How to Improve Read Alouds in the Virtual Classroom

Hey teachers! I hope you are enjoying your long Labor Day weekend. I know how much that extra day is needed after conquering back to school. I hope you’re resting and enjoying time with family. I hope you get to eat good food and send off summer properly. As summer unofficially comes to a close, schools get into full swing. Students are in routine, your classroom expectations and procedures have been practiced over, and over, and over. You finally feel back into the swing of things…except for maybe one hiccup…virtual teaching. I know most schools are back to 100% in person, but some are not. And those that are in person? Are you worried about another lock down? Are you worried about another 2 week quarantine? Some of the teachers I’ve spoken with have shared these concerns as they watch Covid 19 spread through their classrooms and campuses. So, what do you do? What about all those kinks that haven’t been worked out from last year? Fear not, teacher friend! As usual, I have easy to implement solutions for you. Let’s get into it.

Mental health check:

Quick, mental health check. On a scale of 1-10, how stressed are you in general? How stressed are you about another lock down? How stressed are you about the prospect of, or you still are, teaching virtually? If your stress level is up there, like many teachers I’ve spoken to, then stay tuned, because today I have a solution for those read alouds. 

If you’re like me, then read alouds are one of your favorite parts of the day. But, trying to do it virtually? Way to suck all the fun out of it, Covid. That’s why I came up with different ways to help bring the joy back to this part of the day. Today I have 4 solutions for you to try in your classroom. I tried to cover every classroom and teaching style, so hopefully there’s something you will love in here. 

Using Mentor Texts in the Online Classroom

Let’s start with mentor texts. Most mini lessons consist of a mentor text that’s an on level picture book. These were my favorites. But, at times, some classroom management was also needed for those littles on the carpet, or the older kids probably sitting at their desks. Think of all the distractions you encounter on a regular basis: close proximity to friends, toys inside desks, visitors coming in and out of the classroom, classrooms transitioning past your door. I could go on and on. While some of these are eliminated with virtual learning, think of all the distractions at home: the internet, family members also working or schooling from home, all their toys, the TV, food. I could go on and on here too. So, how do you keep these kiddos engaged in your mentor text? I imagine most of you are saying how much easier it is in your classroom, and I don’t disagree with you. So here’s where these solutions come into play.

Document Camera

When I do read alouds in the classroom, I like to utilize my document camera. I know, it’s a little unconventional, but it guarantees that all students can see the pictures, even the ones in the back. I’ve taught a lot of older students and with the larger class sizes, there just isn’t room for a carpet, nor do they want to sit on the floor. This helped prevent the pacing through desks or slowly moving the picture across the room. How interested are you when you can’t see half the story? Sometimes, the pictures tell even more than the words. This helps each and every one of my learners see even the smallest details within the pictures. 

Record yourself!

Another solution? Record yourself reading the story. You can place this on Youtube in a private setting, or you can post it to your virtual classroom – whether it be Google classroom, Canvas, or a different platform of your or your district’s choosing. Think of all the possibilities here. 

First, start with the camera position. Make sure it is positioned so you and the book are both comfortably in the screen. Make sure students can see the pictures and the text. You can also hold it up briefly at the end. Students can pause the recording if they want a longer look. Still feel like you need to increase engagement? Dress up! Bring props! Change your voice! Or, and here’s where it can get extra fun…

Nearpod

Record yourself and upload it into a video on Nearpod. I briefly go into Nearpod on Episode 4: Online Teaching Tool Swap 2.1 – Up your student engagement by leveling up your Google Slides and Powerpoint lessons with Nearpod, or you can check the blogpost here. But, super briefly, in Nearpod you can upload a video of your creation or one you find elsewhere. Throughout the video you can create stopping points where you students will be required to answer questions about the video so far. This will help you gauge student understanding as well as how many students are truly participating in this part of the lesson. Just record yourself doing this live, and upload it later. If you’re interested in more swaps or tools you can quickly implement to increase your student engagement, grab my free PDF download at onlineteacherallyson.com/swap. I also have a video series coming up on this where I walk you through how to use each and every one. Keep an eye out for it, because seats are limited! Interested in learning about Blooket? I have decided to give you a sneak peek at my upcoming mini course by giving you the Blooket module for FREE! You can grab it here.

Storyline Online

If you’re looking for a story for fun, or just want to use one already created, check out storylineonline.net. If you’ve never visited this website before, they have tons of books already read aloud for you by celebrities. Think: Betty White, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno, James Earl Jones, Oprah Winfrey, Al Gore, and so much more. The celebrities will probably be of least importance to your students, however. Where this website gets extra fun is that the pages of the story have been animated. It’s not TV show animated, but it does have some movements and extra sound effects that help bring the story to life. I love using it as a rainy day recess activity, or just as a break when students need to be quieter for testing. 

So, teacher friend, which is your favorite? Do you already do one of these to help increase engagement and time spent managing your students’ behaviors? Do you know of something else that helps? Let us know! And for all you math teachers out there, next week’s is just for you, so don’t miss it! I hope you have a great week, teacher friend! Let’s chat again soon!