Reading Aloud and Beyond: Fostering the Intellectual Life with Older Readers

Reading aloud - that's for primary school children, right?

No, say Frank Serafini and Cyndi Giorgis. They contend that reading aloud is just as important for older readers. And they provide the research to back their claim.

They maintain that reading aloud belongs in the intermediate elementary grades, and middle school too, because it:

• supports students' development as readers and writers
• fosters the love of reading
• improves reading skills and abilities
• and, yes, even raises standardized test scores.

But Serafini and Giorgis do more than argue a persuasive case. They provide the practical wherewithal to implement reading aloud as an instructional strategy for both the language arts and the content area disciplines. They also include extensive lists of suggested literature - picture books, chapter books, informational texts, poetry, and professional references. What's more, these authors show how teachers can create in the classroom an intellectual universe where discussions are profound and students enthusiastic about expanding their minds and appreciating the sound and beauty of language.