to fulfill the literacy needs of students (Doiron,
1994). Early elementary classrooms are met with the
demands of a full curriculum that lacks adequate time
to fit every desired or even required activity into daily
instruction. One of the activities often eliminated is
taking the time to read aloud to the students.
Unfortunately, this is an activity that should be one of
the last to go in the selection process. As stated in the
report of the Commission on Reading of the National
Academy of Education, “The single most important
activity for building the knowledge required for
eventual success in reading is reading aloud to
children” (Anderson, Heibert, Scott, & Wilkinson,
1985, p. 23). Reading nonfiction aloud provides a
model to students on how to interact with the texts.
The text features of nonfiction place “different
demands on the reader” compared with narrative
texts (Yopp & Yopp, 2000, p. 410). When teachers
read nonfiction texts aloud, it sparks the natural
curiosity young students possess and motivates them
to seek similar books. Another benefit can be seen by
observing the books that students choose to read
during independent reading time. Research has shown
that during independent reading time, students will
choose to read texts like those read aloud by the
teacher (Vacca et al., 2011).
Inviting others into the classroom to read is an
excellent way to incorporate nonfiction into the read
aloud curriculum. Teachers can collaborate with other
teachers in the upper grades to develop a reading
buddy activity in which the buddies in the upper
grades come to the lower-grade classroom to read.
The teacher can request that the reading buddies
alternate genres of narrative and nonfiction to ensure
the important balance. Another engaging activity is to
invite a mystery reader into the classroom to read. The
mystery reader can be the principal, a parent or other
family member, or someone from the community.
The activity can be connected to a thematic unit in
which the mystery reader selects books related to the
unit. The teacher can also give the reader free choice
with a request for a balance of narrative and
nonfiction.
Reading nonfiction aloud does not simply have to
be done by the teacher or those outside of the
classroom. Students themselves can read aloud as
well. Hurst, Scales, Frecks, and Lewis (2011)
identified a sign-up-to-read activity where students
sign up to read, select a book, practice their book,
and read to the class on their chosen day. This activity
giv