Read Alouds: Nonfiction As An Option

The gift of reading begins with a read aloud. Think about it. Your very first experience with reading was to hear someone else read to you! We know that reading aloud to children is one of the most important ways that children acquire language and vocabulary as well as comprehension and critical thinking skills. But have you ever noticed that people more frequently choose fiction to read aloud to children than nonfiction?

Nonfiction does not lend itself to the traditional and more comforting bedtime story with a beginning, middle, and end. However, it has an entire catalog of other skills that are just waiting for your child (or student) to experience. What is a diagram? Why are their headings? Why are there words that are printed more boldly than others? Why would an author want to include a map on this page? These kinds of questions are different from those that we ask when reading fiction aloud, but are they any less worthwhile?

Consider this...the next time you choose a book to read aloud to your youngster, be they preschool or elementary school, consider choosing a nonfiction book together. Perhaps you might decide to learn the many ways to cut a snowflake or how to fold an airplane, or perhaps how to tell the difference between a crustacean and a mollusk! Whatever you choose, consider making nonfiction one of your regular choices when it comes to Read Alouds. Learning to read books with flexible thinking and appropriate comprehension skills begins with a good book--fiction or ... nonfiction.