Think Aloud Reflective Summary

     The book I chose to do my think aloud on Little Louie the Baby Bloomer by Robert Kraus. I was actually able to do the think aloud with the same student I did my miscue with so she was already used to working one on one with me. I introduced the idea of think aloud as just saying what you are thinking in your head about the reading and dove right in from there!
     I approached my think aloud with a Talk-Through strategy, the student and I took turns reading aloud as we worked through the story. I would pause occasionally and share my own think aloud and encourage her to share hers as well. As we picked up speed the gradual release of responsibility began to kick in and by the end of the book I had to cut her off at certain points to get a word in! As we have learned in class through many of our readings, this release of responsibility will provide the best conditions for maximum comprehension and efficiency in reading. The book mentioned on our Think Aloud handout is where I got my strategy for the think aloud from. Out of the many choices I think that venue was the most efficient for the first grade level.
     Doing a think aloud with a first grade student revealed some incredible insights about how children of that age draw connections and piece literacy together. As we decided which of the many think aloud events we should record on the worksheet (above) I reminded her to choose an event that you can relate to and will help you remember the story better. She chose to record when Leo is trying to teach Louie how to do various things, specifically throw a ball. She related the illustration to how Tom and Jerry cartoons look, since the ball bounces off Leo's head. I asked her how this helps her remember and she told me that first Louie couldn't do anything, then he could do everything. She knew those parts so this think aloud reminds her of a part in the book that was more of a challenge to remember for her.
     Her rationale and explanation of this lines up exactly with the Miller text. Making meaning will help students retain the most information and improve retelling, since she made meaning of a part that she felt was a little harder to remember she is doing exactly what all readers should do whether she knows it or not!
     My think aloud experience also relates to the Tovani text in that the relation between text and real world context, Tom and Jerry, is one of the most powerful connection a reader can make. From my student I learned how think alouds really engage the student and having the ability to say your thoughts whenever during the story sometimes overexcites them. My student loved being able to say what she was thinking, which sometimes got us a little off track and was a little challenging to refocus her on the reading. Think alouds are definitely something I will use in my future classroom since they promote creativity, higher order thinking, drawing connections to the real world, and are practical in any subject area.


-Tovani's text
-Miller's text
-http://www.amazon.com/Improving-Comprehension-Think-Aloud-Strategies-Modeling/dp/0439218594/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1394401128&sr=8-3&keywords=think+aloud+books