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Five LitART Read Aloud Strategies
LitART Read Aloud strategies help build story sense and reading comprehension.
Read alouds can be engaging or boring. I know. I have listened to over 2,000 after school staff and student presentations of stories. Global Learning teaches after school staff and students five strategies to enhance read aloud sessions and oral presentations.
1. Projection (Loud)
Students and after school staff need to learn how to project their voice. A loud reading voice ensures all listeners can hear without straining or struggling. We say, "read to the back of the room so the kid with headphones can hear you over his music."
2. Articulation (Clear)
Good readers read so the beginning and ending of each word are clear and distinct. We often teach this through exaggerating the pronunciation of each syllable as much as possible.
3. Expression (Interpretation)
Students and after school staff can help listeners understand the story by reading with expression. To read with expression, you have to preview the story and understand the meaning of each phrase in advance.
4. Character Voices (Dialogue)
One of the best ways to read with expression is to use character voices. Teach students that whenever the text includes quotation marks, that means a character is saying something. Demonstrate how to use a different voice for the narrator and each of the characters. Read the dialogue and express how the character is feeling when they say their lines.
5. Pace or Volume Changes (Tone)
Varying the pace and volume are very effective ways to make a reading come to life. For example, slow down and pause before key words. When you come to an exciting part, speed up and and build volume. When you come to a quiet or mysterious part suddenly drop to a whisper.
All Words Are Not Created Equal!
One final idea is to teach after school staff and students how to give special emphasis to one key word per line. Alternatively, you can emphasize a key sentence per page. Typically, the selected word or sentence should be the most important to the story.
Remember to have fun and keep everyone involved. Your voice is your tool. Use it.
