Four Benefits of Reading Aloud

Teachers of young students often read aloud to them, but the truth is, it’s valuable to do so even with older students. Here are four powerful benefits of reading aloud:

1. You’ll model fluent reading. Hearing you read out loud shows students what fluent reading should sound like. You’ll demonstrate good pacing, proper pronunciation, how to pause for punctuation, and how to emphasize words in appropriate places.
2. You’ll help students build their auditory learning style. Some students are naturally good listeners, while others could use the practice to strengthen their auditory learning skills. Reading aloud encourages your students to focus when you are speaking in order to retain what you say and apply it to what they already know.
3. You’ll promote literacy and listening skills. Especially from an early age, reading out loud to students helps them acquire many of the building blocks necessary to read themselves. It also helps students grow their vocabulary because they hear a wider variety of words in use. When possible, have students read along with the book or printed paper in front of them. This supports weaker readers who can follow the text while listening to you and builds all students’ comprehension.
4. You’ll bring stories to life. There’s nothing quite like reading aloud to bring your students together for a shared, special experience. When you choose a class book and carve out class time to read it, you instill a love of literature into your students and give them something to look forward to each day.

Whether it’s detailed directions for an assignment or a class novel, keep reading aloud to your students when it makes sense. The benefits are numerous!