"[Reading aloud] is the single most important activity for reading success (Bredekamp, Copple, & Neuman, 2000). It provides children with a demonstration of phrased, fluent reading (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). Reading aloud stimulates brain activity, promotes emergent literacy skills, such as letter recognition, and advances comprehension levels. It also fosters listening and attention skills, builds self-esteem and empathy, and forms interpersonal bonds between the reader and listener(s). Even for older students, reading aloud remains a key strategy for literacy instruction.
Children can listen on a higher language level than they can read, so reading aloud makes complex ideas more accessible and exposes children to new vocabulary and language patterns. This, in turn, helps them understand the structure of books when they read independently (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). It exposes less able readers to the same rich and engaging books that fluent readers read on their own, and entices them to become better readers." (Willner, 2023)
