His voice lilted and swung, painting the world as much as the text from the book. His children cuddled close, as if their strain could pry the story out sooner.
My dad is a master of reading aloud.
In contrast, I struggled reading to myself—let alone out loud! I have painful memories from high school when I had to frantically rehearse my paragraph before I had to read it to the class. Today, my mom says I read aloud beautifully. What changed?
Here are five things that helped me improve my public reading:
1. Get better at reading in general
I say it often, but I've improved since college. Getting the right kind of glasses helped correct for my unique eye trace needs. As I've gained ability in basic reading, I've gotten better at reading aloud.
2. Read the familiar out loud
I've had morning devotionals for years. But now that I'm married, I read the Bible passage aloud. In many ways, I've spent over a decade rehearsing these passages in my head so "performing" them now is much easier. This has given me confidence as I branch out into new text.
3. Start with simple material
This idea builds off point two above. There is a huge difference between Shakespeare's poetry and that of Dr. Seuss. And I know we'd all love to recount Shakespearean epics with ease... but sometimes we have to start with The Three Little Pigs.
That's one of the nice things about homeschooling: We can start when our kids are young. At that age, reading aloud is easy! The material will grow harder as we improve.
4. Practice with an eager audience
My wife loves to hear me read, especially when she's doing dishes or making dinner. So even if I'm fumbling over words or not being super clear, she's enjoying it. And it's much easier to practice on an audience that's enjoying it than one that critiques your every foible.
5. Mimic the great readers of the world
My dad is an excellent role model to follow. I had years to hear how to read a story aloud. And, honestly, there are a few things that I noticed didn't work so well. I've consciously tried to do something different there. If you didn't have the opportunity to grow up listening to someone read aloud to you, perhaps it's time to get some audio books.
If you've been reading aloud for a while, what have you found helps you perform the stories better?
[…] 5 ways to improve reading aloud […]
it was good!!!
good!!!
Poor reading skills. How to pronounce words that are difficult
Hello,
Reading the stories was very thoughtful and fulfilling. I'm I glad I got to read it.
I have a son with dyslexia who has always loved being read to, but learned to hate reading and learning after starting school. We spent so much time doing school work that we never had time to read aloud for fun any more. Pulling out of school and doing a lot of reading aloud with Sonlight books "for fun" and not for a grade has rekindled a love of learning. And better yet, he is now reading on his own "for fun" books such as "The Hobbit" and enjoying it.
That is fantastic, Lynne! Thank you so much for sharing, and congratulations to your son!
~Luke
Great point, Joy! I've certainly experienced this with Scripture reading on mornings when I'm feeling rushed.
~Luke
Not rushing! When I feel the pressure of all that we still need to do that day, I start to rush through as I read aloud. That doesn't work out well. For me or the kids. So we may read less than my ideal each day, but, what we do read, we try to read with joy and understanding.