The Importance of Read-Aloud and Dialogue in an Era of Narrowed Curriculum: An Examination of Literature Discussions in a Second-Grade Classroom

Abstract

This research focuses on read-aloud discussions in the classroom of an exemplary second-grade teacher, Mae Graham, during an academic year. We found the classroom environment Mae created, along with her instructional moves, fostered engagement and student-initiated talk. Our analysis affirms the importance of teachers' language in building positive classroom environments (Allington & Johnston, 2001 Allington, R. L. and Johnston, P. H. 2001. Reading to learn: Lessons from exemplary fourth-grade classrooms, New York, NY: Guilford. [Google Scholar]; Johnston, 2004 Johnston, P. 2004. Choice words: How our language affects children's learning, Portland, ME: Stenhouse. [Google Scholar]; Pressley, Allington, Wharton-McDonald, Block, & Morrow, 2001 Pressley, M., Allington, R. L., Wharton-McDonald, R., Block, C. C. and Morrow, L. M. 2001. Learning to read: Lessons from exemplary first-grade classrooms, New York, NY: Guilford. [Google Scholar]), and contributes to research on literature discussion by emphasizing the power of dialogue in providing space for students to meaningfully use language; understand and engage with literature; develop and share ideas, opinions and feelings; and, develop an appreciation for multiple perspectives. We argue that read-aloud and dialogue should be a priority in an era of high-stakes testing and narrowed curriculum.