It is easy for intermediate students to get the wrong ideas about the purpose of reading. Educators pay so much attention to decoding and fluency in the early years that children sometimes come to believe that flawless and rapid word recognition is the point. As texts get more demanding or unfamiliar, some of the "good readers" in classes begin to…

Ten reasons that teachers should read aloud to students in the upper elementary grades are given. Suggestions for choosing books that will be suitable for oral reading are included. (PP)