Dramatized reading is a modality, of oral character, where the main reader must represent through his voice the scenes and characters he encounters. This practice has many advantages.

This reading class helps develop language skills, spontaneity and intonation. In addition, it can help young people to get rid of stage fright. If they manage to train themselves in it, young people will have fewer difficulties in the future when it comes to making presentations in public or in work environments in the role of lecturers, teachers, etc.

From the international bilingual school Logos International in Las Rozas de Madrid, we tell you how you can perform this practice of dramatizing the stories so that your child is as interested as possible in them and exercise all the associated skills.

Reading is not the same as living the stories, visualizing and interpreting them. Over time, "diagonal" readers who read texts quickly have become more common. However, when you have children and they want you to read them a story, this practice is not possible. In these cases, you need a dramatized reading so that they feel what you read to them and can enjoy it. It does not require the memorization of texts and exact movements for its staging, however it is necessary to practice the expressive capacity that will give life to the characters they represent.

According to recent studies, the taste for reading is increasingly being lost and more and more cases are turning to the Internet to read, or replacing it with games or social networks. It is also important for parents to encourage their children's love for books, and to do so, it is necessary to think carefully about which stories will be read, since the theme is the main thing that will catch the youngest ones. Carrying out this type of activities at home or in the educational environment is also a reinforcement for the taste for reading.

Tips for dramatic reading

Don't wait until he has the desire to start doing it. The desire will be implemented over time.

Cast characters and characterize them

If it is going to be a group reading, divide up the characters and spend some time defining how each character will talk, how they walk, how they gesticulate, how they smell, etc. This will give much more richness and fun to the action.

Choose the conflict and the outcome

To stimulate them properly we advise you to divide the family into two groups and define what will be the conflict of the story and what will be its outcome.

Based on that, you can create a fun story by assigning roles to each family member. However, each group can have a different outcome, so you can test your imagination.

Use what you already have

Put the book where only you can see it. Don't let them read the story before you do, as this can kill the mystery early and make the story boring.

In case they are also going to interpret the story, don't buy things every time you are going to interpret different scenes. Use the space and objects you already have and use it to develop the story.

The weather

Dramatizing is an appropriate activity to make young children look forward to reading. When they are enjoying it, they may want to do it for longer than you can devote to the activity. Also make it clear what time of the year the story will be set in and use one language or another based on that.

Stipulate the times of the day in which you can carry out. Depending on the case, you can take turns, so he will start looking for that time to read. You can set aside a time during the week or day to do it and know that this time is yours.

Do not use reading as a punishment

In no case is it recommended to punish children by sending them to read. This practice may cause them to psychologically associate reading with something negative and generate an internal rejection.

Themes dramatized according to age

Children 4 to 6 years old: Books related to magic are recommended.

Children between 6 and 8 years old: Fantastic stories, fairy tales, princesses, good and bad.

Children from 8 to 12 years old: At this age they should start using themes related to reason, such as riddles, adventures or detective stories. Maybe even some classics for older children.

The idea is to dramatize the reading, get into it and enjoy it.