From Storytime to Thinking Time: Launching Interactive Read Alouds

In this engaging workshop, participants will explore how interactive read-alouds can transform storytime into powerful opportunities for developing early literacy skills. Teachers will learn strategies for asking purposeful questions, building vocabulary, and fostering comprehension through intentional dialogue with young learners. The session will highlight how to select quality texts and plan read-aloud experiences that connect to foundational reading standards. Participants will leave with practical tools and ideas to make every storytime a meaningful, skill-building experience for their pre-k and kindergarten students.

• Read-alouds that are primarily teacher-led storytelling instead of interactive instruction that builds student thinking.
• Limited student engagement or shallow responses due to lack of intentional teacher talk and follow-up prompts.
• Weak vocabulary growth because vocabulary is not taught explicitly or reinforced during read-alouds.
• Read-aloud text selections that don’t support discussion, vocabulary development, and comprehension goals.

1. Design and deliver an interactive read-aloud using key instructional features.
   Participants learn how to plan stopping points, guide meaning-making with intentional teacher talk, and ensure active student participation through discussion and response.
2. Use purposeful questioning and follow-up moves to deepen comprehension.
   Teachers gain strategies for asking both literal and inferential questions, placing questions before/during/after reading, and using follow-up prompts to extend student thinking and discussion.‍
3. Embed explicit vocabulary instruction that builds word knowledge and understanding.
   Participants learn to select 2–3 high-value words, provide child-friendly explanations in the moment, and reinforce vocabulary through repetition, discussion, and student use throughout the read-aloud.