Strategies: Reading with Expression


It just about goes without saying that when you are reading aloud to your students, you should read with theatrical expression, dramatic timing, and authentic enthusiasm. Mem Fox says, “There’s no exact right way of reading aloud, other than to try to be as expressive as possible. As we read a story, we need to be aware of our body position, our eyes and their expression, or eye contact with the child or children, our vocal variety, and our general facial animation. But each of us will have our own special way of doing it” (2001, p. 40).
When Joyce Zawaly, a fourth-grade teacher, has reading conferences with her students, she listens to her students read a passage from their independent reading book that they have selected and practiced. If their reading is monotone and word-by-word, she coaches them to be more expressive, reminding them of the way she models expressive reading during read-aloud. Joyce even goes so far as to create a different voice for almost every character in the books she reads aloud. She then includes in the child’s learning plan for reading a goal about reading aloud with more expression, and she sends the child off with instructions to practice for a week or two and then report back to her.
This is an appropriate reading goal. If children read more expressively aloud, chances are it will carry over into their silent reading. Just as comprehension is enhanced by a reader’s ability to visualize or “see” the story, it is enhanced by a reader’s ability to accurately “hear” the story: the sounds in the story, and the voices of different characters, along with the tone (angry, joking, excited, etc.) and pitch (hollering, whispering, etc.) of their voices.

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