I am going to begin my practicum in a kindergarten class. My cooperating teacher wants me to read aloud the first day I am there as a way for the students to get to know me, so I won't be able to observe how she does it first.

When I read aloud to the students do I just read all the way through the book? Or should I be stopping and asking questions, asking the students to make predictions, etc.?
Any other hints?

Thanks

[Garden Gal]

Here is a link with several suggestions

http://www.literacyconnections.com/ReadingAloud.php

What you do will depend on the book, the students, and your purpose for reading. Some dialog about the book is almost always warranted.

[Bama Girl]

I don't always do this but a lot of the time I show the cover of the book and ask the children to make predictions about what this story might be about. We discuss whether or not they think that it is a make believe story, or a real story and why do they think that. Sometimes I tell them specific things that I want them to listen for and at the end of the story I ask questions about them. We always check to see if our predictions were correct when I finish reading the book. Probably not a good thing to do this first time you're reading aloud, but here's an interesting thing to do down the road-cover the book (a big book works best) with opaque bulletin board paper. Tear a section away and ask the children what they see and what they think the book's about. Continue tearing from all around-it really gets them focused and interested in the book. If you get to pick the book, you could pick one that has a little object in it that you could give each child. Ex-Henny Penny-you could give each child an acorn. The first time I ever read aloud, I read a story about a peacock and I gave each child a peacock feather to take home. Good luck!

[Yaz]

I would ask your cooperating teacher what she thinks. I am also doing a pre-practicum in a kindergarten classroom right now. The first teaching I did in September was a read aloud. My teacher did not give me any instructions, so I just prepared for it the way I did for my previous practicum in a preschool. I had an intro for the beginning, a question for the middle, and a question for the end. But when I got to school that day, my teacher said we did not have enough time for the question in the middle or the question afterward. I cut them both. I also realized later when I tried to do a discussion for another book at the end that the children do not normally do that with her, so they really had trouble with her.
I would ask her what she suggests, because she knows what the children are used to and are capable of, as well as what she wants.

[acorn]

In my first grade, I have 5th graders coming to my room a couple days to read aloud. It is amazing to see reading growth of the older students. No real training for these students but they all have their own style. Some stop intermittantly and ask questions -- others read straight thru some use their talent of changing voices as they read. My students find it captivating just to have the older students reading.
Good luck