Rationale:
It is important for students to read with fluency. Having fluency means
being able to read faster, smoother, and also comes reading with
expression. Reading with expression has to be taught and practiced
because it does not come natural. In this lesson students will be
taught the importance of reading with expression and it will show the
student how changes in voice can show different kinds of expression.
Materials:
- Chalkboard and chalk
- The book Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret
Chodos-Irvine
- Made up sentences for the board
- Sentence strips with sentences on them, some without punctuation
marks and some with just the end marks on them.
- Paper and pencil for each student
- Copies of poems from the book For Laughing Out Loud by
Jack Prelutsky (one poem for each student)
- Checklist for each child
Sample sentences:
Get out of my room!
Where is my toothbrush?
Letâs go to the mall.
Itâs my birthday tomorrow!
I donât feel so good.
Sentences Strips:
This is my friend, Hope
What did you say
I already told you I donât want green beans
Touchdown Auburn
Sample Checklist:
Does the studentâs voice go high or low as he or she
is reading?
Does the student change his or her voice to loud or soft?
Does the studentâs voice change reflect the end punctuation mark?
Does the studentâs voice stay the same as he or she is reading?
Procedure
- First the teacher will explain the class what reading with
expression means. ãToday class we are going to learn why it is
important to read with expression. You use expression in your day to
day life when you tell stories to your friends or relatives. When you
get excited about something your voice might get higher and louder. For
example when I say I can not wait for Auburn Football this fall!! I am
excited so my voice gets higher and louder. If I am angry by voice my
get lower and if I am sad my voice my get softer. If we didnât
use any expression when we talked then we would tell pretty boring
stories. So when we read, we are reading a story. So we have to use
expression when we read like we do when we talk. So why do we use
expression when we read? Right!! To make reading come alive!ä
- ãNow I have put some sentences on the board. Letâs
read that first sentence without reading with expression. ãGet
out of my room!ä Do you think the speaker is happy, sad, or mad?
Why do you think the speaker is mad? Good Job, we can assume that the
speaker is mad because the punctuation mark at the end is an
exclamation mark. Meaning that the speaker wants his or her comment
heard. Is the speaker being nice or commanding? Commanding is right,
good job! So we guessed that the speaker is mad because of the
exclamation mark at the end and the command he or she is making. Now
letâs read this sentence with expression! Great job!! I can
really tell yaâll were angry.ä Now continue reading through
the sentences the same way as the first one. Reviewing the differences
of the punctuation marks at the end of the sentences and what they
mean.
- ãOk class now that we have reviewed punctuation marks and
have worked on reading with expression. I am going to put some
sentences on the board without a punctuation mark at the end. Get out
your pencil and paper and at your tables I want you to take the
sentences I have on the board and as a group come up with the end marks
you want at the end of each sentence. Do want the sentence to show
anger, excitement, a question, or just a statement. I will give you
about 5-7 minutes then one person from each table will come up and take
the end marks I have here and tape them beside the sentences. Then the
class will read with expression according to the end mark.ä
- After the students have completed the group work, I will pass
out the checklist for reading with expression for each student. We will
go over checklist so the students understand what they should mark. And
then I will read the book Ella Sarah Gets Dressed. As I read
the students will take note of how I read with expression and complete
the checklist making sure that I am reading with expression.
ãNow class, as I read I want you to really listen how my voice
changes with each new sentence. Notice how the story comes alive
through expression. Then after I read I want you to complete the
checklist for reading for expression based on what I read. Then we will
discuss it.ä
- Next, the teacher will pass our various poems from the book For
Laughing Out Loud by Jack Prelutsky, one for each student.
ãOkay boys and girls now I want you to take the poems that I
have just given you and read them silently. I will give you a few
minutes and while you read it silently pay attention to the end marks.
You can even mark on the poem with your pencil any marks that tell you
to read louder or softer on certain sentences. Then you will get put
with a partner and each of you will read the poem expressively to each
other. As one is reading take the checklist you did for me and make
sure that the person reading is following the checklist. Give them
constructive suggestions if you think that they need to do something
different. We all know what constructive means right! Good thatâs
right. We want to make sure our partner is reading correctly. Because
after you read to your partner, one at a time, I will call you back to
read your poem to me and I will complete the same checklist you have on
you to make sure you are reading with expression.ä
Assessment:
The teacher will call the students back one by one and as they read
mark on the checklist making sure that they are reading with
expression. If their voice goes higher or lower, louder or softer with
each sentence.
References:
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodoes-Irvine, Harcourt,
Inc. New York (2003)
For Laughing Out Loud by Jack Prelutsky, Alfred A. Knopf. New
York (1991)
Express Yourself! by Jenna Ward
http://www.auburn.edu/%7Emurraba/constr/wardgf.html
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