Our current first grade read aloud, The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks, is quickly becoming a class favorite.  Read aloud models the natural phrasing in our language that helps to build reading fluency, and reading fluency builds reading comprehension.  Through read aloud, first graders discuss story elements including main characters, secondary characters, setting, and plot.  While factual recall is important, students are also asked to think critically about the story as we read. One way this is accomplished is by making connections.  Students are asked to make self to text connections, or connecting the book to their own life experience, text to text connections, or connecting the book to other literature they have read, and text to world connections, or connecting the book to universal concepts.  Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension by Judith Gold and Akimi Gibson highlights the importance of reading aloud.