Say it with FEELING!!
Rationale: “Fluency means reading faster, smoother, more expressively, or more quietly with the goal of reading silently. Fluent reading approaches the speed of speech.” (Murray) At this development stage, fluency is a major goal of the student and the teacher. This lesson is aimed to teach and emphasize one aspect of fluency: expression. Reading with expression brings a story, and its characters, to life, making reading more enjoyable for everyone. The teacher will read a story, showing great expression, to model for children.
Materials: Copy of Tiki Tiki Tembo, various classroom library books, notebook paper, pencils
1. Review with students the difference that punctuation makes make at the end of a sentence. Read the following sentences twice through. The first time, pay NO ATTENTION to the punctuation marks at the end of the sentence. The second time, use the correct inflection in your voice, depending on the punctuation mark at the end of the sentence. “JIMMY WENT RUNNING., JIMMY WENT RUNNING?, JIMMY WENT RUNNING!. CAN ANYONE TELL ME THE DIFFERENCES IN THOSE SENTENCES?” Hopefully children will answer that the first was a statement, the second was a question, and the third was an exclamation.
2. “WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY WE HAVE!!!” After you have excited the kids with that exclamation, the teacher says ‘“NOW THAT WAS LOUD AND FULL OF EXCITEMENT WASN’T IT? THAT WAS HAPPY EXPRESSION. WHEN WE TALK OR READ WITH EXPRESSION, WE CHANGE THE TONE OF OUR VOICE (HAPPY TO SAD), THE VLOUME OF OUR VOICE (LOUD TO SOFT), AND USE OUR FACES TO SHOW THE FEELING OF THE BOOK. DIFFERENT FEELINGS HAVE DIFFERENT SOUNDS AND FACIL LOOKS.”
3. “CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHY WE SHOULD USE EXPRESSION WHEN WE READ? Students will offer their own explanations. “GREAT! WE USE EXPRESSION TO MAKE THE STORY MORE INTERESTING AND FUN TO READ!!!”
4. “WHAT WOULD MY VOICE SOUND LIKE IF I WERE SCARED?” Children raise their hands and answer, using facial expressions and vocal tones. “WHAT ABOUT IF I WERE ANGRY? WOULD I YELL OR WHISPER?” Children will answer correctly to the question.
5. Now, gather the children around your reading center and read ‘“Tiki Tiki Tembo’”. Make sure to OVEREXAGGERATE your expressions. (vocal tone, facial expressions, and volume) When done reading, ask children what emotions you were trying to convey at different parts of the story. Have a mini group discussion.
6. Pair children up and have them select a book from the classroom library to read. Set a timer for 5-8 minutes and let each child read to their partner. “REMEMEBER TO READ TO YOUR READING BUDDY WITH LOTS OF EXPRESSION! MAKE YOUR READING BUDDY FEEL LIKE THEY ARE IN THE STORY.” Teacher circulates with rubric and evaluates each child as they read. Now have the kids switch roles. Reading buddy becomes reader and reader becomes reading buddy.
7. After the children are done with the reading, have each child individually write three sentences about their book that end with various punctuation marks. “OKAY CLASS, NOW THAT WE HAVE LEARNED TO READ WITH EXPRESSION, I WANT US TO WRITE WITH EXPRESSION. TAKE OUT PAPER AND A PENCIL. WRITE THREE SENTENCES ABOUT THE STORY YOU JUST READ. ONE SHOULD BE A STATEMENT AND END WITH A PERIOD. ONE SHOULD BE A QUESTION AND END WITH A QUESTION MARK. ONE SHOULD BE AN EXCLAMATION AND END WITH AN EXCLAMATION POINT.”
Have each child come to your desk or reading table and have them read, with expression, their original sentences. This will assess their grasp of punctuation and also the concept of expression: how to write it and convey it to the reader. You also have the checklist rubric that you evaluated their oral reading on.
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