This Critical Thinking Interactive Read Aloud of Little Melba and Her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown provides the thought-provoking questions, essential to every interactive read aloud. Your students will soon be in deep discussions, ranging from plot analysis to author’s message exploration.

Download the Interactive Read Aloud of Little Melba and Her Big Trombone now!

Interactive read alouds are an important component of a balanced literacy classroom. Research proves the value of reading aloud to students of all ages, and shows that students benefit from being read aloud to several times throughout the week. Thoughtful planning of an interactive read aloud is critical for its success. Teachers should select a text that is both meaningful and engaging to students, while considering how the text will support lessons, units, or themes that the class works on during the year. Thought-provoking questions are essential to every interactive read aloud. Using the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy Cognitive Dimensions is one way to ensure students will take part in a variety of discussions from understanding the plot of the story to analyzing the author’s message.

This lesson is an example of an interactive read aloud of a picture book that can be modified to use with grades K–5. Text-dependent questions are provided based on the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy Cognitive Dimensions in order to promote higher levels of text discussion.

About Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

Melba Doretta Liston loved the sounds of music from as far back as she could remember. As a child, she daydreamed about beats and lyrics, and hummed along with the music from her family’s Majestic radio. At age seven, Melba fell in love with a big, shiny trombone, and soon taught herself to play the instrument. By the time she was a teenager, Melba’s extraordinary gift for music led her to the world of jazz. She joined a band led by trumpet player Gerald Wilson and toured the country. Overcoming obstacles of race and gender, Melba went on to become a famed trombone player and arranger, spinning rhythms, harmonies, and melodies into gorgeous songs for all the jazz greats of the twentieth century: Randy Weston, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Quincy Jones, to name just a few. Brimming with ebullience and the joy of making music, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is a fitting tribute to a trailblazing musician and a great unsung hero of jazz.

This is a good book for Black History Month or any month! Music lovers of all ages will adore this picture book biography about gifted jazz musician Melba Doretta Liston (1926-1999).