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In this activity, students will translate excerpts from Outside into choral reading performances. The goal of the activity is for students to analyze the meaning of dramatic texts and highlight elements of texts using various choral reading strategies.
Materials Needed:
Access to Youtube; Excerpts from Outside; Choral Reading Planning Steps (found at bottom of attached document); Pens, pencils
Instructional Procedures:
Tell the students that they will be creating a choral reading using an excerpt from Outside.
Show Youtube examples of choral reading. Suggestions include: IGNTE Choral Reading: Speak FIRST Chapter. https://youtu.be/Cp-VTHGIKWA
Brainstorm with students some elements to include in planning a choral reading selection: volume, tempo, rhythm. Explain that each of these elements should provide contrast and variety in the performance, (e.g, loud and soft, fast and slow, staccato and legato) and should bring out the mes- sage, important ideas and words, pacing and mood of the passage.
Explain that the choral reading performance will also include sections to be voiced in unison, two- part (either a single voice followed by the rest of the group or half the group followed by another half), and multi-part (any creative combination of voices or effects).
Assign students to groups of four or five. Distribute the same excerpt to each group member and ask for one student in the group to read the excerpt aloud to the group.
Guide the students through the Choral Reading Planning Steps provided in Appendix G.
Have the students present their choral reading selections to the class.
For each performance, ask students to identify choral reading elements that highlighted the mes- sage, important ideas, pacing and mood of the passage. What did they find memorable about each selection?