Comprehension expectations for read-alouds?

[konglish]

I know that one of the benefits of reading aloud is for children to be exposed to literary language and vocabulary above their reading level...but how do I determine a good read-aloud listening level?  How much should my child understand, with or without explanation?  I want to stretch them and expose them to a variety of materials, but not waste time that might be better spent on something more at their level.  

 

Some recent examples:

 

Old Mother West Wind--this one really surprised me.  They both enjoyed it, and seemed to understand it for the most part.  I did probably explain some parts.

 

Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain--we read ALL the Little Tim books multiple times.  They were enthralled.  These books didn't really have elevated language, but had some slightly more mature themes (possible drowning, being an orphan, bullying).  

 

Cinderella and various other fairy tales--I didn't think they would be able to follow along that well, but they both enjoy them and ask for repeated readings.  I did have to explain some concepts.

 

My Father's Dragon trilogy--we all LOVED these books and both kids seemed to understand them well, although my DD6 understood the humor more.

 

Burgess Bird Book--both kids happily listened to the first chapter on Librivox and didn't understand any of it.  My daughter then returned to it and now listens to it for hours a day and has picked up a lot of information from it.  Is repeated listening the key?

 

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe--my DS3 generally liked it, although I don't know how much he understood, and he would get antsy listening to the audiobook.  My daughter was enthralled and wants to listen to the audiobook again.  I did have to explain some parts so she could follow along.  I considered this book to be a stretch both in terms of vocabulary and themes.

 

The Light Princess--I read on another thread that this was a good introduction to George MacDonald.  My DD6 enjoyed it, but there wasn't any deep thinking associated with it (there had been a little bit with Aslan's sacrifice in The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe).  To be honest, I didn't really enjoy this one very much and I'm not quite sure why.  I considered this book to be a stretch in vocabulary and themes.

 

I guess I'm wondering how much of our read-aloud reading should be easily understood (vocabulary/concepts) and how much should be a stretch...either within any given book or in the overall mix of what we read.  

 

Thanks for your help!

 

 

[hjffkj]

A kid doesn't have to understand the content or vocabulary at all for it to be a good read aloud.  I read to my 15 month old ALL the time and he has no idea what Pete Rabbit is doing!  But he certainly enjoys it just as much as he enjoys his board books because mom is talking and spending time with him.  He may not pay attention the entire time but he always comes back to sit in my lap multiple times throughout a book.  His older siblings, 3 and 5, enjoy Beatrix Potter's books soo much and understand almost all of it.  Even when they don't understand a specific word they can figure out what the sentence means.  There is no way if I asked what soporific meant they would know,maybe my 5 year old knows now.  But if I asked how the soporific lettuce effected the bunnies they could tell me it made them sleepy.  

 

Then I read books/poems/plays to them that are way over their heads. They play while I read but sometimes come over to cuddle and look at the book.  They don't get much if any of it but they get mom time and are hopefully learning that reading is enjoyable because mom loves to do it.   

 

I think the most important thing is to find a balance between things completely over there head, a little over their head, just right, and even a little below them.  

[myfunnybunch]

It depends on your goal in reading aloud. Mine was for my children to enjoy good stories, and to create good memories for them. You've got a nice reading list started already. Although I absolutely believe that 6 year-olds are capable of deep thoughts, a directed deep discussion about literature might not happen yet, and that's ok. You're developing their vocabulary, their imaginations, their intellect, their emotional awareness. Read aloud whatever they'll sit still for. Share a thought or two about how what you've read connects to your lives. Enjoy the experience.

 

:)

 

Cat

 

 

 

 

[Farrar]

I generally try to alternate a bit.  My kids are older, but the last read aloud we did was a stretch, so we'll start one that's just for fun next.  Overall, I think a lot of people rush to read harder and harder books with younger kids and there's something to be said for enjoying the moment.  There are SO many amazing books out there that there's plenty for every stage.  Repeated listening can be good for some kids.  It's okay to ditch a book if it seems like it's not the right moment for it.  As long as they're enjoying it, I think it's fine to read something they sort of get and sort of don't.  However, if everything is in that range, then I would bring things down a little - part of the joy of reading to kids is being able to discuss what you're reading.

 

I think the books you're reading are great, but they're all on the older, more classic side.  It's fine to read things that are a little newer like Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle or a lot newer like The Jamie and Angus Stories.  So much is just about enjoying stories.  We like to vary the era we're reading from somewhat.  And don't forget to keep reading picture books.  There are some really rich picture book authors like Patricia Polacco or William Steig who write books that kids can't really even appreciate until they're 6 or 7 or even older.

[konglish]

Thanks for the replies...they made me mull over some things a bit.  My primary goals for reading aloud are enjoyment, shared experiences, and to instill a love of reading. Other goals might be to expose them to literary language, richer vocabulary, and content/ideas.  The books I listed do not reflect the majority of our read-alouds.  We have a steady diet of picture books, ranging from Olivia Saves the Circus to FIAR selections, all of which are more accessible to the kids.  Reading these boards and various other books and websites over the past few years made me realize I could expose my kids to a wider and richer selection...I just am not always sure how to do it.  The first (many) times I read over the AO Yr 1 book selections, I could hardly believe they were recommended for 6 and 7 year olds.  And the other day I listened to Andrew Kern say that reading Shakespeare to your 4-year old is imperative, even though they won't understand it (I would reference the video if I could remember which one it was!).  I'm not sure exactly what my question is...maybe how much of the "finest" classic literature is appropriate at any given age?  I suspect if we did something like AO's recommendations, the kids' comprehension would increase significantly and I would be surprised by some of the things they liked.  I also expect it would be a bit of a slog at times.  But I could be wrong...the Burgess books, for example, were a hit and I never would have tried them if other people hadn't suggested them.  Perhaps it is just trial and error and I will have to be okay with some misses.  

 

p.s.  I will check out the Jamie and Angus stories!  I already have Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle in the queue, and Beatrix Potter books are already regulars.

 

 

[Kfamily]

Like farrarwilliams, we alternate the types of books we read aloud. We vary our choices from challenging books, fun books, biographies, historical fiction and classics. 
 
I think the best way to determine reading levels for read-aloud books is to measure the response of your children. For me, if the books are a good reading level, then the girls are engaged and following the story. If the reading level is too high, then they tend to lose interest or feel frustrated. Also, the reading levels are too high if the explanations are too numerous. Most books chosen to be a touch challenging should only need some explanation.
 
I think I might disagree with Andrew Kern on the Shakespeare and the 4 year-old comment. I do agree that exposing young children to literature with advanced vocabulary and complex sentence structures is important, but I think that this can be done with choices other than Shakespeare. There are some really nice retellings of Shakespeare and the Shakespeare Can Be Fun series too, which you might use to introduce Shakespeare, but I would even wait a few years past 4 for these too. If you want to just put this type of literature "in their ear", similar in the way Suzuki style music is played, then you might just play audio recordings of Shakespeare being read in the background as they are working on something else. Poetry and well-written classics can give just as much exposure to advanced vocabulary and complex sentences/stories and yet still be more accessible to young children.
 
Here are some book suggestions...although you may have already read some of these:

Make Way For McCloskey: A Robert McCloskey Treasury
A Child's Calendar: Poems by John Updike
Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost (illustrated by Susan Jeffers)
When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Charlotte's Web or Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
Treasury of Animals by James Herriot

Also, there are more books by Thornton Burgess:

The Adventures of Grandfather Frog
The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse
The Adventures of Peter Cottontail
and more...










 

[hjffkj]

I have read Shakespeare to my kids but only when I was reading for my own enjoyment during my mandated relax time after lunch. This is usually when the get exposed to things way over their heads. About once a week if I'm reading my own book I ask them if I can read some out loud. Sometimes they say yes, sometimes they don't.even Han they say yes they're usually in some other part of the room doing their own thing. They do pick some things up even from hard texts. For example, I'm reading Done Quixote for my own pleasure. While reading out loud one day my 5 year old, who was playing with his Lego's, stopped and yelled "mom did he just throw up in someone's face?" When I replied yes he made me reread the events that caused it and then explain the parts he didn't get. Later he said he couldn't wait to understand the books I read to myself.

 

I don't think I'd ever read Shakespeare to my child at that age if I didn't thoroughly enjoy it myself. I haven't looks over the ao booklist enough to comment on that.

[Kfamily]

I have read Shakespeare to my kids but only when I was reading for my own enjoyment during my mandated relax time after lunch. This is usually when the get exposed to things way over their heads. About once a week if I'm reading my own book I ask them if I can read some out loud. Sometimes they say yes, sometimes they don't.even Han they say yes they're usually in some other part of the room doing their own thing. They do pick some things up even from hard texts. For example, I'm reading Done Quixote for my own pleasure. While reading out loud one day my 5 year old, who was playing with his Lego's, stopped and yelled "mom did he just throw up in someone's face?" When I replied yes he made me reread the events that caused it and then explain the parts he didn't get. Later he said he couldn't wait to understand the books I read to myself.

 

I don't think I'd ever read Shakespeare to my child at that age if I didn't thoroughly enjoy it myself. I haven't looks over the ao booklist enough to comment on that.

 

This is how I would do it too.

[Chava_Raizel]

I don't think it's necessary at your children's ages to "learn" the vocabulary. It's more about exposure. With young children, I think just reading it, hearing the language in context is enough. I think it's important that the books you choose aren't ALL higher level books. If the stories are always too hard to understand, you'll eventually lose their interest. You have a pretty good mix going already, so that's good. I like to change it up so we might do a challenging read aloud and follow it up with something a bit easier or more fun.

 

As to comprehension - with a chapter book, I might ask them before we begin the days reading what they remember from the day before. After a chapter, I might ask them something open-ended, like "Why do you think that happened?" I don't like to ask too many questions, because I want them to have their own thoughts on the reading. Also, I've seen over the years how resistant my children can be to comprehension questions. They hate it when I turn something fun into work. ;)  Just asking them about their favorite part, or why they think a character behaved the way they did is enough.

 

Some of our favorites at that age:

 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

James and the Giant Peach

Matilda (really anything by Roald Dahl)

Winnie the Pooh

The Wind in the Willows

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Little House in the Big Woods (and rest of series)

The Tale of Despereaux

A Little Princess

The Secret Garden

Anything by Bill Peet, but especially Capyboppy

Anything by Tomie de Paola a

Anything by Jan Brett

 

 

[hjffkj]

.

[konglish]

You know what I just realized after reading these posts?  Sometimes I just need some encouragement to follow my gut and/or common sense.  Shakespeare or Don Quixote:  read it for enjoyment for myself, perhaps aloud, with a light touch.  Challenging literature:  kids should enjoy and understand without too much extra explanation from me.  Don't ruin it with too much discussion.  If the book isn't working, put it aside for now, and perhaps re-introduce later.  

 

Thanks also for the book recommendations.  Some of them we've read and enjoyed, some of them the kids did not like, and some of them were on my "hmm, I wonder if they are ready for that book" list.  I was particularly thinking about the Little House books, The Trumpet of the Swan, The Wheel on the School, and The Secret Garden as potential new read-alouds.  My kids loooooooooooove the Winnie the Pooh audiobooks (does anyone else think Peter Dennis is a genius?!), but hate the A.A. Milne poems.  My DD6 also told me that The Velveteen Rabbit was not for her. :)