Rationale:
In order for children to learn to make stories more interesting they
must realize that simply being able to decode a book is not
enough. Hearing books being read aloud helps children be able to
hear what a difference it makes when you read with expression.
Modeling how to read with expression and enthusiasm allows students to
understand how reading in this way keeps an audiences attention and
makes stories “come to life.” The following activities allow
students the opportunity to see, hear, and practice reading that is
filled with expression. Learning to read with expression helps
children develop a love for reading.
Materials:
-A copy of Froggy Bakes a Cake by Jonathan London for the teacher to
read aloud.
-The Froggy series by Jonathan London for the students to read together
in groups (Froggy Gets Dressed, Froggy’s Sleepover, Froggy’s Day with
Dad, Froggy Eats Out, Froggy Goes to Bed, Froggy Goes to the Doctor,
Froggy Goes to School, Let’s Go Froggy, Froggy Learns to Swim, Froggy
Plays Soccer, Froggy Plays in the Band, Froggy Rides a Bike, Froggy
Goes to Camp, Froggy Plays T-Ball, and Froggy’s Baby Sister.)
-Toy frogs for each student.
-3 sentence strips that make up one paragraph (Sample sentences listed
in procedure).
-Checklist Assessment sheets- one for each student (Content listed
under assessment).
Procedure:
Begin the lesson by discussing what it means to read with
expression. “Have you ever heard someone read a good story but
they read it in a way that made you bored? Well, that is what
happens when you read without expression. When you read without
expression it makes your audience lose interest. But, when you
change the sound of your voice throughout the book it keeps the
audience interested because you are reading with expression.”
”Let’s take a look at some sentences. I am going to read them
once with expression. (Read the sentences: I am so excited!
We are going on a field trip to the zoo. I wonder what animals we
will see first?) How did that sound to you? Did it make you
want to listen to me read? (Allow time for students to
respond). That’s right. It sounded boring and it made you
lose interest. Now I am going to read them with expression (Read
sentence again). What differences did you hear between the two
time I read? (The second time you- as the teacher- should read
with excitement and enthusiasm saying them in a higher tone with a
happy sound to your voice) Which way seems more
interesting? (Allow time for students to respond) Very
good! You all noticed what a positive difference it makes when
you read with expression. Whenever you are reading with
expression it makes the audience ‘be on the edge of their seat’ waiting
to hear what comes next.”
"Now I am going to read a really funny book called Froggy Bakes A
Cake. It is a book about a little frog named Froggy. Well,
it is Froggy’s mother’s birthday, and Froggy wants to bake a cake all
by himself! Froggy finds out that baking a cake is a little
harder than he thought. Let’s see how cake turns out! As I
read I want you to listen carefully to decide whether I am reading with
expression or not. At the end of each page I want you to hold up
your toy frogs in the air if I was reading with expression. If I
finish a page and I wasn’t reading with expression I want you to
pretend to fall asleep (model this) to show that a book gets boring
when you don’t read enthusiastically.” (Read 5 or 6 pages
changing up the reading pattern and allow the students to “hold up
their frogs.”
Be sure to make it clear that because you may read softly at some
points it does not mean that you are reading without expression.
It depends on what is happening in the story as to how you express
yourself.
“Now I am going to stop here so that you can read to each other and
see what trouble Froggy can get into. When we are done with our
activity I will finish Froggy Bakes A Cake during our D.E.A.R. Time
(Drop Everything And Read)” (Put the students into pairs and let
them choose which Froggy book they want to read. Have the
students take turns reading alternating pages in the story. Tell
the students to critique each other when they get done. They must
tell each other one thing they did that was great and one thing they
could work on. Tell the students: “If you want you partner
to stay interested you better read with expression.” Allow them
to read their page silently before they read it out loud so that they
can read with more expression.
Assessment:
In order to assess the students call them up to your desk one by one
after they are done reading with their partner. Allow them to
pick a page out of the book that they want to read to you. Use
your checklist to assess whether they are:
¬Reading with expression
¬Using the correct tone
¬Moving at the right speed
¬Give each student a score between 0-3 on each part of the
assessment.
¬3)-being they did an excellent job and (0)-meaning that they did
not try at all.
References:
“It’s All About Expression” by Rebecca Creecy http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/insp/creecygf.html
“No Monkey Business” by Jillian Wyatt http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/explor/wyattgf.html
Return to Projects index
