Foundations of Fluency: Expression

Welcome to Week 2 of my series on fluency!  Did you miss Week 1 on Comprehension?  Click HERE to go to that post! :)  Today we explore the wonders of expression! :) Students become more adventurous with their expression when they are both confident in their ability to decode, and confident in their comprehension of the text. This step usually comes in tandem with comprehension, but for the purposes of breaking this down, we take a look at it individually today. Let's explore a bit about developing expression in the primary classroom.

I like to read fun rhyming books to my kids...especially at the beginning of the year to help them learn that reading aloud has a rhythm to it.  They learn that listening to reading is made more enjoyable by the way that the book is read.  Lots of teachers like Seuss, and I do too, but here are a few rhyming books that are not Seuss, but still great for kids!

Click on the image to be directed to the book!

This is a cute book about a hermit crab that collects all kinds of junk! :)

This book is all about a bear who misses out on fun because he's asleep! :)

Want to do a cross curricular study?

This is a great book about the parts of an orchestra! I have a whole unit on it in my TPT store!  It's one of my class' favorites!  We use it in the spring. :)

Click HERE to go to that unit.

Something that is key for me is getting my kids 'hooked' on reading.  One of the ways that I do that is by reading books that are part of a series.  Here are a few books that have the same characters but tell fresh stories that primary learners would like!
Click on the book to be directed to it on Amazon.

My kids LOVE a good Mo Willems story! :)  Elephant and Piggie are a HIT with my firsties!

Another series that my kids can't get enough of?
Pete the Cat!

This is HUGE!  I do it with EVERY character driven read aloud.  Every one, Tamara?  Yes. Every. One.
The kids LOVE it, and they pattern the sound of their character voices off of mine!  It gives them an idea of what they 'could' do!
Check out this neat video of two of my littles during Read to Someone time! :)
Click HERE to see them in action.

In this clip, you can tell that both students are fluent readers.  The girl on the left modifies her voice to read like the worms in the rain...and then uses a deeper voice for the elephant!  She's patterned that off of the way I have read it in class.  Although the student on the right doesn't use a specific 'voice', you can tell he is modifying his voice for emphasis on certain parts.

The kids love that I love listening to them read!

Sometimes, we let really great readers go to other first grade classes to demonstrate a book that they've been reading in class.  Sometimes, I will video them and send the file to their parents via text! ;) #techisawesome They love the opportunity to share, and the students listening are encouraged to try new things as well! :) It's so fun!

Sometimes, this is frowned upon, but...really it's an important part of my reading practice.  Whenever we are reading a story in whole group reading time, I try to get as many of my kids to read aloud as possible.  I give varied and specific praise during this time so that they are encouraged to continue working on confidence.

If you are not the most expressive reader, make sure that you have a great listening center that features readers who DO use different voices for the characters.  If you don't have cassette tapes or CD's...there are programs like Raz-Kids and Tumble Books that feature wonderful readers.

I love listening to Robert Munsch read his own books!  So do the children!  Click HERE to go to his website and hear one of my personal favorites, 50 Below Zero!

That's all for this week! :)
Come back next week for a chat about improving your students' rate of speed!