These are examples of authentic read aloud experiences. In some cases, they are cold reads and, I agree, we've all had to do those from time to time depending on our job or life situations. There's no practicing aloud and so I would suspect most of us would get a little nervous and might mess up here and there. Some of the others mentioned below can certainly be practiced if they're important enough. Yet, no matter how much I would practice I still get nervous in front of an audience. Time in the classroom is precious and nothing takes 5 minutes to do, not even 10. There are all of the unexpected interruptions or crises that happen every minute of every day, or so it seems. I think we need to choose what's truly important and devote the most time to that. Elisa Waingort Calgary, Canada
I have often times had to read out loud and would have been embarrassed if I could not have done so fluently. Some examples: Reading a script out loud during rehearsal, reading my own writing during a writing response group, each teaching day I read out loud to students, I read to my children, I read articles and interesting tidbits to my family/friends, reading bible verses out loud during bible study, being asked to read out loud during a class or in my past life in the business world, reading minutes during our home owners' meetings, reading textbooks to my own children to model how to read expository text... My father is an example of a brilliant man who cannot read aloud fluently. It is painful when he wants to read something out loud because he jumbles up the words, misinterprets the phrasing, mispronounces multi-syllable words, does not pay attention to punctuation, etc. It embarrasses him and he gets very flustered. My mom usually ends up having to read for him so we can understand the message. While I do believe the essence of reading is comprehension and that is our goal, there is something to be said for being able to read fluently, both silently and orally. We must put the emphasis on what matters most, but be careful not to ignore everything else. Just my two cents Kathy
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