Read aloud pace

[HayesW]

I want to know how fast you read! When reading, for pleasure, I read very quickly. I am now trying to step up my reading aloud for my children. Today, however, it took about an hour to get through what seemed like not many pages.

 

I'm just curious what your pace is.

[kmacnchs]

I read really fast...is that bad?:tongue_smilie: I actually try to read read-alouds fast b/c my children are so young and there are not many pictures so I try to finish the page b4 they are bored of looking at the picture and not listening anymore. Is that bad? Am I/Are they missing the point? We are reading The Jungle Book and my 3 yo seems to understand and I am just trying to get my 2yo to sit still, not looking for comprehension from her yet.

 

So, :lurk5:

 

Looking forward to hear what others say...

[gardening momma]

I read aloud at what I think is a moderate pace, comparable to an audio book. My dh reads aloud too fast--he sounds like he's rushing to get done, and doesn't put pauses and emphasis in appropriate places because of it. Even though he likes to read to dc and sees the value in it, it sounds (to me) like he's reading fast so he can get done fast, not putting value in the story itself.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

It drives me crazy to be reading the same book forever, so I read quite quickly, but put extra effort into speaking clearly and making the book come alive with voice fluctuation.

[gingersmom]

I think it depends on the book.

 

Some books I read faster than others. Sometimes I am reading a book out loud thinking to myself I wish I was silently reading this, it would be so much quicker.

 

I tend to be a really fast reader so I make a conscious effort to slow myself down when reading to my kids.

[JoyfulMama]

When reading aloud, I do slow it down from my silent reading speed. Otherwise I'd trip over my every other word. Reading to oneself and listening to someone read require different sets of skills. And I want to model to my children HOW to read aloud well and how to speak well, including fluctuation, speed, volume, ennunciation, and proper pausing.

I require my dd9 to read aloud to her siblings and me so that she can practice this as well. When she is older and must speak in front of people, this point will hopefully be ingrained.

Do my dc sit still while I read? Sometimes for the beginning the might, but I don't require them to. When we read history or such they are often times coloring, and when we read stories or poems aloud, they are often times doing something to occupy their hands as well.

[Snickerdoodle]

After listening to many different readers on Librivox I now try to slow down my out loud reading. Some of the readers go so fast, you can hardly savor the passages.

 

Listen to Jimmy Skunk of Thornton Burgess on Librivox. The man has a pleasant speaking voice and does a good job, except I think he reads it too fast.

[HayesW]

I had an epiphany last night. I was reading Teaching the Trivium, and the authors talked about the children sitting for TWO HOURS while Mom read. Then I read that the children built with blocks or drew pictures. EPIPHANY! I can't read for more than 10 minutes because they won't sit still! Now, though, I know they don't have to sit still! They had notebooks and pens. My 4yo dropped al his toys and came to sit right next to me after 10 minutes though. It was WONDERFUL! Our reading space is right next to the dining room, so kids got a sip of milk, had a bite of breakfast, then came back and LISTENED.

 

WONDERFUL!

[Ellie]

Huh. I don't know. I read aloud one chapter a day from a good book, right after lunch. Only one chapter, however long that took.

[kmacnchs]

I had an epiphany last night. I was reading Teaching the Trivium, and the authors talked about the children sitting for TWO HOURS while Mom read. Then I read that the children built with blocks or drew pictures. EPIPHANY! I can't read for more than 10 minutes because they won't sit still! Now, though, I know they don't have to sit still! They had notebooks and pens. My 4yo dropped al his toys and came to sit right next to me after 10 minutes though. It was WONDERFUL! Our reading space is right next to the dining room, so kids got a sip of milk, had a bite of breakfast, then came back and LISTENED.

 

WONDERFUL!

 

Another thing we do is cutting while listening...so their hands are busy but their minds are free to listen :) Also, it is a skill that I don't find time to work on any other time.