What is ‘Thinking Aloud’ for Teaching Reading?

Thinking aloud is an instructional strategy where the teacher verbally expresses their own thoughts to guide a student towards thinking along similar lines in the future. Thinking aloud helps with comprehension, that is, the understanding of what is happening in a story.

Example: In this hypothetical, the instructor is reading a book aloud and has just finished a page where the main character has stolen a cookie from a cookie jar.

“Wow, that character just took a cookie from the jar! I think her mom said not to… I think we could definitely call that her sneaky or mischievious!”

Thinking aloud is effective because it engages a student’s mind to comprehend what is happening in the story, without placing them in a position of anxiety, as with a question. Thinking aloud increases enjoyment of the story as well, especially when the adult reading along is genuinely enjoying the story. Thinking aloud seems like a very simple concept but it is a highly specialized skill that must be developed through practice. At an expert level, the adult using it can make a student feel supported and engaged while teaching concepts effectively.

The author, Adam Columbia, has been living and teaching in New York City for several years. Adam works as a teacher with Reading in Preschool, a NYC based tutoring company providing high quality early childhood education for children ages 3 to 10. For more information about working with Reading In Preschool, please contact info@readinginpreschool.com or visit www.readinginpreschool.com.