Read a Story to Your Family
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What you will learn
- 1Choose a story appropriate for an audience and explain the choice
- 2Prepare a book for read-aloud by marking expression cues on the printed text
- 3Perform a complete read-aloud using pace, volume, pitch, and character voices
Mini Lesson
Reading a story aloud to an audience is one of the most generous things a reader can do — you are sharing the whole experience of a book with the people around you. Professional storytellers prepare carefully before they perform. Today you do the same.
Step 1 — Choose the right book for your audience
- Think about who your audience is. Is it younger children, family, or friends your age?
- Choose a story that is short enough to read in one sitting — 5 to 10 minutes is ideal for a first read-aloud.
- Choose something with interesting characters and varied dialogue — this gives you more to perform expressively.
- Make sure you love it. Your enthusiasm will be the most important thing the audience hears.
Step 2 — Prepare the text
- Read the story silently all the way through before performing it.
- Using a pencil, add expression marks directly on the page.
- Slow — draw a tortoise above sentences that need tension or sadness.
- Fast — draw a rabbit above action or exciting sentences.
- Loud — underline words to emphasize.
- Quiet — circle words for a whisper.
- Mark each character's name with a different colored dot so you remember their voice.
Step 3 — Practice once before the performance
- Read it aloud alone, using your expression marks, from beginning to end.
- Practice showing the pictures to an imaginary audience at the right moments.
- If you stumble on a word, practice saying it several times before the performance.
Step 4 — Perform for your audience
- Start by telling the audience the title and showing them the cover.
- Hold the book out so they can see the pictures as you read.
- Pause at exciting moments — let the tension build!
- At the end, close the book and look at your audience before saying anything.
Words to know
Read-aloud
A performance in which one person reads a story out loud to an audience
e.g. She gave a read-aloud of her favorite picture book to her younger cousins.
Expression
Using pace, volume, and voice to show feelings and meaning while reading
e.g. Change your voice for each character to read with expression.
Pace
The speed at which you read — slow for tension, fast for excitement
e.g. He slowed his pace to build suspense.
Atmosphere
The overall mood or feeling of a story — spooky, cheerful, sad, exciting
e.g. Dark words and a quiet voice gave the scene a spooky atmosphere.
Sequel
A follow-up story that continues where the original story left off
e.g. The sequel tells us what happens to the mouse after the big adventure.
Ask yourself: "Could my audience picture every character and scene — even without looking at the illustrations?"
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