For example, each voice includes two dogs who play together, two children (a boy and a girl), a woman, and a man.

Students then list the “facts” of the story-things that remain the same regardless of who tells the story.

Ask students to discuss the literal voices they just heard: What made each character sound different from the other? Be sure to focus this discussion solely on the readers’ theater presentation of the book.

Readers will perform the book for the class by reading it so all four voices may be heard.

Have readers stand so that they are spread apart, preferably one in each corner of the room.

If not, read one copy of the book aloud to the entire class, pausing at the end of each page so all students have the opportunity to experience the illustrations.

If you have enough copies for groups of three-to-five students to share, proceed to the readers’ theater performance prepared by students the night before.

This lesson combines Noden's form of imitation with using children's picture books in middle and high school English/language arts classrooms. Finally, according to Noden, students 'discover how grammatical choices characterize an author's craft' (79). Second, they begin to look at how their favorite authors distinguish themselves and begin to compare one author's style to another. First, students begin to experiment with voice in their own writing. The benefits in having students note the contrasts and how they contribute to the overall style and voice of a piece are numerous. The story details stay the same, but the way the story is told, or the voice of the story, changes.

This approach introduces students to similar stories, such as 'Little Red Riding Hood' or 'Humpty Dumpty,' written in contrasting styles.

One method that Harry Noden recommends in Image Grammar to demonstrate voice in writing is a form of imitation he calls the Van Gogh approach. It is the sense we have while reading that someone occupies the middle of our mind, the sense we have while writing that something or someone is whispering in our ear.' (50). In Writing with Voice, Tom Romano defines voice as 'the writer's presence on the page. Student writing often lacks voice, or a sense of personality or feeling.

Voices in the park book