Using a Think-Aloud with Diverse Students: Three Primary Grade Students Experience Chrysanthemum

Abstract

Many struggling readers, students with English as a second language, and children with disabilities do not engage in the strategies that good readers use when reading for understanding. Reading comprehension depends upon the students' ability to successfully use strategies to monitor and control their own comprehension. Teachers need to help students develop skills that will aid in reading comprehension. The think-aloud is one strategy that can help struggling readers improve fluency and comprehension. One of the most important components to determine the success of the think-aloud is the teacher's ability to model and facilitate the think-aloud procedure. The teacher needs to have a basic understanding of what is meant to be accomplished using this method. This article profiles how three teachers model and facilitate a think-aloud with three struggling readers.

The Use of Think-Aloud in Assisting Reading Comprehension among Primary School Students

“…Students verbalise their thoughts during the think-aloud process while reading, solving problems, or responding to questions (Oster,2001;Raihan, 2011). Also, students can observe and understand how proficient readers comprehend the reading materials through the strategy (Wilhem, 2001 as cited by Migyanka et al, 2005). It supported the findings by Davey (1983) that it is beneficial to lower proficiency readers when they observe how proficient readers think while reading.…”

“…Based on previous studies, this approach has effectively helped students to develop the skills necessary for reading comprehension (Migyanka, Policastro & Lui, 2005;Sönmez and Sulak, 2018). This strategy promotes metacognition as students think about their thinking while reading and what others think (Raihan, 2011).…”

Improving the Quality of Think-Alouds

“… See Block and Israel (), Davey (), Duke and Pearson (), Maria and Hathaway (), Migyanka, Policastro, and Lui (), and Zimmerman and Hutchins (). …”

“…Think‐aloud instruction benefits students across text format and genre: in online text (Coiro, ; Kymes, ), in narrative text (Dymock, ), and in informational text (Coiro, ; Lapp, Fisher, & Grant, ; Ortlieb & Norris, ). Equally promising were the effects of think‐alouds on struggling readers (Anderson & Roit, ; Migyanka, Policastro, & Lui, ; Smith, ) and on English learners (Ghaith & Obeid, ; McKeown & Gentilucci, ). These positive findings led Caldwell and Leslie () to call think‐alouds “an effective instructional tool” (p. 420).…”