Increasing Engagement During Read Alouds

Welcome back for another round of Bright Ideas from some seriously amazing bloggers! This month I have a simple idea that can have a high impact on your classroom.

We all have them, some like me are them, those kids that can't sit still and are always wiggling. I was one of those kids, and I am still one of those adults. I loved to be read to, but I could not for the life of stay still. I see this in my students today too. Instead of getting frustrated with them, we have embraced it, and I use it as a way to show me who is engaged in the readying, and who needs a little redirection help.

We all start facing forward. This is our traditional direction for a read aloud on the carpet. I personally have spots for my students that we rotate every so often, but however you do it in your classroom works just fine. Sometimes the reader sits, but this time the reader is standing.

Then, as I read I walk to different positions. The students' job is to follow the reader with their whole body, not just their eyes. I do this every couple of pages, so the motion is pretty consistent.

Moving around serves two purposes. 

#1 it gives my active kids a chance to move, which they love. 

#2 It gives me an immediate visual of who is with me, and who is not, which I love. 

Just by watching when I start walking to see who isn't simultaneously turning with me I know who I've lost. They can try to fake it by watching the other students, but they are always just a half second behind which is a dead giveaway. 

Simple right? I hope that this is something that you can find useful for your classroom. 

Overall, I think this is a really positive activity that could hold some real power at stressful times of the year. I think we will probably do it occasionally, especially right before our big testing season!

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