Reading Performance

To help children develop fluency in their reading, encourage them to create their own performance of the story. They can record their reading over and over until they are satisfied with the flow and expression on each page. Creating a "production" for others to hear motivates students to revisit the text and practice, practice, practice. Also, working with a partner helps them add spice to the performance and can be set up so that each student takes a role that is complementary to the other and in keeping with each child's strengths, weaknesses, and interests.

Procedure

1. If two students are working as partners, suggest a way they can divide up the reading of the story. This could be alternating lines or could fit with the composition of the story (e.g., dividing by characters and narrator; following the rhythm or rhyming structure).

2. For each page, children should get ready to record themselves reading by listening to and practicing with the pre-recorded professional reading.

• Go to the Read area.
• Click the "Read" button(s) and follow along with the computer reading and highlighting. (Reading style should be set to "Line-by-Line" or "Word-by-Word Normal Speed.")
• Click the "Read" button(s) again and this time read out loud with the computer reading and highlighting.

3. Emphasize to students that they can record each page many times until they have read it fluently with expression and the recording is just the way they like it.

• Make sure a microphone is active on the computer.
• Click the "Record" (microphone) button to open the recording dialog.
• When ready to read, click "Record."
• Click "Stop" to pause the recording. During this pause, students can click the "Read" button in the story to get help with a particular line or click on a word with which they are having difficulty to hear it read. Click "Record" again to continue their recording.
• Click "OK" to close the recording dialog and click the "Play" (boombox) button to listen to their performance of the page.
• Repeat these steps until the students are happy with their product.
• When finished, make sure students save their work before going to another book or quitting the program.

4. Provide opportunities for students to play their performance of the story for others.

These recordings can be used for assessment purposes. A running record can be made from saved work which provides access to the students' reading when it is convenient for the teacher. Also, saved readings can be placed in a student's portfolio in the management system and can be compared over time.

WiggleWorks Areas Used

d

Related WiggleWorks Basics

• Changing Highlight Settings
• Using the Record and Play Tools