Unit(s): Voice and Diction/Oral Interpretation
Purpose:
The purpose in this exercise is to develop proper breath control as the secret of good speech.
Objective:
The student will learn to control the air taken into the lungs by the breathing process and exhale at the proper rate.
Materials:
- This is a teacher guided activity.
- The students should have enough space to lie down on the floor comfortably without touching each other.
Procedure:
(The following exercises are designed to increase and regulate the flow of air from your lungs.).
- Take a deep breath; inhale slowly, filling the lungs as much as you can. Hold the breath and s-l-o-w-l-y release the air, counting 1,2,3,4,5. Repeat this exercise until you can count to twenty or more.
- Lie on a flat surface. Take a large book, a dictionary or encyclopedia, and place it on your stomach just below the rib cage. Inhale and exhale, making sure the book follows your breathing pattern. This exercise is used to develop diaphragm breathing. Repeat this until the book moves naturally with your breathing.
- Inhale and say ah for as long as you can. (Have a friend or teacher time you.)
- Inhale slowly and practice saying short phrases: fine day, low note, early warning, high noon, rising river. Repeat these exercises. Keep repeating them until you notice a change in your breath control.