Hi Nancy, This isn't Renee but I just had to jump in on this one. I am not of the mind that we need to "prepare" kids for activities that they may have to do some day in school. Unfortunately, there are things that kids do in school that they never do outside of school. How many book reports, dioramas, etc have you had to do outside of school? I am strongly opposed to having kids practice reading aloud because someday they might have to do it in some class. Did I say that already? Having said that, if one of my students wants to read something aloud to the class they must practice it first and then read it to me before reading it to the class. Laborious reading aloud is very painful for everyone involved and really takes away from the excitement the child may have had in the first place. Also, because reading aloud is a performance some kids just want that center stage and it isn't always a positive experience for anyone in the class. Just my two cents. Elisa Waingort Calgary, Canada
But I don't assume that a poor oral reader is a poor silent reader. Renee, I've been thinking and thinking about this, and the importance of oral reading fluency. I agree that meaning is what it is all about, but it has also occurred to me that throughout their education, students are going to encounter times when they have to read out loud. I understand that oral reading is a performance, but I'm wondering if teaching students to read well orally out loud just for performance purposes, might be a life skill that people need. What do you think? Nancy
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