Excited about Expression!

Rationale-

Fluency is essential to becoming a better reader. Fluent reading requires high-speed word recognition, but fluency includes the ability to chunk words into meaningful grammatical units for comprehension as well. (Eldredge 151). One characteristic of fluent reading is reading with expression. The lesson will focus on reading with great expression. The students will have a chance to practice reading with expression.

Materials-

James and the Good Day -Educational Insights

Overhead

Transparencies-blank

Markers

Checklist- Does the student’s volume change?

                 Does the student’s pitch change?

                 Does the student’s voice change when coming across a puncuation mark in the sentence?

                 Does the student change his or her tone throughout the book or is it monotone?

Procedure-

1.                 Good morning class! Today we are going to be talking about expression in reading. Who can tell me what expression is? Great job! Reading with expression gives the text meaning and makes it more fun to read! There are different expressions we can use such as happy, sad, excited, and angry. The list goes on and on.

2.                  Let me show you what I mean by reading with expression. Teacher will get out the book James and the Good Day. She will read the first page without any expression. She will then ask the class if the reading was exciting and expressive. They will share their answers of why it was not and what the teacher could do to make it more expressive and exciting. As the children are providing answers, the teacher will write them on the overhead. They will discuss some of the different answers and how it could make the story more exciting.

3.                  Do you think I should try reading with expression to make it more exciting and worth reading? Ok, well I will try my best to use as much expression as I can! The teacher will read each page with lively expression and really make the book come alive. After the teacher reads, they will discuss why reading with expression made the book more interesting and kept their attention.

4.                &nsp; Now I want you to try it yourself.  I want you to get with the person across from you and practice reading with expression. The teacher will pass out copies of the book Kite Day at Pine Lake. I want you to read the book to your partner with as much expression as you can. I will come walk around and check on each of the groups. I will be here to answer any questions or offer advice so don’t be afraid to ask!

Assessment-

The teacher will call the students up individually to read Kite Day at Pine Lake. The teacher will use a checklist to check for expression. If the student struggles with expression, the teacher will offer tips and ask them to read again.

Eldredge, J Lloyd. Teach Decoding: Why and How: Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education, Inc. 2005. pg151.

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