Choral Reading and Creative Drama

1. Choral Reading and Creative Drama By: Morgan Fairfax

2. Choral Reading • Choral reading is an oral literacy activity in which several readers read a selection in unison with the direction of a leader • Choral reading was an important element of Greek drama • Choral reading was used during the early history of schools because they didn’t have enough books

3. Choral Reading (cont) • Choral reading involves listening and responding to language • Students learn sounds, predictable language patterns, and the rhythm and melody which all enhance understanding, when they engage in choral language.

4. Choral Reading (cont) • After choral reading experiences, children are better able to predict the words and phrases that follow another • It is used to convey meaning through sound, stress, duration, and pitch • Diction and enunciation of speech sounds are also developed with choral reading • This is done with group interaction therefore it gives students opportunities for social cooperation

5. Choral Reading (cont) • With choral reading and it being a group engagement the children do not have feelings of self consciousness • Also Choral reading has no age limit– kindergarten students enjoy it also with high school students

6. Selecting Material for Choral Reading • Choral reading can begin as early as elementary school with nursery rhymes– mainly in kindergarten • Important elements in nursery rhymes are rhyme and rhythm and that helps to be memorized • Being meaningful, having strong rhythm, and easy discernible structures should all play a role in choral reading pieces

7. Examples Pieces For Choral Reading • “So Long as There’s Weather” by Tamara Kitt • “Godfrey, Gordon, Gustavus Gore” by William B. Rand • “The Umbrella Brigade” by Laura Richards • I know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Glen Rounds • Train Song by Diane Siebert • Truck Song by Diane Siebert • Laughing Time: Collected Nonsense by William Jay Smith • Peanut Butter and Jelly by Nadine Westcott

8. Planning Choral Reading • When initiating a choral reading you should always prepare students by giving them time to read the material silently and then have them read aloud to themselves or their peers • After reading then discuss the literature to ensure comprehension • After the students understand the selection they can practice reading it orally

9. Planning Choral Reading • Teachers can help young children respond to language rhythms by clapping or tapping to the rhythm • Teachers may chant the rhyme and have the kids join in with the last line or last couple lines • It is good to use a single selection with various choral methods so the children can learn to use various ways of expressing meanings • After students have several experiences with various choral readings they can then plan their own choral readings • When students have developed their understanding of chanting in unison they can move to longer selections

10. 4 Common Choral Reading Types • Refrain-- the teacher reads most of the lines and the students read the refrain • Line-a-child-- each student reads specific lines while the entire group reads the beginning and ending of the selection • Antiphonal– enables the reader to explore pitches and duration of sound. Most common for higher grades and also known as dialogue choral reading • Unison– the most difficult choral reading because the whole group reads the whole selection

11. Example of Primary Grade Choral Reading with “So Long as There’s Weather • 1. The teacher begins with crashing cymbals to simulate thunder or water poured from container to container to simulate rain • 2. The teacher reads the 1st verse • 3. The children read the 2nd verse in unison from a chart • 4. The teacher or a child who had practiced reads the 3rd verse • 5. The children read the 4th verse in union from chart • 6. Emphasized words in the 4th verse will be accompanied by cymbals crashing

12. Following Choral Reading • Following choral reading students can follow with creative drama to farther enhance literature • Creative Drama -- Puppets -- Pantamiming -- Peer Acting

13. Citation Stoodt-Hill, B. D., & Amspaugh-Corson, L. B. (2009). Children's literature discovery for a lifetime. Boston: Pearson.