Lesson 67: Reading aloud with expression

📖 READING (40 Lessons) • 🟣 D. Reading Together

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Objective

Read a short text aloud with expression by using punctuation and feelings to change your voice, pace, and volume.

Materials

Mini-lesson — What does it mean to read with expression?

When you read in your head, your brain hears the story. When you read out loud, other people hear it too.

Reading with expression means you do not use a robot voice. You change your voice to match:

  • the punctuation (periods, question marks, exclamation marks)
  • the feelings of the characters
  • what is happening in the story

Some clues that help you:

  • A period (.) tells you to stop for a short breath.
  • A question mark (?) at the end makes your voice go up a little.
  • An exclamation mark (!) shows strong feeling like surprise or excitement.
  • Quotation marks (" ") show what a character says.

Good expressive readers:

  • slow down on important parts
  • make their voice softer or louder when needed
  • change their voice a little for different characters

You can use these frames:

“This sentence is a question, so my voice will go up.”

“This part has an exclamation mark, so I will sound excited, not angry.”

Today, you will practice using punctuation and feelings to read aloud with expression.

Picture strip: Robot voice vs. expression

Guided Practice — Mini-book: Reading with feeling

How to use this mini-book:

  • Read each page first in a flat robot voice.
  • Then read it again with expression, using the clues.
  • Notice how punctuation and feelings change your voice.

On your paper, copy one short sentence and mark the punctuation. Under it, write how your voice should sound when you read it.

Useful fluency words
expression pause question exclamation dialogue character feeling

Frames: “My voice should sound ____.” “I pause at the period here.”

Mini-Book: Reading with feeling

1

Periods and pauses

When you see a period at the end of a sentence, you stop for a small breath.

If you keep reading without stopping, it sounds like one long robot line.

Pausing at the period helps the story sound smooth and clear.

2

Questions

When you see a question mark, your voice goes up a little at the end.

You can pretend the character is really asking something.

“Where are you going?” should sound different from “We are going home.”

3

Exclamation marks

An exclamation mark shows strong feeling like excitement, surprise, or fear.

Your voice can be a little louder and stronger, but still kind.

“We did it!” should sound more excited than “We did it.”

4

Characters and feelings

Quotation marks show what a character says.

You can change your voice a little to match the character's feeling.

How could you make your voice sound kind, worried, or excited when you read?

Reading Practice — How should this sound?

Read each short sentence or situation. Drag the answer that tells how your voice should sound or what you should do. Chips stay in their own question. Then press “Check sentences.”

Sentence: We walk home from school.
It ends with a period. You should .

read it in a calm voice and stop for a small pause at the end shout every word like you are angry never stop, just keep going into the next sentence

Sentence: Where is my backpack?
It ends with a question mark. You should .

let your voice go up a little at the end like you are asking whisper the whole sentence with no feeling stop in the middle and not finish the question

Sentence: We won the game!
It ends with an exclamation mark. Your voice should .

sound excited and a little louder but still friendly sound bored and sleepy sound very angry at your team

The story says that Mia tells a friend she can help.
The character is speaking, so you should .

change your voice a little to show the character is speaking skip the speaking part and mumble shout the word said the loudest

A character is worried about a lost pet. The sentence says that she hopes the pet is okay and she whispers it.
You should .

use a softer, slower voice to show worry laugh loudly while you read the sentence read as fast as you can with no pauses

The story says that the children laughed and ran through the park.
This part is happy, so your voice should .

sound cheerful and light, not flat sound angry and growl the words be so quiet that no one can hear you

You notice you are reading every sentence in the same flat voice.
To fix this, you should .

use different expression so it sounds more interesting and clear keep reading in the same robot voice stop looking at punctuation marks

You are reading a page aloud to your family.
A good way to read is to .

face your listeners, read at a steady pace, and use expression turn away and read as fast as possible mumble the words so no one understands

You are not sure how to make your voice sound in a sentence.
You should .

look at the punctuation to decide if your voice should sound calm, asking, or excited ignore all punctuation marks pick any voice without thinking about the text

Your teacher asks how you can be an expressive reader.
The best answer is to .

use punctuation and feelings to help your voice match the story always read in the same flat voice only think about finishing as fast as you can

Quick Check — Reading aloud with expression

What does it mean to read with expression?

What should your voice do at the end of a question?

What does an exclamation mark usually show?

Why is it important to pause at periods?

How can you show a character's feelings when you read aloud?

Assessment (parent/teacher)

Exit ticket (student)

I will practice…

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