Choral+Reading+Tool


 * CHORAL READING TOOL**

Choral reading is a useful tool in Second Language Acquisition because it promotes L1 fluency and introduces ELL students to new vocabulary. It also helps students emphasize expression while reading. Choral Reading Procedure: 1. Passage is typically a story of repetitive verse or rhyme. 2. Teacher reads passage to students once. 3. Students in a group form a chorus and repeat the passage in unison.

Choral Reading Resources for Teachers: 
 * Reading Rockets:** []
 * Using Choral Reading to Promote Language Reading for ESL Students** (J. McCauley): []

---

The following choral reading practice is an excerpt from **//The Pig//** by Roald Dahl. The Pig **  In England once there lived a big A wonderfully clever pig. To everybody it was plain That Piggy had a massive brain. He worked out sums inside his head, There was no book he hadn't read. He knew what made an airplane fly, He knew how engines worked and why. He knew all this, but in the end One question drove him round the bend: He simply couldn't puzzle out What LIFE was really all about.
 * Suggested age/grade: 5-8 **
 * Suggested language level: Intermediate **
 * 

What was the reason for his birth? Why was he placed upon this earth? His giant brain went round and round. Alas, no answer could be found. Till suddenly one wondrous night. All in a flash he saw the light. He jumped up like a ballet dancer And yelled, "By gum, I've got the answer!" "They want my bacon slice by slice "To sell at a tremendous price! "They want my tender juicy chops "To put in all the butcher's shops! "They want my pork to make a roast "And that's the part'll cost the most! "They want my sausages in strings! "They even want my chitterlings! "The butcher's shop! The carving knife! "That is the reason for my life!"

Such thoughts as these are not designed To give a pig great peace of mind. Next morning, in comes Farmer Bland, A pail of pigswill in his hand, And piggy with a mighty roar, Bashes the farmer to the floor… Now comes the rather grizzly bit So let's not make too much of it, Except that you must understand That Piggy did eat Farmer Bland, He ate him up from head to toe, Chewing the pieces nice and slow. It took an hour to reach the feet, Because there was so much to eat, And when he finished, Pig, of course, Felt absolutely no remorse.

Slowly he scratched his brainy head And with a little smile he said, "I had a fairly powerful hunch "That he might have me for his lunch. "And so, because I feared the worst, "I thought I'd better eat him first."



Reference: ** Dahl. R (n.d). Old Poetry. //The Pig//. Retrieved June 23, 2010 from []



Daiva Berzinskas ESL Instructor: daivaberz@gmail.com