Reading with Expression: A Parent Guide

Reading is not just about being able to sound the words out accurately. It is also about reading with meaning and conveying emotion. Here are some ideas to support your child's reading expression and make the process enjoyable.

Read Aloud 

Read aloud with to your child regularly. Use appropriate pacing and tone to show them what fluent, expressive reading sounds like.

• Make punctuation clear when you are reading aloud, for example, pausing at commas etc. This helps your child understand how these punctuation marks impact how the text is read. 

• Use different voices for different characters or think about how you can vary your tone based on the emotions in the story.

  
  

Read Together

• Read aloud together with your child, allowing them to mimic your expression.

• Think about reading a sentence or two aloud, then have your child repeat it back, matching your expression. This will help them to understand how tone and emotion add to the meaning of the book or text. 

• Encourage your child to choose what you read together. If you have time, think about visiting the library together so they have the opportunity to read a wide range of genres and writing styles. 

Use Audiobooks

• Audiobooks can often be a great way to support children with reading expression. Some audiobooks are dramatised though, so always listen to a sample prior to purchasing one. If you can, also follow along with the text. 

• It is also a great way to listen to a story together whilst in the car or in those in between moments. 

Make it Fun! 

Consider asking your child to record their voice whilst reading aloud. Listen back together and ask them what they notice. Make sure to point out where they have read well with expression.

Discuss the Text

As you read together, chat about what you are reading.  

• Ask open questions about the characters’ feelings or the meaning of particular passages. 

• Encourage your child to visualise the scenes you are reading about. This can help inform their expression when they read aloud.

Final Thoughts

There are lots of different ways to support your child’s reading expression. Modelling excellent expression and reading together aloud are two such ways. Try wherever possible to make it fun though by encouraging your child to choose their own books or consider recording their voice to see what they notice. Sometimes using high quality audiobooks can also be a great supporting tool. 

On Pageticker, our digital reading record, you can choose to monitor your child's comprehension and skills such as accuracy and reading rate. Encourage your child's school to take a look at it here.

You might also like our article about ways parents can support reading fluency.