Reading aloud is an important motivational strategy not only for primary school children but also for upper-elementary, middle, and high school students. Teachers should pursue an instructional balance that considers both a sensitivity to curricular mandates and a perspective that reading aloud is beneficial to students. Poems, short stories, or excerpts from a longer selection can be selected by content area teachers who feel constrained by time limitations. In addition to fiction, students benefit from exposure to a wide variety of materials. An important aspect of reading aloud is to engage students interactively during the process. As students become more comfortable with the read-aloud experience, educators can use this meaningful context to extend students' vocabulary and concept development. The reading aloud experience can highlight the function of meaning for students who speak a nonstandard dialect of English, helping all students to accept varied forms of responding, and validating the belief that students who speak in nonstandard dialects are different, not deficient, in their language use. Students also need opportunities to read aloud to an audience. Although reading aloud is not a panacea, teachers and administrators must realize its enormous potential for nurturing the literacy development of all students, including a growing number of at-risk learners. (Ten helpful hints for reading aloud are attached.) (RS)