Learn to Read with Expression

Your child nailed reading fluency in the lower elementary grades. Now it's time to work on expression! Here's a fun way to practice good oral reading skills, and get your child to express herself at the same time!

What You Need:

• Favorite book

• Small slips of paper

• Bag

• Pen or pencil

What You Do:

Step 1

Brainstorm with your child 5-10 different emotions, and write them down on small slips of paper (for example: happy, sad, excited, frustrated, tired, or angry). Fold up the slips and throw them all into a bag.

Step 2

Have your child select a passage from her favorite book. Then, ask her to reach into the bag without looking, and draw a slip of paper—but don’t let her tell you what she picked!

Step 3

Ask your child to take out her book and read a few sentences using the expression of the emotion on her slip of paper. Encourage her to really exaggerate the emotion to showcase its full expression, feeling, and depth.

Step 4

After the "performance", guess which emotion your child was expressing. Be sure to discuss if that emotion made sense in relation to the text; if not, think about which emotion would fit better. This will help your child identify the author's intended voice.

Step 5

Have your child choose another slip of paper. Read the passage again using a different emotion. Repeating this exercise helps children focus on the significance of expression, and reading aloud to an audience member at home builds up their self-confidence in projecting their emotions in a safe, risk-free environment.