Book Club-Read Aloud

If I had to pick one aspect of Book Club to try out in my classroom, it would be the Read Aloud time. However, we already actually have a Read Aloud time! The great thing is that I chose to do Read Aloud time for my Guided Lead teaching, so in a way I will still be able to work in some of the Read Aloud ideas from Book Club. Right now in our classroom Read Aloud happens right after lunch and all of the students join me on the carpet for a book. My CT also uses this time to work in some of the social studies content into our day. Usually the books we choose to read are focused around the 1st grade social studies topic for that trimester such as bullies, citizenship, or families. I have been o-teaching Read Alouds for a few weeks now because my CT thought it was not only a great opportunity for the students to get used to seeing me in front of the classroom, but also for me to be somewhat creative and incorporate my own ideas into the weekly lesson planning we do together. I have been able to choose books on my own that I thought fit the content and that the students would enjoy. I really enjoyed the few times that I was able to do that and therefore am really enthusiastic about being able to do it for 2 whole weeks on my own!
The literary focus of Read Aloud time is comprehension. The students are simply expected to sit quietly and listen to the story and then partake in a short discussion after the book is finished. Sometimes we also stop to talk about certain ideas in the middle of the book or to draw attention to a particular concept. I have found that personally I find discussing as we go much easier because I can use scaffolding questions and the like such as “why do you think that happened?” or “lets predict what might come next?” Having the main discussion at the end poses certain difficulties because often the students have trouble remembering all the way back to the beginning of the book, or they are antsy to get up out of their seats because they have been sitting so long listening. One of my biggest challenges has been thinking that a student is going to share an exciting idea and then all they ask is “can I go to the bathroom now?” I really hope to implement new ideas about comprehension discussions from both the Book Club and other helpful resources because comprehension is so important.