Audio Books

Who is the audience?

•ESL/ELL students along with books in unabridged formats

•For reluctant readers paired or not but still unabridged

•For dyslexic or learning disabled readers paired with text

More about audio

•For kids who are too busy to read

•For intergenerational use—family literacy

•For ADD and ADHD kids

•For adults, too

 

Why Listen?

•Listening comprehension precedes reading comprehension

•Dialects are made easier

•Can help start the “movie” in the head

•Serves as model for oral fluency

 

How teachers and librarians can work together

•Literacy coaches

•Classroom teachers

•ESL teachers

•Special education teachers

•Department chairs

•Shelve within the collection

•Placed where kids can see them readily

•Longer check out times

 

It’s all about results…So What?   Research Findings

 

 

Anecdotal

Teachers and Librarians Report:

•Used with bright but unengaged 8^th grade students at the end of the school year (Melissa)

•Used in first grade classrooms as part of Title I (Michele)

•Purchased audio of required reading list books in middle school (Mary)

•Before school listening club and story time relief (Debra)

•Listening centers in library and kids record their own (Krish)

•Used for reading incentive titles (Jeanne)

•Teachers are using them, too (Jeanne)

Just the Facts:

Replicable Research

•Kids often lack “verbal endurance” because they do not read enough.  Listening to audio helps develop verbal endurance.

•Kids who were struggling at the beginning of the year were on level on tests by the end of the year

•Kids read more books if they were permitted the audiobook option

•15 middle and high schools in Boston, San Diego, Florida

–34% edge over control group in comprehension scores

–65% fluency gain

–77% more pages read

–Special ed gained almost 20% from pre to post assessments

•8^th grader jumped 7 years in comprehension after 2 years with audio

•Kids getting dialects and meaning of words

•First grade TAKS scores

 

My research

•Started with ESL class

–Kids read more and more often

–Parents began reading as well

–Post assessments indicate comprehension was same as kids who did traditional reading

–State test scores verified observation

•Approached by other teachers

–Dyslexic

–ADD

–Regular classroom

•Test scores show more students reading on level and above level

•7-12^th grade campus

–Longitudinal opportunities

•AYP being met

•More  teachers coming on board

•Kids coming back on their own to the library

 

Recommendations:

•Start small and work with reading department

•Purchase required reading titles initially then others

•Shelve with the rest of the collection

•Play snips for kids when they enter the library

•Develop the collection for the staff as well