Express Yourself

Rationale:  In order to become good readers it is important for students to read with expression.  By changing the volume, speed, and pitch of your voice students can create expression.  This lesson is designed to give students the opportunity to practice reading with expression.

Materials:  Little Red Riding Hood-McElderry Books, various decodable books by Educational Insights

Procedure:

1. Begin by explaining to children that there are many things that we can do to become better readers.  One of those things is reading with expression.  Changing the pitch or volume of our voice is one way to create expression. Later we are going to get a chance to practice this.
2. Tell the students that different parts of the story will give us clues as to what kind of expression to use.
3. Use the book Little Red Riding Hood.  First read a couple of pages in a monotonous, unexpressive voice.  Ask students if that voice makes the story exciting.  Then reread the story with expression. Ask students what they noticed that was different about your voice the second time. Discuss the different things that you did with your voice to create expression.
4. After modeling the various ways that you can use expression divide students into groups of two.  Give each group a decodable book and ask the students to read to each other using expression.  Remind them if they are having trouble decoding that they can cover up part of the word and sound it out then cover up the other part of the word and sound it .
5. After each person has had a chance to read the book have students come up and read a  few pages of their book using expression.
6. For assessment walk around to each group and listen to children reading with expression.   Use checklist for assessment:
No Expression  Some Expression Very Expressive

References:

Marilyn Adams. Beginning to Read. 1990 pp90-92
http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/insights/spurlockgf.html

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