Last year my husband introduced science fiction to his middle school students. After discovering that many of them had never successfully complete a novel, he decided to offer all six novel choices to ALL readers via audio books. He did so by purchasing the books online (you can load legally on four computers) and buying a simple headphone splitter jack--and there you have it, middle school listening posts. It proved an intoxicating unit. Nearly all students liked the audio at first, but as the books grabbed their interests, most turned to reading text without support. All but three students (out of over 65 kids in a poverty stricken, reading as an issue community) successfully finished their novels and many, including some of the toughest and hardest to reach, read two and some three! The discussions were rich--and every student had access to the club.
Lori Jackson M.Ed.Reading Specialist Broken Bow, NE EMAILING FOR THE GREATER GOOD Join me > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:22:15 -0400 > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Audio Texts > > Hi Karen, > > I have not used audio texts on a professional level. However, on a personal > level, I have used them with my high school son. We started this strategy > when he was in 9th grade at the recommendation of his English teacher. This > strategy proved to be effective by allowing my son to keep up with the > required reading for class. Needless to say, he was very encouraged by > this. We basically used texts that were on cd's that I got from the public > library. It took a little work on my part as a parent to locate some of the > texts, but it was an investment I was willing to devote time to. > Additionally, my son would either follow along in the same book that was > being read aloud on cd, or sometimes just listen to the cd without following > along. I always made sure to ask him questions and talk with him about what > he listened to in order to check his comprehension. The texts we used were > mainly narrative and literature based. We didn't use any audio expository > texts. > > Some books you might want to check out are: > > Reading Don't Fix No Chevy's (I don't know author) > This book is about boys and their struggles in school and with reading. It > includes personal stories of middle and high schoolers, and classroom ideas. > > When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do-A Guide for teachers 6-12 by > Kylene Beers. > This book is essential and is filled with strategies, booklist, materials > you can print. The book covers comprehension, vocab, fluency, word > recognition, and motivation > > I Won't Read and You Can't Make Me, Reaching Reluctant Teen Readers by > Marilyn Reynolds. > This book is mainly about Silent Sustained Reading, but includes ideas for > choosing books for middle and high schoolers to read, bibliotherapy, and > various tricks of the trade. > > Hope this helps :) > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of Karen Carol Ramgadoo > Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 4:09 PM > To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Audio Texts > > > > Hello, > > After the administration of the QRI, one of my students was diagnosed > with a serious discrepancy between his chronological grade level: Eight > and his level at which he can read: Five. Since I teach third grade, I > became concerned as to what are effective strategies for students in > middle schools? Has anyone ever used audio texts as a way of > motivating your students to read? > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
