The Ritual of Reading in the Classroom

In classrooms where the students can read for themselves, reading aloud often falls off the daily schedule. But it’s a ritual well worth keeping—for the sake of literacy, the moral imagination, classroom bonds, and so much more. Long-time Heights teacher Tom Steenson encourages the teachers tending that flame, or wanting to rekindle it, in their own classrooms.

Chapters:

• 2:08 Goals of reading aloud in the classroom
• 4:44 The artist sees, then helps others to see
• 11:47 Books that aren’t landing
• 15:10 The read-aloud routine, scene-setting
• 18:35 Reading in a high school classroom
• 22:27 Separating instruction from narrative
• 24:59 The effect on teachers

Links:

• Only the Lover Sings: Art and Contemplation by Josef Pieper
• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
• Augustine’s Confessions translated by F. J. Sheed
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm by Robert C. O’Brien
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Featured Opportunities:

• The Art of Teaching Conference at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2024)

Also on the Forum:

• Classroom Ambience by Joseph Bissex
• The Read-Aloud Family featuring Sarah Mackenzie
• Stop Telling Your Son to Read: How to Inspire a Love of Reading featuring Tom Longao
• How to Master the Art of Reading Outside by Tom Longano