Using Think-

Alouds to
Develop Reading
Comprehension
Anne Tan Choi
Plan of Talk
➔ What is Reading?
➔ How do Good
Readers Read?
➔ How do Think-Alouds
Help?
➔ How can you
incorporate Think-
Alouds in your class?
 1 - I don’t know about it

2 - I have read/heard about

Think-Alouds it

How well do you know about it? 3 - I use it in class

sometimes

4 - I am an expert at it
Reading is the process of
simultaneously extracting and
constructing meaning through
interaction and involvement
with written language.

(www.literacyworldwide.org)
Keywords:
Reading is the
Process process of
Meaning simultaneously
extracting and
Extract constructing
Construct meaning through
interaction and
involvement with
EASIER
COMPREHENSION MORE DIFFICULT
COMPREHENSION
A newspaper is better than a magazine, and on a seashore
is a better place than a street. At first it is better to run than
to walk. Also you may have to try several times. It takes
some skill but it’s easy to learn. Even young children can
enjoy it. Once successful, complications are minimal. Birds
seldom get too close, One needs lots of room. Rain soaks
in very fast. Too many people doing the same thing can also
cause problems. If there are no complications, it can be
very peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things break FLYIN
loose from it, however, you will not get a second chance.
G
KITES
The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange things into
different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending
on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due
to lack of facilities that is the next step; otherwise, you are pretty
well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to
do too few things at once than too many. In the short run, this may
not seem important but complications can easily arise.

A mistake can be expensive as well. At first, the whole procedure

will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will just become another
fact of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this
task in the immediate future, but then one can never tell. After the DOING
procedure is completed one arranges the materials into different LAUNDRY
groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places.
Eventually, they will be used once more, and the whole cycle will
have to be repeated. However, that is part of life.
Today’s Activity:
1. Read
2. Ask Questions
a. Who
b. What
c. Where
d. When
e. Why
 WHO?

In an emergent WHAT?
WHERE?

situation, the WHEN?

WHY?
intensivist performed
a pericardiocentesis to
relieve a tamponade
during a PEA arrest.
PROCESS

PRODUCT
THINK-ALOUDS
WHAT DO GOOD READERS DO?

BEFORE DURING AFTER

WHAT DO GOOD READERS DO?
Set Goals
Connect

DUR
ING
BEFORE READING REA
DIN
Recognize G
Note Text Clarify
words quickly
Structure
WHAT DO GOOD READERS DO?
Make and
Ask Questions Revise
Predictions

DUR
ING
REA
DIN
G
Use Read selectively Summarize
Background
Knowledge
WHAT DO GOOD READERS DO?
Make Create Mental
Inferences Images

DUR
ING
REA
DIN
Monitor G
Comprehension
WHAT DO GOOD READERS DO?
Reflect Summarize

AFT
ER
REA
DIN
Find additional G
information
What Good Readers Do

Ask Questions
Set Goals Visualize
Summarize
Note Text Summarize Reflect
Infer
Structure Monitor
Activate Prior Comprehension
Knowledge
WHAT DO POOR READERS DO?
Difficulty
decoding

BEFORE DURING AFTER

Lack
background Do not reflect
knowledge
 THINK-ALOUDS
● Teacher becomes model
of how good readers
work their way through
text

GET
INSIDE
TEACHER
’S MIND
THINK-ALOUDS
work:
Across text types
Across subject matters
Across grade levels
For different kinds of learners
On its own and as part of EXPLICIT
INSTRUCTION
EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION
1. EXPLAIN
2. MODEL
3. GUIDED PRACTICE
4. INDEPENDENT
PRACTICE
EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION
ExplainToday, we will be talking about a reading comprehension
strategy called Think Aloud. As the name implies, I will be
telling you my thoughts as I read through a passage. This way,
you can see how I try to understand what I am reading. You
can use this strategy every time you read, whatever you read.
That means you can use it when you are reading a passage
for English class, or for Science class, or even when you read
a book for pleasure. Thinking Aloud while you read helps you
monitor your understanding as you read, that means you get
to realize right away whether what understand what you are
reading, or what you need to do if you come across something
you don’t understand.
Wonder
by
R.J.
Palacio
EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION
2. Model
EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION
2. Model What
Says
Text Teacher’s
Script
Comprehensio
n Strategies

Why I Reading the Make

title, I am sure
Didn’t Go that I will find predictions
out why Auggie
to School has never been
to a regular
school before. I
think it’s
because of how
he looks. He
may be too
embarrassed to
When doing it in class:

Select a short
section
Select strategies
State purpose and A b ou t
:
h in k
strategies T
● Sto s
pping
Read text and model point
Str ategi
●
strategies es
fusin
● Con ts
g par
EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION
3. Guided Practice
4. Independent
Practice
S
TIP e
ovid ck!
P r
d ba d out!
fe e ha n
d e
vi
Pr o
When doing it in class:

Have students
annotate
Brainstorm cues and
strategies
Teach students to
generalize Think-Alouds for
Assessment
Reinforce with ● Background
knowledge?
follow-up ● Vocabulary
?
● Inferences?
 Keep
the end
goal in
mind.
Think-Alouds help
readers become aware
of, and take charge of
their reading.
REFERENCES:

Fisher, D., Frey, N., and Lapp, D. (2011). Coaching middle-level teachers to think aloud improves
comprehension instruction and student reading achievement. Teacher Educator, 46(3), 231-243.

Questions
Ness, M. (2014). Helping Elementary and
Teachers Comments??
to Think Aloud. Reading Horizons, 53 (2). Retrieved
from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol53/iss2/2
anne.tan.choi@gmail.com
Oster, L. (2001). Using the think-aloud for reading instruction. The Reading Teacher, 55 (1), pp. 64-
69.

Sonmez, Y., and Sulak, S. (2018). The Effect of Thinking-Aloud Strategy on the Reading
Comprehension Skills of 4th Grade Primary School Students. Universal Journal of Educational
Research 6(1): 168-172. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2018.060116

Texas Education Agency (2002). Comprehension Instruction. Retrieved from

https://buildingrti.utexas.org/sites/default/files/booklets/redbk2.pdf
Good luck!

Thank you for

listening!
Questions and Comments?

anne.tan.choi@gmail.com