Intonation

Materials:

• Fluency worksheets associated with a particular lesson.  Example

• Plastic sheet to protect worksheet (optional)

• Dry marker pen (optional)

• Note:  Each of the words and/or sounds was introduced in the current lesson or in a previous lesson.

Purpose:

The purpose of this activity is to develop the ability to add emotion, enhance understanding and/or change the meaning of connected text.  The student must have developed some level of fluency in order for this activity to have an affect.  See Fluency

Methods:

• Student selects word or words.

  • Have the student point (or highlight with marker) to a word or group of words that they will change the expression in their voice as they read. 

  • Have the student read the sentence with the change in intonation.

  • Have the student explain how the change of voice changed the meaning or understanding of the sentence.

• The coach asks the student to change their intonation on a word or phrase that illustrates:

  • who

  • what

  • when

  • where

  • why

Example:  The brown cow jumped over the moon.

•  The brown cow jumped over the moon.  (Who jumped over the moon?: dog, cat)

•  The brown cow jumped over the moon.  (What did the cow do?: ran, walked)

•  The brown cow jumped over the moon.  (What did the cow jump over?: house, car)

•  The brown cow jumped over the moon.  (Which cow jumped?: black, red)