Creating Fluent Little Thespians

Most children love to pretend, and most young children are not inhibited from being dramatic. So cultivate the thespian in your child to help them develop fluency and prosody in their reading.

• Readers Theatre

These are plays that use voices, not acting. Make your own Readers Theatre productions from favorite picture books or stories. For example, in Green Eggs and Ham you read everything except for the part of Sam I Am which is "read" by your preschooler. How would Sam I Am say his part? What is his attitude?

What about Goldilocks and the Three Bears?  Which part does your child want to play? She could read the Papa Bear's part, “Somebody’s been sitting in my chair,” using a Papa Bear voice.

• Poetry and Nursery Rhymes

Pick rhymes and simple poems from library books or off the Internet. You read a line, then your child “reads” a line. Practice reading them with your child; then perform them for grandparents or the rest of the family. Even if your child memorizes the part, have them look at the words, and they will feel very grown up “reading.”  It also develops their skills when they follow along as you read your part.

• Sing using lyrics

One study showed that 30 minutes of singing 3 times a week for 12 weeks improved reading by an average of a one-year gain.  The students read faster, demonstrated better comprehension, and all but one passed the grade level achievement test. Lyrics for most songs are on the Internet.  Make sure your child follows along with the words as she sings.

Other fluency developers

• Watch TV with the closed captioning on. Just as it annoys you because you can’t block it out, so your child’s eyes automatically will be drawn to the print.

        

·    Neurological Impress Reading

Sounds hard, but it’s not.  It simply means that you read in your child’s right ear as she reads the passage out loud.  This method has been research proven to improve reading because the mirroring of the brain develops the left side that controls language.

·     Books on tape

As long as the student follows along with the book, this practice will improve word reading and fluency. Even if she just listens, listening to tapes without pictures helps develop the strategy of visualization.

This is the School Marm,

 Ringing her bell. 

School’s out!