Choral Reading
http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/tb/05_01_warmups.htm
See the third activity at the end of this web page.

Choral reading can be used as an entertaining way to help students improve vocal presentations, but it can also be a highly entertaining performance activity. Although the traditional image of choral reading is that of performers seated behind a stand with a script, choral reading is much more fun for children and the audience if it includes movement and no scripts. Unison speaking is difficult so it is often best to let one or two children say a line. Humorous poems can be a delight. Imagination welcome!

Vocabulary: gesture, vocal variety, volume, pitch, rate

Use:

1. to practice vocal skills - volume, diction, rate, pitch
2. to develop the poise to present material to an audience
3. to deal with the content of a piece of literature

Standards

1. Theatre:
   1. Develop presentation skills: volume, diction, rate, pitch, poise, eye contact
   2. Develop skills to interpret poetry, especially developing understanding of and appreciation for figurative language
2. Language Arts:
   1. Analyze the meaning and structural elements - rhyme, rhythm, repetition - in a poem
   2. Verbally and non-verbally effectively communicate poetry to an audience

Your Role:

1. Prepare the script by deciding which lines will be read by a single child, by two children, or by the whole group. Decide where movement might be added. For example:
   1. Oh! the snow, 1 child
      the beautiful snow, 1 child
      Filling the sky and the earth below! the two children
      Over the housetops, 1 child
      over the street, 1 child
      Over the heads of the people you meet: the two children
      Dancing, 1 child, quickly
      Flirting, 1 child, quickly
      Skimming along. 1 child, quickly
      Beautiful snow! All, slowly
      It can do nothing wrong. 1 child, quietly
   2. This is a nice quiet piece. The children are particularly fond of humor. We like Shel Silverstein.
2. Read the poem to the students. Discuss the tone of the poem, how it makes them feel, what the word pictures help them see. Discuss the process of learning to do a choral reading. 'I will read a line. One or more of you will repeat the line after me. We will continue until each line is assigned.' (To help the students with memorization, start from the beginning of the poem as each new line is assigned.)
3. Discuss appropriate behavior during a rehearsal process.
4. Have the students stand. Start by reading the first line and proceed through the poem. Repeat the poem several times with the choir until they remember their lines. Perhaps doing a quick diction exercise (find at the middle of this Theatre Book web page) between readings will remind the students they need to get rid of lazy lips and tongues.
5. Discuss with the students how they sound. Perhaps, record a final rehearsal with audio or video equipment. Discuss the vocal variety, poise and gesture.
6. Particularly with humorous poems, discuss adding movement or sound effects. For example, a poem about a train allowed the students to make the sound of a steam engine at points in the poem. The Shel Silverstein poem, It's Dark In Here, allowed some students to stand in a line, representing the lion, while the victims, standing behind them, stuck their heads out at appropriate times. The poem is about being eaten by a lion at the zoo!
7. Discuss what the poem means. Do the poem one more time and discuss what the choir did to communicate the meaning of the poem.
8. Perhaps do some physical and or vocal warm-ups before presenting the piece http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/tb/05_01_warmups.htm See the activities in the middle of the web page.
9. Perform the piece.
10. Discuss the results. It would be very helpful for the students to have the audience share with them when they could hear the choir and when their vocal and physical choices communicated the meaning of the poem.
11. Discuss the poem, the images they liked, the rhyme and rhythm that caught their attention

Time:

1. Rehearsal, 20 minutes for a short piece
2. Performance, depends on the number and length of the poems included. Certainly a 12 - 15 minute presentation for another class could be an appropriate goal. Check the time needed by reading the poetry out loud; include the time for introductions and any movement involved.

Assessment:

1. Did the students concentrate during the rehearsal and improve their performances?
2. During the performance, were their vocal skills, eye contact and movement effective?
3. Were the students able to discover the meaning, images and elements of the poem? Could they articulate their response to the poem?