The read-aloud as a primary experience

Abstract

The act of teachers reading aloud to children has become an increasingly common experience as more teachers use literature-based reading instruction. This study examines the significance of the Read-Aloud in a primary classroom through a phenomenological account. It includes a brief history of phenomenology as a research method into pedagogic practice. The lived experience of the Read-Aloud is analyzed through the six research activities recommended by van Manen (1990) in the book Researching Li1'ed Experience. Audio taped read-aloud sessions in a grade one / two classroom are combined with adult memories of being read to. Four themes emerge as essential to the experience of the Read-Aloud in a primary classroom. These themes are: pleasure, enhanced vocabulary, the ability to move beyond the here and now through imagination and an increased understanding of the real world. The study concludes with a discussion of the responsibility of the pedagogue in light of what was discovered about the experience of the Read-Aloud.