Learning Under the Influence of Language and Literature: Making the Most of Read-Alouds Across the Day

Lester and Reba not only provide us with a bold new framework for weaving read-alouds seamlessly into the fabric of the classroom, they also show us how to do it with grace and art. At the heart of their work are richly annotated lists of read-alouds for a variety of purposes. The authors' intimate knowledge and experience with these books make the annotations sing.
- Lucy Calkins

Open this book and invite the richness, the excitement of story and poetry into your classroom every single day. Take note, chapter by chapter, of the endless possibilities and ways to steer your students toward the powerful enchantment of books. Laminack and Wadsworth ask you to never forget "the power of literacy in the lives of learners," and this book will serve as a perfect reminder, time and time again.
- Rebecca Kai Dotlich, author of Lemonade Sun and Other Poems of Summer

The read-aloud of yesteryear was often limited in its ambition and application - a well-intended routine for getting students' attention or settling them down. But today's read-aloud is a vibrant, deliberate part of good teaching, an essential, effective strategy for introducing sophisticated ideas to young learners throughout the school day by immersing them in rich language and literate behaviors. The influence of reading aloud can be profound, and Learning Under the Influence of Language and Literature shows you how to plan for and implement the read-aloud for maximum instructional effect.

Learning Under the Influence of Language and Literature revolutionizes the read-aloud. Lester Laminack and Reba Wadsworth lay out six types of read-alouds each of which targets key instructional goals, including:

• addressing standards in the curriculum
• building community
• demonstrating the craft of writing
• enriching vocabulary
• enticing children to read independently
• modeling fluent reading.

Whether you read aloud once a day, or six times a day, Laminack and Wadsworth give you all the strategies you need to make the read-aloud a successful and effective way to lead your students to new understandings. You'll discover how, why, and when to read aloud, and find both specific suggestions for planning instruction around it and numerous ideas for entry points into it. Best of all, they provide an extensively annotated list of four hundred titles to use with each of the six types of read-aloud, including ample suggestions for how each fits within the reading and writing curriculum.