Monitor Your Expression: Put the FUN Back into Reading

One of the many joys that come with being able to read well is the ability to read with Expression. I remember listening to my mom read to me as a kid making her voice change between the characters speaking and the narrator telling the story. She was always so animated and convincing.

And then there were countless teachers who read to my classmates and I with so much feeling; we actually believed we were a part of the stories we were listening to. I have to credit these teachers for fostering my love for reading while they modeled the very things they wanted my classmates and I to adopt as developing readers.

When it comes to listening to my students read, my skilled readers read with Expression, but many students don't have any Expression at all. Instead, they read in monotones sounding "bored", "robotic", and clearly disconnected from the words on the page in front of them. Listening to them read aloud can be painful for their classmates and I, which causes much concern. I'm not sure when (or if) my students ever believed reading was fun, but it's time I teach them how to make it more enjoyable for all of us.