Running Out of Time: Rushed Read-Alouds in a Primary Classroom

In this study conducted in a multiethnic, primary grade classroom, Copenhaver explores the consequences for children and teachers when a scripted literacy program eliminates time for thoughtful and meaningful responses to literature during read-aloud time. She notes that the shift from an authentic conversational form to a initiate-response-evaluation (I-R-E) format significantly limited the responses of all children, but the greatest effect was on children who did not fit the I-R-E sequence. Those “marginalized” students were more likely to have their responses invalidated by their teacher and less likely to be engaged in the activity. She charges readers to resist the rushed culture of today’s schools and to make read-aloud time a place for inquiry.