When children learn to read, they are simply speaking the words on the page. Throughout the elementary years, they are told to put more feeling into their words-become more expressive. The question is…How can a child learn to do this without examples?

Storyline Online is a fabulous site that has well known actors read children’s books aloud. The viewer will watch and listen to a video of various stories. This can be used as a teaching tool discussing intonations used for different words as well as voices for the characters in the stories. Additional activities for each story are also offered.

To extend this one step further, after you have watched the videos, have the students create their own video library. Select a story that you are currently working on in class. The student can practice reading the story to a friend, small group or the whole class. Use a webcam or a handheld video recorder to tape the story. From here, save it to your local server or external device to share with the class.

Another idea is to partner with a younger class to record a story. Choose a story they will be reading and the recording can be used as a listening center. Partner an older child with a younger child to read the story together.