Other Education Commons^™

Helping Elementary Teachers To Think Aloud, Molly Ness

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

An essential element in teaching children to effectively comprehend text is the use of teacher-led think alouds. The article follows a semester-long project with 31 inservice teachers, who planned, implemented, transcribed, and reflected upon think aloud lessons to build student comprehension. Through multiple exposures to think alouds, teachers made significant growth in the quantity and quality of reading comprehension strategies they incorporated. Discussion focuses on the successes and struggles that teachers encountered when thinking aloud. Finally, suggestions for supporting teachers in effectively thinking aloud are provided.