By Becky Edwards www.edutopia.org/blog/alternatives-to-round-robin-reading-todd-finley 11 BETTER APPROACHES 1. Choral Reading The teacher and class read a passage aloud together, minimizing struggling readers' public exposure. In a 2011 study of over a hundred sixth graders (PDF, 232KB), David Paige found that 16 minutes of whole-class choral reading per week enhanced decoding and fluency. In another version, every time […]
The purpose of this activity is for kids to learn to pick out what is the most important information in a section of scripture and to summarize it. This is a valuable skill to learn for preparing talks or lessons. Hand each student a mini post it note. Have them place the post it note […]
Give students a few minutes to review a passage that is fairly familiar to them. Have them write down something that was "new" at this reading. They may have remembered a detail they forgot or noticed something new. They may have a new understanding of what certain words or phrases mean. The verses may have […]
This is the easiest way to engage kids in scripture reading in my opinion. You'll need something soft like a beanbag or small stuffed animal. A wadded up piece of paper could even be used in a pinch. You may need to lay out some ground rules like : - do not aim above the […]
A narrator reads a passage of scripture while actors dramatize it. When the teacher yells "freeze", the actors freeze and an actor (or actors -- you choose) comes in from the sidelines. They tap an actor on the shoulder and take his or her place in the action. The teacher says "Action!" and the dramatization […]
I learned this method at a Seminary regional training. It's a great method that requires little or no preparation. This works best with passages that include plenty of action. Assign one student to be the narrator. The Narrator will read a passage of scripture with FEELING. He or she should do the voices and any […]
Write the assigned verses or passages on a post it note. Mix up the order you will be covering the passages in, and stick an assignment under each seat in the classroom. When it comes time to read, have everyone look under their seat for their passage and read. I usually employ this method when […]
Teachers can randomly assign students to read randomly by calling them by name. The key is the order of the direction and the assignment. Here's how: "Turn in your Bible to Isaiah chapter 1. [pause] Everyone look at your scriptures. We'll be reading verses 1-15 aloud one at a time and discussing each individually. Verse […]
This is another form of student-directed randomized scripture reading. Students stand to read a verse and then call the name of someone else to stand and read the following verse. The kids are "popping" up to read. This is also a good technique when you're doing Everybody Writes (each student writes a a brief response […]
My students love group drawing. It's good for covering material that is easy to imagine visually. I have also used it to cover distressing topics -- like the events preceding the second coming -- because these events seem less frightening when sketched for some reason. I have done group drawing a couple of ways. One […]
