In Video 1 Rick Kleine models for his students how their initial theories of

character traits can change over time by reading a short book aloud. The kids
are engaged throughout the reading session by Rick spontaneously asking them
to discuss among themselves the issues in the story such as what is going to
happen next and the characters in the story in between the reading activity.
The class participation makes the activity become alive and interesting. By
doing these activities will help inspire them for a life-long love of reading
Rick uses several strategies with his students to engage them into the story. He
pauses and allows them to choose a partner to discuss what may be happening
in the book. This is a wonderful idea because it actually lets the children think
aloud and think ahead to what may or may not happen. This strategy seemed to
work very well for Rick and the children were glued to see if their own theories
were correct or not. Think aloud is an effective way to maintain students focus
in the reading session. The think-aloud strategy asks students to say out loud
what they are thinking about when reading, solving math problems, or simply
responding to questions posed by teachers or other students. Effective teachers
think out loud on a regular basis to model this process for students. In this way,
they demonstrate practical ways of approaching difficult problems while
bringing to the surface the complex thinking processes that underlie reading
comprehension, mathematical problem solving, and other cognitively
demanding tasks.
Rick does a wonderful job of reading this book aloud to his students. Not only is
he clear and concise, he pauses frequently to talk about what is going on on
each page. He also leaves ideas up for discussion for the students to really think
about what is actually happening. The think aloud model is a great way to
engage the students and get them to dive into the story and make their own
conclusions
Thinking out loud is an excellent way to teach how to estimate the number of
people in a crowd, revise a paper for a specific audience, predict the outcome of
a scientific experiment, use a key to decipher a map, access prior knowledge
before reading a new passage, monitor comprehension while reading a difficult
textbook, and so on. Getting students into the habit of thinking out loud
enriches classroom discourse and gives teachers an important assessment and
diagnostic tool.

I really enjoyed watching Mr. Kleine teach. His curiosity and enthusiasm for the
story were contagious. I liked the anchor chart, featuring character traits they
had already touched upon. An anchor chart is a tool used largely to support
instruction and to move the student towards achieving success with lessons
taught in class. They are also used as a classroom management tool for
students to self-monitor their behavior by gently reminding them of
expectations and routines.
Anchor charts are created during the instruction of the lesson. As the teacher
models the lesson or strategy, the lesson reinforcement or strategy tool is
written on chart paper. Once the lesson is complete, the chart is placed in a
convenient student-friendly location that the students can access it
independently. This is another vehicle for academic support, especially for the
visual learner. The beauty of an anchor chart is that it can be displayed as
needed or determined by the student work. Some anchor charts live all year
long in the classroom, while others are only displayed during the current unit of
study. By using the anchor chart in his reading session, the lesson built on the
idea of finding those traits ... something adult readers may take for granted. Mr.
Kleine did a wonderful job of thinking aloud and showing the students exactly
how he arrived at his "theories" about the characters. Furthermore, he provided
the students with an opportunity to turn and talk to share their thoughts. I like
how he summarizes the conversations for them, using, as he says, more
academic language. It is true that you lose time and focus when too many
students share to the whole class.
Examples of anchor charts:

How to Visualize Anchor Chart

Fluent Readers Anchor Chart

During the turn and talk segment of the theory change the students were having
Rick went and listened to the students so that there was no down time while
students share out to the group. That is a great use of instructional time. Rick
used questioning strategies a lot in order to get the students to participate
actively in the session. Through the use of questioning, children understand
the text on a deeper level because questions clarify confusion and stimulate
further interest in a topic. Through questioning, children are able to wonder
about content and concepts before, during and after reading by constructing
meaning, enhancing meaning, finding answers, , solving problems, finding
specific information, acquiring a body of information, discovering new
information, propelling research efforts and clarifying confusion. (Strategies that
Work, 2000, p.22)
We could help our students use this strategy by model questioning in our own
rereading, ask "I wonder" questions (open-ended) or ask students to come up
with questions before reading to see if it's answered in the text, keep track of
questions verbally or in an informal question log, stop and predict what will
happen next or discuss what questions you still have after reading.
In addition to what was already identified above, this is a great example of a
think aloud - clear and concise communication by Rick. He reminds us that while
there are many things to notice while we're reading (and students certainly
notice many different things), sticking to your learning target while you are
thinking aloud and setting up partner talk is the key to good learning.

You can tell how engaged his students were during this lesson in so many ways.
They were anxious to share their thinking almost before he asked them too.
When the plot changed, you could see the surprise/questions on his students
faces. He truly made this story come alive for his students by changing his
expressions throughout the session in accordance to the flow of the story.
There are a few rules to abide to when practicing expressive reading.
(1) They change pitch. Expressive readers make their voices go up and down.
They go up at the beginning of a sentence and down at the end (up slightly if it
ends with a question mark). They also go up and down to differentiate the words
of a speaker (often high in pitch) from those of the narrator (usually lower).
Changes in pitch often help readers understand where different ideas begin and
end.
(2) They change rhythm. Expressive readers speed up and slow down when they
read. They also take appropriate pausesbig ones at the end of a sentence,
smaller ones in between, after commas, and also at logical points like phrase
and clause boundaries. Changes in rhythm often help readers understand how
small parts of sentences combine to create a complete thought.
(3) They change volume. Expressive readers say some words louder than others.
In general, little words are said softer than more important words. Changes in
volume are often used to create emphasis.
(4) They change tone. Sometimes readers use a soft, warm voice; sometimes
their voice is cold and hard. They do this to communicate different feelingssoft
and warm usually means nice, calm, or even sad; hard and cold can mean scary,
angry, or excited.

Of course, some of the most interesting things happen when readers break
these rules in ways that add meaning to the text. By doing something different
than what others may expect, in the context of doing other things more
conventionally, a reader can give unusual emphasis to important parts when
reading aloud.
This video beautifully illustrates that a read aloud lesson isn't just a read aloud.
In the hand of a skilled teacher (like Mr. Kleine), a story comes alive right before
the students' eyes. A skilled teacher asks the right questions, shares his/her
thinking, gets the students to share their own thinking and "change" as the story
changes. I felt the energy and the anticipation of the students as Mr. Kleine read
the story. Rick in his reading session was able to brilliantly visualize the story
that the students were able to imagine the characters and the scenarios in the
story.

Visualizing is when children create pictures in their minds and visualizations

when they read. The reader uses the text material and their own priorknowledge
to create their own mind pictures of what is happening in the text."Visualizing
personalizes reading, keeps us engaged and often prevents us fromabandoning
a book." (Strategies that Work, 2000, p.97). we could help our students
visualize while reading by share wordless picture books with the students and
have your student tell the story or make frequent stops while reading aloud to
describe the pictures in your minds or after reading time ask your students to
draw what they see in their mind.
At the end of his lesson Rick says, "If I can get kids excited about reading, the
rest will take care of itself". His lesson was powerful and rich for kids as we see
by their wide-eyed faces while Rick is reading the story. Rick's mastery of
thinking out loud was the true teaching of the lesson. This video reminds me
how much kids like to be entertained and that by getting the teaching in when
they are truly enjoying good literature will make them remember not just the
story, but the process of making connections, in this case making theories and
then justifying those theories. This was an example of a natural performance
and the students were able to be a part of it.
Making connection is a process where children connect their background
knowledge to the text they are reading. Readers comprehend better when they
actively think about and apply their knowledge of the book's topic, their own
experiences, and the world around them. When children understand how to
connect the text they are reading to their lives, they begin to make connections
between what they read and the larger world. This nudges them into thinking
about bigger, more expansive issues beyond their universe of home, school and
neighborhood. To help the students make connections while they are reading,
the teacher could ask him/her questions such as what does the book remind
them of or what do they know about the books topic or does the book remind
them of another book they have read before etc.