In class, we learned about choral reading. There are multiple ways to choral read. This is something that I was unaware of until we learned about it in class. I had the opportunity to choral read the short book with a group called, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle. In my small group of about five people we had one person read one line and the chorus read the rest. I read with the other four people as part of the chorus. The text was extremely expected and predictable while it appeared to be for a very early reader. While reading, I needed to pay attention to the tempo, rhythm, pitch and juncture.
In class, we went over Michigan’s Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs) for the eighth grade level. The speaking GLCEs expected that the students will be able to use a tone of voice that will enhance meaning and influence the listener’s interpretation while reading. This was done while reading the book. When we read the book as a group, the one person who read, “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?” emphasized the word “brown” and the question “what do you see?” This is where they had a higher pitch. Throughout the story, the word that was a color was emphasized (such as Brown). It was important while reading that we kept track of the tempo which is how fast or slow we read the lines, juncture and rhythm.
While reading the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? I feel like everyone in my small group supported in our learning community. In the Almansi article it said, “In a discussion, the thoughts, ideas, feelings, and responses of all participants contribute to the event.” This occurred in our small group because everyone helped choral read the book. Individuals in the group also expressed their thoughts and feelings on how we should choral read the book based on the way it was written.
I feel like classroom activities such as book talks and choral reading help bring the classroom community together. As a future teacher I want to make sure that there are many opportunities for discussions in my classroom. Choral reading can even help ESL students in the classroom by allowing them to hear rhythm, tone, rhymes, repetitions and meaning. This can also help students build confidence, improve their vocabulary and reading. After learning about choral reading I feel like I will be able to integrate it into my future lesson plan.
2 comments:
Kelly,
I really like how you mentioned that coral reading can be extremely helpful for ESL students because this is also parallel for students with learning disabilities. Many of these students are very shy when it comes to school work and do not want to be the center of attention while reading a book out loud. Doing choral reading allow them to speak out loud and practice their speech without being singled out. If they make a mistake once or twice it is not as big of a deal and they will build their confidence up enough to maybe read it out loud by themselves one day!
I thought it was very interesting that your group decided to emphasize the word "brown" because it was a color. I think that by doing this throughout the book, students pick up on the pattern and may help begining readers to read the book on their own. I wonder if by emphasizing the words that are repeated, you can build the child's sight word vocabulary. I really liked how your idea that choral reading can help ESL students because of the rhyming, and repetition. I have been vary curious about the ways in which to teach ESL students sound letter knowledge and other reading skills.
Also, I agree that this will be one way to hold a book discussion in your classroom. I think that choral reading in small groups would be a great way to introduce students to book discussions. By starting in small groups, students gain confidence in their conversations and would be more prepared to move on to a whole group discussion.
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