Abstract:

Teachers face the complex challenge of implementing teaching practices while navigating new standards, legislative requirements, and curriculum mandates. This presentation examines how teachers can effectively implement interactive read-aloud experiences while educational leaders can support these practices for meaningful student engagement and discourse.

Interactive read-alouds serve as powerful bridges for all learners spring boarding from children’s literature, creating new paths for deeper understanding, and developing critical thinking, including with the use of technology. Research notes that children’s responses during interactive read-alouds are not just reactions to text, but part of the meaning-making process (Kaefer, 2020; Pantaleo, 2023; Sipe, 2008; Wiseman, 2011). When teachers and educational leaders understand the value of these authentic responses and how they can be connected with required standards and curriculum, opportunities for profound literacy growth exist.

This session explores how teachers can create classroom environments where children’s discourse becomes central to the reading experience for all learners. Moreover, this session will include how educational leaders can guide teachers in creating such environments. Participants will discover practical strategies for creating quality interactions that allow learners to communicate with teachers and other learners, creating a community of learning where each voice is heard and valued. This presentation also addresses the critical role educational leaders have in supporting teachers as they balance compliance with standards and new literacy legislation. Key focus areas include creating a space for all learners, including multi-language learners, and development opportunities for supporting interactive read-alouds in the home with school and family partnerships.

Sessions attendees will leave with concrete tools that honor learners’ natural responses to literature while transforming the learning experience. Further, this session focuses on how strong literacy leadership can create sustainable change that benefits learners, teachers, and families. Through practical examples, case studies, and collaborative discussion, this session demonstrates and teachers and educational leaders can champion practices that place children’s engagement at the heart of reading instruction that enhances rather than diminishes the power of interactive read-alouds.

Keywords:

Interactive read-alouds, authentic responses, technology inclusion.