Annotated Table of Contents: Reading Aloud

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Five: Literature

Chapter 21. Reading Aloud: Why is reading aloud to students of all ages important? How can students learn to read effectively? I don't care how old students are; they love to be read to. In my first year of teaching, I discovered the power of reading aloud to my high school students. I actually discovered it because I had given a fairly smart class Poe's short story, "The Pit and the Pendulum" to read silently. I remembered reading "The Pit and the Pendulum" when I was in high school and Poe's description of the prisoner's experience was so vivid that I had almost lived the experience of the prisoner myself. Therefore, I was surprised when my students finished reading it with glazed eyes and a definite air of boredom. What was wrong?