There is a reason (several actually!) that read alouds have been part of the school day. In my household, read aloud time was always greatly anticipated and always thoroughly enjoyed.
Here are our top five reasons to keep read alouds as part of your daily routine.
1. Foster deep discussions. Books give such wonderful springboards for conversations about anything and everything. My children and I had many wonderful discussions about characters in particular books and whether or not we would have had the same reactions as the main character. Read alouds make for deep thinking!
2. Encourage vocabulary building. Want your kids to have a richer vocabulary? Read to them often. Read stories to them that are slightly above their reading level and take the time to reread passages with complex vocabulary and discuss the meanings of those words.
3. Are great for unwinding/ family time. Reading aloud provides a shared experience for your family and is great for allowing everyone to relax and dive into a great story.
4. Encourage reading fluency. When younger readers hear someone reading fluently, it inspires them to want to read more fluently as well. It is a great way to encourage younger readers to read with more inflection in their voices and even try using different voices for different characters.
5. Make stronger writers. By listening to read alouds of more complex stories, even young children can be inspired to write more complex stories. Good writers come from people who read a lot!
Want the kids to enjoy a read aloud even while you are making dinner? Try our YouTube channel, Ready Read Alouds, where you will find over 300 stories read aloud by Ashley and Beth.