Think Aloud Strategy

Think-aloud is also known as eavesdropping on someone’s thinking.

The strategy allows teachers to verbalize aloud while reading a section aloud. 

The verbalization includes describing things they are doing as they read on the monitor.

The whole concept is used as a strategy to model how skilled readers can construct the meaning of texts and develop the skills in students.

Why Use Think-aloud?

Here are some of the reasons why teachers should use think-aloud in the class:

1. It helps students learn to monitor their thinking and improve their level of comprehension.

2. It teaches students to re-read sentences and clarify or rectify them to make sense of what they read.

3. It slows down the reading process and allows students to monitor their understanding of any text.

How to Use Think-aloud?

1. Model a strategy that can help you think as you read. Do this for the parts of the text that can be confusing to the students.

2. Introduce the assigned text and discuss the need for Think-aloud strategies. 

3. Develop a set of questions that support thinking aloud:

a. What do I know about this topic?

b. What do I think I will learn about this topic?

c. Do I understand what I just read?

d. Do I have a clear picture in my head about this information?

e. What more can I do to understand this?

f. What were the most important points in this reading?

g. What new information did I learn?

h. How does it fit in with what I already know?

4. Give the students the proper opportunity to practice the techniques and offer proper feedback for optimization

5. Demonstrate how a good reader can monitor their understanding by comprehending the sentence while reading it with clarity.

The process helps students learn to offer answers to questions as the teacher leads the class. 

Alternate Instructions for Second Language Learners

1. Students need to think aloud in small or large groups while they monitor their understanding with the help of the teachers. 

2. Ask the students to think aloud individually and compare them with the group. Ask the students to write their own pieces.

3. Complete or ask students to complete think-aloud orally, in writing, and post-it notes to improve their abilities and help them get a better understanding.