As my daughter and I were listening to The Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart while we
were driving home from school the other day, I thought about how much she has
benefitted from listening to audiobooks through her emergent literacy years
and the role that audiobooks can play in a literacy-rich classroom.
Although my daughter has always loved books, learning to
read did not come easily to her. She spent her kindergarten year learning to
write and identify each letter along with sound-letter correspondences, and she
spent the bulk of her first grade year laboriously sounding out words and
gradually developing her sight word vocabulary. So, how did she maintain her
love for literature through this difficult decoding phase? One way was certainly through audiobooks.
Because of audiobooks, my daughter could enjoy literature
that she had no chance of being able to read at age 5 or 6. Not only did this
keep her love for literature alive, it also enhanced her listening skills, increased
her vocabulary, and made it possible for her to absorb and think about much
more complex and involved stories than she could read on her own. When her
decoding skills were advanced enough so that reading became easier and more enjoyable,
she had a more developed vocabulary and greater comprehension skills due to the
time she spent listening to audiobooks.
In looking for some validation about my esteem for audiobooks, I found this title: Listening to Learn: Audiobooks Supporting Literacy by Sharon Grover and Lisette
Hannegan.
This book argues for the value of audiobooks, includes suggestions of audiobooks for different age groups, and discusses specific
ideas of how to use these books in class. The authors point out that audiobooks
can be used for listening by a whole class, by small groups or individually in classroom listening centers, or at home (especially in the car!). The authors
also emphasize that audiobooks can be especially useful for English language
learners and can act as a “scaffold that allows students to experience
literature above their actual reading level,” and therefore allow English
language learners to participate more fully in class discussions about
literature (p.12). Along these lines, audiobooks can also play a
role in differentiating instruction for learners of different abilities or strengths,
supporting students with reading difficulties and developing students’ listening
skills.
On a personal note, listening to these stories with my
daughter has made for some pretty interesting conversations. Since I am not
reading the books to her, we are equals in listening to the books, so we are both
free to make predictions, discuss a character’s motivation, or just share a
laugh.
So, if you are not yet a fan of audiobooks, I encourage you
and your students to give them a try.
Cathy, thank you for sharing this story. While I am not a parent, I have experienced long car rides with kids where it seemed the only way to get them to calm down was to let them watch a movie on their ipad. I have also observed parents who let their kids watch tv often because they need a break. I don't blame them for making these choices, as I can only imagine how exhausting it for parents. But as I think about having kids in the future, I want to brainstorm ways to keep my kids entertained that are more meaningful than watching tv shows all the time. I use books on tape in my classroom, but never thought of using them in car rides with children. I love the idea and will keep it in the back of my mind for the future!
ReplyDeleteI also admire how even when your daughter struggled with reading, you did not turn reading into a negative experience, but found ways for her to continue to love reading. I just wrote a post about how some children need more time. It seems your daughter was an example of a student who needed more time to learn to read. With your support and patience, she was able to continue to gain important literacy skills without feeling the pressure of decoding.
Participating in discussions in class, and reading our classmates' blogs, has not only helped me as a teacher, but will help me as a future parent. Thanks again for sharing!
1. Cathy-
ReplyDeleteI love that you use audio books with your daughter. Aside from being a wonderful way to use time stuck in a car (plane, bus—whatever) it is a good teaching tool. I have often suggested using audiobooks to parents whose children are struggling with fluency. I recommend that if possible, parents should have a copy of the book the child is listening to so that the child can read along. This is good for modeling and teaching fluency; children can listen to storytellers read with expression and prosody and children can get an excellent sense of how reading can sound. I am a big fan of the read aloud (professionally and personally) and this is one more twist on it. Finally, especially when the audiobook is shared, it is a great opportunity to develop comprehension skills, much like you and your daughter did.
Julie
Audiobooks are definitely something that I want to get into, not even just for my students, but for me! With my students who struggle with reading text, this is an obvious way to expose young people to literature. While accessing certain text in the traditional manner may prove impossible for some; listening, theoretically, permits access to students on lower levels. Student will then hopefully be able to engage in meaningful conversations in the classroom, where before they may have been quiet. On a side not, that it slightly more selfish, audiobooks for me may be a great move. I'm finding less and less time to do any kind of pleasure reading, so I may have to rely on less traditional forms of reading to maintain my sanity! Bring on the audiobook!
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