Think Alouds
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?
Fine-Tuning the Technique
■ 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 finger 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.