When thinking of using digital audio tools in the classroom one vivid example comes to mind from last year.
In third grade (or elementary in general), students reading below grade level are put on a reading plan to receive added reading support from their teacher. This usually means a 4-5 days a week LLI (Leveled Literacy Intervention) reading group. Last year, I had one student significantly below grade level who also struggled socially with his peers. One of the big components of ELA in third grade includes THREE units that are done in book club- mystery book clubs, series/character studies book clubs, and animal research. My one student did not get a long well with the other students in his LLI group. When it came to do book clubs, I knew I could not keep him any longer with that same group even though they were the closest to his lower reading level.
In comes the GENIUS of audio books!
I was able to find a copy of the book Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid read aloud and easily navigable by page/chapter through a resource called Learning Ally. Because of this, I was able to put him with a group of students who he got along with much better (always played with them at recess) but were much higher readers. He LOVED it. Everyday during reading while his book club read from their books, he pulled out his book and iPad to listen to the agreed upon chapters. Listening to books was something he enjoyed and now he was able to join into group conversations with confidence and also felt like he was more included because he was grouped with students he typically belived thought he was "academically inferior" to them.
My Big Take-Away:
Audio tools can bridge the gap between the many different types of learners we have in the classroom.
Using audio books in a book club setting is a GENIUS idea and one that I haven't thought of before! You were able to provide your student with an opportunity to build other important reading skills, without having to struggle with a text that was too hard for him. I find that with my lowest readers, they can lose their motivation to read because they find the books that are at their reading level to be "babyish". Incorporating books read aloud in this way can grow a love of reading and books in students that may not have great feelings associated with reading!
ReplyDeleteHi, Ewa!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome that you were able to accommodate that struggling reader with the higher-level reading group. The way you did it made it so he was able to save face with the scaffolding. Excellent work! I teach 10th grade English and use reading circles with my students for the fiction unit. I wish they got as excited as the younger students seem to.
Hi Ewa! I think using audio books as a way to bridge the gap between student reading levels is a great idea! I often worry that my below level students will tire of always being pulled in the same small group, even though I try to put them with other students when I do strategy groups. It breaks my heart when I have a student that wants nothing more than to read a book that's just too hard for them. Giving them access to an audio book will let them experience literature that would otherwise be beyond their reach! Thanks for sharing your experiences!
ReplyDeleteEwa, I love how you used the audio book to put the student with others that he gets along with. I'm sure that felt like you care about him, because of that. I think that it is great that you view audio books as tools to help students in the classroom, as that is not something that all teachers think. I'm going to have to look into the resources that you mentioned in this post, and bring them up with my coworkers to help out our shared students.
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