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Use the SEE Acronym When Reading to Kids
by Jessica Gerald Have you ever noticed that some adults will read to a child or a group of children and very few of them are listening? Yet someone else could read to that same group and you could hear a pin drop. I often read to my students in Sunday school class, even though they are nine and ten years old, and they can read themselves. There are a few reasons for this. 1. First of all, I only see them on Sundays, so I'm not as familiar with their reading levels. I don't want to embarrass any of them. 2. Kids notoriously don't listen to other kids read. While one child is muddling through the text, the others are talking or fidgeting. 3. The time factor - often there isn't time to have children read the Bible story and still be able to complete the other activities that go with the lesson. Now, back to the original question. How do you read aloud to children and keep their attention? I've developed a little acronym that helps me remember how to do this. It is SEE. S - Slow enough Some people tend to read too fast, and it is hard for the children to follow. You don't want to read so slowly that they fall asleep, either! E - Enunciate Pronounce the words clearly. Don't run them together. E - Expression This may be the most important of all. Don't read in a monotone. Use expression as you read. You might want to tape yourself reading a story and listen to it. Sometimes we don't realize how we sound to others. So read the text at a slow enough speed so that the children will hear the words, enunciate clearly, and use expression. Hopefully you'll be able to hear a pin drop in your class! Jessica Gerald is a Christian wife, mother of two grown sons, retired elementary school teacher, and current Sunday school teacher of fourth and fifth graders. You may visit her website at http://www.oldfashionedhomemaking.com. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |