ASHLEY MAYNARD

SCIENCE SPECIAL IZATION

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON

Do teacher read alouds promote understanding and interest of science concepts

in first grade students?

IntroductionThe purpose of this research was to determine if

a teacher read aloud is an effective way to increase understanding and interest in science concepts. By using fun books to introduce science concepts, I hoped to grab the students’ attention and get them engaged in learning about a new science topic. I chose to use age appropriate informational books for these read alouds in the hopes that more complex science concepts would be explained in an easy, relatable way.

What is a read aloud?

According to The Elementary Science Integration Projects, “a

read aloud is a planned oral reading of a book or print excerpt, usually related to a theme or topic

of study.”

(The Elementary Science Integration Projects, 2011)

Methodology Participants:

10 students picked at random from a 1st grade class of 19 students

Students ranged in age from 6-7 at time of study

Have experience with read alouds, but not when specifically related to a content area

Gender, race, and other identifying characteristics were not important to the study

Methodology Materials: All Around the Seasons by Barney

Saltzberg, Why Do Bears Sleep All Winter? A Book about Hibernation by Mary Englar, and Why Do Geese Fly South in Winter? A Book about Migration by Kathy Allen

Methodology Procedure:

Week 1(2 days)

Day 1: Pre-test, read aloud, post-testDay 2: Illustration

Week 2(2 days)

Day 1: Pre-test, read aloud, post-testDay 2: Illustration

Week 3(2 days)

Day 1: Pre-test, read aloud, post testDay 2: Illustration and individual interviews

Results

Students gained knowledge of new science concepts overall.

Prior knowledge and personal experience affected results negatively.

Results became stronger with each data collection.

Results-1st Set of Questions

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10 students received full credit in pre-test

9 students received full credit in post-test

Results-2nd Set of Questions

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2 students received full credit in pre-test

5 students received full credit in post-test with 6/10 students having an increased post-test score

Results-3rd Set of Questions

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1 student received full credit in pre-testand 7/10 students received NO credit

7 students received full credit in post-test and9/10 students had improved scores in post test

Why do you think animals might hibernate? “Because if there is something it doesn’t like or if it’s

scared.” “I don’t know, I just know they hibernate.”

Why do you think animals might migrate? “I don’t know.” “Because they don’t get cold because they have a lot

of fur.”

Examples of student answers before the read aloud

“Because it is too cold and they would get no food, so they eat food and store fat to sleep all winter.”

“Because they are going to their other habitat that is warmer.”

ResultsStudents as a whole reported enjoying the

read alouds but had issues with the selected books.

“They were cool.”“They were fun! They were my favorite

part of the day. Well, except for recess.”

“Sometimes. I was bored some though.”“The books were so long!”

ConclusionsRead alouds have the capability to improve a

student’s understanding of new science concepts.

Read alouds can make science more engaging and interesting.

Future research looking at read alouds in other content areas could be beneficial.

Questions?

References

Brassell, D. (2007). Inspiring young scientists with great books. The Reading Teacher, 60(4), 336-342.

Braun, P. (2010). Taking the time to read aloud. Science Scope, 34(2), 45-49.

Delo, L. (2008). Reading aloud: Integrating science and literature for

all students. The Science Teacher, 75(5), 33-37.

Department of Education. (2011) Read alouds. The Elementary Science Integration Projects. Retrieved from

www.esiponline.org.

Heisey, N., & Kucan, L. (2010). Introducing science concepts to primary students through read-alouds: Interactions

and multiple texts make the difference. The Reading Teacher, 63(8), 666-676.

McCormick, M.K., & McTigue, E.M. (2011). Teacher read-alouds make science come alive. Science Scope, 34(5),

45-49.

Millares, M.D. (2012). Attention span in the 5-to-7 year old music student. American Music Teacher, 61(5), 20-24.