Reading with expression is formally known as prosodic reading or reading with prosody. It includes responding to punctuation with appropriate pauses and stops, as well as including the rise and fall of the voice to reflect the feeling or emotion behind the words. The opposite of reading with expression is reading flat or monotone which is hard to focus one's attention on. Reading with prosody is interrelated with comprehension. The better the comprehension, the better the expressive reading because the reader understands the intent of the words better. However, reading with better expression has also been shown to support comprehension, it is easier to understand the text when it sounds more natural. (Schwanenflugel, et. al, 2004) It becomes a bit of a 'chicken or the egg situation' ~it is hard to say which comes first.
Supporting reading with expression at home:
Record, evaluate, and repeat: Record your child reading and play it back while you listen together. Talk about how it sounds, and how it could sound better. Have them try again with better expression and at a more appropriate rate if necessary. Listen again, praise the improvement. This should be done in a relaxed setting, make it fun, and not a source of pressure. (Kloss, 2019) You can even read with poor expression and record yourself, and let your child critique you and provide suggestions.
Read Poetry: Poems are great sources for practicing expression. Poems can be used instead of books for all of the rate and expression practice activities. (Mazzurco, n.d.)
Reader's Theater: Unlike performing a play, reader's theater has each person reading a portion of a story, transformed into a script, but it is read, not memorized. It is a great way to practice expression because reader's theater pieces usually have a lot of dialogue. (Reading Rockets, n.d.) This is a great family activity and free printable resources are available from Teaching Heart : Reader's Theater Scripts and Plays
Visit the fluency ~ rate tab for more on these strategies that can be used to improve both rate and expression.
Choral Reading
Rereading
Read to Your Child
Buddy Reading