Reading comprehension is essential across all grade levels and subjects. Teachers help students decode text, build vocabulary, and understand meaning in both academic and everyday contexts. Reading aloud is one of the most effective strategies for improving literacy, as it models fluency and supports comprehension.
The online Master of Science (M.S.) in Education in Reading program from Arkansas State University (A-State) prepares educators to lead in literacy instruction. Through advanced coursework and practical experience, graduate students learn to assess reading development, apply research-based strategies and support diverse learners.
Reading Comprehension Benefits
Students learn how to read by reading, but they learn how to read fluently by listening to fluent readers. If students’ only encounters with reading are solitary, they may not comprehend anything beyond literal facts. Hearing a story, however, lets children focus on its flow. They are free from wrestling with words they do not understand and can instead engage the material more emotionally.
Teaching reading comprehension should not involve simply reading a story and answering the publisher’s questions. One of the most effective ways to model close reading is to “think aloud” during a read-aloud. Using this strategy, the teacher reads a word, sentence or paragraph and then stops reading to pose a question or make a connection: What does that word mean? What was the author thinking? That happened to me once! The teachers do not ask the students to participate; rather, this approach models the teacher’s thought processes. Students see firsthand how a good reader successfully makes sense of a text.
Academic Benefits
One of the key benefits of reading aloud to students, especially in content areas, is that it stimulates curiosity. Reading fiction or non-fiction about a concept or historic incident is more likely to pique students’ interest than a more academic textbook.
In addition, carefully scheduled read-alouds can give students background knowledge about a topic before they begin studying it in earnest. Since a substantial amount of teaching reading comprehension involves vocabulary acquisition, reading aloud can introduce topical words students may not have heard before. When they hear words for the first time in a casual setting, students can ask questions, receive answers and participate in conversations.
Many students can understand complex ideas and vocabulary even if their independent reading skills are not yet strong enough to decode those texts on their own. Primary sources, such as original letters and documents, are valuable keys to understanding historic events and scientific discoveries. They are, however, often written in archaic language. By reading aloud, with inflection and explanations, teachers can use primary sources to enhance lessons with authentic information.
Social-Emotional Benefits
Reading aloud offers significant social-emotional benefits across all age groups, not just in early childhood. Research indicates that this practice fosters a sense of comfort, connection and acceptance among students, enhancing their emotional well-being and engagement in the learning process.
Whether it’s reading aloud to help second-graders settle down after lunch or sharing the Declaration of Independence to provide real-world context in a history lesson, reading aloud serves as an effective strategy for teaching reading comprehension. The U. S. Department of Education, “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children…. (Reading aloud) is a practice that should continue throughout the grades.”
A-State’s online M.S. in Education – Reading degree prepares educators to use reading aloud as a powerful tool to boost literacy. The program blends theory with practical strategies to help teachers improve reading comprehension and create supportive learning environments for all students.
Learn about Arkansas State University’s online M.S. in Education in Reading program.