Reading Aloud and beyond: Fostering the Intellectual Life with Older Readers - Tapa blanda

Reading aloud - that's for primary school children, right?

No, say Frank Serafini and Cyndi Giorgis. They contend that reading aloud is just as important for older readers.And they provide the research to back their claim.

They maintain that reading aloud belongs in the intermediate elementary grades, and middle school too, because it:

• supports students' development as readers and writers
• fosters the love of reading
• improves reading skills and abilities
• and, yes, even raises standardized test scores.

But Serafini and Giorgis do more than argue a persuasive case. They provide the practical wherewithal to implement reading aloud as an instructional strategy for both the language arts and the content area disciplines. They also include extensive lists of suggested literature - picture books, chapter books, informational texts, poetry, and professional references. What's more, these authors show how teachers can create in the classroom an intellectual universe where discussions are profound and students enthusiastic about expanding their minds and appreciating the sound and beauty of language.

FRANK SERAFINI has worked as an elementary school teacher, staff developer, and advocate for public education in Arizona for the past eleven years. After completing his Doctorate in Reading Education at Arizona State University where he taught Literacy Education courses, Frank has moved to Las Vegas and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, where he teaches courses in Children's Literature, Reading Education and Literacy Research. Frank's new book from Heinemann, entitled The Reading Workshop: Creating Space for Readers, offers novice and experienced teachers practical advice for implementing a literature-based approach to reading in their intermediate grade classrooms. Frank has been a frequent speaker at national and international conferences on such topics as Children's Literature in the Elementary Curriculum, Classroom-Based Assessment, Balanced Reading Frameworks, Using Literature in the Writing Workshop, Promoting ReflCYNDI GIORGIS is an Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is a former coauthor of the childrens books column in The Reading Teacher and has served on both the Newbery and Caldecott Award committees. She has published and presented extensively on topics related to literature, reader response, and curriculum.