Library Development
Contact:
South Dakota State Library
MacKay Building
800 Governors Dr.
Pierre, SD 57501
1-605-773-3131
1-605-773-6962 (FAX)
1-800-423-6665
(SD Only)
Hours: Mon-Fri
8 am - 5 pm CT
7 am - 4 pm MT
Children's & Youth Services | How To Read Aloud To A Classroom Of Children
How To Read Aloud To A Classroom Of Children
Also Available in a Printable PDF 
- Choose a story that you like and are comfortable with. Children can tell when you are having fun reading a story.
- Choose a book that is large enough in size to share with a group. Smaller sized books are appropriate to share one-on-one with a child, but not with a larger group. Your local public librarian can be a great source for book suggestions.
- Choose a book that has large, bright and colorful illustrations that complement and relate to the story.
- Read the story silently to yourself several times before reading it out loud to a group of children. Practice reading it out loud to yourself first. Look for spots in the story where you can ask kids to join you. (i.e. Perhaps the story has a repetitive refrain that the children could join you in saying).
- Hold the book out to the side as you read it, and slowly move the illustrations across in front of the kids.
- Don't rush through the reading experience. Rather invite the kids to comment on the story and its illustrations as you read it.
- Vary your voice volume and tone throughout the story. Use character voices if you are comfortable doing so.
- Use fingerplays and rhymes to break up the storytelling experience into smaller segments.
- Visit your local library and watch a story hour in order to get ideas for your own storytime programs. Or invite the librarian to your Head Start Center to do a storytime.
- Choose a time to do storytime when the children are relaxed and ready to listen. (i.e. Right before naptime is a great time for storytime).
Sources:
“A Library Head Start to Literacy: The Resource Notebook for the Library-Museum-Head Start Partnership” By Virginia H. Mathews and Susan Roman. Published by the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, 1999.
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Contact:
Jasmine Rockwell
Children's & Young Adult Services Coordinator
605-773-5066
605-773-3131, Option 5, 1
Mary G. Johnson
School Library Coordinator, East River
605-295-3173
605-773-3131, Option 5, 3
Joan Upell
School Library Coordinator, West River
605-295-3152
605-773-3131, Option 5, 3
