The Oral Reading Debate
By Susan Mandel Glazer

"Come on, Tracy, you can read it to the class," commented her teacher. "You're a good reader – you can do it just fine!" she continued. Although outgoing, and, indeed, a good reader, eight-year-old Tracy preferred to read to herself or with a partner rather than to a large audience. The comment, "You can do it just fine," was probably too much pressure for the second grader. It resulted in the child putting her hands over her ears as if to block out the sound of the teacher's voice. Tracy's withdrawal confirmed the fact that oral reading was probably an activity that caused some distress for her.

I found that Tracy's attitude toward reading in school changed from enthusiastic to apathetic after this incident. Soon afterward, at the first parent conference of the year, Tracy's parents learned of their daughter's refusal to read out loud. After continuous badgering throughout the next marking period, the child refused to read out loud in school and out.

The sounds of words
Children are often asked to read in front of a group of peers, particularly in the primary grades. They read a page or two out loud, one child after another in an activity often referred to as "Round Robin Reading." This practice has persisted because it's believed by many educators, as well as lay persons, that oral fluency is an indicator of a competent reader. Some teachers and caregivers say, "Read it out loud to me," not for the sake of communication, but for the purpose of determining ability in the ebb and flow of oral expression and the pace of word recognition. Just think, for a moment, about a parrot. As this creature can learn to make the sounds of the English language and talk fluently, so can a child identify the sounds of words and appear to be reading a book fluently. Sounding words and reading for meaning are, however, two very different skills.

A good practice?
Of course oral reading is considered good practice when, and only when, the purposes for the behaviors are warranted. You are probably wondering, "What are those purposes?"

There are times that we have an urgent need to share something we've written or read. When that urgency occurs, we run to the nearest listener who'll participate in our quest. That urgent time is a real reason to share. Do your best to provide time for urgent sharers. This can be a designated time during the day for those who can wait. For those who need instant feedback, five minutes at the end of each activity is one way to provide the time. Tape recording the message is made easy when there are multiple recorders set up in your classroom. It's important, in this case, to let your students know when you'll listen and respond to their messages.

A need to share
The type of genre being shared determines in great part when and how to share. Scripts are written specifically for oral presentation. Acting out a character in a play is just the right way to guide children's oral fluency. What better way to learn how to influence an audience's feeling about a character than to act out the antics that might be typical of the Wolf, for example, as written in "Little Red Riding Hood." Poetry and lyrics easily lend themselves to oral sharing. Writing their own music and poetry and then reading them out loud to peers and parents facilitates students' need to share. Learning the words to a popular song creates the need to recite, as well.

Demonstrating learning
Situations also command specific modes of participation. Recitals, a class play, culminating activities in the form of presentations of science experiments, written and oral reports, following written directions (a recipe, for example, in order to make a food product in school) spurs even reluctant presenters to get on stage. But, for those who need support, only group presentations should be suggested. Choral reading, where all of the children read the same poem, song, fable or very short story together are wonderful for rehearsing oral reading skills. It's important in these activities that each child has in hand a copy of the piece to be read. A large version displayed in front of the class supports disinclined participants.

Our goal is to provide children with a vehicle for demonstrating learning, and there are many. Whether the vehicle is large or small, or is even an audience of one, it's our job as teachers to guide children to one that assists the process. Not all of us fare well in one setting, and neither do the children.

Susan Mandel Glazer is the Director of the Center for Reading and Writing at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ.