Why reading aloud matters — and how the English curriculum brings it to life

Across Aotearoa, teachers and leaders are raising a shared concern, many students are arriving at school with limited oral language, low engagement, and little confidence as readers.

This isn’t just about student motivation; it’s about opportunity and exposure. With the dominance of digital devices displacing conversation and storytelling, the gap is growing.

We’re hearing these patterns echoed across the schools and kura we support. I thought I’d share how I respond to this challenge, drawing on research, curriculum guidance, and what we’re seeing through our structured literacy approaches PLD. Reading aloud is not just a foundational literacy practice, it’s a high-leverage strategy for building language, identity, and engagement.

Why reading aloud matters

Reading aloud might seem simple, but its impact is profound. It builds vocabulary, strengthens comprehension, and deepens attention, all through joyful, intentional encounters with language. When students hear rich, meaningful text, they begin to internalise its structure, rhythm, and vocabulary, long before they’re ready to decode independently.

Reading aloud also supports identity and belonging. Stories act as 'mirrors, windows, and doors' - reflecting students’ lives, introducing them to others’, and opening new ways of thinking. When teachers read aloud consistently and with purpose, they build reading identities, students who see themselves as readers, confident, curious, and connected to language.

This is not a new idea. The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease has long made the case that reading aloud is one of the most effective and accessible ways to accelerate literacy. His (Jim Trelease’s ) description of reading aloud as a “free oral vaccine for literacy” is more relevant than ever, especially as we focus on building oral language, increasing exposure to academic vocabulary, and fostering reading for pleasure.

The diagram above is derived from many images based on the connection between receptive and expressive language. It illustrates how listening vocabulary, developed through exposure to rich oral language and having opportunities to listen to stories forms the foundation for expressive language. The larger and more language-rich the listening “reservoir,” the more capacity students have to draw on it when speaking, reading, and writing.

This is what makes reading aloud such a high-leverage strategy, it fills the well of language, especially for students who may not encounter this vocabulary in everyday conversation.

What the refreshed English curriculum says

I’ve heard from a few teachers who were worried that reading aloud was wasting classroom learning time. My response – if the books read are well-selected and used, you are maximising learning.

If you needed a reason, encouragement, endorsement or permission to spend more time reading great books to your students, look no further than the English learning area of the refreshed curriculum. Working with texts is at the core of English. The refreshed English learning area is weighted heavily towards use of high-quality literature. It encourages teachers to dive into books with confidence, intentionality and pleasure. The refreshed English learning area in The New Zealand Curriculum (2024) makes it clear: reading aloud is not just good practice — it’s a curriculum-aligned expectation.

The Understand–Know–Do framework outlines five big ideas in English. One of these, under Understand, is that “stories are a source of joy and nourishment.” That statement alone is a powerful call to action. It reflects a shift from seeing reading aloud as an optional extra, to recognising it as a meaningful, identity-affirming, and high-impact instructional approach.

This idea is reinforced across the phases of the curriculum, with a strong emphasis on learners encountering texts that reflect their identities, cultures, and interests. Reading aloud ensures that all students — regardless of reading ability — have access to those rich, resonant texts. Reading aloud supports the intent of every phase — not just the early years.

The Know component points to the importance of understanding text purposes, audiences, and ideas within and beyond texts. The Do component asks students to read for pleasure, both independently and by being read to.

Teachers are also encouraged to select texts with clear intent, based on what they know about their learners. For example:

This is a clear endorsement of reading aloud, not just as a way to hook students into books, but as a structured, deliberate, and valued part of teaching.

Reading aloud as a structured literacy strategy

Reading aloud is not just a bridge to reading for pleasure, it’s a core component of structured literacy. It strengthens the foundations that all other aspects of literacy build on: oral language, listening vocabulary, and comprehension.

When we read aloud to students, we give them access to vocabulary and ideas they may not yet be able to read independently, but can understand, discuss, and learn from. That exposure matters. Students can’t read words they’ve never heard before, and they can’t write words they don’t know how to say.

As shown earlier, listening vocabulary (a receptive skill) feeds directly into speaking, reading, and writing vocabulary (expressive skills). Reading aloud helps fill that well of language, giving students the words, structures, and ideas they’ll later use with confidence.

This is why reading aloud features so prominently in the structured literacy approaches PLD we deliver. It is deeply aligned to The New Zealand Curriculum (2024) and gives teachers a powerful, accessible way to accelerate progress, particularly for learners who need the most support.

How to build a reading culture in your classroom and school

Looking to bring the refreshed English learning area to life? Here are 11 practical ways to embed reading aloud as a daily, intentional practice, grounded in research, aligned with the curriculum, and proven to build student success.

1. Model joyful reading
Read aloud with expression, energy, and care. Use pace, tone, and rhythm to help students experience the pleasure and power of language.

2. Create a text-rich environment
Surround students with high-quality books across genres. Display student recommendations, highlight favourites, and make books visible, valued, and accessible.

3. Know your learners
Use what you know about your students’ interests, whānau, cultures, and experiences to select texts that reflect and extend their identities.

4. Select diverse, high-quality read-alouds
Choose texts that represent a range of voices, including stories from Aotearoa New Zealand, books with kupu Māori, Pacific literature, and global texts.

5. Plan for intentional teaching
Use read-alouds as ‘mirrors, windows, and doors’. Connect them to your learning goals, language focus, or text structure objectives.

'Children need books that are mirrors  that allow them to see themselves and their own experiences, windows  that they can look through to see other worlds, and sliding glass doors  that allow them to “walk through in imagination” to other worlds.' (Rudine Sims Bishop, 1990).

6. Identify vocabulary and knowledge gaps
Preview texts to spot potential barriers. Think aloud, clarify meaning, and teach key concepts to build understanding and oral language.

7. Frontload rich vocabulary
Select sophisticated, academic words to pre-teach. Use student-friendly definitions and revisit new words during and after reading.

8. Protect read-aloud time
Make it part of your daily practice. Even 5–15 minutes a day creates space for listening, imagining, questioning, and shared enjoyment.

9. Build community partnerships
Invite whānau, school leaders, and local authors to read aloud. Consider Little Libraries or book swap initiatives that promote shared reading.

10. Champion the rights of readers
Share the International Literacy Association’s Children’s Rights to Read with colleagues and whānau. Advocate for every learner’s right to be read to and with.

11. Explore professional resources
Deepen your knowledge with trusted sources — starting with The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease and the curated list of resources below.

Recommended resources

I’ve included a selection of trusted resources that support reading aloud as a deliberate, curriculum-aligned teaching practice. They offer a mix of practical strategies, theoretical grounding, and examples you can explore further.

• The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
  A foundational text that reframes reading aloud as an intentional act of teaching — rich in examples, research, and practical advice.

• Children’s Rights to Read – Advocacy Manual (2024 Edition) - International Literacy Association
  A practical guide to embedding children’s rights to reading access, support, and enjoyment across classroom and school practice.

• The National Library of New Zealand
  A widely used resource that supports teachers to access high-quality texts and tools.

• Reading for Pleasure – The Open University
  A UK-based site with research, book recommendations, and teacher resources focused on building student motivation and engagement through reading for pleasure.

Ready to strengthen your school’s approach to reading?

Reading aloud isn’t an extra, it’s a powerful, research-informed strategy that builds vocabulary, identity, engagement, and achievement. It’s also a key element of the Structured Literacy Approaches PLD we deliver.

If your school or kura is working to align with the refreshed English learning area of The New Zealand Curriculum (2024), we can support you to embed practices that are purposeful, text-rich, and grounded in what works.

Talk to us about structured literacy approaches PLD.
We’d love to support your team to grow confident, capable, and connected readers.

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About Janet

Janet has been working as a facilitator in schools to shift their classroom practice to accelerate learning for close to a decade. She is a long-time advocate for a rich, robust approach to literacy teaching and learning in primary and intermediate classrooms. Janet is an accredited Ministry of Education structured literacy approaches facilitator. She supports schools in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato to grow teacher confidence and capability in embedding the refreshed English learning area. She is an avid reader herself and advocates strongly for ākonga to experience high-quality literacy learning.

For support amplifying the magic in your setting contact Janet today

Contact Janet McCarroll