By reading books out loud every day, teachers introduce students to higher-level texts and new vocabulary, while modeling deeper thinking and strong discussion skills.

In Brooklyn, an elementary school called P.S. 249, the Caton School, has a 15-20-minute block of daily read-aloud time in every classroom, kindergarten through 5th grade. Teachers select a book that’s just above their students’ reading level—and related to the current unit of study in social studies or English Language Arts—and read it to their class. But this is no typical read aloud. All along the way, the teachers model good reading skills, as well as how to think critically and analyze text.