How Do We Make Readers Audible in a Thinking-First Classroom?

In KnowAtom classrooms, nonfiction reading is not something students do alone. It is a shared encounter with a phenomenon, guided by the teacher and grounded in images, talk, and collective meaning-making.Still, many teachers feel pressure to “see” comprehension through written responses, fluent oral reading, or finished annotations. When students struggle with writing, decoding, or academic language, it can appear as though understanding is missing.

Master teachers know this is rarely the case.

The challenge is not whether students are thinking during reading. It is whether classroom routines allow teachers to hear that thinking. In a thinking-first classroom, comprehension must become audible long before it ever becomes written.

This article explores what it means to make readers audible within KnowAtom’s nonfiction reading routines, why silence is not a reliable indicator of understanding, and how Picture Thinking and Wows and Wonders surface student thinking in ways that support all learners, including English learners.

What it means to make reading audible

To make reading audible is to design nonfiction reading as a social sensemaking process. Students externalize meaning as they construct it by talking about images, responding to text read aloud, and reflecting on how their ideas change.

In KnowAtom lessons, nonfiction reading comes first because it introduces the phenomenon and establishes shared reference points. Students are not expected to extract meaning independently. Instead, teachers facilitate observation, inference, and revision so that ideas emerge publicly and can be built on together.

Research on visible thinking emphasizes that understanding develops through interaction and dialogue, not silent absorption (Ritchhart, 2015). When students articulate partial ideas, uncertainties, and shifts in thinking, teachers gain formative insight while students deepen comprehension.

Why silence does not equal understanding

Quiet classrooms can look productive, but silence during reading tells teachers very little about what students understand. Some students listen attentively but hesitate to speak. Others may nod along while holding misconceptions. English learners, in particular, may process ideas deeply while still developing the language to express them conventionally.

In KnowAtom classrooms, listening without speaking is not the goal. Shared sensemaking is.

Cognitive and sociocultural research consistently shows that comprehension improves when learners talk about ideas as they encounter them, especially when talk is structured around observation, reasoning, and revision rather than recall (Fisher, Frey, & Hattie, 2016).

KnowAtom’s nonfiction reading routines are designed to make thinking audible without requiring independent reading or written output.

Tools for making thinking visible during reading

(within KnowAtom’s shared reading routines)

In KnowAtom classrooms, students do not read nonfiction silently on their own during the lesson routine. Reading is facilitated by the teacher and supported by two core routines: Picture Thinking (Grades 2–8) and Wows and Wonders (Grades K–1). These routines are the tools that make comprehension visible and audible.

Picture Thinking as audible comprehension (Grades 2–8)

Picture Thinking surfaces student thinking before text is read. Students closely observe images in the reader and publicly infer what the text might explain. This invites intellectual risk-taking and makes early ideas available for revision.

Teachers listen for:

• What students notice in images (objects, actions, properties)
• The claims students make based on visual evidence
• How students revise their thinking after hearing the text read aloud

Grades 3–5 example:
In Water on Earth (Grade 5), students examine an image of ocean currents. One student notices arrows moving across the water and suggests they show “where water goes.” Another wonders whether the arrows represent heat. After the teacher reads the text aloud, students revisit the image and explain how their thinking changed. The teacher hears conceptual understanding forming through comparison and revision.

Grades 6–8 example:
In Forests (Grade 6), students analyze images of tree rings before the teacher reads about drought and resource availability. Students initially infer that thicker rings always mean healthier trees. After the reading, they revise this idea, explaining how environmental conditions affect growth. This reflection gives the teacher immediate insight into student understanding before investigation begins.

This process aligns with research showing that learning deepens when students publicly revise ideas in response to evidence (Ritchhart, Church, & Morrison, 2011).

Wows and Wonders as thinking signals (Grades K–1)

For younger students, Wows and Wonders replaces formal annotation with oral noticing and curiosity. Students listen to the text read aloud and share moments that surprise them or make them wonder.

These contributions are not tangents. They are signals that students are actively constructing meaning.

Teachers listen for:

• What students find surprising or important
• What questions they want to figure out next
• How ideas connect to students’ lived experiences

Kindergarten example:
In Living Things Change, students observe the cover image and share “wows” about animals they recognize (“That frog is so small!” “I see a bird nest!”). As the teacher reads aloud, students wonder where animals sleep, where they go when it rains, or how a tiny seed becomes a big plant. These ideas are recorded and later revisited during investigation.

Grade 1 example:
In Changing Seasons, students listen as the teacher reads and share “wows” about changes in daylight, noticing that it gets darker earlier. As they listen, students wonder why temperatures change and why the Sun seems to be out for less time. The teacher uses these ideas to guide discussion and connect back to the phenomenon.

Research shows that curiosity-driven talk supports comprehension and language development, especially for English learners (Gibbons, 2015).

Clarifying reflection: “How has our thinking changed?”

Both Picture Thinking and Wows and Wonders include a built-in clarifying reflection after text is read aloud. Teachers pause and ask students to reflect on how their ideas have shifted.

This question:

• Normalizes uncertainty and revision
• Surfaces misconceptions safely
• Provides immediate formative insight

Across grade levels, this reflection functions as formative assessment without stopping the lesson or introducing a separate evaluation moment. Teachers listen, press thinking when appropriate, and carry student ideas forward into Socratic dialogue and investigation.

This reflects KnowAtom’s view of discourse as the bridge between reading and scientific sensemaking - How do I help students prepare for a scientific discourse, sometimes called a Socratic dialogue?

Supporting students who process verbally or visually

Not all students process information through text. Many build understanding through images, gestures, and spoken language. KnowAtom’s nonfiction reading routines intentionally honor these pathways.

Picture Thinking legitimizes visual reasoning. Wows and Wonders values curiosity and oral expression. Together, they ensure that students can participate fully in sensemaking even when written language is still developing.

For English learners, this is not an accommodation. It is strong instruction. Research consistently shows that oral language and visual supports accelerate both conceptual understanding and academic language development (Gibbons, 2015).

Writing comes later, once ideas are stable and shared.

This stance aligns with KnowAtom’s approach to supporting English learners through scientific discourse - How Do English Learners Use Talk, Images, and Movement to Build Scientific Understanding?

What teachers should listen for

When reading is audible, teachers notice:

• Students referencing images and ideas introduced earlier
• Ideas being revised publicly
• Increased participation from students who write less
• Conceptual language emerging naturally before formal vocabulary

These moments signal that nonfiction reading has done its job. It has prepared students to enter investigation, modeling, and argumentation with shared understanding.

Reading as the first investigation

In a thinking-first classroom, nonfiction reading is not preparation for learning. It is learning.

When teachers design reading as a shared, audible process, they hear comprehension as it forms. Students are positioned as thinkers who observe, infer, revise, and wonder together.

This is why KnowAtom reading routines come first. They ensure that when students investigate the phenomenon, they do so with ideas already in motion.

References

• Fisher, D., Frey, N., & Hattie, J. (2016). Visible learning for literacy. Corwin.

• Gibbons, P. (2015). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning. Heinemann.

• Ritchhart, R. (2015). Creating cultures of thinking. Jossey-Bass.

• Ritchhart, R., Church, M., & Morrison, K. (2011). Making thinking visible. Jossey-Bass.