronnose)when

theyhearavocabularyword.• Stopateachvocabularywordandaskstudentstorepeatitandexplainwhatitmeans

intheirownwords.Havestudentsturnandtalktoexplainthewordtoapartner.• Guidestudentsincreatingsentencesthatusethevocabularyword.Havestudentsturn

andtalkaboutthesentenceswithapartner.• Usesentencestemsasscaffoldsifnecessary.• Continuereadingthepassageuntilallvocabularywordshavebeenidentifiedand

studentshavediscussedtheirmeaningsandcreatednewsentences.

Step 4 Step 5

DURINGREADING 7–8minutes

Sample Sentence Stems

examineI would like to examine _____________________

because ____________________.

expertA/An ______________________ is an expert at ___________________________.

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Step 5: Extend Language and ComprehensionExtend comprehension, focusing on deep processing of vocabulary knowledge.

• Havestudentsturnandtalktoaneighboraboutthestory,connectingittotheirownexperiences.Usepromptssuchas,“Talkaboutwhenyoufeltlikethemaincharacter.”

• Encouragestudentstousethevocabularywords.• Serveonlyasafacilitatorofthisconversation.• Extendcomprehensionbyhavingstudentswriteinareader’sresponsejournal.Use

promptssuchas,“Whatdoyouthinkwillhappennextinthestory?Writeapredictioninyourjournal.”

Summarize what students read and learned.

• Brieflyreviewthetitleandauthor,maineventsandideas,andnewvocabularywords.• Challengestudentstolistenforandusethenewvocabularywordsthroughouttheday.

EXTENDTHELESSONTHEFOLLOWINGDAY• Beginthefollowingdaybyreviewingwhatwasreadandlearnedthedaybefore.• Emphasizekeywordsandhavestudentssummarizethetextbystatingthemain

eventsandreviewingthemainideastatement.• Reviewthevocabularywordsandbrieflygiveastudent-friendlydefinitionofeach.• Askstudentswhethertheyusedorheardthewordsoutsideoftheclassroom.• Encouragestudentstocontinueusingthenewwords.

Step 5

AFTERREADING 5–7minutes

Students Discuss the Story Reviewing and Summarizing

Introduction Day• Introducethestory.• Introducethreetofivenewvocabularywordsfromtheday’spassage.• Readthepassage.• Havestudentsturnandtalktoaneighbortoretellwhatthepassageisabout(who,what,when,and

where).• Basedonstudentresponses,writeamainideastatementontheboardfortheday’spassage.• Reviewthenewvocabularywords.

• Rereadthepassage,stoppingateachvocabularywordtoreview,clarify,andcheckunderstanding.

Subsequent Days• Reviewcontentandvocabularywordsfromthepreviousday’sreading.• Introducetheday’spassage.• IntroducethreetofiveNEWvocabularywordsfromtheday’spassage.• Readthepassage.• Havestudentsturnandtalktoaneighbortoretellwhatthepassageisabout(who,what,when,and

where).• Basedonstudentresponses,writeamainideastatementontheboardfortheday’spassage.• Reviewthenewvocabularywords.

• Rereadthepassage,stoppingateachvocabularywordtoreview,clarify,andcheckunderstanding.

Wrap-Up Day• Choosefourorfivevocabularywordsfromthepreviousdays’lessonsthatwerechallengingfor

studentsordifficulttoremember.• Reviewthewords.• Iftimeallows,readtheentirestorytostudents.• Leadanactivitythatreinforcesthemeaningofthechosenvocabularywords,suchasactingoutthe

meaningofwordsthroughcharadesorusingprops.• Placevocabularywordsonawordwallandrevisittheirusethroughoutthedayandinfuturedays.• Reviewthepriordays’mainideastatements.Usethestatementstocreateasummaryoftheentire

story.• Extendlearningbyhavingstudentsusethevocabularywordstocreateanewstoryoranewending

forthestory.

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WEEKLYFRAMEWORK