Use visual and verbal cues to show when you are reading versus when you are thinking to yourself. Exaggerate if you have to: Point to your temple, stroke your chin, or look to the distance to show that you are thinking. Track the text with your fi nger to show that you are reading.
Ask questions of yourself as part of your Think Aloud. When you read a word that you do not know, for instance, your mind asks a series of questions: “I wonder what that word means? Are there any little words that I recognize within the larger word? Can I tell anything from the context of the sentence?” Your mind sifts through these options so quickly that you might not even be aware of them, but these are exactly the kinds of questions you want to bring to light. By modeling your own thinking process, you the teach students how to think.
Think Alouds are particularly useful for modeling good reading strategies (clarifying, summarizing, predicting, and questioning). They are also effective for modeling in the content areas. For example, you can model how to
complete a science lab, reason out a math problem, or interpret a play. How else might you use Think Alouds in reading and the content areas?
Don’t leave learning to chance! Set the stage for the Think Aloud so the students know exactly what to look and listen for, and debrief the Think Aloud afterward to draw the students’ attention explicitly to the most important details.
The most effective Think Alouds sound spontaneous but are actually carefully planned—or even scripted—ahead of time. Identify the skill or process you want to model, and decide which elements to highlight. How can you break the skill or process down into manageable bits? What are the students most likely to struggle with? What opportunities will they have to practice on their own or with teammates? By planning ahead and anticipating student needs, you can create a more effective learning experience.
