Purpose

Learning is all about thinking, and thinking takes place in the head—which means that without explicit instruction in the internal strategies and processes that thinkers use, students might never understand how to take control of their own learning. To become strategic readers and effective thinkers, students need to see how other people think
and read. They need to hear you think aloud.

Breaking it Down

Think Alouds give voice to your mental processes. They are a play-by-play description of what is going on in your head, and they help the students become more metacognitive—to think about their own thinking. To use a Think Aloud:

• Be clear about what you are modeling—for example, “Remember, we’re working on using context clues. I’m going to show you what I do when I read. You will hear me stop and think aloud when I come across a word I don’t know.”
• During the Think Aloud, do not interact with the students. Pretend that you are alone in the room and have the unusual habit of verbalizing your every thought. For instance, if you are modeling context clues, begin reading a short passage aloud. Stumble over the meaning of a word, stop yourself, and ponder out loud: “Hmm. That’s a word I don’t recognize. I wonder if there are any other words that might give it away, or if I can tell what it means by looking at the sentence before or after.” Search through the text aloud, giving voice to your thoughts, until you have fi gured out the word.
• When you have fi nished thinking aloud, discuss the strategy that you modeled (in this case, using context clues): How did the strategy work? When should the students use it? How will it help them?