Reading aloud with expression

Ages 6 to 8 Read together, then try alone · about 15 minutes

Read together

When we read aloud, our voices can show feelings.

A question goes up. A full stop lets the voice fall. An exclamation is bold.

Reading smoothly and with meaning is called fluency.

Do it

1. Choose a short story, a Bible story from Little Way or a favourite poem.
2. Read it silently first. Then read it aloud, using your voice for the punctuation.
3. Read the same page three times. Does it get smoother each time?
4. Read it to a family member or a toy audience, and ask which part sounded best.

Talk about it

• Which part did you read with the most feeling?
• What changes when you read slowly?

For the grown-up

Repeated reading of the same text helps children read more smoothly and understand more. Listen warmly, and let your child choose the piece.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000)
• Timothy V. Rasinski, “Creating Fluent Readers”, Educational Leadership 61 (2004): 46 to 51

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.